The sacred yet forbidden vegetable… okay it’s not a vegetable but its similar in the fact that it’s just as hard to get you people to try it. Please don’t flood my page with comments on how unethical foie gras is. You’re not wrong, yet you’re also probably misinformed on the matter. But this will not be the place to discuss it, I will gladly educate anyone on the matter elsewhere.
Back to business! I don’t do enough cooking from my Michelin days on this channel, I’d like to change that starting with these lovely petti’s.
What You’ll Need:
For the Foie Mousse
8 ½ oz (250 g) foie gras, cleaned and de-veined, sliced 3/4-inch (2 cm) thick
1 cup (250 mL) shallots, sliced 1/8-inch (3 mm) thick
1 tsp (5 mL) thyme, chopped
2 Tbsp (30 mL) honey
1 Tbsp (15 mL) salt
1 tsp (5 mL) black pepper
¼ cup (60 mL) brandy
⅓ cup 35% cream
Heat large sauté pan on high. Sear foie gras 1 min. each side. Remove from heat, place slices onto tray and chill in fridge. Reserve fat. Return pan to heat and sauté shallots and thyme in 1 tbsp. (15ml) of foie gras fat for 8 min. Add honey, salt and pepper, cook 3 min. Deglaze with brandy, simmer, reduce by half. Add cream and reduce by half again. Puree foie gras and cream mixture in food processor until smooth, chill 45 min. or until firm.
Blackberry Preserves:
1 pint of blackberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
In a small pot, combine all of the ingredients and cook over medium heat until the berries break down. Keep a close eye as to your sugar and berries don’t burn, but let simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until berries burst and begin to thicken. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Using a stick blender or food processor, blend the berries until they are chunky. Reserve in the fridge until later.
Assembly:
Using a piping bag filled with your mousse, begin filling a silicon mold with your mousse, I like these simple little rectangles. With another piping bag, or a spoon, squeeze about 1/2 tablespoon of preserves into the center of each rectangle (in the center of the mousse). Next, using a toothpick, marble the filling into the mousse. Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and allow to firm up in the fridge.
After 2 hours, un-mold your mousse and roll the in dried berries or toasted nuts. I used toasted and crushed pistachios for this recipe. Serve Chilled!
