Chartreuse de Ris de Veau

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3-cup (700 ml) Charlotte mould or straight-sided metal soufflé mould
• •Deep roasting tin for the bain-marie
• •16 to 18 mm round piping tip or vegetable cutter
• •Piping bag or small offset spatula
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Two small trays and a 2-pound (900 g) weight

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach the sweetbread

   Soak the sweetbread in a bowl of cold water for 1 hour, changing the water twice, until it looks pale and clean. Cover it with fresh cold water in a saucepan, add a good pinch of salt, and bring it slowly to the barest simmer. Poach for 10 minutes, then transfer it to ice water. Remove the outer membrane, cords, and loose fat while it is cool but still pliable. Set it between two trays with a 2-pound (900 g) weight on top for 30 minutes, then chill and cut it into ¼-inch (6 mm) slices. Pat every slice dry.

2. 2

   Cook the vegetables

   Cook each vegetable separately in simmering salted water so each keeps its own proper texture. Give the carrot roundels 4 to 6 minutes, the turnips 3 to 5 minutes, the French beans 2 to 3 minutes, and the peas about 1 minute, or 30 seconds if frozen. They should be tender at the edges but firm through the centre. Cool them immediately in ice water, drain well, and spread them on clean towels until completely cold and dry.

   Do not cook the vegetables together. Carrots, turnips, beans, and peas soften at different rates, and the chartreuse needs clean colours and firm shapes rather than one pot of agreeable softness.
3. 3

   Cook the mushrooms

   Melt 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter in a wide pan over medium-high heat. Add the sliced mushrooms in one uncrowded layer and cook until their released liquid has evaporated and their edges are lightly golden. Transfer them to a tray, season sparingly, and chill. Pat the truffle slices dry, particularly if they came from a jar, and keep them cold beside the mushrooms and sweetbread.

4. 4

   Build the chartreuse

   Heat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Coat a 3-cup (700 ml) Charlotte mould generously with 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) softened butter, then arrange the carrot, turnip, pea, and French bean pieces over the bottom and sides in alternating coloured rows. Pipe or spoon a ½-inch (1.25 cm) coating of cold Chicken Forcemeat with Panada and Cream (No. 194) over the vegetables, smoothing it gently without disturbing the pattern. Add a close layer of sweetbread, cooked mushroom, and truffle, keeping the filling away from the mould's edge. Cover with more forcemeat, repeat the filling, and finish with a complete layer of forcemeat. Smooth the top and cover it with a round of buttered parchment.

   If the vegetables slide or the forcemeat begins to soften, stop and chill the mould for 10 minutes. Ça se rattrape. Replace any wandering pieces, patch the gap with cold forcemeat, and continue only when everything is firm.
5. 5

   Poach in bain-marie

   Set the mould in a deep roasting tin and pour in very hot water to come halfway up its sides. This bain-marie, a hot-water bath, protects the forcemeat from harsh oven heat. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, keeping the water below a hard boil, until the centre reaches 165°F (74°C) and feels resilient rather than liquid beneath the paper. If the centre has not reached temperature at 50 minutes, continue in 5-minute intervals. Do not raise the oven heat; gentleness preserves the fine texture.

6. 6

   Braise the garnishes

   While the chartreuse cooks, melt 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter in a shallow pan. Arrange the lettuce halves cut-side down, add ⅓ cup (80 ml / 80 g) water and a pinch of salt, cover, and braise gently for 10 to 12 minutes until tender but still intact. Drain and trim them neatly. Cook the grooved mushroom cap in the same pan with 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) butter and 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) water, covered, for 5 to 7 minutes, keeping it pale. Warm the Velouté flavoured with mushroom essence without boiling. If it has tightened, loosen it with a spoonful of hot water; if it is thin, let it reduce gently until it coats a spoon.

7. 7

   Rest and unmould

   Lift the chartreuse from the bain-marie, remove the paper, and let it stand undisturbed for 8 minutes. The rest allows the forcemeat to settle around the filling, and turning it out early risks splitting the layers. Loosen only the top rim with a thin knife, place a warm round serving dish over the mould, and invert both together. Wait 30 seconds before lifting the mould. If it clings, wrap the outside briefly with a hot, well-wrung towel and try again. Replace any vegetable piece left behind in its proper space. Never apologize at your own table.

8. 8

   Finish and serve

   Set the cooked grooved mushroom cap on top and arrange the braised half-lettuces in a close crown around the base. Bring the hot mushroom velouté to the table separately in a sauceboat, as the source directs, so the vegetable pattern remains visible and each guest takes the sauce they want. Cut the chartreuse with a thin, sharp knife, wiping it between portions. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask specifically for veal throat sweetbread. It is the cut named by the source, and its smaller lobes settle naturally into the layered mould. Order it from a butcher several days ahead and ask for it untrimmed so you can judge its freshness.
• •Fresh black truffle is magnificent when the season offers it. At other times, use whole preserved black truffle and count the drained weight. Truffle oil cannot replace the slices, their texture, or the dark seam they make through the chartreuse.
• •A wide metal piping tip makes an honest substitute for the old tube cutter. Cut the carrot and turnip into slabs, stamp out ⅔-inch roundels, and save the trimmings for soup. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.
• •Serve a mature white Burgundy or another dry, full-bodied Chardonnay. The wine needs enough breadth for the sweetbread and cream, but enough freshness to follow the truffle and mushroom velouté.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the referenced cream forcemeat up to 1 day ahead and keep it tightly covered in the cold. It must be thoroughly chilled before the mould is lined.
• •The sweetbread can be soaked, poached, trimmed, pressed, and chilled 1 day ahead. Wrap it closely and slice it only when you are ready to assemble the chartreuse.
• •The vegetables and mushrooms can be cooked up to 6 hours ahead. Chill them separately on towels so they remain dry, then assemble the mould up to 3 hours before poaching.
• •The mushroom velouté and braised lettuces may be prepared earlier the same day and reheated gently. Cook the white mushroom cap near serving time so it remains pale and neat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 400g)