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Quenelles D'homard Au Supreme

Lobster and whiting quenelles served in a Supreme sauce.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 21 ingredients
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Why it works: Marjoram and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,075 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓

Quenelles D'homard Au Supreme

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the fish

  1. Remove the flesh from the lobster fillets.

  2. Remove the flesh from the whiting fillets.

  3. Pound the lobster and whiting flesh together.

  4. Pass the mixture through a sieve.

Make the broth

  1. Combine the whiting bones, soft lobster parts, green onions, marjoram, mace, cloves, and broth in a saucepan.

  2. Simmer the mixture for 30 minutes.

  3. Strain the broth into a bowl.

Make the panada

  1. Soak the French roll crumbs in cold milk.

  2. Squeeze the soaked crumbs dry.

  3. Mix the crumbs with some strained fish broth in a saucepan.

  4. Cook the mixture until dry and firm.

  5. Shape the mixture into a ball the same size as the fish.

Make the quenelle mixture

  1. Pound the ball with the lobster and whiting mixture.

  2. Add ¼ cup butter, 6 egg yolks, cayenne, and salt to the ball.

  3. Pass the mixture through a sieve.

  4. Beat the egg whites until firm.

  5. Fold the beaten egg whites into the mixture.

Steam and serve

  1. Butter 8 dariole molds.

  2. Line the bottoms of the molds with paper.

  3. Fill the molds with the mixture.

  4. Steam the filled molds for 20 minutes.

  5. Reduce the remaining broth with 2 tablespoons sauce tournee and 1 teaspoon elder vinegar.

  6. Season the reduced broth.

  7. Stir in a piece of fresh butter before serving.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Marjoram + clovetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,075 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  2. Lobster + whitingtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together73 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Mace + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together8,400 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  4. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  5. Marjoram + macetop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together767 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Lobster flesh
Forms the main body of the quenelles and gives them their delicate seafood flavor.
Whiting fillets
Adds a light, tender fish base that makes the quenelle mixture softer and more delicate.
French roll crumbs
Soaked and cooked into a panada that binds the mixture and keeps the quenelles tender.
Egg yolks
Enrich the mixture and help bind it, adding richness and a smooth set.
Egg whites
Whipped and folded in to lighten the mixture and help it rise during steaming.
Fresh butter
Adds richness and smoothness to the quenelle mixture and the finishing sauce.

The step that matters

Folding in the beaten egg whites. Overmixing knocks the air out of the whites, so the quenelles steam up dense instead of light. Fold gently until just combined.

Swap the marjoram

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lobster, whiting, onion, mace, clove, milk, butter):

  1. Nutmegfits better
  2. Cinnamonfits better
  3. Parsleyfits better
  4. Marjoramthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against lobster, whiting, onion, mace, clove, milk, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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