Name: Fish Fillets in Red Wine and Cocoa Sauce (Filets de Poisson au Vin Rouge et Cacao)
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 1½ cups Fish Fumet, made with red wine and reduced to ¼ cup glaze; 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives; Coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper; 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar; 4 leeks (white part and ½ inch of pale green), well washed and thinly sliced crosswise; ¼ cup heavy cream; 1 pound boneless fish fillets, such as trout, bass, or mullet; 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa dissolved in 1½ teaspoons water; 2 tablespoons minced shallots; 1½ cups full-bodied red wine (see Notes); 1½ cups unsalted chicken stock (storebought or homemade), boiled until reduced to ½ cup; 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Cooking of South West France

By Paula Wolfert

Published 1987

About

Fish from the Gironde River, such as lamprey, trout, and shad, are often served with a red wine sauce in Bordeaux. The sauce served with lamprey is thickened with its blood—a very popular spring dish served at the Brasserie de Noailles just across from the Grand Thèâtre. Out of season, the Bordelais will continue to order it, knowing it comes directly from a can. Many gastronomes prefer it aged in the can!

In the neighboring Landais region, eel is cooked with prunes and leeks, and t