Ris de Veau Grillé Jocelyne

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3-inch or 7.5-centimeter round cutter
• •Small melon baller or sturdy teaspoon
• •12-inch or 30-centimeter heavy skillet or ridged grill pan
• •Small heavy saucepan
• •Two flat trays and a 2-pound or 1-kilogram weight
• •Immersion blender or small food processor
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the sweetbreads

   Rinse the sweetbreads, place them in a bowl of cold water, and soak for 2 hours, changing the water whenever it turns cloudy. Transfer them to a saucepan, cover generously with fresh cold water, and add the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of the salt. Bring the water slowly to a bare simmer, never a boil, and blanch for 5 minutes. Lift the sweetbreads into ice water for 5 minutes, then peel away the loose outer membrane and trim only the obvious cords and fat. Keep each lobe as whole as possible. Set them between two parchment-lined trays, place a 2-pound or 1-kilogram weight on top, and refrigerate for 1 hour. If a lobe separates while trimming, bind the pieces together with kitchen string before pressing; once flattened, they will grill as one portion.

   Ask the butcher for compact heart sweetbreads and order them in advance. Irregular throat sweetbreads still taste splendid, but they are harder to match neatly to the round potato cases.
2. 2

   Make curried Soubise

   Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onions with ¼ teaspoon salt and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until completely soft but still pale. Colour here would muddy the Soubise. Stir in the rice and curry powder for 30 seconds, just until the curry smells warm, then add ⅔ cup of the stock and reserve the rest. Cover and simmer very gently for 20 to 25 minutes, until the rice crushes easily and the onions have nearly dissolved. Purée with the cream and 1 tablespoon butter until silky, then season with a little white pepper. The Soubise must hold a rounded spoonful without running. If it is loose, return it to low heat and stir until it tightens; if it is heavy, add the reserved stock a teaspoon at a time. Ça se rattrape.

3. 3

   Cook potato roundels

   Melt the remaining 10 tablespoons butter gently, skim away the foam, and pour the clear clarified butter off the milky sediment; you should have about 8 tablespoons. Cut one roundel from each potato, exactly 1½ inches or 3.8 cm thick and close in diameter to its sweetbread, about 3 inches or 7.5 cm. A ring cutter gives clean sides, but a careful knife does the same work. Warm 5 tablespoons clarified butter in a wide heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Season the potatoes lightly, add them in one layer, and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, turning and basting every few minutes, until every surface is butter-gold and a thin skewer passes through the center without resistance. Keep the heat patient. Dark butter outside and raw potato inside helps nobody.

4. 4

   Shape potato cases

   Let the cooked roundels stand for 5 minutes, then use a small spoon or melon baller to remove the centers while they are still warm. Leave a floor and walls about ½ inch or 1.25 cm thick, creating four deep cases without cutting through the base. Work from the center outward and support each wall with your fingers. If a wall splits, don't discard the case. Press a little warm potato from the center into the crack with a dab of butter, then return the case to the skillet for 2 minutes so the patch sets. Hold the cases covered in a low oven or in the skillet off the heat. Save the extra potato for a buttery mash.

5. 5

   Grill the vegetables

   Heat the broiler with a rack about 5 inches or 13 cm below it. Arrange the capsicum halves skin-side up on a small metal tray, brush with 1 tablespoon clarified butter, and season lightly. Broil for 4 minutes, then add the tomato halves cut-side up, brush them with a little of the same butter, and continue for 5 to 7 minutes. The capsicums should carry dark blisters while retaining their shape, and the tomato edges should brown while the centers remain intact. This broiler is the honest home equivalent of the salamander. Hold the vegetables loosely covered while the sweetbreads grill.

6. 6

   Grill the sweetbreads

   Remove the sweetbreads from the press, cut away the string if used, and dry every surface thoroughly. Season with the remaining salt and white pepper. Heat a large ridged grill pan or heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons clarified butter, and lay in the sweetbreads with space between them. Grill for 4 to 5 minutes without nudging, until the first side develops a deep Maillard bronze crust, then turn and cook the second side for another 4 to 5 minutes. Brown the narrow edges briefly and cook until the centers reach 160°F or 71°C. The grill is the anchor: if the crust darkens before the center is ready, lower the heat and cover the pan for 1 to 2 minutes. If your pan crowds, grill in two batches and return the first pair for 30 seconds at the finish.

7. 7

   Assemble and serve

   Warm the Soubise over low heat, loosening it with a spoonful of reserved stock if necessary, and rewarm the potato cases in their buttered skillet. Set one case on each warm plate and fill it generously with curried Soubise, allowing the ochre filling to show at the rim. Place a grilled sweetbread directly on each case, then lay one grilled tomato half and one grilled green capsicum half side by side on the sweetbread. Add no stray herb and no decorative sauce; the source has already finished the plate. Serve immediately. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Heart sweetbreads are the compact lobes you want here. Ask for four portions of similar size, about 5 ounces or 140 grams each, so they press evenly and sit properly on matching potato cases.
• •Use a mild, fragrant curry powder. Its job is to warm the Soubise and sharpen the onion's sweetness, not to dominate the sweetbread. If the spice smells dusty in the jar, replace it.
• •Choose large yellow-fleshed potatoes with enough width to cut four sturdy cases. The trimmings and scooped centers make excellent mash, bound with any butter left in the potato pan.
• •A full-bodied dry white Burgundy suits the butter, onion, and sweetbread without fighting the curry. Serve it cool rather than icy, so the wine keeps its shape beside the dish.

Advance Preparation

• •The sweetbreads can be soaked, blanched, trimmed, and pressed up to 24 hours ahead. Wrap them closely after pressing and keep them refrigerated; dry them again before grilling.
• •The curried Soubise can be made one day ahead and reheated over very low heat. Add stock a teaspoon at a time if it has tightened in the cold.
• •The potatoes may be butter-cooked and hollowed up to 2 hours before dinner. Keep them covered, then rewarm them in their buttered skillet. Grill the sweetbreads last, because their browned crust waits for no guest.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 675g)