A quenelle is mixture of creamed fish, chicken, or meat, sometimes combined with breadcrumbs, with a light egg binding [Larousse Gastronomique, 1961] It is usually poached. Formerly, quenelles were often used as a garnish in haute cuisine; today, they are usually served on their own.
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 is an expeditious way of removing them.
Similar items are found in many cultures. The Romans are believed to have introduced this type of food to Western Europe.Fact|date=May 2008
The word quenelle comes from the German "Knödel" (noodle or dumpling).[cite book]
title = Dictionaire Général pour la maîtrise de la langue française la culture classique et contemporaine
edition =
last =
first =
coauthors =
year = 1993
publisher = Larousse
id = ISBN 2-03-320300-X
pages = p. 1297; "Petit Robert", 1972; Oxford English Dictionary, Draft Revision, Dec. 2007] ; the old Larousse Gastronomique, however, reports that some writers trace it to an Old English word "knyll".] Quenelles naturelles appeared after World War 2 when there were shortages of fish and meat. The main ingredients are eggs, butter, cream semolina or flour.
Preparation
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. [Ann Pringle Harries, "Fare of the Country: Delicate Pike Quenelles, a Lyons Tradition", "New York Times", August 4, 1991 [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE6DC123BF937A3575BC0A967958260] ]
ee also
*Gefilte fish
References
External links
