Since I posted a Passover recipe, I figure why not something for Easter, too? So, here we have Rabbit Liver Pancakes with rillettes, apples, and spicy buttermilk sauce:
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Ingredients:
Rillettes:
1 tbl fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
5 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
5 lbs pounds rabbit, cleaned and chopped
- note: rabbits won't come in perfect 5 lb sizes. Get a rabbit, make up the rest of the weight with pork butt
24 ounces duck fat (can subtitute lard, but it's not as good)
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp thyme leaves, chopped
Spicy Buttermilk Sauce:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 roasted, peeled, and seeded serrano pepper
Spicy Applesauce:
3 cups 1/4-inch dice Granny Smith apples, peel on
1 Granny Smith, peeled
cayenne pepper to taste (a pinch to 1/4 tsp)
1/8 cup cider vinegar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 clove
1 bay leaf
1 inch cinnamon stick
Rabbit Liver Pancakes:
8 ounces rabbit liver (optional: use duck or chicken liver instead)
3/4 cups cornmeal
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tbl sugar
1 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
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Method:
I. Rabbit Rillettes:
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. In a large bowl combine black pepper, salt, cayenne, mustard, pepper flakes, thyme, bay leaves, and nutmeg. Add rabbit and pork butt and toss to coat. Set aside for an hour to come to temperature.
In a large, heavy saucepan or stockpot, melt a few tablespoons of duck fat over medium-high and sear the rabbit and pork until just browned. Add remaining fat and chicken stock, bring to a boil, then turn off heat. Cover and place in the oven for five hours.
Remove and transfer the meat to a sheet pan to cool. Transfer the remaining stock and fat through a fine-mesh strainer into a new container and allow to settle.
Shred the rabbit (and pork) roughly by hand or fork into small bits, throwing out the bones. Mix in fresh thyme. Add back the duck fat, which will have risen to the top, a little at a time, until you have a rough paste. Pack into a jar or plastic container, covering the top with more fat, and refrigerate until ready to use.
(Note: You'd be crazy not to save the remaining fat and stock for other uses. Just put it in the refrigerator until the fat solidifies, then seperate them. Store, well-sealed, in the freezer. The stock will be like a rabbit demi-glace, great for boosting other sauces with.)
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II. Spicy Buttermilk Sauce:
Blend all ingredients until well combined. Refrigerate.
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III. Spicy Applesauce:
Note: don't peel the second apple until ready to use, or it will brown.
Combine everything but the peeled apples over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the apples are falling apart and the mixture has reduced by half. Remove from heat. Remove and discard the bay leaf, clove, and cinnamon. Once cool, peel and dice (unevenly, 1/4-inch or so) the fresh apple and incorporate. Refrigerate until ready to use.
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IV. Pancakes:
Sear the livers briefly, being careful not to overcook, then dice very small and set aside with any rendered fat.
Mix the dry ingredients together. In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Then mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. It's pancakes, you know how this works. Don't overmix. Fold in the liver bits and any collected fat.
Griddle in a non-stick pan with a pat of butter until they're golden.
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V. Serve
Place a pancake (or two, depending how big you made them) on a plate, then a scoop of rilletes on each. Put a mound of applesauce on there, and zigzag the plate with the buttermilk sauce. If you're having this for breakfast, add a fried egg and maybe some roasted poblano strips.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Soft-Boiled Matzo Ball "Eggs"
A little something I concocted for a fancified Seder that I thought I'd share with the world...
1 dozen eggs
1/2 cup fat, barely melted, room temp - schmaltz (chicken fat) is best
2 cups matzo meal
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tbl kosher salt
1 cup white wine
2 cups homemade chicken broth
1 sprig thyme
2 tbl unsalted butter
lemon peel
Separate 8 eggs. Put yolks in a lightly oiled bowls, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
Beat together remaining 4 eggs, leftover whites, and fat. Add matzo meal, nutmeg, salt, mix well. Refrigerate uncovered one hour.
Reduce wine over gentle simmer by 75%. Add stock and thyme, and reduce to 1 cup. Remove thyme, set sauce aside.
Get a big pot of water heated to 180 degrees.
