Guilty pleasure

When it comes to flavours,Kato Toshikazu,Japanese Sous Chef at San Qi at the Four Seasons feels that “Foie Gras works best with fruit-flavoured marmalade like apple,pear,berries.” Chef Ananda Solomon,Executive Chef at Taj President,agrees; at Thai Pavilion they serve a mango foie gras that is delicately masked with Thai flavoured stock and raw mango paste. “Although it is an acquired taste,foie gras is excellent on its own. For me,it should have just an aroma of spices,and that’s all,” he adds. If you want an Indian take on foie gras,Vineet Bhatia of Ziya,Oberoi,says that “One can use spices which have a sweet and understated flavour,so cinnamon or clove would be too strong. But we use fennel,green cardamom,star anise and coriander in the Masala foie gras at Ziya.”

Cooking the pinkish beige organ isn’t complicated because its charm lies in simplicity — but it does require skill. Toshikazu and Solomon both recommend pan searing foie gras and serving immediately; Bhatia,however,recommends lightly and quickly caramelising it before sprinkling spices on it and then finishing it in an oven for a few minutes. “Since the majority of its mass is fat,foie gras breaks down very easily and one has to be careful. For novices,I would recommend cooking frozen foie gras rather than waiting for it to thaw,” Bhatia offers.

There are,of course,other ways to cook foie gras but these need to be done carefully. Bhatia recounts having a foie gras steamed in cabbage leaves and served with a salad; Toshikazu recommends a teppanyaki foie gras. Rougie,one of the leading suppliers of Foie Gras,even has a Foie Gras School in France; although other countries produce foie gras,it is most synonymous with French food. Godrej Nature’s Basket and HyperCity retail foie gras on request. However,these retail options aren’t great value for money — 145 grams costs Rs 2,625 at Nature’s Basket and 125 grams costs Rs 2,500-3,500 at Hypercity.

Currently,consuming the delicacy at restaurants is cheaper (most dishes are under Rs 2,000. Either way,the high price is justified by its production process: “Foie gras has a distinct flavour and is worth the price as it does not taste like meat at the end of the process,” says Toshikazu. This process also brings up ethical questions as the birds (either duck or goose) are methodically fattened by being force-fed grain so that their livers grow unnaturally large; towards the end of their lives,they cannot even move. Karan Nevatia,a wine importer,however shrugs off the issue,stating that “being fattened up before being killed is a more honourable way to go than being stuck in a coop with a million other chickens and never seeing daylight.”

Another justification is that the production of foie gras has been done as early as Roman times (they used figs then). Solomon settles the argument the best,saying,“One has the right to choose what he wants to eat or what he wants to produce. The choice should be left to each individual — as long as you’re aware of how it is produced.”

Chef’s Special
Recipe for foie gras with berry sauce and brioche and truffle salt,courtesy Chef Toshikazu:
100g foie gras
40g mixed berry compote
10g refined flour
50ml chicken jus
20g blanched spinach
1 toasted brioche (1cm slice)
10g clarified butter
5g black truffle and salt
Salt and pepper for seasoning

* Put the liver in refined flour,seasoned with salt and pepper and keep aside.
* In a hot sauce pan,mix berry compote and jus to make berry sauce.
* Heat a pan till it’s very hot and add butter and sear the foie gras on all sides for good colour.
* Roast the seared liver in an oven for five minutes and take it out. Make sure it is plump,and not dry.
* Sauté the spinach in butter and season it.
* Place the spinach on top of the brioche. And on top of the spinach,place foie gras and finish by pouring hot berry sauce on it.
* Add the mix of black truffle and salt on top.

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