INGREDIENTS
4 large Redgate Farm quail, butterflied
100g chicken mousse
100g duck liver
¼ teaspoon Murray River Sea salt
375g puff pastry
Confit chicken
250g chicken thigh on bone, skinless
500g duck fat
10g Murray River Sea Salt
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 sprig thyme, picked from stalk
5 white peppercorns
1 bay leaf
Chicken mousse
150g chicken breast fillet
1 small egg
¼ teaspoon Murray River Sea Salt
Tarragon sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
1 clove garlic, crushed
12 leaves tarragon
1 bunch parsley, leaves picked
1 handful English spinach leaves, washed
1 tablespoon garlic oil
50g butter, diced
Murray River Sea Salt to taste
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Assembly
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons clarified butter
METHOD
Confit chicken
- Pre-heat oven on Conventional at 100°C.
- Combine all ingredients for confit chicken in a small casserole dish with a lid.
- Place in the oven on shelf position 2 and cook for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the chicken is pulling away from the bone easily.
- Remove the chicken from the duck fat and drain on a cooling rack. Strain the duck fat into an airtight container and refrigerate for another use.
- Pick the chicken meat from the bone and press into a small sausage shape on a sheet of plastic wrap. Roll up tightly to form a sausage shape and refrigerate until required.
Chicken mousse
- Place the chicken fillet into the bowl of a food processor with the salt and pulse until it is paste consistency, being careful not to heat the meat with too much processing.
- Add the egg and pulse until combined. Set aside in a piping bag in the refrigerator to cool completely.
Tarragon sauce
- Place the oil in a pan on medium heat, Induction setting 5-6. When the oil is hot, add the shallots and garlic and stir well, reduce the heat if shallots are browning too quickly. Cook stirring for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the tarragon, parsley and spinach, stir until wilted. Remove from the heat and place in the bowl of a food
processor and blend on full speed whilst adding the butter. Pass the sauce through a fine sieve and check for seasoning. Add more salt if necessary. Set aside.
Assembly
- Roll out the pastry on a clean, lightly floured surface to 6mm thickness. Place on a tray and rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
- Cut the confit chicken into small cubes, one per pithivier.
- Cook the duck liver in a hot pan for just a few minutes and cut into cubes similar in size to the confit chicken.
Cool in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. - Place one quail (free of all bones) in the middle of a large piece of plastic wrap. Lay out until fairly even thickness all over.
- Pipe a small amount of the chicken mousse into the centre of the quail. Place a block of the confit chicken on top. Pipe more mousse on top and then add a piece of the duck liver. Cover with a final layer of the chicken mousse.
- Fold the leg ends of the quail into the middle first, over the mousse and then bring the remaining corners of the quail over to completely cover the mousse. Bring all 4 edges of the plastic wrap together and gently expel all the air. Twist the plastic wrap quite tightly close to the top of the quail forming a ball. Rest in the freezer for 25 minutes (set timer). Repeat with the remaining quail.
- Cut the pastry into two different size squares. You will need one of each size per pithivier. Cut one square 16cm x 16cm, cut the second square 12cm x 12cm.
- Remove the quail from the plastic wrap and place one in the middle of the smaller square of pastry. Brush around the edge of the quail with egg yolk.
- Pre-heat oven on Fan Plus at 180°C.
- Place a larger square of pastry over the quail and gently press down to expel the air. The best way is to use a floured pastry cutter turned upside down that is just a bit bigger than the ball of quail and very gently press down to seal. Leave this pastry cutter in place and place another cutter 1 size bigger (also upside down) over the top, press down to sealthe edge of the pithivier. Remove the cutters.
- Using the back of a paring knife, form a pattern around the pastry dome being careful not to cut the pastry. Refrigerate while you repeat the process for the remaining 3 pithiviers.
- Refrigerate all pithiviers when finished for at least 20 minutes.
- Whisk the egg yolks and add the melted clarified butter. Brush each pithivier with the butter mixture and refrigerate again for 10 minutes.
- Brush the pithiviers one more time with the butter mixture and refrigerate for another 10 minutes.
- Change oven function to Moisture Plus at 180°C with an automatic burst of steam. Follow prompts on control panel for using Moisture Plus. Bake for 15 minutes or until dark golden brown.
Hints and tips
- Chicken confit can be made 2 days ahead of time.
- Chicken mousse can be made 1 day ahead of time.
APPLIANCE / FUNCTION
Shannon Bennett
In 2011, acclaimed Australian chef Shannon Bennett undertook the greatest challenge of his life – moving his award winning Vue de monde restaurant to the dramatic new location on the 55th floor of Melbourne’s iconic Rialto building. From the beginning, Shannon’s goal has been to make Vue de monde Australia’s most sustainable restaurant. More than 50 cutting-edge technologies are being utilised, from an E-water system to ‘cold kitchen technology’ (no exposed flames or gas)