Lay out plastic wrap and grease one side. Place blob of matzo ball dough in the center and work into a circle, slightly larger than twice the diameter of an egg yolk. Place chilled yolk in the center, then bring the dough around the yolk. Gently(!) seal. If it doesn't quite come to the top, drape with a little extra dough and connect to the rest of the ball. Make sure there are no holes, it must be completely encased. As you finish each, return to the refrigerator.
Place balls into 180 degree water, one at a time, allowing each to set for a few seconds so they don't stick. Poach for about six minutes.
Quickly reduce temperature of the water bath to 140-145 degrees by adding ice cubes. Reduce burner until you've got it steady. Don't go over 145, or your yolks might set. Continue poaching up to twenty minutes.
Bring sauce to simmer. Mount with cold butter, whisking hard.
Place one or two matzo balls in center of bowl, top and surround with a few tablespoons of sauce. Grate long, thin curls of lemon peel over top.
Unkosher Variations:
Carbonara: use bacon fat in lieu of schmaltz, crush bacon strip around plate
Matzo Ball aux Lardons: place in the center of a mound of frisée, and scatter with lardons.
1 dozen eggs
1/2 cup fat, barely melted, room temp - schmaltz (chicken fat) is best
2 cups matzo meal
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tbl kosher salt
1 cup white wine
2 cups homemade chicken broth
1 sprig thyme
2 tbl unsalted butter
lemon peel
Separate 8 eggs. Put yolks in a lightly oiled bowls, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
Beat together remaining 4 eggs, leftover whites, and fat. Add matzo meal, nutmeg, salt, mix well. Refrigerate uncovered one hour.
Reduce wine over gentle simmer by 75%. Add stock and thyme, and reduce to 1 cup. Remove thyme, set sauce aside.
Get a big pot of water heated to 180 degrees.
Lay out plastic wrap and grease one side. Place blob of matzo ball dough in the center and work into a circle, slightly larger than twice the diameter of an egg yolk. Place chilled yolk in the center, then bring the dough around the yolk. Gently(!) seal. If it doesn't quite come to the top, drape with a little extra dough and connect to the rest of the ball. Make sure there are no holes, it must be completely encased. As you finish each, return to the refrigerator.
Place balls into 180 degree water, one at a time, allowing each to set for a few seconds so they don't stick. Poach for about six minutes.
Quickly reduce temperature of the water bath to 140-145 degrees by adding ice cubes. Reduce burner until you've got it steady. Don't go over 145, or your yolks might set. Continue poaching up to twenty minutes.
Bring sauce to simmer. Mount with cold butter, whisking hard.
Place one or two matzo balls in center of bowl, top and surround with a few tablespoons of sauce. Grate long, thin curls of lemon peel over top.
Unkosher Variations:
Carbonara: use bacon fat in lieu of schmaltz, crush bacon strip around plate
Matzo Ball aux Lardons: place in the center of a mound of frisée, and scatter with lardons.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Duck Breast "Tiramisu"
To me, duck and coffee are a natural combination. So extending the idea to tiramisu seemed perfectly logical...
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Ingredients:
Duck Breasts:
4 Duck Breasts, skin on
2 cups HOT coffee, preferably an earthy, dark, low-acid variety. (I like Nicaraguan SHB)
3 1-inch cinnamon sticks
pinch mace (or nutmeg)
1 Star Anise
1/4 cup whole coffee beans, same type as used for the coffee
1 cup decent brandy (preferably Germain-Robin "Fine Alembic" Brandy, but a feisty young Armagnac would work nicely as well)
Apple-Bacon Compote:
1 Granny Smith or other firm-fleshed apple.
4 slices pancetta or good quality bacon
2 tbl minced ginger
pinch nutmeg
1 tbl orange peel in inch long, very thin strips
2 oz. foie gras or regular duck liver, diced (optional)
Sabayon:
4 large egg yolks
5 tbl sugar
2 tbl brandy (use the same kind as for the duck)
1/2 cup chilled whipping cream
8 oz mascarpone, room temperature, whipped a bit to soften
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Method:
I. Marinate the duck:
Make the coffee. While piping hot, add 2 sticks cinnamon, mace, star anise. Allow coffee to cool at room temperature.
