No. 3213

Rice Mirabeau

Riz a la Mirabeau

Boil three-quarters of a pound of rice in water acidulated with the juice of a few lemons, keeping the grains whole, then drain and macerate in a maraschino syrup. Prepare a fine salpicon of preserved fruits cut in dice, having pineapple, apricot, pears and citron cut up very fine, cherries divided in two and shredded pistachios; on these pour four tablespoonfuls of maraschino, four of brandy, four of Curacoa, and four of almond milk (No. 4); leave the whole to steep for one hour; throw over two ounces of gelatine that has been dissolved in a little water. As soon as this preparation begins to thicken stir the rice into it and transfer the whole to a plain timbale mold, and let harden in the ice-box for two hours. When ready to serve unmold on a cold dish, and cover with a raspberry sauce (No. 3217).

← No. 3212 Pyramid of Meringues Cold Entremets — Creams, Jellies & Charlottes No. 3214 Rice with Apricots →

For the Modern Kitchen

A molded rice-and-candied-fruit dessert from Charles Ranhofer's Delmonico's repertoire, held together with gelatine and soaked in a cup of mixed liqueurs. The only real difficulty is the setting agent, since gelatine strength has changed a great deal since 1894.

The gelatine is the hingeTwo ounces is a large amount by modern standards, and nineteenth-century gelatine (the recipe does not say whether sheet or granulated) was generally weaker and more variable in strength than today's standardised product, so a straight substitution risks something rubbery. As a starting point, try roughly half the weight of a current 225-bloom powder — about 1 oz, or four 1/4-oz envelopes — bloomed in cold water and dissolved gently without boiling, and adjust on a test.
Rice and vesselUse a medium- or short-grain white rice; the acidulated water is traditionally said to help the grains stay white and separate rather than collapsing into pudding. Drain while still slightly firm. A "plain timbale mold" is a straight-sided, unfluted mold — a charlotte mold or a loaf pan of adequate capacity works.
Almond milk (No. 4)Ranhofer's almond milk (his No. 4) is blanched sweet almonds pounded with water and strained, and is closer to a thin almond cream than to the unsweetened carton product sold today. If substituting, use a sweetened almond drink or thin a spoonful of almond paste with water.
SalpiconA salpicon is simply a fine, even dice, here of candied rather than fresh fruit. "Citron" is candied citron peel, not the lemon; "preserved" pineapple, apricot and pear means candied or in heavy syrup, drained well, since fruit packed in thin juice will loosen the set.
Maraschino syrupFor the maceration, flavour a sugar syrup with maraschino to taste and let the drained rice absorb it. This is separate from the four tablespoonfuls of maraschino that go over the fruit.
The alcohol stays rawTwelve tablespoons of spirits plus the maraschino syrup go in uncooked, so nothing burns off. The finished dessert tastes strongly of liqueur and is not for children.
Chilling and unmoldingTwo hours is optimistic for a mold this size; give it at least four hours and preferably overnight. Dip the mold briefly in warm water and invert onto a chilled plate.
YieldProbably serves 8 to 10, though the recipe gives no number. The raspberry sauce of No. 3217 is not printed here; a modern raspberry coulis, lightly sweetened and strained, serves the same purpose.

A Little History

The Epicurean (1894) is Ranhofer's summary of some thirty years as chef at Delmonico's in New York, and this entremets shows the house style plainly: French technique, a heavy hand with imported liqueurs, and a dessert built to be unmolded whole in front of the room. The name is decorative rather than descriptive — the scatter of nineteenth-century French dishes carrying it are often traced to the Comte de Mirabeau, the Revolutionary orator, though the attribution is traditional rather than documented; in savory cookery "à la Mirabeau" generally meant anchovy and olives, so there is no culinary logic linking that garnish to this one. The maraschino is the period marker: the cherry liqueur of Zara on the Dalmatian coast was a luxury import that appears throughout fashionable American and European dessert cookery of the 1880s and 1890s, and candied pineapple, apricot and citron of this quality were expensive goods, which is precisely why a restaurant like Delmonico's could put a rice dessert on the same menu as truffled game.