Sole is one of the fish whose fate it usually is to be egged and breadcrumbed and fried—not always well— or in a nondescript and tasteless way which is given some French name, more often than not Bonne Femme, which appellation covers a multitude of gastronomic sins. Sole, being somewhat expensive, is considered essentially a " dinner party" fish and no bourgeois dinner is complete without it. So if you must inflict sole on your guests, here is a novel way of presenting it.

Ingredients

As many fillets of sole as required, 2 or 3 hard-boiled eggs, 4 tablespoons of cream, 2 ozs. of butter, a flavouring of nutmeg, cayenne and salt.

Method

Arrange the fillets of sole neatly in a well-buttered fireproof dish, season well with salt and pepper, and over them pour the following sauce: Melt the butter in a small saucepan and as soon as it is melted, and before it gets very hot, add the cream and then the flour, and keep stirring with a wooden spoon for a few minutes. Season with salt and cayenne. After the sauce has been poured over the fish, sprinkle with a little grated nutmeg, garnish with the white of egg cut in fancy shapes, and the yolks, rubbed through a sieve. Put in a moderate oven and cook for 20 minutes or longer, till the fish is tender. Brown the top a little under the grill and serve in the dish in which they were cooked. Time: About 3/4 of an hour.