While waiting for the coffee to cool, prepare the duck. Prick the skin a number of times with a fork but be careful not to go through to the flesh. With a good sharp knife, score the skin in a crosshatch/diamond pattern, making slits every 1/4-inch or so. Again, try not to cut through to the meat.
Pat dry the skin side with a paper towel. Pour the cooled coffee into a casserole dish and place duck breasts in, skin side up, being careful not to allow the liquid to rise over the skin. If some gets on there, it's not the end of the world, you just don't want to submerge it. A 9 X 13 pan should be fine. Place pan in refrigerator and let marinate, uncovered, at least 4 and up to 24 hours.
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II. Prepare the Sabayon / Mascarpone:
Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and brandy in top of double boiler over simmering water. Alternately, use a metal bowl held over a pot of simmering water. Do not allow upper pot to contact water. You need to whisk constantly until mixture thickens - you'll see "ribbons" begin to form - and doubles to triples in size. If eggs begin to coagulate, you'll have to start over. Tough shit. When mixture thickens, place upper pot in a bowl of icewater and continue whisking lightly until cool, 5 to 10 minutes. Place in refrigerator.
In a seperate bowl, whisk the cream (very cold) until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream. mascarpone, and egg mixture together. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour.
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III. Apple-Bacon Compote:
If using, saute foie gras (or duck liver) in a skillet for thirty seconds to a minute, just until it takes on a little color. Remove from pan and set aside.
Chop up the bacon into small pieces and place in pan over medium heat. While waiting for fat to render, chop apple into 1/4-dice, leaving skin on. When bacon begins to crisp, add ginger, nutmeg, and orange peel and toss until fragrant. Add apple and cook, stirring and shaking, until it has begun to carmelize, shrink, and absorb a bit of the fat. Keep warm until ready to serve. Just before service, remove from heat add the foie/liver back in and toss until just warmed through.
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IV. Duck:
Remove breasts from refrigerator and pat dry. Allow to sit at room temperature for an hour or so. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a pan over medium-low heat, toss the remaining stick of cinnamon, star anise, and coffee beans. Heat through for a minute or so, shaking pan to ensure none of the spices burn. Lightly salt and pepper both sides of each breast. Turn heat up to medium, push spices to either side, and add the duck breats skin side down. Sear for 4 to 6 minutes, depending on thickness of skin, until they crisp up. Flip the duck breasts over and place the pan in the oven. Roast for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove duck to a plate or cutting board to rest, at least five minutes.
While the duck rests, remove spices from pan and pour off fat, leaving eight coffee beans behind. Leaving the heat off, deglaze the pan with the brandy. Turn heat back on, and reduce to about 1/4 cup. Be careful! There's initially a lot of alcohol in there. Add any juices that have collected around the duck to the pan sauce.
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V. Serve:
Slice duck breasts on the bias in 1/2-inch slices. Fan along one side of the plate and drizzle with a tablespoon of the pan sauce. Add a scoop of compote and a quenelle of sabayon. Garnish with two of the reserved coffee beans, which can be tasty to munch on for those so inclined.
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Ingredients:
Duck Breasts:
4 Duck Breasts, skin on
2 cups HOT coffee, preferably an earthy, dark, low-acid variety. (I like Nicaraguan SHB)
3 1-inch cinnamon sticks
pinch mace (or nutmeg)
1 Star Anise
1/4 cup whole coffee beans, same type as used for the coffee
1 cup decent brandy (preferably Germain-Robin "Fine Alembic" Brandy, but a feisty young Armagnac would work nicely as well)
Apple-Bacon Compote:
1 Granny Smith or other firm-fleshed apple.
4 slices pancetta or good quality bacon
2 tbl minced ginger
pinch nutmeg
1 tbl orange peel in inch long, very thin strips
2 oz. foie gras or regular duck liver, diced (optional)
Sabayon:
4 large egg yolks
5 tbl sugar
2 tbl brandy (use the same kind as for the duck)
1/2 cup chilled whipping cream
8 oz mascarpone, room temperature, whipped a bit to soften
--------------
Method:
I. Marinate the duck:
Make the coffee. While piping hot, add 2 sticks cinnamon, mace, star anise. Allow coffee to cool at room temperature.
