Apricots à la Condé (2nd method)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •2-quart (2-liter) heavy saucepan for the rice
• •3-quart (3-liter) wide saucepan for the apricots
• •Blender or immersion blender
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •2-inch (5 cm) round cutter
• •4-quart (4-liter) heavy pot for frying
• •Clip-on deep-frying thermometer
• •Wire rack set over a tray
• •12-inch (30 cm) round serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the rice

   Blanch the rinsed rice in a saucepan of boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain it thoroughly. Return it to the pan with the milk, vanilla bean, and salt. Bring just to a simmer, cover loosely, and cook over the gentlest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring more often toward the end, until the grains are tender and the mixture is dense enough for a spatula to expose the pan floor for two counts. Stir in the sugar and butter, then cook for another minute because the melting sugar will loosen the rice. Remove the vanilla bean, let the rice stand off the heat for 2 minutes, and beat in the yolk. Return it to low heat for 30 seconds, stirring constantly, then spread it 1/2 inch (1 cm) deep on a tray and chill for at least 1 hour. The rice must hold a mound before it cools; if it still flows, keep cooking gently. A loose base will open in the frying oil.

2. 2

   Poach the apricots

   Combine the poaching sugar, water, and lemon juice in a wide saucepan and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the apricot halves in one layer, skin side down, and poach at the barest tremble for 3 to 6 minutes, turning once, until a knife enters with slight resistance. Lift each half out as soon as it is ready. Apricots ripen at their own pace, even on the same branch; if one begins to slump, remove it immediately and reserve it for the sauce. Cool the fruit in a shallow dish with enough syrup to keep it moist, then choose the 10 finest halves for the crown.

3. 3

   Finish the sauce

   Purée the remaining 6 apricot halves with 3/4 cup (180 ml / about 210 g) of their poaching syrup, then pass the purée through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. Simmer gently until glossy and just thick enough to coat a spoon, about 5 minutes. If it becomes too tight, loosen it with reserved syrup; if it runs like juice, reduce it a little longer. Ça se rattrape. Cover the sauce and set it aside without adding the Kirsch yet.

4. 4

   Build the crown

   Level and split the Pâte à Génoise Fine (No. 2376) into layers about 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thick, then stamp out 10 roundels with a 2-inch (5 cm) cutter. Arrange them edge to edge in a crown around a 12-inch (30 cm) serving platter. Drain the 10 reserved apricot halves well and place one on every roundel with its convex side undermost, leaving the hollow facing upward. Set a glacé-cherry half in each hollow. Keep the assembled crown at room temperature while you finish the croquettes.

5. 5

   Shape the croquettes

   Divide the thoroughly chilled rice into 10 equal portions. With lightly dampened hands, form each into a small oval the size of an apricot, pressing a shallow seam along one side with the back of a knife. Roll each first in flour, then in beaten egg, and finally in breadcrumbs, pressing the crumbs on gently so no rice remains exposed. If the rice is too soft to hold its shape, mix in 1 tablespoon of the measured breadcrumbs and chill it for 10 minutes before trying again. Set the breaded croquettes on a tray and chill for 15 minutes while the oil heats.

   Shape with pressure, but don't mash the rice into paste. The grains should still be visible beneath the crisp coating.
6. 6

   Fry them last

   Pour the oil into a heavy 4-quart (4-liter) pot, leaving the vessel no more than one-third full, and heat it to 350°F (175°C). Fry one croquette as a test. It should turn evenly golden in 2 to 3 minutes without splitting. If it opens, lift it out, chill the remaining croquettes for 10 minutes, and pass them through egg and breadcrumbs once more. Ça se rattrape. Fry the rest in batches of three, keeping the oil between 340°F and 350°F (170°C and 175°C), then drain them on a wire rack. Don't hold them longer than 5 minutes; the crisp shell and warm rice center are the reason this step comes last.

7. 7

   Heap and serve

   Reheat the apricot sauce just until it loosens and gleams, then remove it from the heat and stir in the Kirsch. Heap the freshly fried rice croquettes into a generous pyramid inside the Génoise-and-apricot crown. Pour the sauce into a warm sauce boat and pass it separately, exactly as the Condé requires. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose apricots that smell ripe but still resist a gentle thumb. Soft fruit collapses before its flavor reaches the syrup; the six imperfect halves are already accounted for in the sauce, but the crown needs 10 that keep their shape.
• •When fresh apricots are woolly or absent, 16 good canned apricot halves in syrup are the classical pantry's honest answer. Reserve 10 for the crown and purée 6 for the sauce; warm the display halves gently because they are already poached.
• •Bake the Pâte à Génoise Fine (No. 2376) ahead and wrap it once cool. A rested Génoise cuts into cleaner roundels, while a warm one compresses under the cutter and sheds crumbs.
• •A demi-sec Champagne has enough fruit for the apricot and enough freshness for the fried croquettes. Serve small glasses. The Kirsch already speaks clearly.

Advance Preparation

• •The Pâte à Génoise Fine (No. 2376) can be baked 1 day ahead, cooled completely, and kept tightly wrapped at room temperature.
• •The rice base, poached apricots, and unscented apricot sauce can be prepared up to 24 hours ahead and kept chilled in separate covered containers. Bring the fruit to room temperature before assembling.
• •The croquettes can be shaped and breaded up to 4 hours ahead and refrigerated uncovered. Build the fruit crown shortly before dinner, but fry the croquettes and add the Kirsch to the warm sauce only at service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 275g)