Salade Trédern

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3-quart heavy saucepan with lid
• •1-quart shallow saucepan
• •Medium mixing bowl and balloon whisk
• •Sturdy mortar and pestle
• •Very fine-mesh sieve
• •Oyster knife and protective towel or glove
• •Kitchen shears
• •Slotted spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Whisk the mayonnaise

   Set a medium bowl on a folded towel. Whisk the egg yolk with the Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, ¼ teaspoon of the salt, white pepper, and cayenne until smooth. Add the oil one drop at a time at first, whisking constantly; once the emulsion thickens and holds the trace of the whisk, pour the remaining oil in a very thin thread. The finished mayonnaise should be glossy and firm enough to nap a spoon. Cover it and keep it at cool room temperature while you cook the shellfish.

   If the mayonnaise separates, stop adding oil. Whisk 1 teaspoon of cold water in a clean bowl, then beat in the broken mayonnaise one teaspoon at a time until it gathers itself again. Ça se rattrape.
2. 2

   Blanch the asparagus

   Bring a small saucepan of water to a full boil and season it with 1 teaspoon of the salt. Add the asparagus tips and blanch for 60 to 90 seconds, until brilliant green and tender at the cut end while retaining a clean bite. Lift them out, drain thoroughly, and spread them on a clean towel. Don't chill them in ice water; the original calls for barely cooled asparagus, not cold asparagus.

3. 3

   Cook the crayfish

   Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot, carrot, and ¼ teaspoon of the salt, then cook for 2 minutes without browning. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until it darkens slightly. Add the crayfish and turn them over the heat until their shells begin to redden. Remove the pan from the flame before adding the Cognac, then return it to the heat and reduce nearly dry. Add the white wine, water, and bouquet garni, cover, and hold at a lively simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, turning once, until the shells are bright red and the tail flesh is opaque. The thickest tail should reach 145°F (63°C). Lift out the crayfish, leaving the vegetables behind.

4. 4

   Pound the carcasses

   While the crayfish are still warm, twist off the tails and peel them over a bowl. Halve each tail lengthwise and remove the dark intestinal vein. Pull the stomach sacs and feathery gills from the heads and discard them, then snip the remaining shells, heads, and claws into manageable pieces with kitchen shears. Pound them firmly in a sturdy mortar until finely crushed. Add the warm cream a little at a time and continue pounding until the mixture resembles a coral-colored paste. Force it through a very fine sieve with the back of a spoon, scraping the smooth shell cream from the underside, then fold that cream into the mayonnaise.

   Taste a pinhead of the shell cream before it enters the mayonnaise. If you feel grit, pass it through the sieve again. The carcasses should contribute color and flavor, never crunch.
5. 5

   Poach the oysters

   Pour the lemon juice and strained oyster liquor into a small shallow saucepan and bring them to the barest simmer. Add the oysters in one layer and poach for 30 to 60 seconds, turning once, until they plump and their fringed edges just begin to curl. Lift them out immediately with a slotted spoon and let them drain on a plate. They should be cooked through but still tender; a hard boil tightens them before you can blink.

6. 6

   Dress barely warm

   Touch the crayfish tails, oysters, and asparagus. They should feel barely warm, never hot, and their surfaces must be well drained so they don't water the mayonnaise. Combine the three constituents in a bowl and fold in the shell-enriched mayonnaise gently, adding enough to coat every piece without burying it. Arrange the salad loosely on a low oval platter so the crayfish, oysters, and asparagus remain distinct. Shave the raw black truffle finely over the top and serve at once. À table!

   If the constituents still feel hot, wait two minutes before dressing. If the mayonnaise loosens but remains smooth, lift out the solids and let the dressing cool briefly; whisking in more oil at this point only makes the salad heavy.

Chef Tips

• •Whole raw crayfish are essential. Peeled tails cannot supply the carcasses that flavor and color the mayonnaise, and without that shell purée the dish loses its governing idea. Frozen whole raw crayfish are an honest answer when live ones aren't available.
• •Choose small or medium oysters with firm flesh. The lemon is a hot poaching liquor here, not a citrus cure; use a pasteurized yolk for the mayonnaise and bring the oysters to 145°F (63°C) when cooking for anyone especially vulnerable to foodborne illness.
• •Fresh black truffle is the final constituent, not a scented decoration. Shave it raw and thin enough to bend. If it is out of season, don't replace it with truffle oil; choose a salade de homard à la mayonnaise as the truffle-free cousin and return to Trédern when the real ingredient is available.
• •Strain the unused crayfish cooking liquor and freeze it for a future shellfish soup. Don't pour it into this mayonnaise, where its water would loosen the emulsion and blur the clean lemon note of the oysters.
• •Pour a dry blanc de blancs Champagne or a mineral Chablis. Both have enough acidity for the mayonnaise and enough restraint to leave the oysters and truffle alone.

Advance Preparation

• •The plain condimented mayonnaise can be made up to 4 hours ahead, covered tightly, and refrigerated. Bring it toward cool room temperature for 20 minutes before folding in the shell cream.
• •Clean the truffle, trim the asparagus, slice the aromatics, and measure the poaching ingredients earlier in the day. Blanching the asparagus and cooking the shellfish must wait until shortly before serving, because barely cooled is part of the composition.
• •Once dressed, Salade Trédern should reach the table within 15 minutes. If leftovers remain, refrigerate them within 2 hours and eat them within 1 day, knowing the oysters and mayonnaise will lose some delicacy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 140g)