While waiting for the coffee to cool, prepare the duck. Prick the skin a number of times with a fork but be careful not to go through to the flesh. With a good sharp knife, score the skin in a crosshatch/diamond pattern, making slits every 1/4-inch or so. Again, try not to cut through to the meat.
Pat dry the skin side with a paper towel. Pour the cooled coffee into a casserole dish and place duck breasts in, skin side up, being careful not to allow the liquid to rise over the skin. If some gets on there, it's not the end of the world, you just don't want to submerge it. A 9 X 13 pan should be fine. Place pan in refrigerator and let marinate, uncovered, at least 4 and up to 24 hours.
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II. Prepare the Sabayon / Mascarpone:
Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and brandy in top of double boiler over simmering water. Alternately, use a metal bowl held over a pot of simmering water. Do not allow upper pot to contact water. You need to whisk constantly until mixture thickens - you'll see "ribbons" begin to form - and doubles to triples in size. If eggs begin to coagulate, you'll have to start over. Tough shit. When mixture thickens, place upper pot in a bowl of icewater and continue whisking lightly until cool, 5 to 10 minutes. Place in refrigerator.
In a seperate bowl, whisk the cream (very cold) until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream. mascarpone, and egg mixture together. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour.
-
III. Apple-Bacon Compote:
If using, saute foie gras (or duck liver) in a skillet for thirty seconds to a minute, just until it takes on a little color. Remove from pan and set aside.
Chop up the bacon into small pieces and place in pan over medium heat. While waiting for fat to render, chop apple into 1/4-dice, leaving skin on. When bacon begins to crisp, add ginger, nutmeg, and orange peel and toss until fragrant. Add apple and cook, stirring and shaking, until it has begun to carmelize, shrink, and absorb a bit of the fat. Keep warm until ready to serve. Just before service, remove from heat add the foie/liver back in and toss until just warmed through.
-
IV. Duck:
Remove breasts from refrigerator and pat dry. Allow to sit at room temperature for an hour or so. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a pan over medium-low heat, toss the remaining stick of cinnamon, star anise, and coffee beans. Heat through for a minute or so, shaking pan to ensure none of the spices burn. Lightly salt and pepper both sides of each breast. Turn heat up to medium, push spices to either side, and add the duck breats skin side down. Sear for 4 to 6 minutes, depending on thickness of skin, until they crisp up. Flip the duck breasts over and place the pan in the oven. Roast for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove duck to a plate or cutting board to rest, at least five minutes.
While the duck rests, remove spices from pan and pour off fat, leaving eight coffee beans behind. Leaving the heat off, deglaze the pan with the brandy. Turn heat back on, and reduce to about 1/4 cup. Be careful! There's initially a lot of alcohol in there. Add any juices that have collected around the duck to the pan sauce.
-
V. Serve:
Slice duck breasts on the bias in 1/2-inch slices. Fan along one side of the plate and drizzle with a tablespoon of the pan sauce. Add a scoop of compote and a quenelle of sabayon. Garnish with two of the reserved coffee beans, which can be tasty to munch on for those so inclined.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Foie Gras "Black & Whites"
Ingredients
Vanilla Half:
3 oz foie gras, deviened and divided into small pieces (grade B is fine)
3 egg whites
½ tsp demi-glace (duck or chicken stock will do in a pinch, though)
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp Kosher salt
six to eight grinds of black pepper, to taste
Chocolate Half:
4 Grade A foie gras medallions, about 3/4 inch thick, slightly larger around than the size of a ramekin
3 oz 70% dark chocolate
Flaky sea salt (preferably Maldon)
Pepper, fresh ground
Sauce, etc:
2 tbl unsalted butter, chilled.
1/2 cup of diced seasonal fruit - raspberries, strawberries, figs, and apples are all very complimentary.
1/3 cup Marsala
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Method
Note: you will want to make the foie gras the night before serving, or the morning of, as it requires long (at least 12 hrs) refrigeration time.
