Charles Coulombeau, head chef at the restaurant ‘La Maison dans le Parc’ in Nancy and winner of the 2020 Taittinger prize, was so inspired by the revisited folk tales in our latest podcast series that he has come up with four perfect recipes for the Christmas holidays. Visit this page every week for a new recipe.
Inspiration: The Little Gingerbread Man
Recipe for 6 people: Duck foie gras terrine, quince jelly and gingerbread tuiles
The perfect cuvee to pair with this recipe: Nocturne cuvee
The chef’s comments: “A recipe which is truly accessible to everyone. I started off with a traditional Christmas dish, foie gras, but here we’re taking it one step further than a simple slice of gingerbread to give it a crunchier texture. We’re playing on notes of cinnamon, cloves and ginger, which go very well with the foie gras that you will have already prepared yourself. Quince is one of the festive season’s most iconic fruits and has always been the perfect accompaniment for foie gras.”
The chef’s tips: “The key here is to let the terrine rest for a while. You should prepare it the day before and leave it in the fridge overnight to firm up.”
The cuvee: “It was an obvious pairing, with the Cuvée Nocturne developing spicy notes.”
THE RECIPE
Foie gras seasoning blend
130g salt
20g sugar
25g ground white pepper
20g allspice
Combine all the ingredients together.
Terrine
Lobes of duck foie gras, each one weighing approx. 500g and deveined
Cognac or Calvados
Evenly season the lobes of foie gras all over, using the alcohol and 20g of allspice. Leave to marinate in the fridge for one hour.
Brown the livers in a hot frying pan until all the sides of the lobes are well-coloured.
Place the lobes in an oven-proof dish and cook at 70 degrees for 15 minutes. At the end of the cooking time, the foie gras should have released a little of its fat and still be firm to the touch.
Place a piece of cling film in the bottom of a terrine dish and press the foie gras inside, squeezing out as much air as possible.
Leave the terrine in the fridge to rest for at least 24 hours with a weight on top.
Poached quince
3 quinces
1.5L water
300g sugar
2 Marco Polo tea bags
Boil the water and sugar together. Remove from the heat and let the two tea bags infuse for 15 minutes.
Remove the tea bags, return to a low heat and poach the peeled and halved quinces for around an hour. Check for doneness with the tip of a knife, which should cut through the fruit without meeting any resistance.
Leave the stewed fruits in the syrup all night to enhance the syrupy taste.
The next day, cut the quinces into your desired shape.
Quince jelly
100g balsamic vinegar
3g agar agar
1 gelatine leaf
Weigh the syrup, add the balsamic vinegar and bring to a simmer. Gradually add the agar agar. Cook the agar agar to a simmer for around 2 minutes. Cut the leaf and dissolve the gelatine in the mixture, having already softened it in cold water. Then pass through a sieve.
Pour the hot liquid into a rimmed plate. Leave to cool at room temperature. Once cold, the coulis will be gelatinised and can be cut into a slice of foie gras and placed on top.
Garnish
120g sugar
35g flour
60g orange juice + zest
60g melted butter
Pinch of gingerbread spice
Add the orange juice and the grated zest. Add the melted butter followed by the spices.
Leave to rest in the fridge overnight.
The next day, spread a thin layer onto baking paper and cook in the oven at 180 degrees for 6 minutes. Once the tuile has started to cool, roll it into your desired shape.
