Suprêmes de Volaille Talleyrand

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •8-inch (20 cm) low fluted croustade mold or tart ring
• •3-quart (2.8-liter) heavy saucepan
• •Shallow 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) baking dish
• •Parchment paper and foil
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Warm oval serving platter and sauceboat

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the components

   Have the baked croustade from Croûtes et Croustades (No. 2393) ready on a wire rack. Keep the Veal Forcemeat with Fat or Godiveau (No. 198) and both portions of foie gras cold until needed. Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C), butter a shallow baking dish, and butter one side of a sheet of parchment cut to cover the chicken directly. Warm the chicken stock in a small pan without boiling it.

2. 2

   Build the velouté

   Melt the 3 tablespoons of butter in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in the flour and cook this roux blanc, a white roux, for 2 minutes without letting it color. Add the hot stock a ladleful at a time, whisking each addition smooth before the next, then hold the sauce at a bare simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often and skimming any froth. It should lightly nap the back of a spoon. If lumps form, lift the pan from the heat and whisk hard; ça se rattrape. Strain the sauce if needed. Reserve 1¼ cups (300 ml) as the velouté to pass at the table and keep about 1 cup (240 ml) in the saucepan for the Allemande.

   The roux must cook before the stock enters, but it must not brown. The sauce wants body without the toasted flavor or color of a darker roux.
3. 3

   Stuff the suprêmes

   Fold the chilled foie gras purée into the cold Veal Forcemeat with Fat or Godiveau (No. 198) until completely even, keeping the bowl over ice if the kitchen is warm. Poach a teaspoonful in barely simmering water and cut it open to check that it sets softly. If the mixture slumps or smears, chill it for 15 minutes before proceeding. Trim each chicken breast into a rounded heart shape by cutting a shallow notch at the broad end and tucking the thin tip underneath. Cut a deep pocket through the thick side without piercing the outer faces, season inside and out with salt and white pepper, and divide the stuffing among the pockets. Press each opening closed and set the suprêmes seam-side down.

4. 4

   Poach without liquid

   Arrange the stuffed suprêmes in the buttered dish with space between them. Lay the parchment buttered-side down directly over the chicken, then cover the dish tightly with foil. Bake for 22 to 30 minutes without added liquid, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the godiveau registers 165°F (74°C). Check each breast separately. If a smaller one finishes early, remove it and keep it covered rather than drying it while the others catch up. Rest the suprêmes under the parchment for 5 minutes, then stir their clear cooking juices into the reserved table velouté.

5. 5

   Cream the macaroni

   While the chicken cooks, boil the macaroni in well-salted water until barely tender, then drain it thoroughly. Bring the ½ cup of cream to a gentle simmer in a wide pan and reduce it by about one-third. Whisk in the tablespoon of butter, add the macaroni, and turn it over low heat until every piece wears a close ivory coating. Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the 43 grams each of diced foie gras and truffle, preserving the book's proportion exactly. If the cream tightens or shows an oily edge, fold in a spoonful of warm velouté off the heat until it comes together. Never let the foie gras boil into the sauce.

6. 6

   Finish the Allemande

   Whisk the egg yolk with ¼ cup (60 ml) of the Allemande cream. Slowly whisk in several spoonfuls of the hot velouté from its saucepan, then return this liaison, a yolk-and-cream thickening, to the remaining sauce. Stir over the lowest heat until the Allemande thickens enough to coat the suprêmes, but never let it boil. Season with lemon juice, salt, and white pepper. At the first sign of graininess, take it off the heat and whisk in the remaining cold cream over a bowl of cold water, then strain it. Ça se rattrape. Keep the Allemande warm over barely warm water.

7. 7

   Warm the croustade

   Set the baked croustade from Croûtes et Croustades (No. 2393) in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, just until dry, crisp, and warm. This short visit to the domestic oven replaces the drying-box and salamander. If the rim is already deeply golden, cover it loosely with foil so it stays crisp without darkening further.

8. 8

   Build the crown

   Set the warm croustade on a heated serving platter and spoon in the creamy macaroni, shaping it into a generous dome above the rim. Coat each suprême completely with Allemande, then lean the four pieces around the dome in a crown, their narrow ends pointing inward and upward. Spoon over enough remaining Allemande to restore the gloss without flooding the pastry. Reheat the reserved velouté just to a gentle simmer, pour it into a warm sauceboat, and pass it separately at the table. Serve at once. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose four chicken breasts as close in size as possible. Technique first, always, but even sizing keeps one suprême from drying while its neighbor waits for the godiveau to cook.
• •Cooked foie gras terrine or torchon gives both the smooth purée and the clean dice this preparation needs. Keep it very cold. Warm foie gras smears into fat before it reaches the chicken or macaroni.
• •Fresh black truffle is splendid when it is in season, but a good preserved whole truffle is the classical pantry's honest answer. Drain it well and dice it. Truffle oil cannot replace the texture or quiet depth required here.
• •The croustade must be dry before it is filled. Once the creamy macaroni goes in, service cannot wait, so warm the platter, sauceboat, and plates before assembling the crown.
• •Pour a white Burgundy with enough breadth for the foie gras and cream, or a dry Champagne whose acidity clears the palate between bites. This is celebration food, and it knows it.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare and bake the croustade from Croûtes et Croustades (No. 2393) up to one day ahead. Cool it completely and store it airtight at room temperature, then restore its crispness in the oven shortly before assembly.
• •Prepare the Veal Forcemeat with Fat or Godiveau (No. 198) according to its own entry and keep it thoroughly chilled. Mix in the foie gras purée only when you are ready to stuff the suprêmes.
• •The velouté can be made several hours ahead, cooled quickly, covered, and refrigerated. Reheat it gently with a spoonful of stock if it has tightened, but add the egg-and-cream liaison only near serving time.
• •Dice the truffle and foie gras earlier in the day and hold them separately in the cold. The macaroni, stuffed chicken, and Allemande should be cooked close to service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 550g)