Vanilla Foie:
Whip egg whites into a foam. Add remaining ingredients and put in blender until homogenous - about two minutes. Don't use a food processor for this or it will break down the egg whites too much. Pour in 4 ramekins. Oven bake in water bath at 250F for 40 minutes. Refrigerate until set.
Choco-Gras:
Pack foie gras into ramekins and let chill in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap, at least 1 hr.
Melt chocolate in double boiler. Unmold foie gras, sprinkle with pepper and fry over very high until both sides are seared and cooked about halfway, about one minute per side. Be careful it doesn't shrink too much - you want it to retain it's circular shape. Place medallions on a chilled dish and quickly apply a light coat of melted chocolate over the top of each. Sprinkle with sea salt. Refrigerate at least twelve hours, uncovered, allowing the chocolate to harden.
Finish:
Melt one tbl butter over medium-high heat. Add fruit and sautee until nicely carmelized and softened but not completely broken down. Set fruit aside. Deglaze pan with Marsala. Reduce by about 1/2, maybe a bit more, until it starts to become a little syrupy. Add chilled butter and whisk hard to emulsify. Take off heat.
Service:
A half-hour prior to service remove the foies from the refrigerator and allow them to come to just below room temperature. Carefully unmold vanilla foies by running a knife around the edge. You can place the ramekin in a shallow pan of hot water for a second or two to loosen if you need.
Slice all the foies in half. Place one half-circle of each foie on the plate, forming a circle. The chocolate foie may have shrunk a bit during cooking, so trim the vanilla foie to match if you're a stickler for presentation. Drizzle a circle of warm Marsala sauce around each. Divide the fruit among the plates.
Vanilla Half:
3 oz foie gras, deviened and divided into small pieces (grade B is fine)
3 egg whites
½ tsp demi-glace (duck or chicken stock will do in a pinch, though)
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp Kosher salt
six to eight grinds of black pepper, to taste
Chocolate Half:
4 Grade A foie gras medallions, about 3/4 inch thick, slightly larger around than the size of a ramekin
3 oz 70% dark chocolate
Flaky sea salt (preferably Maldon)
Pepper, fresh ground
Sauce, etc:
2 tbl unsalted butter, chilled.
1/2 cup of diced seasonal fruit - raspberries, strawberries, figs, and apples are all very complimentary.
1/3 cup Marsala
------
Method
Note: you will want to make the foie gras the night before serving, or the morning of, as it requires long (at least 12 hrs) refrigeration time.
Vanilla Foie:
Whip egg whites into a foam. Add remaining ingredients and put in blender until homogenous - about two minutes. Don't use a food processor for this or it will break down the egg whites too much. Pour in 4 ramekins. Oven bake in water bath at 250F for 40 minutes. Refrigerate until set.
Choco-Gras:
Pack foie gras into ramekins and let chill in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap, at least 1 hr.
Melt chocolate in double boiler. Unmold foie gras, sprinkle with pepper and fry over very high until both sides are seared and cooked about halfway, about one minute per side. Be careful it doesn't shrink too much - you want it to retain it's circular shape. Place medallions on a chilled dish and quickly apply a light coat of melted chocolate over the top of each. Sprinkle with sea salt. Refrigerate at least twelve hours, uncovered, allowing the chocolate to harden.
Finish:
Melt one tbl butter over medium-high heat. Add fruit and sautee until nicely carmelized and softened but not completely broken down. Set fruit aside. Deglaze pan with Marsala. Reduce by about 1/2, maybe a bit more, until it starts to become a little syrupy. Add chilled butter and whisk hard to emulsify. Take off heat.
Service:
A half-hour prior to service remove the foies from the refrigerator and allow them to come to just below room temperature. Carefully unmold vanilla foies by running a knife around the edge. You can place the ramekin in a shallow pan of hot water for a second or two to loosen if you need.
Slice all the foies in half. Place one half-circle of each foie on the plate, forming a circle. The chocolate foie may have shrunk a bit during cooking, so trim the vanilla foie to match if you're a stickler for presentation. Drizzle a circle of warm Marsala sauce around each. Divide the fruit among the plates.
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