No. 1416

Noisettes of Tenderloin of Beef a la Nicoise

Noisettes de Filet de Boeuf a la Nicoise

When the noisettes are prepared and cooked the same as for plain noisettes (No. 1410), dress them on a layer of tomatoes previously skinned, halved, squeezed and fried in hot oil mixed with eighth of an inch squares of cut ham; season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and a taste of garlic. Lay these tomatoes inside a border made of risot Piemontaise (No. 2981). Glaze the noisettes, set them inside the border and garnish around the outside with small potato balls half an inch in size, and cooked in butter with chopped parsley strewed over.

← No. 1415 Noisettes of Tenderloin of Beef a la Maire Beef No. 1417 Noisettes of Tenderloin of Beef a la Rossini →

For the Modern Kitchen

Ranhofer writes for a brigade that already knows the base preparations, so this entry is really an assembly plan: seared tenderloin medallions, a tomato base, a risotto border and buttered potato balls. The work is in the timing, since four separate hot components have to meet on one dish.

What a noisette isA noisette is a small round medallion cut from the trimmed tenderloin, one or two per serving. Ranhofer sends you to his plain noisettes (No. 1410) for the cooking method; cook them quickly so the centre stays rosy, and let them rest while you build the plate.
Cross-references you needTwo numbers do real work here. No. 1410 supplies the cooking method for the meat, and No. 2981, risot Piemontaise, supplies the Piedmont-style risotto for the border. It needs to be firm enough to hold a ring on the platter, or the border collapses and the tomato runs.
The tomatoes"Skinned, halved, squeezed" is tomato concassee: peel, halve, press out seeds and juice, then fry the flesh in oil until it is thick and almost dry. Any wetness left in it will bleed into the risotto ring.
"A taste of garlic"The phrase asks for a trace rather than a distinct flavour of its own: a crushed clove briefly in the oil, or the smallest amount minced. The nutmeg is likewise a scrape, not a measured amount.
Glazing the noisettesTo glaze means to brush the medallions with glace de viande, a reduced brown stock thick enough to coat and gloss the meat. A modern substitute is a strongly reduced beef stock or a commercial demi-glace concentrate, warmed to brushing consistency. Do this at the last moment; glaze dulls as it cools.
Potato ballsHalf-inch balls scooped with a small parisienne cutter, then cooked gently in butter until golden and tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. These are what the classic repertoire calls pommes noisette, the name in both cases referring to the hazelnut size.
HamEighth-inch dice, as specified. A mild cured ham suits the tomato better than a heavily smoked one, though the recipe says only "ham."

A Little History

The Epicurean (1894) is Charles Ranhofer's record of his three decades as chef at Delmonico's in New York, and its numbered entries function as a cross-referenced system rather than a book of standalone recipes. The garnish name a la nicoise points to Nice and, by the late nineteenth century, signalled tomato, olive oil and garlic to any French-trained cook, the same shorthand that later attached itself to the salad. Pairing that Provencal base with a risot Piemontaise border is less odd than it looks: Nice belonged to the Kingdom of Sardinia until 1860, and the cooking of the Ligurian and Piedmontese coast was continuous across that border. The layered construction here, meat set inside a ring of starch with a separate garnish outside it, is often associated with the elaborate platters that grand American restaurants of the period sent to table, though how far it is typical of them is harder to say.