Tag Archives: foie gras

Closerie Falaiseau, Cooking

Our Foie Gras Atelier

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There was a time when we used to eat quite a lot of foie gras. In the winter, we would often rent a gîte for a long weekend somewhere in the country within a couple of hours from Paris and set off with a few slices of foie gras from the traiteur, a côte de boeuf, lamb chops, champagne, a vintage red or two, a couple of dozen of spéciale oysters and a bottle of sancerre. However, after we bought Closerie Falaiseau four years ago and renovated our Renaissance fireplace, we started coming down here instead. Now we only eat foie gras in restaurants occasionally and at Christmas. when we make our own.

Simon and Susan from Days on the Claise, Janet, Françoise and Paul
Simon and Susan from Days on the Claise, Janet, Françoise and Paul

Today, for the second time, we had a “foie gras workshop” with our friends Susan and Simon from Days on the Claise and our neighbours Françoise and Paul. Susan picks up the foie gras (ordered well in advance) from a local farm. Another friend from Amboise joined us this time. Up until now her French mother-in-law has always made the foie gras and she (understandably) didn’t want to compete. But this year, her mother-in-law won’t be present so she thought she’d have a try.

The foie gras in its wooden wine box
The foie gras in its wooden wine box

The foie gras we make these days doesn’t require cooking. After deveining it and adding spices and vouvray, you wrap it in gauze, put it in a wooden wine box on a layer of coarse salt, cover it with salt  and store it in a cool place (10 to 12°C) for 17 hours. You take it out of the salt and gauze, put it in a terrine and keep it in the fridge for at least 10 days. Perfect timing for Christmas. It’s melt-in-the-mouth! If you’d like a full explanation, just click here.

 

Closerie Falaiseau, Cooking, Country living, Lifestyle, Loire Valley, Uncategorized

Photos of the Week – New Year and after

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Home made foie gras cooked in salt and 1990 vouvray followed by champagne in the beautiful handmade glasses we bought in Rothenburg many moons ago
Home made foie gras cooked in salt served with compote de vieux garçon and 1990 vouvray followed by champagne in the beautiful handmade glasses we bought in Rothenburg, Germany, many moons ago
Wreath made of boxwood and holly from the garden hanging on our Henri II bookcase for which I recently made curtains.
Wreath made of boxwood and holly from the garden hanging on our Henri II bookcase for which I recently made curtains.
One of our favourite bordeaux - a 1979 Saint Emilion, with the fireplace and Henri II leather covered chair in the background.
One of our favourite bordeaux – a 1979 Saint Emilion, with the côte de boeuf on the grill in the fireplace and a Henri II leather covered chair in the background.
Australia, Family, Food, French customs, Wine

No Boxing Day in France

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Unfortunately, there is no Boxing Day in France. We had to pack up everything in Normandy and leave last night which was very sad. I couldn’t believe how much stuff we’d acquired in just over a week! There were all the Christmas decorations for the tree and crib and table of course plus the holly from the forest and mistletoe from the apple trees. But we also went to two other dépôt vente places and came away with all sorts of wonderful things for the new house in Blois, including a lovely old 5-branch ceiling light that Relationnel managed to drop when putting it into the car for the return journey – fortunately it didn’t shatter and the crack shouldn’t be too noticeable when it’s attached to the ceiling. We didn’t buy the Australian guitar or the aggressive GI!

When we got home to our apartment in Paris,  it all had to be unpacked of course which was complicated by the fact that the bedroom ceiling had been repainted during our absence. A few months ago, large drops of water suddenly started to appear on the ceiling above the bed. Apparently, the gutters on the terrace of the flat above us were blocked up. By the time they were unblocked, the paint was peeling off in large flakes. So all the bedroom furniture was in the lounge and we couldn’t put it back until we got the curtains back from the dry cleaners today.

Gathering holly

To console ourselves, we finished off our home made foie gras that turned out to be the best we’ve made yet (must have been because I dropped the iPhone in it during the process) accompanied by the delicious compote de fruits vieux garçon (bachelor’s fruit compote) we made on Saturday (recipe below – requires expertise in making caramel which I do not have but that fortunately Relationnel does) and the rest of the Pierre Adam Kaefferdopf gewurztraminer 2006. There were even a few slices of pain brioché au miel left to go with it.  Followed by smoked salmon, lychees and Rozan chocolates with our coffee. A nice way to end off Christmas day.

My scales told me this morning that we’ll be eating grilled fish and chicken and steamed vegetables for the rest of the week … in preparation for New Year!

Compote de fruits vieux garçon 
 
Ingredients : 1 apple, 1 pear, 6 dried abricots, 6 prunes, 6 cl of port wine, 80 g of honey. 
 
Peel the apple and pear and cut them into 1 cm squares. Chop the dried fruit into 5 mm pieces and soak in the port wine. The recipe doesn’t say for how long but it was probably about 20 to 30 minutes because I was using the only large saucepan for something else. 
Put the honey in a large saucepan and caramelise. You have to use fairly high heat. Quite suddenly, it all froths up and this is where the expertise comes in. If you cook it too much it burns. The trick is to squeeze in some lemon juice at just the right moment to reduce the heat and stop the caramelising process. I did the squeezing. Relationnel said when. 
Then you add the apple and pear and cook for 3 minutes followed by the dried fruit and port. You let them stew for at least 20 minutes at moderate heat, stirring often to prevent sticking. 
You can keep it for a week in the fridge.
Food

My Foie Gras

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The idea of making my own foie gras came to me when I went to a party and the hostess had made her own. It was just the way I like it – mouth-melting. So when Relationnel came home from work one day and said that the Comité d’entreprise* had a special offer for a foie gras cooking class with l’Atelier des Chefs we jumped at the chance! I got off the plane from a exhausting week teaching technical translation in Chennai in India, dropped my luggage and headed over to the Atelier, a little groggy with jet lag.

