Mousselines de Volaille à la Sicilienne

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Food processor with metal blade
• •Fine-mesh sieve and flexible bowl scraper
• •Four 5-ounce (150 ml) ramekins or individual oval moulds
• •5 by 3½ inch (13 by 9 cm) oval paper template
• •Large shallow roasting pan for the bain-marie
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Broiler-safe rimmed sheet pan

Instructions

1. 1

   Chill the working pieces

   Put the food-processor bowl, metal blade, fine sieve, and a clean mixing bowl in the cold for at least 20 minutes. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) with a rack in the middle. Use 1 tablespoon of the butter to coat four 5-ounce (150 ml) ramekins or individual oval moulds, then chill them. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cream for brushing the pastry, 1 cup for the mousseline, and the remaining cream for the sauce.

2. 2

   Build oval tartlets

   Roll the cold pastry to a rectangle about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick. Using a paper template and a sharp knife, cut eight ovals about 5 by 3½ inches (13 by 9 cm). Leave four whole for the bases; cut a smaller oval from each remaining piece to make four rims about ½ inch (1.5 cm) wide. Dock the centres of the bases with a fork, brush the outer edges lightly with the cold water, and settle a rim onto each. Brush the rims with the reserved cream and chill for 10 minutes. Bake on a parchment-lined sheet for 16 to 20 minutes, until deeply golden. If the centres rise, press them down gently with the back of a spoon while hot. Cool on a rack and lower the oven to 325°F (160°C).

   Oval tartlet moulds were service equipment, not the soul of the dish. A paper template and layered pastry give the required oval shape without filling a cupboard with four special tins.
3. 3

   Make the velouté base

   Warm the chicken stock in a small saucepan. In a second saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium-low heat, stir in the flour, and cook this roux for 2 minutes without allowing it to brown. Whisk in the warm stock by small additions at first, smoothing each one before adding the next. Bring to a bare simmer and cook for 20 minutes, whisking along the bottom occasionally, until reduced by roughly one quarter. Strain the velouté, a pale roux-thickened stock sauce, into a clean saucepan and cover its surface directly with parchment. If small flour lumps formed, the sieve removes them cleanly; there is no reason to begin again.

4. 4

   Process the mousseline

   Put the chilled chicken in the cold processor with 1 teaspoon of the fine salt, the white pepper, and nutmeg. Pulse until the meat becomes a smooth, sticky paste, stopping once to scrape the bowl. Add the egg whites in two additions, processing only until absorbed. With the motor running, pour in the reserved 1 cup of cold cream in a thin, steady stream. Stop as soon as the mixture is smooth and glossy. Press it through the chilled fine sieve into the bowl set over ice, leaving any sinew behind. Poach a teaspoon in barely simmering water for 2 minutes and taste it. If the mixture looks greasy or slumps instead of holding a soft mound, it has warmed. Ça se rattrape: chill it over ice for 10 minutes, then pulse briefly with 1 tablespoon of cold cream taken from the sauce allowance.

5. 5

   Poach in moulds

   Divide the mousseline evenly among the cold buttered moulds, about 5 ounces (145 g) in each, and smooth the tops without packing them hard. Cover each surface with a small piece of parchment. Set the moulds in a roasting pan and add hot water to come halfway up their sides. Bake in this bain-marie for 22 to 28 minutes, until the mousselines are just firm, spring lightly at the centre, and register 165°F (74°C). The water should barely tremble. If the mousselines begin to dome or crack, add a splash of cool water to the bath and lower the oven to 300°F (150°C). Rest them in their moulds for 3 minutes.

6. 6

   Cook macaroni Napolitaine

   While the mousselines poach, bring a saucepan of water to a boil with the tablespoon of pasta salt. Cook the macaroni until just tender, drain it well, and do not rinse. In the emptied pan, simmer the passata, tomato paste, and ½ teaspoon of the fine salt for 8 to 10 minutes, until thick enough that a spoon drawn through leaves a clear trail. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the butter, half the Parmesan, and the macaroni. If the mixture is loose, reduce it for another minute before it meets the pastry; wet macaroni turns a crisp tartlet to paste.

7. 7

   Finish sauce suprême

   Return the velouté to a gentle simmer and add the remaining cream. Reduce for 6 to 10 minutes, whisking often, until the sauce reaches nappe, coating the back of a spoon in an even ivory layer. Take it off the heat and whisk in the lemon juice, the remaining 2 tablespoons of cold butter, and up to the final ½ teaspoon of fine salt as needed. Keep it warm over a pan of hot water, never over direct heat. If it tightens, loosen it with a spoonful of stock or water. If the butter makes it look oily, whisk 1 tablespoon of cold cream in a clean pan, then add the sauce gradually until smooth.

8. 8

   Build each serving

   Return the tartlets to the 325°F (160°C) oven for 3 to 4 minutes to restore their crispness, then arrange them on a broiler-safe tray. Spoon the macaroni à la Napolitaine into each tartlet, keeping it just below the pastry rim. Run a thin knife around each mousseline, invert it onto the centre of a filled tartlet, and lift away the mould. Coat each mousseline generously with sauce suprême, allowing a little to pool over the macaroni but keeping the pastry rim visible.

9. 9

   Glaze under fierce heat

   Heat the broiler to its highest setting and position the tray about 4 inches (10 cm) below it. Dust the coated mousselines evenly with the remaining Parmesan and glaze for 45 to 90 seconds, watching without interruption, until the cheese takes pale-gold freckles and the sauce bubbles at the edges. A salamander's work is measured in seconds; lingering under the heat only overcooks the mousseline. Rotate the tray if the colour comes unevenly, then transfer the tartlets to a warm platter and serve at once. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use unsalted or genuinely low-sodium chicken stock. Sauce suprême is reduced twice, and an aggressively salted carton becomes harsher with every minute over the flame.
• •The chicken and cream must remain cold enough to feel almost painfully chilled. If the processor bowl loses its chill, stop and return everything to the refrigerator; patience here is quicker than repairing a warm emulsion.
• •Choose small macaroni or ditalini. Long pasta fights the tartlet, while tiny tubes settle into a compact garnish and hold the tomato, butter, and Parmesan properly.
• •Heavy cream means at least 35 percent fat. A lighter cream weakens both the mousseline and the sauce, and margarine has no place here. We don't apologize for butter.
• •Pour a firm, bright white Burgundy, such as a Mâcon-Villages. Its acidity cuts the cream and Parmesan without trampling the delicate chicken.

Advance Preparation

• •The tartlet shells can be baked up to 6 hours ahead and held uncovered at room temperature. Re-crisp them for 3 to 4 minutes at 325°F (160°C) before filling.
• •The velouté base can be made a day ahead, cooled promptly, covered, and refrigerated. Reheat it to a gentle simmer before adding the cream, lemon, and finishing butter.
• •The raw mousseline forcemeat can be made and placed in its buttered moulds up to 4 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate at or below 40°F (4°C), then poach directly from the cold.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 480g)