A lot of friends that I have now became friends because of our connection with food. Dr. Patrick Lloyd, (pictured at right), who founded and heads ObisOne, the Organic Black Garlic company, is one of those. When he happens upon an amazing ingredient, he’ll often stop by and share. This time, he came by with a lobe of beautiful foie gras, which I had a lot of fun with. My first thought was just to sear slices (about 30 seconds on each side in butter on med-high heat) and serve with something sweet. I warmed blood orange supremes with the same amount of fig jam and it was just perfect. Quick, decadent and intoxicating on toast. (Top photo).
However, Pat also wanted to try a foie gras mousse, and I’m glad we did both. Each of these methods is so super simple and fast and a great starter for your guests (or just you!)
INGREDIENTS
1 lobe of Grade A foie gras, at room temperature, about 1 1/4 pounds
1/4 cup Cognac
1/4 cup heavy cream
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2-ounce of black truffles finely chopped*
ObisOne Black Crack (dried black garlic)
1 dozen toast points
METHOD
In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, add the foie gras and puree until smooth.
Add the cognac and cream. Process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the processor and fold in the truffles.
Spoon the mousse in a porcelain 2 cup dish.
Sprinkle with a bit of the black crack or if you don’t have any, a bit of pepper. It won’t taste garlicky- it’s smoky and almost sweet.
Serve the mousse at room temperature with the toast points.
*You can get the truffles that are jarred in olive oil if you don’t want to spend the money on fresh.
A lobe of raw foie can be purchased at Dartagnan.com, and runs about $124. But they also sell it in slices for about $30, which will be plenty in most cases.
I hope you can use one of these for a holiday gathering or just for treating yourself when you need it. But as always, wonderful things are best shared with friends.