Confited foie gras, bramley apple compote and walnut crunch

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A heavenly combination from Adam Simmonds; foie gras and apples are divine, and the addition of walnuts is perfect to add further flavour and texture. You will be required to cook sous-vide so make sure you have the correct equipment before you begin this dish.

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Foie Gras marinade

Apple compote

Apple purée

Apple jelly

  • 250ml of apple juice
  • 1g of agar agar
  • 1g of caster sugar
  • 1/2 gelatine leaf
  • 1 lemon, juiced

Walnut purée

  • 100g of walnuts
  • 360ml of milk
  • 18ml of walnut oil

Walnut nougatine

  • 50g of walnuts
  • 12ml of water
  • 50g of sugar

Walnut crunch

  • 10g of bread, crusts removed and cut into cubes
  • 7g of corn starch
  • 1 egg
  • 10g of butter, melted
  • salt

Equipment

  • Piping bag 1-2cm nozzle
  • Sugar thermometer
  • Pestle and mortar
  • Water bath

Method

1
First, prepare the foie gras. Place the lobes of foie gras in a container of cold water to soften slightly (leave in their bag). Separate the lobes of foie gras, remove all veins and traces of blood
2
Lay the open lobes of foie gras in a dish, then soak in the salt and milk for 1 hour (this will remove any remaining blood clots). Combine the Madeira, Armagnac, port, sugar and pepper for the marinade. Drain and pat dry the foie gras, place in a clean dish and marinade in for 8 hours in the fridge
3
Drain and place into a shrink wrap bag and seal. Plunge into boiling water and then straight into iced water. Cook sous-vide in a waterbath at 65°C until the core reaches 56°C. Put straight into iced water. Mature in the fridge for 2 days before you use
4
For the apple purée, place a suitable sized pan on the stove and add 100ml of water. Bring to the boil, then add the sliced apples and cook quickly until soft. Blend until smooth, cool quickly and adjust the taste with sugar if required. Reserve 20g to add to the compote and fill a piping bag with the remaining purée
  • 500g of Bramley apple, peeled, cored and sliced
  • 1 tbsp of caster sugar
5
To make the apple compote, place the 200g of sliced apples into a suitable sized pan and cook them until they have totally collapsed. Remove the pan from the heat, spoon onto a plate and cool quickly
6
In a pan add 100ml of water, place onto the stove and bring to the boil. Add the diced apples and cook until they are soft but still have a little bite. As soon as they are cooked spoon onto a plate and cool quickly
7
Then, chop the cooked sliced apples until coarse and combine with the diced apple and 20g of the apple purée, which you made earlier. Taste, adding a little sugar to remove the tartness but not over sweetening the apples
8
For the jelly, mix the agar agar and sugar together. Take ¼ of the apple juice, add the sugar and agar agar mixture and whisk, then allow it to sit for 20 minutes
  • 1.2g of agar agar
  • 1.2g of caster sugar
  • 62ml of apple juice
9
Meanwhile soak the gelatine in cold water
  • 1/2 gelatine leaf
10
Put the remaining apple juice onto the stove and bring to a rapid boil, whisking constantly. Remove from the stove add the drained gelatine and mix thoroughly. Add the agar agar juice and mix thoroughly. Set quickly over a bowl of ice
11
To make the walnut purée, place the walnuts onto a tray and roast in the oven lightly, then crush in a pestle and mortar. Put them into a suitable sized pan and cover them with the milk
12
Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook until soft, which should take about 20 minutes. You may need to drain some of the milk before blending. Place into a blender and blitz, then transfer to a bowl and whisk in the walnut oil. Taste and adjust if required
  • 18ml of walnut oil
13
For the walnut nougatine, roast the walnuts in the oven until golden brown colour, then crush lightly
14
Heat the sugar and water to 150°C, using a sugar thermometer, then remove from the stove, add the walnuts and stir until evenly mixed. Turn onto greaseproof paper and allow to cool
  • 50g of sugar
15
For the walnut crunch, chop 30g of the nougatine the same size, then mix together with the bread cubes
  • 10g of bread
16
Whisk the corn starch and egg together with a pinch of salt. Add to the nougatine mix and mix thoroughly
17
Stir in the melted butter, spread onto a baking tray and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and allow to cool. Once cool, crush in a pestle and mortar
18
To serve, dot the apple and walnut purées on the plate, and dust with the walnut crunch
19
Slice the foie gras and place to the left of the plate. Then put 5 small piles of the apple compote around the foie gras. The apple jelly is spooned onto the apple compote
20
The dish is finished with micro watercress and a slice of brioche

Beneath the surface of Adam Simmond’s dishes is highly original, thoughtful cooking.

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