This is one of the true specialties of Lyon.
I took a liberty in naming this dish and called it by the name of a true specialty of Lyon which is pike dumplings or to use the French term: Quenelles. I can’t find pike here and I doubt that it is even eaten here so I made this with a different fish. The method of making it remains the same however.
Whereas most dishes and popular specialties are relatively easy to make, this one is extremely complicated. I will go over the gist of it.
First you have to make a ‘panade’ which is a mix of milk, butter flour. This holds everything together. You then allow that to cool in the fridge. Then you put the fish in the food processor and mince it with a little salt. When the ‘panade’ is cooled you add it to the fish to make the mix for the quenelle. You allow this to sit in the fridge overnight if possible. Then you form the quenelles ready for poaching.
You also need a white wine or a nantua sauce and some garnish like shrimp or crayfish. You will also need a little whipped cream.
You will also need some spinach or vegetable to rest the quenelles on.
When all this is ready you put the spinach on the dish, place the quenelles and the garnish on top of that. Cover the whole thing with the sauce and glaze it under the grill.
Great stuff but it takes a lot to make it.
There are many recipes on the internet but I would not advise the rank amateur to try it.
I took a liberty in naming this dish and called it by the name of a true specialty of Lyon which is pike dumplings or to use the French term: Quenelles. I can’t find pike here and I doubt that it is even eaten here so I made this with a different fish. The method of making it remains the same however.
Whereas most dishes and popular specialties are relatively easy to make, this one is extremely complicated. I will go over the gist of it.
First you have to make a ‘panade’ which is a mix of milk, butter flour. This holds everything together. You then allow that to cool in the fridge. Then you put the fish in the food processor and mince it with a little salt. When the ‘panade’ is cooled you add it to the fish to make the mix for the quenelle. You allow this to sit in the fridge overnight if possible. Then you form the quenelles ready for poaching.
You also need a white wine or a nantua sauce and some garnish like shrimp or crayfish. You will also need a little whipped cream.
You will also need some spinach or vegetable to rest the quenelles on.
When all this is ready you put the spinach on the dish, place the quenelles and the garnish on top of that. Cover the whole thing with the sauce and glaze it under the grill.
Great stuff but it takes a lot to make it.
There are many recipes on the internet but I would not advise the rank amateur to try it.
2 comments:
Jim, you're right about pike being commercially unavailable in the us. There are lots of pike here but no appetite for them. I have had the pleasure of eating Quenelle in France many years ago, it was fabulous. I still remember it now, more than 20 years later. Pike is a very bony freshwater fish, very popular in Europe and Canada as both table food and as a sport fish.There is another fish, related to pike, called pickerel, or chain pickerel but probably just as hard to find. You might try trout as a substitute as it is also a freshwater fish. Smallmouth and largemouth Bass are also freshwater fish, that might be suitable.Another frehwater fish worth a mention is a White Perch which might be closest to pike tastewise. Look them up on the internet.
Will do but I know already that I won't find them here. Terrible town for fish as there are an awful lot of beef eaters here. We have a very limited supply of fish. Seattle is a very different story of course.
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