Quenelles de Pommes de Terre

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Potato ricer or food mill
• •Digital kitchen scale
• •Wide 3-quart sauté pan
• •Shallow 2-quart gratin dish
• •Two dessertspoons
• •Slotted spoon
• •Small pale-coloured saucepan

Instructions

1. 1

   Bake and rice potatoes

   Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Prick the potatoes and bake them directly on the rack until a knife passes through without resistance, 45 to 55 minutes. Split them immediately, scoop out the flesh, and pass it through a potato ricer or food mill into a wide saucepan while it is still hot. Never use a food processor; its blades release too much starch and turn the potato elastic.

   Baking gives a drier foundation than boiling. Dry potato accepts the eggs without collapsing and keeps the finished quenelles tender rather than pasty.
2. 2

   Build the Duchesse base

   Set the riced potato over medium-low heat and work it with a wooden spoon for 2 to 3 minutes, until a light film appears on the pan and the potato pulls away cleanly. Take it off the heat and beat in the softened butter, then the yolks one at a time. Season with the salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. If the mixture still glistens wetly or slumps from the spoon, return it to gentle heat now and keep stirring until dry; once the whole egg enters, that chance is gone.

3. 3

   Add eggs and flour

   Spread the Duchesse base in a broad bowl and let it cool for about 10 minutes, until warm rather than hot. Fold in the measured beaten whole egg in three additions, letting the paste come together after each, then sift over the flour and fold only until no dry streaks remain. The mixture should be soft but hold a clear ridge from the spoon. If it slumps, cover and chill it for 15 minutes instead of burying it under extra flour. Ça se rattrape, and the exact proportion keeps the quenelles tender.

4. 4

   Portion and mould quenelles

   Use a little of the divided butter to grease a tray and two dessertspoons. Weigh the paste into 1½-ounce (43 g) portions, preserving the book's generous size, then pass each portion between the spoons to form a smooth oval about 2½ inches (6 cm) long. Set the quenelles on the tray without touching. Cork shapes or small quoits are equally proper if you prefer to form them by hand; smooth any cracks with a buttered fingertip.

5. 5

   Poach at a tremble

   Combine the water and poaching salt in a wide sauté pan and bring it just below a boil, about 185 to 190°F (85 to 88°C). Slip in one tester. If it holds cleanly, poach the remaining quenelles in batches of four or five, keeping the water at the barest tremble. Turn them once and cook until they rise, then give them another 2 minutes, about 5 to 6 minutes altogether. Lift them with a slotted spoon and drain on a clean towel for 5 minutes. If the tester feathers at the edges, lower the heat and chill the remaining shaped quenelles for 15 minutes before trying again; boiling water and warm paste are the usual culprits.

   Drain them thoroughly. Water trapped beneath a quenelle dilutes the butter and prevents the cheese underneath from forming its proper crust.
6. 6

   Form the gratin

   Preheat the broiler with a rack about 6 inches (15 cm) below it. Butter a shallow 2-quart gratin dish and scatter one-third of the Gruyère across its base. Arrange the drained quenelles in a single close layer, cover them with the remaining cheese, and drizzle over the remaining greasing butter, melted. Apply the Rapid Gratin treatment from Gratins (No. 268) under the broiler until the cheese bubbles and takes an irregular butter-gold and deep bronze crust, 2 to 4 minutes. Watch continuously and rotate the dish if one side colours first; if a patch darkens too quickly, shield that spot with a small piece of foil.

7. 7

   Finish with beurre noisette

   While the gratin forms, melt the remaining butter in a small pale-coloured saucepan over medium heat. Swirl as it foams, then pull it from the heat when the milk solids turn hazelnut brown and the butter smells rounded and nutty. Pour it immediately into a cool jug so it cannot burn. Bring the gratin to the table and spoon the beurre noisette, including its browned specks, over the quenelles. If the specks have turned black, begin the butter again; burnt butter has no honest rescue. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose a floury potato such as russet. A waxy potato holds too much moisture and resists the dry, yielding purée this preparation requires; technique first, always, but the right potato makes the technique far kinder.
• •The source formula uses three whole eggs and one-third pound of flour for every two pounds of Duchesse preparation. This home batch keeps that relationship at half scale, so measure 75 g of beaten egg rather than guessing at half an egg.
• •The book asks simply for grated cheese. Gruyère is the practical choice here because it melts evenly and browns without releasing a greasy slick; Comté gives a slightly sweeter, deeper crust if that is what you have.
• •Serve the quenelles beside roast chicken, veal, or a plain green salad when they are the substantial part of supper. A dry Mâconnais Chardonnay has enough freshness for the butter and enough body for the cheese.

Advance Preparation

• •The quenelles can be shaped up to 4 hours ahead, covered, and kept cold on their buttered tray. Poach them directly from the cold, allowing about 1 extra minute.
• •They may be poached one day ahead. Cool them completely, brush lightly with melted butter, cover, and refrigerate. Assemble the gratin before serving, warm it at 375°F (190°C) for 10 minutes, then apply the broiler finish.
• •The beurre noisette can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead and held at room temperature. Rewarm it gently just until fluid before spooning it over the gratin.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 210g)