Gelee aux Pommes d’Amour

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6-quart heavy stockpot
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Rinsed cheesecloth
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •8 chilled 8-ounce consommé cups

Instructions

1. 1

   Prove the stock

   Examine the stock while it is thoroughly cold. It should wobble softly and cling to the spoon rather than pour like water. If it is fluid, simmer it uncovered until reduced enough that a spoonful chilled over ice sets to a tender gel, then measure the required 12 cups. This concentration is not optional: the stock’s own gelatin must carry the finished dish, with no powdered gelatin to give it a rubbery set.

   Test a spoonful rather than chilling the whole pot. The sample should set softly enough to break under light pressure, not bounce.
2. 2

   Prepare the tomatoes

   Choose 24 unblemished small tomatoes for the serving cups. Cut the faintest cross in each base, lower them into boiling water for 10 to 15 seconds, and transfer them immediately to ice water. Slip off the skins without crushing the flesh and keep the tomatoes cold. Halve and crush the remaining tomatoes, skins, seeds, juice, and all; their full flavor belongs in the clarification.

3. 3

   Raise the clarification

   Whisk 4 egg whites only until loose, not foamy. Combine them in a heavy pot with the chilled beef, crushed tomatoes, onion, garlic, bouquet garni, salt, cayenne, and cold stock. Stir thoroughly, breaking the meat apart, then heat over medium-low heat while scraping the pot floor steadily. As the liquid approaches a simmer, the proteins will gather into a raft and rise. Stop stirring at once, open a small chimney through the raft with a spoon, and hold the consommé at 185 to 195°F (85 to 90°C) for 1 hour. A hard boil tears the raft and clouds the liquid. If it begins to break, lower the heat immediately and leave it untouched for 10 minutes so it can knit again. Ça se rattrape.

   Once the raft rises, stirring is finished. Ladle a little clear liquid through its chimney now and then to keep the surface moist.
4. 4

   Strain without pressing

   Set a fine sieve over a clean pot and line it with two layers of rinsed, damp cheesecloth. Ladle the consommé gently through the chimney and let it pass through the cloth under its own weight. Do not tip the raft into the sieve and never press it, because pressure drives the captured particles back into the liquid. If the consommé remains cloudy, cool it below 105°F (40°C), whisk the 2 reserved whites with 1 cup of the liquid, stir this into the pot, and repeat the slow clarification before straining again.

5. 5

   Concentrate and test

   Simmer the strained consommé gently until you have about 8 cups. Skim any fat or foam as it rises. Taste it warm and correct the salt; it should seem a shade more seasoned than a hot soup because cold dulls the palate. Chill 2 tablespoons on a saucer for about 8 minutes, just until cold. The sample should tremble and separate cleanly beneath a spoon. If it still runs, reduce the consommé by about one-tenth and test again. If it sets too firmly, loosen it with cold water a tablespoon at a time.

6. 6

   Set the gelée

   Cool the clarified consommé until barely lukewarm but still completely fluid. Place 3 peeled tomatoes in each of 8 chilled consommé cups, spoon in a thin layer of liquid, and chill for 10 minutes to anchor them. Pour in the remaining consommé slowly so the tomatoes stay in place. If the gelée begins setting in the pot before the cups are filled, stand the pot briefly in barely warm water and stir once. Ça se rattrape; gentle warmth returns it to fluidity.

7. 7

   Chill and serve

   Chill the cups uncovered until the surface is set, then cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. Bring them out about 10 minutes before serving so the gelée softens from firm-cold to a delicate wobble. A spoon should pass through with almost no resistance, revealing the scarlet pommes d’amour beneath the ruby-amber consommé. Serve exactly as it is. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The stock decides everything. Use one that turns to jelly in the refrigerator, usually a stock made with veal bones, beef shin, chicken wings, or a combination. A thin carton of broth has flavor but not the body this gelée requires.
• •Buy the tomatoes by scent. They should smell distinctly of tomato before you cut them. If winter tomatoes smell of water, make a hot potage tomate from good canned fruit and save this gelée for ripe small tomatoes; the whole peeled pommes d’amour cannot be replaced invisibly.
• •Season by chilling a spoonful and tasting it cold. Salt that seems correct in the warm pot often disappears after setting, but remember that reduction concentrates it quickly.
• •Serve with a dry Provençal rosé or a saline white from Cassis. The wine should be cold and brisk enough to meet the tomato without flattening the consommé.

Advance Preparation

• •The gelatin-rich stock may be prepared and chilled up to two days before clarification. Keep it covered and remove every trace of hardened surface fat before using it.
• •The finished gelée is at its best made the day before serving. Keep the cups covered once set and serve within two days, before the tomatoes begin releasing moisture.
• •The tomatoes may be peeled several hours ahead and kept cold on a towel-lined tray, but do not salt them or they will weep into the jelly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)