Quenelles de Poissons Pochés

Quenelles are nothing more than souffléed fish dumplings. They are created from ground fillets, made light with egg whites, succulent with whole eggs, cream, or a panade, and kept delicately soft by being poached in seasoned liquid.

The fillets are dried on paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible. Then they are cut into pieces and put into a blender container or put through a food grinder into a small mixer bowl. Egg whites are added one at a time and blended. The amount of moisture in the fish will determine how many whites the fish will absorb. The mixture should be thick, sticky, and smooth.