Mousselines de Volaille Alexandra

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Food processor with metal blade
• •Fine-mesh sieve and flexible scraper
• •Four 6 oz (180 ml) oval molds or ramekins
• •Deep roasting pan for the bain-marie
• •Small saucepan and medium sauce saucepan
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Round broiler-safe serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Chill, then poach

   Place the food processor bowl and blade, a metal mixing bowl, the cubed chicken, egg whites, and cream in the freezer for 15 minutes. Nothing should freeze; everything should become thoroughly cold. Meanwhile, bring the chicken stock to the barest tremble in a small saucepan. Add the whole 4 oz (110 g) piece of chicken, cover, and poach gently for 8 to 12 minutes, until its center reaches 165°F (74°C). Lift it out, cover it, and let it cool until firm enough to slice. Cut it across the grain into four fine ovals, no thicker than ⅛ inch (3 mm), and keep them covered. Hold the stock hot for testing the forcemeat.

2. 2

   Build the Mornay

   Melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook this roux, butter and flour cooked together, for 2 minutes without letting it color. Gradually whisk in 1¼ cups (300 ml / 309 g) of the warm milk, reserving the rest, then simmer gently for about 5 minutes, whisking along the bottom, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Remove it from the heat and stir in the Gruyère, Parmesan, 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter, ¼ teaspoon of the measured salt, and half the white pepper and nutmeg. If the Mornay is lumpy, strain it. If the cheese makes it oily, take the pan completely off the heat and whisk in the reserved warm milk a teaspoon at a time until the sauce comes together. Cover its surface directly and keep it warm.

3. 3

   Make the cold forcemeat

   Put the chilled cubed chicken in the cold processor with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Process in short pulses until the meat becomes smooth and tacky, scraping the bowl once. Add the cold egg whites and pulse only until absorbed. Reserve 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) of the cream, then add the rest in four small pours, pulsing briefly after each. The paste must remain cold, close-textured, and satin-smooth. If it turns grainy or throws a wet ring around the blade, stop. Set the processor bowl over ice for 10 minutes, then pulse in the reserved cream. Ça se rattrape. If the mixture stays smooth, fold that reserved cream in after sieving. Press the forcemeat through a fine-mesh sieve into the chilled metal bowl, then poach a teaspoonful in the hot stock until cooked through. Taste it for seasoning and chill the finished forcemeat while the oven heats.

   Continuous processing builds heat quickly. Use short pulses and stop as soon as each addition disappears; smoothness comes from the sieve, not from running the motor without mercy.
4. 4

   Mould and poach

   Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Soften 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter and use it to coat four 6 oz (180 ml) oval molds or ramekins thoroughly. Divide the forcemeat among them, press it into the corners to remove air pockets, and smooth the tops. Set the molds in a deep roasting pan and pour hot water around them to reach halfway up their sides. This bain-marie, a water bath, is the home poacher. Cover the pan loosely with foil and cook for 22 to 28 minutes, until the mousselines feel softly resilient and their centers reach 165°F (74°C). The water should remain calm. If the mousselines swell or crack, add a cup of cool water to the bath and lower the oven to 300°F (150°C). Rest them for 3 minutes, loosen the edges with a thin knife, turn them onto a clean towel, and drain them well.

5. 5

   Butter the asparagus

   Bring a wide saucepan of well-salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus tips and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until vivid green and tender enough for a knife to enter without the tips collapsing. Drain them thoroughly. Melt the final 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) butter in the dry pan, return the asparagus, and roll the tips gently until the butter clings and gives them a clear sheen. Keep them warm without browning them.

6. 6

   Cap and glaze

   Heat the broiler fully and warm a round, broiler-safe serving platter. Arrange the four drained mousselines in a circle. Place one fine slice of cooked fowl on each, then a slice of black truffle. Spoon the warm Mornay over each mousseline, covering the cap without flooding the platter. If the sauce slips away, the mousselines are wet or the Mornay is too thin: blot the surfaces, simmer the sauce for 30 seconds, and coat them again. Set the platter 4 to 5 inches (10 to 13 cm) beneath the broiler for 45 to 90 seconds, just until the sauce takes a few butter-gold freckles. Glaze it, do not bake it. Pull the platter the instant the color appears, heap the buttered asparagus tips in the center, and serve at once. À table!

   The final glaze is measured in seconds. Do not leave the broiler or wait for a dark crust; the mousselines are already cooked, and prolonged heat steals their delicacy.

Chef Tips

• •A preserved whole black truffle is an honest answer when fresh truffle isn't in season. Drain it and dry it well so the Mornay adheres. Truffle oil cannot supply the prescribed slice or its texture.
• •Keep the processor bowl, chicken, egg whites, and cream genuinely cold. A careful cook with modest chicken will make a finer mousseline than a hurried cook with an expensive bird; technique first, always.
• •Test the serving platter beneath the broiler before the dinner party. Ordinary ceramic can crack under fierce overhead heat, so use porcelain or another vessel specifically marked broiler-safe.
• •Pour a mineral white Burgundy or a dry Champagne. Both have enough structure for the cream, cheese, and truffle without trampling the gentle poultry.

Advance Preparation

• •Poach and slice the fowl cap up to one day ahead. Keep the slices covered and chilled, then let them lose their refrigerator chill while the mousselines poach.
• •Make the Mornay up to one day ahead and chill it with its surface covered directly. Reheat over gentle heat, whisking in a spoonful of milk if it has tightened.
• •Prepare the forcemeat and fill the buttered molds up to 4 hours before cooking. Keep them covered in the cold and poach them near serving time.
• •Trim and blanch the asparagus up to 6 hours ahead, chill it promptly, and dry it well. Reheat it in butter only after the mousselines leave the water bath. The capping and glazing must wait until the table is ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 390g)