Croûte aux Rognons

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •2½-inch (6.5 cm) round cutter
• •Paring knife and sturdy teaspoon
• •12-inch (30 cm) heavy skillet
• •Small saucepan and slotted spoon
• •Sheet pan and pastry brush
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the kidneys

   Pull away every trace of the thin outer membrane while the kidneys are cold. Split them lengthwise, cut out the hard white core and branching tubes, then divide the flesh into pieces about 1 inch (2.5 cm) across. Pat them thoroughly dry and return them to the cold. Quarter the mushrooms and slice the truffle now as well. Once the Sauté begins, there is no useful pause.

2. 2

   Poach the quenelles

   Work the cream into the cold forcemeat until it looks smooth and slightly tacky. With two wet teaspoons, shape 16 small ordinary forcemeat quenelles. Bring a shallow saucepan of water seasoned with ¼ teaspoon of the salt to the barest tremble, slip in the quenelles, and poach gently for 5 to 6 minutes, turning once, until firm and cooked through to 160°F (71°C). Lift them out with a slotted spoon and drain well. If one begins to split, the water is too lively; pull the pan from the heat and add a spoonful of cold water. Ça se rattrape.

3. 3

   Dry the croûtes

   Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Cut four bread slabs exactly 1⅓ inches (3.5 cm) thick, then stamp out 2½-inch (6.5 cm) rounds. Score inside each round with a paring knife, leaving a wall about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick, and remove the crumb with a teaspoon while preserving a bottom of the same thickness. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter and brush the croûtes generously inside, outside, and underneath. Bake open-side up for 12 to 15 minutes, until pale butter-gold, crisp at the rim, and dry inside. If a base still feels soft, lower the oven to 325°F (165°C) and give it another 3 to 5 minutes. A dry croûte carries the filling; a soft one collapses beneath it.

4. 4

   Sauté the mushrooms

   Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter gently in the wide skillet. Pour the clear butterfat into a small bowl, leaving the milky sediment behind, then wipe the skillet clean. Heat about one-third of the clarified butter until it glistens. Add the mushrooms in one layer and Sauté over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes, turning only after their first sides have bronzed. Season with ¼ teaspoon salt, lift them out, and keep them close to the stove.

5. 5

   Sauté the kidneys

   Raise the heat to high and add most of the remaining clarified butter. Season the dry kidneys with the remaining salt and all the pepper just before they enter the pan. Lay them down in one uncrowded layer, leave them untouched for 45 seconds, then turn and Sauté briskly for 3 to 4 minutes, until bronze outside and just firm at the centre. Remove them the instant the thickest piece reaches 160°F (71°C). If the kidneys release enough liquid to begin boiling, lift them out at once, reduce that liquid hard until glossy, add a little reserved butter if the pan is dry, and return the kidneys for only 20 seconds. Ça se rattrape, but they must not stew.

6. 6

   Combine the garnish

   Lower the heat to medium. Return the mushrooms to the skillet with the drained quenelles and two-thirds of the truffle slices. Toss for 30 to 45 seconds, just long enough to heat everything and coat it in the kidney juices and butter. Warm the truffle, don't fry it. If the filling looks dry, fold in the last teaspoon of clarified butter; don't add stock, wine, or cream, because liquid would soften the croûtes and the source calls for a Sauté, not a stew.

7. 7

   Fill and serve

   Arrange the hot croûtes on a warmed oval platter lined with a clean folded linen napkin. Divide the kidney mixture among them quickly, filling the cavities and heaping the remainder above the rims. Spoon the buttery pan juices over the filling, keeping the platter beneath dry, and lay the remaining truffle slices across the tops. Carry them straight to the table, very hot. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Mutton kidney has a deeper, more mineral flavour than lamb kidney. Ask a good butcher for three of equal total weight; if only lamb kidneys are available, use four and shorten the cooking rather than changing the rest of the dish.
• •Fresh kidney smells clean and faintly mineral, never sour or ammoniacal. Keep it cold, strip away the membrane, and remove every hard white tube. Those tubes don't soften in a quick Sauté.
• •Ask the butcher for plain, unsmoked veal-and-pork forcemeat or sausage meat with no garlic, fennel, herbs, or chile. Its work here is to make tender little quenelles, not compete with the truffle.
• •Use fresh black truffle when the season gives it to you. A small whole preserved truffle is the classical pantry's honest answer at other times; truffle oil supplies perfume but none of the slices the dish requires.
• •A firm, close-crumbed Pullman or tin loaf cuts cleanly and dries without crumbling. Bread a day from baking is better than something feathery-soft. Save the removed crumb for another panade or a gratin.
• •Pour a restrained red Burgundy or a cru Beaujolais. Heavy tannin makes kidney taste metallic, while a lighter red leaves room for the mushrooms and truffle.

Advance Preparation

• •The bread rounds can be cut and hollowed up to 8 hours ahead. Keep them covered at room temperature, then butter and dry them within 30 minutes of serving.
• •The quenelles can be shaped and poached up to 24 hours ahead. Chill them promptly in a covered container and let the final toss with the mushrooms and kidneys reheat them.
• •The kidneys can be trimmed up to 6 hours ahead and kept covered at or below 40°F (4°C). Pat them dry again immediately before seasoning and cooking.
• •Do not assemble the finished croûtes ahead. The bread softens and the kidneys tighten as they wait; fill them only when everyone is ready to eat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 155g)