New Year, New Food

I spent this past weekend in Des Moines, celebrating the new year with Jennifer and her parents. And with the new year, came a new chance to cook with a new food. I had had foie gras many (OK, a few) times in the past, but even at the culinary academy, I never got the chance to cook with it.

A few days before we the New Year, Jennifer gave me a heads up that her parents ordered a lobe of foie gras and a rack of veal. Along with this news came a question. “You’ve made this before, right?” I quickly started going through all of my cookbooks and searching the internet for anything that might be good. What I settled on was from Farallon restaurant in San Francisco.

The recipe is for Seared Foie Gras with Apple Galettes, Watercress, and Calvados Syrup. The nice thing about this recipe is that almost all of the components can be made in advance. The order of our operations were as follows:

1. Create Apple Galettes – A galette is the name for any kind of freeform tart. These galettes were some of the easiest possible, as there was no crust needed. All that is needed is:

2 Tbls. Olive Oil

4 Large Apples, preferably Granny Smith – Cored, Peeled, and cut into thin slices

1 Tbl. Fresh Thyme (We had to substitute a pinch of dried thyme for each galette)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425. Brush four 4-inch tartlet molds with the olive oil. Arrange the apple slices in concentric circles, like a tart, to about ¾ inch above the top edge of the molds (The galettes will shrink as they cook). Sprinkle the tops of the galettes with the thyme, salt, and pepper. Then drizzle with as much of the remaining olive oil as you want. Place them on a baking sheet, and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a knife. If they are not browned on the top, put them under the broiler to finish the browning.

2. Make the Syrup –

¾ C. Calvados (Apple Brandy) or Cognac

¼ C. Sugar

2 Tbls. Fresh Orange Juice

2 Tbls. Apple Cider Vinegar

2 Shallots, minced

2 Tsps. minced, peeled, fresh ginger

½ Tsp. ground Allspice

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Strain the sauce, and return it to medium heat. Reduce until there is about ¼ of a cup of syrup remaining. Keep the syrup warm until you are ready to use, or it can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.

3. Prepare the foie gras – All you need for this is 1 lobe of grade A foie gras, salt and pepper.

The foie gras I was working with was mail-ordered from dartagnan.com. We received 1 full lobe that had already been cleaned of any veins. All that I had to do was to cut it into ¾” slices using a hot knife.

Heat a pan until it is hot, but not smoking hot (you don’t even need to add any oil, since it is all fat). Lay the slices in the pan, and let them cook for 1 ½ - 2 minutes per side. You will start to see the color working its way up the side of the foie. That is ok. Flip each piece, and let it go for another minute or two.

To assemble the dish, lay down one of the galettes, place a piece of foie gras on top of it. Drizzle the syrup around the plate, and garnish with the watercress.

Enjoy!