So this may be called a ‘two for one’, since last week I demonstrated the making of a chicken mousse with which to stuff a ballotine, and I hereby show you how to transform the leftover mousse into the most delicious quenelles served atop a sweetcorn velouté…it’s easy, elegant & pretty darn exquisite.
The one and only difficult thing about this dish is the shaping of the mousse into quenelles, for which it is simply a question of practice, using two medium sized spoons.
I will request that you refer to the last Treat of the Week, the Ballotine of Chicken Breast, for the recipe and instructions in making the mousse (200g of mousse will yield approximately 30 quenelles) and I am going to jump straight into the making and cooking of the quenelles as shown below in the images (STEPS 1 TO 4) or else I suggest you refer to a Youtube video.
Then bring one litre of stock (2 knorr chicken stock cubes dissolved in 1 litre of water) to a simmer (STEP 5), lift the quenelles one at a time using one of the same spoons with which you shaped them so that you can scoop them up whilst retaining the shape (STEP 6), and then lower them into the water (STEP 7) and poach for 5 to 6 minutes. They will rise to the surface quite quickly (STEP 8), at which point flip them over and continue to poach for the entire duration. Then remove them with a slotted spoon (STEP 9), place on a chopping board and let cool (STEP 10), then trim them to neaten if necessary using a sharp knife and set aside till use (STEPS 11 TO 13). You will be reheating them by warming the same stock to just under a simmer before serving, and briefly plunging them inside.
And now onto the making of the sweetcorn velouté.
YIELD: 3 COVERS
- 2 x 200g Green Giant Corn Kernel tins
- 1 small shallot
- 1 stick celery
- 500ml chicken stock (1 knorr chicken stock cube dissolved in 500ml water)
- 150ml white wine
- 80g Flanders sour cream
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ⅛ teaspoon turmeric
- Salt to taste
Gather all of the ingredients (STEP 1) and first and foremost drain and measure out your kernels. Then finely chop the onion and celery (STEP 2), and weigh out the rest of your ingredients. Then heat two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a pot on low heat (STEP 3), add the onion and celery and cook till softened but not browned (STEP 4).
Then add the kernels, toss and stir fry for a minute (STEPS 5 & 6), then add the white wine, bring to a boil and let it boil for a minute (STEPS 7 & 8), reduce heat to low, add the stock, bring it to a simmer and simmer for 20minutes (STEPS 9 & 10). Then remove, cool, put into a blender and liquidize (STEPS 11 & 12).
Now, pass the corn puree through a sieve (STEP 13), pushing it through using a wooden spoon (STEP 14), and then place the puree (STEP 15) into a pot over low heat, add the turmeric (STEP 16) and gently heat the velouté, then stir in the butter and cream (STEPS 17 & 18).
While the velouté is heating, re-heat the stock to just under a simmer, place the quenelles inside, and let them heat for a few minutes (STEP 19). Then remove them with a slotted spoon and let dry out (STEP 20). Pour the velouté into the serving soup plate (STEP 21). Add two quenelles per portion as shown below (STEPS 22 & 23), drizzle with parsley oil (STEPS 24 & 25 – please refer to the chive oil recipe in the Carrot Tartare Treat and simply replace with parsley), scatter with micro-herbs and voila, ‘Bob’s your uncle’, so to speak. (FINAL IMAGE)
Above: Final Image