Hard-boiled Eggs in Rissoles

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small saucepan with lid
• •Medium heavy saucepan
• •Rolling pin
• •2½-inch (6.5 cm) fluted round cutter
• •Three shallow breading dishes
• •Heavy 4-quart pot or Dutch oven
• •Deep-fry thermometer
• •Wire skimmer or spider
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the eggs

   Set the eggs in a small saucepan and cover them with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a full boil, cover the pan, remove it from the heat, and leave the eggs for 11 minutes. Cool them thoroughly in cold water, peel, and chop them into small, distinct pieces rather than crushing them into paste. Pat them dry if their surfaces are wet; extra water loosens the filling.

   A wire egg slicer makes quick, even work of the eggs. Slice once, turn each egg, and slice again.
2. 2

   Build the filling

   Melt half the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until they have surrendered their water and the pan looks dry, 5 to 7 minutes; moisture left here will later push at the pastry seams. Add the remaining butter, stir in the flour, and cook this roux for 1 minute without browning. Add the milk gradually, stirring smooth after each addition, then add the cream. Cook until the sauce is glossy and a spoon drawn across the pan leaves a trail that closes slowly. If it remains loose, cook it another minute; if it becomes stiff, loosen it with a teaspoon of milk.

3. 3

   Chill the mince

   Remove the sauce from the heat and fold in the chopped eggs, salt, and white pepper. The mixture should be saucier than croquette paste but still sit in a mound on the spoon. Taste and correct the seasoning, then spread it in a shallow dish, cover its surface, and chill for at least 30 minutes. Warm filling melts the pastry butter and prevents a sound seal, so let it become cold throughout.

4. 4

   Cut the pastry

   On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled puff paste to a true ¼ inch (6 mm) thickness. Stamp out 20 rounds with a 2½-inch (6.5 cm) fluted cutter. Stack any trimmings without kneading them, roll them once more, and cut the remaining rounds. Keep half the rounds chilled while you work with the rest; warm puff paste becomes sticky and loses its layers.

5. 5

   Close the purses

   Set a small tablespoonful of cold filling in the middle of each round, leaving a clean border. Brush that border very lightly with cold water. Bring the outside edge upward in several overlapping folds so the pastry closes like a purse, then pinch every meeting edge firmly together. No filling or mushroom fat may sit in the seam. If a seam feels slippery, blot it, dust your fingertips with flour, and press again; patch a thin spot with a scrap of cold pastry. Ça se rattrape. Set the purses seam-side up on a tray and chill for 15 minutes.

6. 6

   Paner à l’anglaise

   Arrange the dredging flour, the Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174), and the fine breadcrumbs in three shallow dishes. Roll each cold purse lightly in flour and shake off the excess. Coat it completely in the Anglaise, let the surplus drain, then roll it in breadcrumbs, pressing just firmly enough to make an unbroken coat without flattening the pastry. Chill the breaded rissoles for another 15 minutes while the oil heats.

7. 7

   Heat the fat

   Pour the oil into a heavy pot, leaving the vessel no more than half full, and heat it to 350°F (175°C). Keep a lid nearby and make certain no water approaches the pot. The fat must be hot enough to set the Anglaise coat immediately; cool oil soaks into the crumbs before a crust forms.

8. 8

   Fry until golden

   Begin frying eight minutes before you mean to serve. Lower four or five rissoles into the fat and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, turning them gently, until they are evenly deep gold and crisp. Hold the oil between 340°F and 350°F (170°C and 175°C). If they darken before the pastry has expanded, lower the heat; if they sit pale and greasy, let the oil recover before adding another batch. Should one open, lift it out at once, skim away escaped filling, and recheck every remaining seam before it enters the pot.

9. 9

   Drain and serve

   Lift the rissoles onto a wire rack and let them drain for 1 minute, blotting only their undersides so the crumb remains crisp. Arrange them on a folded napkin set over a warmed platter, with a generous cluster of parsley in the centre, exactly as the dish asks. Serve immediately while the purses are crisp and the egg filling is creamy. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use all-butter puff pastry. Ready-made pastry replaces the brigade pastry bench honestly, but pastry made with shortening or margarine loses the butter flavour that belongs beneath the crumb coat. We don't apologize for butter.
• •Chop the mushrooms very finely and cook them until the saucepan is dry. Large pieces puncture the paste, while wet mushrooms loosen the filling and press against the seams.
• •A deep-fry thermometer earns its place here. The Anglaise coat needs immediate heat to set, while the puff paste needs the full frying time to cook through; guessing by colour alone makes one of those two suffer.
• •Serve the rissoles with a dry Champagne, Crémant, or brisk white wine. Their acidity clears the palate after the crisp pastry and creamy egg filling.

Advance Preparation

• •Cook the eggs and make the mushroom filling up to 1 day ahead. Keep the filling covered and chilled, then stir it gently before portioning.
• •Shape and bread the rissoles up to 4 hours before serving. Keep them uncovered on a tray in the refrigerator for the first 30 minutes so the coating sets, then cover them lightly.
• •Do not fry them ahead. The source sends them into the fat eight minutes before service for good reason: the crust softens as it waits, and reheating cannot restore the same delicate pastry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 325g)