Foie Gras Gastronome

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small offset spatula and two broad palette knives
• •Two rimmed trays with small wire racks
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Small piping bag with a narrow grooved tip
• •Pastry brush
• •Oval chilled serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Shape the parfait

   Chill a tray, two flexible scrapers, and a small offset spatula. Turn the plain foie-gras Parfait onto the tray and trim it into a regular egg about 5 inches (13 cm) long, rounding one end and tapering the other. Work in short passes, smoothing with the cold spatula rather than warm hands. If the surface begins to soften or smear, stop and refrigerate it for 15 minutes before continuing. Press the trimmings together and use them to fill any hollow spots. Set the finished egg on a small parchment oval cut slightly narrower than its base, then chill for at least 45 minutes, until completely firm.

2. 2

   Temper the coatings

   Set the paprika and ivory Chaud-Froid Sauces in separate bowls. Each should be cool and flow from a spoon in a continuous ribbon, like thick cream, at roughly 64 to 68°F (18 to 20°C). Melt the Aspic Jelly gently, then cool it to the same range without allowing it to set. If a sauce is stiff enough to drag, warm its bowl for a few seconds over barely warm water and stir; if it runs like milk, set it over ice and stir until it gains body. Strain any coating that carries lumps. The smoothness you establish here is the smoothness the finished dish will wear.

   Never pour a warm coating over foie gras. It melts the surface fat, and no amount of extra sauce will hide the resulting streaks.
3. 3

   Mask the egg

   Place the cold egg on a small rack over a chilled tray, keeping its parchment support beneath it. Pour the paprika Chaud-Froid Sauce from one end to the other in a single thin pass, letting it fall naturally over the sides. Touch bare patches with the tip of a spoon, but don't brush back and forth. Chill for 10 minutes, then apply a second thin coat. Use two cold palette knives to lift the egg briefly and cover any exposed area underneath. If the mask slumps, scrape away the loose sauce while it is still soft, rechill the parfait, thicken the sauce over ice, and coat again. Ça se rattrape.

4. 4

   Decorate and glaze

   Transfer 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) of the ivory Chaud-Froid Sauce to a small piping bag and pipe one restrained band or a line of small shells around the centre of the paprika-coated egg. Chill until set. Spoon a whisper-thin layer of fluid Aspic Jelly over the egg, chill for 5 minutes, then repeat once for an even gloss. Thick jelly magnifies every ridge, so two thin passes are better than one heavy one. If the aspic beads or slides, the egg or jelly is too warm; chill both briefly and begin that pass again.

5. 5

   Cut the cushion

   Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Trim the pain de mie into a cushion about 6½ x 4½ inches (16 x 11 cm), beveling the top edges and rounding the corners while leaving a broad, level surface for the egg. Dry it in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until firm throughout but still pale, then cool completely. This dried bread is the honest home equivalent of the prepared presentation crust kept by the old cold kitchen: structural scaffolding, not a new flavour.

6. 6

   Mask and pipe

   Set the cold cushion on a rack and mask it with the remaining ivory Chaud-Froid Sauce, using two thin coats and chilling between them. The colour must remain clearly different from the paprika egg. Fit a piping bag with a narrow grooved tip, fill it with the softened butter, and pipe a shell border around the cushion. We don't apologize for butter. If the piping looks greasy and loses its ridges, chill the bag for 5 minutes; if the butter cracks, warm the bag between your hands until it bends willingly. Refrigerate the finished cushion until firm.

7. 7

   Glaze the truffles

   Pat every truffle completely dry. Brush each with a thin coat of fluid Aspic Jelly, chill for 5 minutes, and repeat until the surface is evenly glossy. Wet truffles make the jelly bead and fall away. If that happens, blot them dry, let their surfaces lose the refrigerator chill for a few minutes, and begin again with the thinnest possible coat.

8. 8

   Assemble and serve

   Set the ivory cushion on a chilled oval platter. Using two broad palette knives, lower the glazed foie-gras egg onto its centre without pressing the butter border. Arrange the eight aspic-glazed truffles evenly around the cushion, then refrigerate the assembled dish for 20 minutes. Bring it out 10 minutes before serving so the parfait is cool rather than numb. Cut with a thin knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry between slices, giving each person a quarter of the egg and two truffles. À table!

Chef Tips

• •This entry is a composition of finished preparations. Reach for a plain foie-gras Parfait, two Chaud-Froid Sauces, and Aspic Jelly already completed and properly chilled; their individual methods remain whole rather than being folded into the assembly.
• •Preserved whole black truffles are the classical pantry's honest answer when fresh truffles are out of season. Buy intact truffles packed in their own juice, drain them well, and dry them carefully before glazing. Mushroom caps do not serve the same purpose.
• •Temperature matters more than speed. Keep two chilled trays ready so the egg and cushion can move in and out of the refrigerator without warming on the counter.
• •Serve with toasted brioche and a small glass of Sauternes or mature Monbazillac. The foie gras already carries sauce, aspic, butter, and truffle, so the plate needs no salad, fruit, or extra ornament.
• •Keep the dish refrigerated at 40°F (4°C) or colder and return leftovers to the refrigerator promptly. Eat them within 2 days.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare or obtain the plain foie-gras Parfait, both Chaud-Froid Sauces, and the Aspic Jelly up to 2 days ahead. Keep each covered and refrigerated separately.
• •The egg may be shaped, masked, decorated, and glazed up to 12 hours before serving. Store it on its parchment support in a covered chilled container.
• •Shape and coat the cushion up to 12 hours ahead, but pipe the butter border only after the coating has set. Keep the cushion separate from the egg until final assembly.
• •Glaze the truffles and assemble the complete dish up to 4 hours before serving. Bring it from the refrigerator 10 minutes before slicing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 441g)