Caisses de Laitances à la Nantua

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •4 fluted porcelain cases or oven-safe ramekins, 3 to 4 fl oz (90 to 120 ml) each
• •Wide saucepan for poaching
• •Small heavy saucepan for Sauce Nantua
• •Slotted spoon
• •Sharp narrow knife
• •Truffle slicer or small mandoline
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the cases

   Set four small fluted porcelain cases or ramekins on a tray. Fill them with hot tap water so the porcelain loses its chill, then leave them to stand while you poach the milt. Lay out the crayfish tails and truffle slices now. Once the sauce is warm, assembly must be immediate.

2. 2

   Poach the milt gently

   Combine the water and salt in a wide saucepan and bring it to a boil, then lower the heat until the surface barely trembles. Ease in the intact milt and poach for 6 to 8 minutes, turning it once with a spoon, until uniformly opaque and firm but still yielding; the thickest piece should reach 145°F (63°C). Never let the pieces tumble in a hard boil, which tears their membranes and turns the texture grainy. If the water begins boiling hard, pull the pan from the heat immediately and add a small splash of cool water before returning it to the gentlest flame.

   A proper poach has movement but no violence. You should see an occasional lazy bubble, not milt knocking around the saucepan.
3. 3

   Drain and slice

   Lift the milt out with a slotted spoon and drain it on a clean folded towel for 5 minutes. Cut it crosswise into compact, stout slices about ½ inch (1.25 cm) thick. The source asks for substantial little pieces rather than thin wafers, because the milt must remain recognizable beneath the sauce. Use a very sharp knife and a single drawing stroke so the fragile slices keep their shape.

4. 4

   Warm the Nantua

   Put the prepared Sauce Nantua in a small heavy saucepan and warm it over the lowest heat, stirring slowly around the bottom and corners. It is ready when glossy, fragrant with crayfish butter, and fluid enough to nappe, or coat, the back of a spoon. Do not boil it. If orange butter begins gathering in beads, remove the pan from the heat and whisk in 1 teaspoon of cold water until the sauce becomes smooth again. Ça se rattrape. If it is simply too thick, loosen it with hot poaching water, 1 teaspoon at a time.

   Sauce Nantua should be coral-ivory and smell distinctly of crayfish. Cream gives it body, but crayfish butter gives it identity.
5. 5

   Fill each caisse

   Empty and dry the warmed porcelain cases. Divide the sliced milt among them without pressing it down, then place exactly two cooked crayfish tails in each case, preserving the source's proportion. Spoon in the warm Sauce Nantua until the contents are covered and the sauce reaches just below each rim. Work gently so the slices remain whole and the sauce stays glossy.

6. 6

   Crown and serve

   Lay one very fine truffle slice over the center of each caisse. Give the warmth of the sauce half a minute to release the truffle's perfume, then carry the cases directly to the table. Do not broil them and do not add another garnish. The truffle is the crown, the Sauce Nantua is the point. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The source treats Sauce Nantua as a finished preparation, and this recipe does the same. Prepare it separately with real crayfish butter. A generic shellfish cream sauce changes the dish rather than simplifying it.
• •Ask a knowledgeable fishmonger for intact carp milt, also called soft roe, and make clear that you do not mean the firm egg roe. Properly frozen milt, thawed slowly in the refrigerator, is an honest answer when fresh milt is out of season.
• •Buy plain cooked crayfish tails without spice, brine, or smoke. There must be two in every case. Shrimp may be pleasant, but the substitution is not invisible because Nantua's crayfish character is the whole construction.
• •Fresh black truffle gives the clearest perfume, but a good whole preserved truffle is the classical pantry's answer outside its season. Drain it well and slice it finely. Truffle-flavored oil cannot supply the texture or quiet aroma of the source's truffle crown.
• •Serve the caisses with a dry white Bugey Chardonnay or another restrained, mineral white. The wine should clear the cream and butter from the palate without bullying the crayfish.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the Sauce Nantua up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate it covered. Reheat it over very low heat, stirring steadily, and never let it boil.
• •The crayfish tails may be peeled and refrigerated 1 day ahead in a tightly covered container.
• •The milt may be poached and sliced up to 4 hours before serving. Cover and refrigerate it, then let it lose its refrigerator chill while the Sauce Nantua warms. Assemble only at the last moment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 165g)