Jonathan Jersualmy's Chestnut Soup, Foie Gras Flan And Croque-En-Bouche

4 from 1 ratings

Sea Island’s Executive Chef Jonathan Jerusalmy is a native Frenchman and has incorporated his French influence into the holiday menus of the resort’s various restaurants with dishes like Chestnut Soup, Foie Gras Flan and Croque-en-Bouche. “Having not spent the holidays with my family in more than 20 years, the way to feel close to them during this time of year is through the smell and taste of holiday dishes I remember. These dishes cradled my childhood and inspired me to become a chef.”

Servings

servings

Ingredients

3 tablespoon unsalted butter
6 cup chicken broth
1 pound peeled cooked whole chestnuts, crumbled (3 cups)
1/4 cup port wine
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 cup heavy cream
1 ounce black truffle
5 egg yolks
1/4 foie gras chopped
2 cup milk
1 vanilla bean, split
1/2 sugar
6 tablespoon cornstarch
5 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange peel
2 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
1 1/2 cup cups water
10 tablespoon unsalted butter or margarine, cut up
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup cups all-purpose flour
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 3/4 cup cups sugar, divided
3 tablespoon light corn syrup, divided

Directions

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat, and stir in onion. Add chestnut and Madeira, bring to a boil and reduce. Add chicken stock, bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes. Use a blender to purée soup in small batches (4 or 5) until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids), transferring to a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan. Stir in cream, pepper, and salt to taste and reheat soup over moderate heat, stirring occasionally.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, mix all ingredients together in a blender and strain through a chinois, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, bake for one hour at 325° F in a Bain Marie and pour hot soup on top of the flan, serve immediately with sautéed foie gras and toasted pumpkin seeds.
For the filling, heat milk with vanilla bean in medium saucepan, until small bubbles appear around edge. Meanwhile, whisk 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch in a bowl; set aside. Remove vanilla bean from hot milk. Scrape seeds from bean and add to milk mixture. Gradually whisk half the hot milk into sugar-cornstarch mixture; then add mixture to saucepan. Remove saucepan from heat and whisk in yolks. Stirring with whisk, bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. (Once thickened the mixture might appear curdled, but it's okay.) Whisk custard vigorously 4 seconds, until smooth. Return custard to a boil; boil 1 minute more. Stir in peel and juice. Transfer to medium bowl; cover and refrigerate until cool, 2 hours. Beat cream in mixer bowl until soft peaks form. Gently whisk half the whipped cream into custard; fold in remaining cream with rubber spatula.
For the cream puffs, heat oven to 400 degree F. lightly grease 2 large cookie sheets. Bring water, butter, 1 tablespoon sugar, and salt to boil in medium saucepan; boil until butter melts. Reduce heat to medium, add flour all at once; stir until dough pulls away from side of pan. Continue stirring 1 to 2 minutes to dry. Transfer dough to a mixer bowl. Beat in eggs at medium speed, one at a time, until blended after each addition and mixture is stiff. Spoon warm dough into large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip. Pipe into eighty 1-inch balls, 1 inch apart, on prepared sheets. Bake 22 to 25 minutes, switching pans after 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove pans from oven. Turn oven off. With a small, sharp knife, cut a small slit in the center of the flat bottom of each puff. Return puffs, bottom down, to cookie sheets and let stand in oven with door ajar, 1 hour. Transfer puffs to wire racks and cool completely.
To prepare half the caramel, heat small skillet over medium heat 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons corn syrup to the skillet; cook, swirling pan occasionally, until sugar melts and turns golden, 7 minutes. Add 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, swirling pan until sugar melts after each addition and caramel is light amber. Remove pan from heat. Carefully dip top of each puff into caramel and immediately return each puff caramel-side up to cookie sheet. (If caramel hardens, reheat over low heat until melted.) Spoon half the filling into large pastry bag fitted with a plain 1/4-inch tip. Insert the tip into the slit of a puff; fill and return to cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining puffs and filling. To form cone, cover an 8-inch round cardboard circle with foil; set aside. Make remaining caramel in a clean and dry the skillet. Heat over medium heat 1 minute. Add remaining 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon corn syrup and cook, swirling pan occasionally, until sugar melts and turns golden, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Dip bottom of each puff and arrange a circle of puffs along the edge of the foil-lined circle (about 14 puffs). Combine gluing and stacking seven more layers of puffs with caramel to form a cone, (If caramel hardens, reheat over low heat until melted.) Let stand until caramel completely hardens. To serve, transfer croque-en-bouche to serving plate. Then cut horizontally in rows through caramel with serrated knife to separate puffs, and transfer to serving plates.