They told us not to take notes, that we’d be given full instructions to go home with us. That was a mistake – it’s taken us about 5 years to fill in the gaps and get it right so this post is definitely a scoop! It was all very fun and interesting though and we got to taste the chef’s foie gras at the end and take home our own creations which lived up to expectations. I’m going to try and describe the process, but I’m not convinced you can really do it without having some sort of demonstration. So I suggest you watch this video by L’Atelier des Chefs even though it’s in French. The second part shows how to cover the foie gras with chocolate, but that’s not in my recipe!

The result mainly depends on the quality of the foie gras itself. A couple of years ago, we bought some Eastern European foie gras on the market – much cheaper – but were very disappointed with the results. Now we ask for “high quality foie gras” from the south west of France at the butcher’s on Rue Montorgueil. It usually weighs 500 to 700 grams. The one I bought this time was 500 grams and cost 30 euros. The same foie gras (mi-cuit) bought from the traiteur costs 110 to 120 euros a kilo, so making your own is definitely more economical.

It needs to be cooked at least 5 days before you eat it and you need one or two days to make it. The first thing you do is to soak the whole foie gras in a mixture of ½ litre of milk and 10 grams of coarse salt with enough water to cover. You leave it in the fridge overnight or at ambient temperature for 1 ½ hours if you’re pushed for time. Cover the top of the foie gras with greaseproof paper to stop it drying out and take it out about an hour before you use it.

Next day, you get everything ready beforehand because once you’ve got your hands in the foie gras, it’s like having them in butter, only worse. The seasoning is important and very precise : 8 grams per 500 grams of foie gras, consisting of 7 grams of fine salt, ½ gram of freshly-ground pepper and ½ gram of 5-spice mixture (cinnamom, cloves, star anis, fennel and brown peppercorns). Since few people have scales with that type of precision, it’s a good idea to make up a bigger batch and keep it in a screw-top jar. Measure out the 8 grams and put it into a small cup with a coffee spoon.

Another thing is keeping your hands and the foie gras cold enough. Relationnel (who likes very sophisticated cooking equipment) has a very handy marble plaque that is perfect. You just put it in the fridge for a couple of hours beforehand (this means taking everything off one shelf of course …) or on the balcony if it’s cold enough. You then moisten it slightly and cover with a sheet of greaseproof paper or cling-film (if you feel brave enough) as it makes the foie gras easier to handle and faciltates cleaning up afterwards.  Of course, any other flat surface works as well!

You then measure out the white port wine (3 deciliters) into a small cup and add a coffee spoon. Put some iced water into a bowl to dip your fingers in when the foie gras gets too slippery. You can also turn off the heating in the kitchen which I invariably forget to do. Put the terrine (or a small aluminium tray) on the table next to you together with a few pieces of paper towel (to clean your iPhone when you drop it on top of the foie gras you’re trying to photograph) and a sharp pointed knife. Now you’re ready to go!

Place the foie gras on the greaseproof paper. Gently separate the two lobes. One is much bigger than the other. Gently open up the big lobe lengthways, sort of running your finger along it. You’ll see a large Y-shaped vein which you have to remove without breaking it. Now the idea is to knead the foie gras underneath to release the vein, lifting the vein very gently with a knife but not cutting it. The foie gras gets completely mashed in the process but that’s normal. After you remove the first vein, you’ll find a second, larger one, underneath. Repeat the process. The second lobe also has two veins, but they are star-shaped this time.

Once the veins have been removed, gather up all the bits and pieces of foie gras and put them back on the lobes. Sprinkle about half the seasoning evenly over the two lobes, then dissolve with about half the port wine. Put the two lobes together like a sandwich then put into the terrine or aluminium tray after sprinkling some more of the seasoning on the bottom. The terrine should be just big enough to take the foie gras. Push down on the top to remove any air, then sprinkle with the rest of the seasoning and port wine. It always seems like a lot to me but it really is just the right amount.

Now is what I consider to be the most delicate part – the cooking. The important thing is getting the core at just the right temperature (the sides are always hotter). You place the terrine or aluminium tray in a larger tray and fill with water and cook for 20 to 25 minutes at 150°C. You can use a thermometer to check when it gets to 37°C (body temperature) but also a skewer, which is less precise of course because you have to judge the temperature yourself. After taking it out the oven you place a press on top (you can make this with a thick piece of cardboard covered in alfoil) and leave at ambient temperature for about 30 minutes. The fat will congeal on top and preserve the foie gras. We then wrap it all in cling wrap to keep it airtight.

Enjoy!

Recipe: 
One 500 g lobe of foie gras 
7 g salt
1/2 g of freshly ground pepper
1/2 g of five spices
3 centiliters of white port wine
Cooking time: 150°C for 20 to 25 minutes.
 

*Companies with over 50 employees in France have to set up a « works committee » with staff representatives and pay a subsidy at least equal to 0.2% of the wages bill. Depending on the size of the company, employees can then benefit from various lurks and perks such as reductions on holiday accommodation, wine-tasting courses and cooking classes!

L’Atelier des Chefs: http://www.atelierdeschefs.fr/

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