Zapappy

Name: Quenelles de Brochet with Sauce Nantua
Prep time: 70 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 185 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 lb boneless pike or firm white fish, very cold; 3/4 cup whole milk; 6 tbsp unsalted butter; 2/3 cup all-purpose flour; 3 large eggs; 3/4 cup very cold heavy cream, add gradually; use only as needed; 1 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt; 1/4 tsp white pepper; 1 tbsp unsalted butter; 1 shallot; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 2 tbsp Cognac or brandy; 2 cups shellfish stock; 3/4 cup heavy cream; 4 tbsp cold crayfish or lobster butter, cut into small pieces

Cooking

Ingredients

Pike quenelles

1 lb boneless pike or firm white fish, very cold
3/4 cup whole milk
6 tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
3/4 cup very cold heavy cream, add gradually; use only as needed
1 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1/4 tsp white pepper

Nantua sauce

1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 shallot
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp Cognac or brandy
2 cups shellfish stock
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 tbsp cold crayfish or lobster butter, cut into small pieces

Directions

Make and chill the forcemeat

Cook milk, butter, and all purpose flour into a firm panade; cook until it pulls cleanly from the pan, then cool completely.
Process the very cold firm white fish fillets with the panade, egg, kosher salt, and white pepper just until smooth. With the processor pulsing, add very cold cream gradually, stopping as soon as the forcemeat is glossy, light, and able to hold a soft peak; do not force in cream the mixture cannot absorb. Press through a sieve and chill 1 hour.

Test and poach gently

Hold a wide pan of water between {{temperature:175F}} and {{temperature:185F}}. Poach one spoonful; it should swell slightly and feel delicate but cohesive. Correct seasoning, or pulse in only another spoonful of cold cream if the test is dense.
Shape 8 ovals between wet spoons. Poach in the 175–185°F water, turning once and keeping the water below a simmer, until evenly firm, buoyant, and cooked through, 12-15 minutes. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain well.

Build a true Nantua sauce and bake

Soften shallot in butter without browning. Add tomato paste and brandy and reduce almost dry. Add shellfish stock and reduce by half, then add cream and simmer until the sauce lightly coats a spoon.
Remove the sauce from the heat and whisk in the cold crustacean butter a few pieces at a time until glossy and distinctly shellfish-scented; do not boil after mounting. Taste for salt.
Place the drained quenelles in a shallow dish, cover with Nantua sauce, and bake at {{temperature:425F}} until puffed and bubbling at the edges, 10-12 minutes. Serve immediately.