The grand Lyonnais dinner among friends
Pike Quenelles, Nantua Sauce
FestiveEvocation🍄 🧂difficile2 h
Pike quenelles as light as a cloud, poached then gratinéed under a deep pink crayfish sauce, Nantua. The festive dish of his hometown, rich in umami, requiring patience and bringing the table together.
Why this dish? Saint-Exupéry was born in Lyon in 1900 and spent his childhood at the Château de Saint-Maurice-de-Rémens in the Ain — country of crayfish and Nantua sauce. He who "appreciated good French cuisine and dinners with friends" could not ignore this king of Lyonnais tables.
I was born in Lyon, and at home, receiving friends never went without quenelles. We poached these clouds of pike in barely simmering water, then napped them with a sauce reddened by crayfish — Nantua, named after the nearby lake. It is a patient dish, requiring you to beat the batter long and never take your eyes off the fire. But when the gratin came out of the oven, golden and trembling, the whole table fell silent at last. Believe me: there are silences worth all compliments.
Ingredients
- •Pike flesh — according to the catch (heart of the quenelle)
- •Panade (milk, butter, flour) — — (airy binder)
- •Eggs — several (structure)
- •River crayfish — a basketful (base of Nantua sauce)
- •Butter, cream — — (creaminess)
How it was made : In Lyon and the Ain, quenelles were made by hand, with a piping bag or a spoon, and the "red-claw" crayfish were caught in the rivers of the Bugey before they became scarce. The Nantua sauce then got its colour solely from crayfish butter, without tomato — the addition of paste is a modern convenience for colour.
Sources : Lyonnais and Bresse culinary tradition · Curnonsky, La France gastronomique (Lyon-Bresse region, 1920s)