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A quenelle is mixture of creamed fish, chicken, or meat,
sometimes combined with breadcrumbs, with a light egg binding. It is usually
poached. Formerly, quenelles were often used as a garnish in haute cuisine;
today, they are usually served on their own. |
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Left: Quenelle
noires à l'encre de seiche - quenelles colored black with cuttlefish ink. |
Lyon and Nantua are famous for their quenelles de brochet (mousseline) (pike
quenelles), often served with cream sauce and run under the salamander grill.
Pike has many small bones, so passing it through a tamis (a
type of strainer) is an expeditious way
of removing them.
The word quenelle is derived from the German Knödel (noodle
or dumpling).
There are many ways to prepare quenelles de brochet, but most recipes first
prepare a panade, essentially a white sauce, then combine the panade with fish,
and put the mixture through a sieve, yielding a farce. The quenelles are formed
from the farce and poached. They may be served sauced and grilled, or with a
variety of sauces.
Quenelle may also refer to a food
item made into an oval or egg shape, such as ice cream, sorbet, or mashed potato
quenelles. This usage derives from the original shape of the egg-and-meat
quenelle.
