Lapwings’ Eggs à la Christiana

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Eight 4 cm (1½ inch) mini tartlet moulds
• •Small rolling pin
• •Small saucepan
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Slotted spoon
• •Pastry weights or dry rice
• •Round serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the gelée

   Soak the gelatin leaf in plenty of cold water until supple, about 5 minutes. Warm the consommé in a small saucepan just until it begins to tremble, then remove it from the heat. Squeeze the gelatin dry and stir it into the consommé until completely dissolved. Pour into a shallow bowl and chill until firm, at least 1 hour. This small batch replaces the clear meat jelly a grand kitchen kept ready all day.

2. 2

   Make the pâte brisée

   Rub the cold butter into the flour and salt until the mixture resembles coarse sand with a few small flakes of butter remaining. Add the ice water a teaspoon at a time, stopping as soon as the dough holds together when pressed. Flatten it into a small disc and chill for 30 minutes. Roll it 2 mm thick between sheets of parchment, cut eight rounds about 7 cm wide, and line eight 4 cm tartlet moulds. If the pastry cracks, patch it with a thin scrap and press the seam smooth. Ça se rattrape.

   Handle the dough only until it comes together. Too much kneading builds toughness, while visible flecks of cold butter give the shells their delicate bite.
3. 3

   Blind-bake the shells

   Prick the pastry bases, chill them for another 10 minutes, then line each shell with a small piece of foil and fill with dry rice or baking beans. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 10 minutes. Remove the weights and bake for 4 to 6 minutes more, until the shells are butter-gold and dry at the centre. Cool completely before unmoulding. Warm pastry would soften the foie gras, so give it the full cooling time.

4. 4

   Cook and trim eggs

   Bring a small saucepan of water to a steady boil. Lower in the quail eggs and cook for 4 minutes, then transfer them immediately to ice water for 5 minutes. Crack and shell them under cool water, working gently beneath the membrane. Slice the thinnest possible cap from each broad end so the eggs stand upright without exposing the yolk. If an egg is nicked, turn the damaged side downward into the foie-gras purée; it will still present neatly.

5. 5

   Foot the tartlets

   Reserve 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (20 ml / 20 g) of foie-gras purée for the glaze. Divide the remaining ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) among the cold tartlet shells and smooth it into low, level mounds. Stand one trimmed egg firmly in each tartlet. Transfer the mounted tartlets to a chilled plate and refrigerate for 20 minutes, until the eggs and their foie-gras footing are thoroughly cold.

6. 6

   Make the Christiana glaze

   Spoon 2 teaspoons (10 ml / 10 g) of the set gelée into the smallest saucepan you own and melt it over very gentle heat. Add the reserved foie-gras purée and the chopped truffle, preserving the book’s two-to-one-to-one ratio by volume. Stir only until the mixture is smooth, glossy, and fluid enough to pour. It must be barely warm. If it separates into oily streaks, lift the pan from the heat, set its base in cool water, and stir steadily until it comes together. Ça se rattrape. If it tightens before coating, loosen it with a few drops of additional melted gelée.

7. 7

   Coat and chill

   Keep the tartlets on their chilled plate. Using a warmed teaspoon, pour the glaze over the crown of one egg and let it run down every side, turning the plate rather than touching the coating. A teaspoon replaces the source’s tablespoon because the quail eggs are smaller. Coat each egg completely, then chill the tartlets for at least 30 minutes. If a bare patch appears after setting, gently remelt the remaining glaze, cover that spot, and chill again.

8. 8

   Arrange the circle

   Line a round serving platter with a clean, unscented white linen napkin. Arrange the eight cold tartlets in a generous circle and fill the centre with the dry curled-leaf parsley, keeping the arrangement full rather than fussy. Serve directly from the cold and return any waiting tartlets to the refrigerator. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Lapwings and their eggs are protected in many places, so do not seek wild eggs. Farmed quail eggs are the honest modern equivalent: small enough for one bite, rich in yolk, and available without disturbing a wild nest.
• •Use smooth foie gras, preferably bloc de foie gras pressed through a fine sieve. A coarse pâté leaves ridges in the glaze, while a whipped mousse can soften before the coating sets.
• •A preserved whole black truffle is the classical pantry’s sensible answer outside the fresh season. Drain it, dry it, and chop it finely. Truffle oil gives neither the right texture nor the quiet depth of the actual truffle.
• •Test the glaze on the back of a cold teaspoon. It should settle into an even coat within seconds without running clear or forming lumps; adjust with drops of melted gelée before approaching the eggs.
• •Serve with brut Champagne or a small glass of Sauternes. Keep the tartlets refrigerated until service and do not leave eggs and foie gras at room temperature for longer than 2 hours.

Advance Preparation

• •The gelée can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Only a small amount enters the glaze, and the remainder may accompany cold meats.
• •Bake the tartlet shells up to 2 days ahead. Cool them completely and keep them airtight at room temperature so they remain crisp.
• •The finished tartlets may be assembled and glazed up to 6 hours before serving. Refrigerate them beneath a deep cover that cannot touch the coating, then arrange the parsley just before they reach the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 100g)