À la Walewska is a simple garnish for fish, which is often sole. It consists of poached langoustines and sliced truffle.
Nowadays, largish shrimp and sautéed mushroom are more typically used instead of the langoustine and truffle.
In a few recipes, such as the Swedish “Fiskfilé à la Walewska”, the shrimp becomes a lobster claw of pieces of lobster, and the mushrooms may be dropped.
Cooking Tips
4 large shrimps
4 slices of truffle
Poach the shrimp for 7 minutes in a Court Bouillon.
Place one of the poached shrimp on each piece of fish that you are serving, along with a slice of truffle.
In place of truffle, you may use sautéed sliced mushroom.
History Notes
À la Walewska is named after the Polish countess Marie Walewska (7 December 1786 – 11 December 1817), who was Napoleon’s mistress for a while.
Some say that it is named after the son that she and Napoleon had, Count Alexandre Joseph Walewski (4 May 1810 – 27 October 1868), who became a diplomat and cabinet minister.