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Chestnut Roulettes
1 cup chestnut puree 2 eggs Few drops onion juice 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons heavy cream 1/4 teaspoon salt Few grains paprika Mix ingredients in order given, cook two minutes, and cool. Shape a little larger than French chestnuts, dip in crumbs, egg, and crumbs again. Fry in deep fat, and drain on brown paper.
A croquette in miniature: a stiff chestnut custard, chilled, shaped, breaded twice and deep-fried. Everything depends on getting the mixture cold and firm before it is handled.
- Chill it properlyTwo minutes of cooking sets the eggs only just enough to bind. Spread the mixture on a plate, cover, and refrigerate at least two hours — overnight is better. Warm or soft, it will not hold a shape and will burst in the fat.
- Chestnut pureeUse unsweetened chestnut puree, not the vanilla-sweetened creme de marrons sold for desserts. From whole chestnuts, allow about 1 lb in the shell to yield a cup of puree once roasted, peeled and mashed or sieved; canned or vacuum-packed unsweetened puree works directly.
- Cook over low heatCombine off the heat, then stir constantly over low heat or in a double boiler for the two minutes. Straight over a hot burner the eggs scramble and the mixture goes grainy.
- Onion juiceGrate a piece of onion on a fine grater and press the pulp in a cloth or fine sieve. A few drops is genuinely all that is wanted; more turns the chestnut flavour sharp.
- "French chestnuts"Marrons — the large cultivated chestnut that yields a single undivided kernel, roughly the size of a whole walnut. Shape the roulettes a little larger than that; a slight taper at one end helps the resemblance.
- Crumbs, egg, crumbsDry fine crumbs, then egg beaten with a spoonful of water, then crumbs again. Let the coated pieces rest on a rack in the refrigerator 20 minutes so the crust sets and stays on in the fat.
- Frying temperatureThe recipe gives no temperature; for deep fat of this kind roughly 375F is a reasonable working figure. The mixture is already largely cooked, so you are mainly browning: one to two minutes, turning once. Fry in small batches so the temperature does not drop.
- DrainingBrown paper was the standard grease blotter of the period. Use paper towels or, better, a wire rack over a tray, which keeps the crust from steaming soft underneath.
- YieldThe recipe gives no yield; expect roughly a dozen small roulettes, enough for a light entree course for a few people or a garnish alongside roast game or poultry.