WHAT ARE THEY?
Macarons sprinkled with black sesame seeds, filled with a piece of semi-cooked foie gras and fig jam, served cold.
TIME TO MAKE
Preparation: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cooking: 12–15 minutes for the shells, 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours for the foie gras
Resting: 24 hours for the foie gras, plus 6 hours for the macarons
EQUIPMENT
Hand-held blender
Piping bag (plain 8 mm and 10 mm nozzle)
VARIATION
Replace the figs in the jam with onions.
ADVICE
The recipe can be made with bought semi-cooked foie gras. Cut out discs of 3 cm diameter and 5 mm thick. The foie gras rolls and the macaron shells can be made in advance and frozen for 3 months. Thaw them overnight in the refrigerator the day before serving.
TECHNIQUES TO MASTER
Preparing fresh foie gras
ORGANISATION
2 days before | Make the foie gras rolls and set aside in the refrigerator.
1 day before | Make the macaron shells and store at room temperature or thaw the shells in the refrigerator. Make the fig jam and set aside in the refrigerator.
6 hours before | Assemble the macarons.
30 minutes before | Remove the macarons from the refrigerator.
MAKES 30
1 MACARON SHELLS
80 g water
250 g sugar
200 g egg white
250 g finely ground almonds
250 g (2 cups) icing sugar
40 g (¼ cup) black sesame seeds
2 FOIE GRAS ROLLS
1 × 450–500 g lobe duck liver (foie gras)
7 g salt
pinch of white pepper
30 g white port
3 FIG JAM
12 frozen figs
150 g wildflower honey
30 g sherry vinegar
5 g Espelette pepper
1 Make the foie gras rolls following the method.
2 Preheat the oven to 150°C. Make the macaron mixture and pipe 60 shells (following the method) of 3 cm diameter. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
3 Bake for 12–15 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking paper. Match pairs of shells together by their shape.
4 To make the fig jam, cook the frozen figs with the honey and vinegar in a saucepan over a medium heat for 25–30 minutes. The mixture should be lightly stewed.
5 Purée the mixture using a hand-held blender. Add the Espelette pepper and cook for a further 15 minutes, until the mixture has a jam-like consistency.
6 Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap (with the plastic touching) and allow to cool. Set aside in the refrigerator.
7 To assemble, dip a knife in hot water and cut 30 slices of foie gras 5 mm thick. Lay on a baking tray lined with baking paper, then set aside in the refrigerator.
8 Transfer the fig jam to a piping bag with a plain 10 mm nozzle and pipe a dome of jam on one half of each macaron pair. Add a foie gras slice on top, then a spot of fig jam, then top with the second macaron shell. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving.
