Tartelettes à la Vendome

Tartelettes à la Vendôme (small savory tartlets with porcini and bone marrow) teach one exact lesson: the marrow goes in cold, and the tartlets go into the oven only at the last moment. The diced marrow enriches the filling while the broad slice on top turns ivory and tender. Let either grow warm beforehand and it renders into grease instead of setting. Clear a cold shelf before touching the pan.

The original entry assumed individual tartlet moulds, good paste already resting, cèpes sautéed by a commis, and a saucier standing over a stock never off the fire, ready with melted glace de viande (meat glaze). At home, six shallow moulds, a small pâte brisée (buttery short pastry), and a good unsalted prepared meat glaze do the work honestly. No salamander is wanted here; a heavy sheet heated in a hot oven gives the pastry the strong bottom heat it needs. One cook, one stove, one evening.

The book made twelve tartlets. This version makes six by halving every measured filling quantity exactly; it supplies quantities only for the pastry and the broad marrow caps that the source left to the working kitchen. Pastry already on hand was brigade scaffolding. Shallot softened in butter, cèpes sautéed dry, raw marrow, chopped egg, breadcrumbs, lemon, cayenne, glace de viande, and that last-minute bake are the dish itself. Keep the filling cold, crown each tartlet only when the oven is ready, and cook them last.