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A quenelle () is a mixture of creamed

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

or meat, sometimes combined with

breadcrumbs Bread crumbs or breadcrumbs (regional variants including breading and crispies) consist of crumbled bread of various dryness, sometimes with seasonings added, used for breading or crumbing foods, topping casseroles, stuffing poultry, thickeni ...

, with a light egg binding, formed into an egg-like shape, and then cooked. The usual preparation is by

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

. Formerly, quenelles were often used as a garnish in

haute cuisine ''Haute cuisine'' (; ) or ''grande cuisine'' is the cuisine of "high-level" establishments, gourmet restaurants, and luxury hotels. ''Haute cuisine'' is characterized by the meticulous preparation and careful presentation of food at a high pric ...

. Today, they are more commonly served sauced as a dish in their own right. Similar items are found in many cuisines. By extension, a quenelle may also be another food made into a similar shape, such as

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

sorbet Sorbet (), also called "water ice", is a frozen dessert made using ice combined with fruit juice, fruit purée, wine, liqueur, honey, etc. Generally sorbets do not contain dairy ingredients, while sherbets do. Etymology The word "sorbet" en ...

, or

mashed potato Mashed potato or mashed potatoes (American and Canadian English), colloquially known as mash (British English), is a dish made by mashing boiled or steamed potatoes, usually with added milk, butter, salt and pepper. It is generally served as a ...

quenelles.

Etymology

The word quenelle is attested from 1750. The commonly accepted etymology is that it derives from the German ''

Knödel Knödel (; and ) or Klöße (; ) are boiled dumplings commonly found in Central European and East European cuisine. Central European countries in which their variant of ''Knödel'' is popular include Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, ...

'' (

noodle Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures (for example, Chinese noodles, Filipino noodles, In ...

or dumpling).; ''Petit Robert'', 1972;

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...

, Draft Revision, Dec. 2007; the old ''

Larousse Gastronomique ' () is an encyclopedia of gastronomy. The majority of the book is about French cuisine, and contains recipes for French dishes and cooking techniques. The first edition included few non-French dishes and ingredients; later editions include many ...

'', however, reports that some writers trace it to an Old English word ''knyll'', while Dietrich Behrens in'' Über deutsches Sprachgut im Französischen'', ''Giessener Beiträge zur romanischen Philologie'' Vol. 1 (1923), proffers dialectical German ''Knollen'' or ''Knöllen'', meaning "ball", as a possible origin.

''Quenelles de brochet''

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

and

Nantua Nantua (; Arpitan: ''Nantuat'') is a commune in and subprefecture of the Ain département in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 3,454. The commune of Nantua comprises the glacial Lac de Nantua ...

are famous for their ''quenelles de brochet'' (

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

quenelles), often served with

sauce Nantua Nantua sauce (French: ''Sauce Nantua'') is a classical French sauce consisting of: *a Béchamel sauce base *cream * crayfish butter *crayfish tails It is named for the city of Nantua, which is known for its crayfish, and the term ''à la Nantua' ...

(crayfish sauce) or ''sauce mousseline'' (cream sauce) and run under a grill. The classic dish of ''quenelles de brochet Nantua'' or simply ''quenelles Nantua'' consists of pike quenelles with sauce Nantua, both pike and crayfish being specialties of the Nantua area. Pike quenelles were invented by a chef named Bontemps to deal with the pike's "multitude of long, fine, forked bones". ''Quenelles de brochet'' are prepared many ways, but most recipes first prepare a panade, essentially a thick

white sauce White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, then combine the panade with fish, and put the mixture through a sieve such as a

tamis A tamis (pronounced "tammy", also known as a drum sieve, or chalni in Indian cooking) is a kitchen utensil, shaped somewhat like a snare drum, that acts as a strainer, grater, or food mill. A tamis has a cylindrical edge, made of metal or w ...

, yielding a

forcemeat Forcemeat (derived from the French ''farcir'', "to stuff") is a uniform mixture of lean meat with fat made by grinding or sieving the ingredients. The result may either be smooth or coarse. Forcemeats are used in the production of numerous item ...

. The quenelles are shaped from the forcemeat and then 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'', 4 August 199

/ref>

References

Garde manger Cuisine of Lyon French cuisine Fish dishes Culinary terminology {{France-cuisine-stub

Etymology

''Quenelles de brochet''

See also

References