This recipe is pretty simple. The trickiest part is getting the Sauternes to flame (flambé), more easily accomplished in a wide, low saucepan than in a tall, narrow one. The recipe calls for skate, a cartilaginous fish (like stingrays only smaller) which may have been overfished; indeed, I don't find it for sale as often as I did a couple of decades ago. However, the sauce goes well with scallops (St. Jacques), which can be poached, steamed lightly (or sautéed).
Prepare a julienne of cucumber, which will be heated but not cooked (it will bed placed as a frame around the edge of the plates). I generally don't have the time (or patience) for this, as this is a special-occasion
1) dish, but it really does provide a nice, fresh, slightly bitter counterpoint to the sweetness of the rest. A julienne is prepared by cutting the well-washed cuke into 2” (5 cm) lengths, coring the seeds out, then cutting the lengths into batons about the size of wooden kitchen matches. I've seen parers (that look like potato peelers) the cut the shreds easily, but I haven't tried one so cannot recommend (or not).
Prepare the sauce. Bring the Sauternes to a boil, flambé, reduce until syrupy. Add salt and pepper to taste, then stir (or swirl) in the thick cream. Amounts:
Sauternes: about 1/4 cup per serving
heavy cultured cream: 1/6 - 1/4 cup (40-60 ml) per serving
2)
Poach the skate (or prepare the scallops, as noted above) about 10 minutes in plenty of water to which some vinegar has been added (1/2 cup – 120 ml– per litre of water). Drain and remove skin.
Serve. Small skates may be hard to find, so this step may include cutting a larger skate into individual servings. Perhaps this should be done before poaching, but I've never tried doing it that way. Place skate serving in center of each plate, Sauternes sauce around it, and finally cucumber julienne (if prepared) around the border of the plate.
Accompany with white rice.
