Purée de Choux de Bruxelles dite Flamande

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •4-quart saucepan and small saucepan
• •12-inch sauté pan with lid
• •8-inch sturdy fine-mesh sieve
• •Flexible spatula or small ladle
• •Potato ricer or hand masher
• •Deep warmed serving bowl

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the potato purée

   Put the potato in a small saucepan, cover generously with cold water, and add ½ teaspoon of the salt. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until a piece crushes without resistance. Drain thoroughly, return it to the dry pan over low heat for one minute, then pass it through a ricer or mash it perfectly smooth. Add neither milk nor butter. Cover and keep warm while you cook the sprouts.

   Drying the potato matters. Water trapped in the mash loosens the finished purée and dulls the Brussels sprouts.
2. 2

   Three-quarter cook sprouts

   Bring a large saucepan of water to a vigorous boil and add 1 tablespoon of the salt. Add the sprouts and cook for 6 to 8 minutes. A knife should pass easily through the outer leaves but meet slight resistance at the heart. This is the source entry's three-quarter cook: tender enough to begin yielding, not yet fully done. Drain immediately and shake the colander hard. Do not rinse or cool them, because their retained heat carries them directly into the butter.

3. 3

   Stew gently in butter

   Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a wide sauté pan over medium-low heat without letting it color. Add the hot sprouts, turn them through the butter, cover, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, stirring twice, until they crush readily against the pan. Keep them green and buttery, never browned. If the butter begins to color before the sprouts soften, lower the heat and add 1 tablespoon of hot water. Ça se rattrape. Uncover for the final minute so no loose water remains.

4. 4

   Pass through the sieve

   While the sprouts are still hot, press them through a sturdy fine-mesh sieve with a flexible spatula or the back of a ladle, working in small batches. Scrape the smooth purée from the underside after each batch and discard the dry fibrous residue left above. The tamis removes the tough leaf fibres rather than merely chopping them, which is why this step stays.

5. 5

   Keep the one-third ratio

   Measure the sieved sprout purée by volume, then measure warm mashed potato equal to exactly one-third that volume. For 2¼ cups of sprout purée, for example, use ¾ cup potato. The raw vegetables vary, so measure the finished purées rather than guessing from their starting weights. Fold them together in the sauté pan and warm over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring steadily, until a spoon drawn across the bottom leaves a clean path. If the mixture looks wet, continue heating gently before adding any finishing butter.

6. 6

   Beurrer hors du feu

   Take the pan completely off the heat. Beurrer hors du feu means finishing with butter away from the fire, and here it decides the dish. Beat in the chilled butter a few cubes at a time, waiting until each addition disappears before adding the next. The purée should become supple and evenly glossy, not oily. If butter beads on the surface, stop adding it, rest the bottom of the pan in a shallow bowl of cool water for 20 seconds, then beat firmly until the sheen turns creamy again. Ça se rattrape. Taste and add up to the remaining ½ teaspoon salt as needed.

7. 7

   Dish in the timbale

   Warm a deep serving bowl with hot water, dry it, and spoon in the purée. Shape it generously with the back of the spoon, leaving broad swirls to catch the butter's sheen. Serve at once beside roast pork, ham, duck, or a plainly roasted bird. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose tight, heavy sprouts with green leaves. Loose yellow ones have already spent their sweetness. Frozen sprouts can serve out of season because the sieve removes their softened texture, but drain them fiercely and expect a slightly gentler cabbage flavor.
• •A food processor chops the fibrous leaves into the purée; a fine sieve removes them. The work takes several minutes, but it is not brigade ceremony. It is what makes the texture.
• •The one-third measure is by finished volume. Measure the sieved sprouts first, then use one-third as much potato. Extra potato makes the result bland and pasty, while too little leaves the sprout fibres exposed.
• •Serve this with roast pork, glazed ham, duck, or a roast bird. A dry, lightly rounded white wine has enough freshness for the sprouts and enough body for all that butter.

Advance Preparation

• •The sprouts can be cooked, stewed, and sieved up to one day ahead. Prepare the plain potato purée at the same time, refrigerate the two components separately, and measure their one-third ratio only when reheating.
• •For service, combine the measured purées and reheat them gently over a water bath or very low heat. Add the chilled finishing butter only after the base is fully hot and the pan has come off the fire.
• •The completed purée can wait for about 30 minutes in a covered bowl set over barely warm water. Do not let the bowl touch simmering water, or the butter may separate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)