Côte de Veau Froide Rubens

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Four shallow oval molds or serving dishes, 7 to 8 inches (18 to 20 cm) long
• •Fine-mesh sieve and dampened fine cloth or coffee filter
• •Pastry brush
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Wire rack and rimmed tray

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the clear aspic

   Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and leave it for 10 minutes to bloom. Bring the stock just to a simmer with 1 teaspoon of the salt and a small pinch of white pepper, then remove it from the heat and stir in the bloomed gelatin until completely dissolved. Do not boil it once the gelatin is added. Strain through a dampened fine cloth or coffee filter, taste, and season slightly more firmly than you would a hot broth because cold mutes salt. Chill a spoonful on a saucer for 10 minutes: it should set firmly enough to cut while retaining a tender wobble. If it slumps, bloom the reserved teaspoon of gelatin in 1 tablespoon of cold water, dissolve it in a little warm aspic, and stir it back into the batch. Ça se rattrape.

   Clarity begins with the stock. Choose one that is clear and clean-tasting, not a cloudy bone broth, because every impurity will remain visible in the finished jelly.
2. 2

   Cook and chill veal

   Trim away excess surface fat and sinew, scrape the rib bones neatly, and shorten them only if needed to fit the molds. Season the cutlets with salt and white pepper. Heat the clarified butter in a broad pan over medium-high heat and cook the cutlets in two batches, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until evenly golden and the centres reach 145°F (63°C). Keep them succulent; cold overcooked veal becomes cottony. Rest for 10 minutes, transfer to a rack over a tray, and refrigerate uncovered until thoroughly cold, about 1 hour.

3. 3

   Blanch the hop shoots

   Bring a saucepan of generously salted water to a boil. Add the hop shoots and blanch for 2 to 4 minutes, according to thickness, until tender enough to bite cleanly but still bright and intact. Cool them at once in ice water, then drain and blot them completely dry. Water caught between the shoots weakens the tomato layer and makes it slide, so take this small piece of drying seriously.

4. 4

   Make sauce tomate collée

   Simmer the passata in a small saucepan until reduced by half to ½ cup (120 ml), thick enough to hold a clear trail from the spoon. Season with salt and white pepper, pass it through a fine sieve, and cool it until barely warm. Measure ¾ cup (180 ml) of liquid aspic and whisk it into the tomato. This is sauce tomate collée, tomato sauce bound to set with aspic. Chill a teaspoon to confirm that it sets softly but holds its shape. If the bowl begins setting before you need it, stand it briefly over warm water and stir until smooth; direct heat will dull the tomato and weaken the gelatin.

5. 5

   Glaze and dress cutlets

   Remelt the remaining aspic gently if necessary, then cool it over ice, stirring, until it has the viscosity of uncooked egg white. Brush each cold cutlet with this half-melted aspic and chill for 10 minutes to set the glaze. Arrange the hop shoots closely over the presentation side of each cutlet, following its length, and spoon over only enough sauce tomate collée to bind them into an even layer without burying their shape. Chill for 30 to 45 minutes, until completely firm. If the covering slides, lift it back into place and chill both the cutlet and sauce for 10 minutes before trying again; one of them was simply too warm.

6. 6

   Seal between aspic

   Pour a layer of cool liquid aspic about ¼ inch (6 mm) deep into each shallow mold and refrigerate until set but still slightly tacky, about 15 minutes. Lay one cutlet in each mold with the decorated hop-shoot side facing down against the clear base. Pour the remaining aspic slowly down the sides, never directly onto the decoration, until the cutlet is enclosed and covered by another clear layer. Refrigerate on a level shelf for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. This double enclosure is not decorative scaffolding; it is the defining construction of Rubens.

7. 7

   Unmould and serve

   Chill the serving platter. Dip the bottom of each mold into hot tap water for 3 to 5 seconds, wipe it dry, invert it over the platter, and lift gently. If the aspic clings, press a warm damp towel against the outside for a few seconds rather than digging around the edge with a knife. Serve cold, with the green hop shoots and coral tomato layer visible through the clear jelly. If hop shoots cannot be found, follow the book's optional Grenadins Froids en Bellevue (No. 1217) presentation with its vegetable decoration; that is Belle-vue, not Rubens. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Young hop shoots make this dish. Buy only tender shoots that snap cleanly; mature hop stems are stringy and aggressively bitter. Their season is brief, and asparagus is not an invisible replacement. When the shoots are absent, make the book's Belle-vue alternative and call it by its proper name.
• •Cold food needs confident seasoning. Taste the aspic and sauce tomate collée cool, not hot, and adjust before either sets. A broth that seems perfectly salted from the saucepan will taste muted from the refrigerator.
• •Keep every layer cold and every liquid just fluid enough to pour. A half-set aspic gives a smooth coat; hot aspic melts the work beneath it, while fully set aspic lands in lumps.
• •Serve with a dry, restrained white such as an Alsace Pinot Blanc or a light Chablis. Heavy oak and sweetness fight the young bitterness of the hop shoots.

Advance Preparation

• •The aspic can be prepared up to 2 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Remelt it gently over warm water, then cool it to the half-melted stage before brushing or pouring.
• •Cook the veal, blanch the hop shoots, and reduce the tomato earlier on the assembly day. Chill each component separately before building the layers.
• •The completed molds are best made the day before serving and kept covered once fully set. Serve within 2 days and do not freeze, because freezing makes aspic weep and destroys its clarity.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 380g)