Tartelettes de Haddock

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Twelve shallow 2½-inch (6 cm) tartlet moulds or a 12-cavity mini tart pan
• •Rolling pin
• •Parchment and dry rice or small baking weights
• •2-quart heavy saucepan
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the pâte brisée

   Combine the flour and salt, then rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse sand with a few pea-sized flakes remaining. Add the yolk and 1½ tablespoons of the ice water, tossing rather than kneading; add the remaining water only until the dough holds when pressed. Give it one brief fraisage, smearing small portions forward with the heel of your hand to unite the butter and flour, then gather it into a disc. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes. If the dough crumbles after resting, work in cold water a few drops at a time. Ça se rattrape, but too much water makes a tough shell.

2. 2

   Bake the shells pale

   Heat the oven to 340°F (170°C). Roll the rested pâte brisée about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick and cut twelve rounds large enough to line shallow 2½-inch (6 cm) tartlet moulds. Ease the pastry into the corners without stretching it, trim the rims, prick the bases lightly, and chill for 10 minutes. Line each shell with a small piece of parchment and dry rice or baking weights. Bake for 12 minutes, remove the weights, then bake for 4 to 6 minutes more, until the pastry is dry and pale straw rather than browned. Cool completely before unmoulding.

   If a base rises after the weights come out, press it down gently with the back of a teaspoon while the pastry is still warm. A pale shell must still be fully baked; pale does not mean raw.
3. 3

   Poach the haddock

   Put the milk, shallot, and bay leaf in a small heavy saucepan. Add the smoked haddock and bring the milk slowly to the barest tremble over medium-low heat. Cover, remove from the heat, and leave for 6 to 8 minutes, until the fish is opaque, flakes under gentle pressure, and reaches 145°F (63°C) at its thickest point. Lift out the haddock and let it cool on a plate. Strain the milk and reserve 1 cup (240 ml); this seasoned poaching milk is the home kitchen's foundation for the curry sauce.

4. 4

   Prepare the raspings

   Pass the bread raspings through a fine sieve, returning any coarse pieces to the grinder or grater. They should resemble a dry, fine dust rather than panko or fresh crumbs. Set them aside in a dry bowl; their job is to give the moist filling a crisp final surface without sending the tartlets back into the oven.

5. 5

   Build the curry sauce

   Melt the butter over low heat, add the curry powder, and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant without letting it darken. Add the flour and cook this pale roux for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in the reserved poaching milk a little at a time, letting each addition become smooth before the next. Simmer gently for 4 to 5 minutes, then add the cream and cook until a spatula drawn across the pan leaves a path for two seconds. Remove from the heat and season with lemon juice and white pepper. Taste before adding salt because smoked haddock varies enormously. If the sauce lumps, take it off the heat, whisk in a spoonful of cold milk, and strain it. Ça se rattrape. If it runs from the spoon, simmer longer now; pastry must never be asked to thicken a loose sauce.

   The finished curry sauce should coat the spoon heavily yet remain supple. If it tightens into paste, loosen it with reserved milk one teaspoon at a time.
6. 6

   Bind the salpicon

   Cut the cooled haddock into roughly ⅓-inch (8 mm) dice, keeping the pieces as distinct as the fish allows. Fold them gently into the warm curry sauce so every morsel is coated without being crushed. The salpicon is ready when it mounds on a spoon and leaves no watery rim. If liquid appears, lift the fish out with a slotted spoon, reduce the sauce alone for a minute or two, then fold the fish back in. Let the filling stand for 5 minutes so it is warm rather than fiercely hot.

7. 7

   Fill at the last moment

   Set the cold, crisp shells on the serving platter and spoon the warm salpicon into them only when the guests are ready, dividing it evenly and mounding it just above each rim. Sprinkle every surface lightly with the fine raspings. Do not put the filled tartlets under a broiler or back into the oven; the source calls for a dusting, not a gratin, and further heat would soften the shells.

8. 8

   Dish on the napkin

   Arrange the tartelettes on a clean, lint-free linen napkin folded over a platter, which steadies the small shells and preserves the source's service. Bring them to the table within 10 minutes, while the pastry remains crisp and the filling warm. À table!

Chef Tips

• •In a French recipe, haddock means smoked aiglefin. Choose naturally smoked fish with firm flesh and a clean marine scent; bright yellow dye contributes colour, not flavour. If smoked haddock is unavailable, smoked cod is the closest practical substitute, though its flakes are usually softer.
• •Use a mild, rounded curry powder. The seasoning should warm the cream sauce and support the smoke of the fish, not bury it under heat. Garam masala is a different seasoning and won't give this classical curry sauce its intended character.
• •Raspings are finer and drier than ordinary fresh breadcrumbs. Grate the dry crust of a day-old white loaf on the finest side of a grater, then sieve it. The dust clings to the sauce while preserving a little crispness.
• •Salt only after the fish enters the sauce. Some smoked haddock is gently seasoned and some could preserve a ship; the fish, not the measuring spoon, decides.
• •Pour a dry, mineral white wine with good acidity, such as Muscadet or an unoaked Chablis. The wine should clear the butter and cream without arguing with the curry.

Advance Preparation

• •The pâte brisée can be mixed and chilled up to 2 days ahead. The empty shells can be baked 1 day ahead, cooled completely, and kept airtight at room temperature.
• •The salpicon can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cool it promptly in a shallow dish, cover, and refrigerate. Reheat gently to 165°F (74°C), loosening it with a teaspoon of milk if necessary, then let it settle for 5 minutes before filling the shells.
• •If the shells have softened during storage, refresh them empty for 4 minutes in a 300°F (150°C) oven and cool them before filling.
• •Never store or transport the tartlets already filled. Carry the shells, salpicon, and raspings separately, then assemble them as the guests gather.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 230g)