Savoury choux, three ways - Le Cordon Bleu London

Step 1

Choux: Preheat oven to 200˚C. Heat butter, water and salt in a saucepan over a low heat. When the butter melts, bring the mixture to a boil then remove from the heat immediately. Add the flour into the hot liquid. Stir until a firm, smooth paste forms. Return the saucepan to a low heat to dry out the paste. Continue beating until it forms a ball and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the saucepan. Transfer the paste into a bowl and allow to cool for 5 minutes. One by one, add the eggs to the paste, beating vigorously after each addition to incorporate as much air as possible. The paste should be smooth and shiny. The paste is ready to be used when it falls from the spoon in a point. Transfer into a piping bag and pipe into shape. Egg wash with a brush once then sprinkle one third with pumpkin seeds, one third with sunflower seeds, and one third with nigella seeds, and egg wash a second time. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until cooked through. Wild mushroom and truffle: Sweat onion, garlic and thyme leaves in the butter. Add cleaned wild mushrooms and increase heat to fry until soft. Season and chill. Once chilled finely chop or process and finish with truffle oil. Smoked salmon and cream cheese: In a bowl, soften the cream cheese using a spoon then add the lemon juice and zest. Chop the smoked salmon into dice and fold into the cream cheese. Add the finely sliced chives. Coronation chicken: Gently poach the chicken breast in water with bouquet garni for about 15 minutes, until cooked through with a core temperature of 75°C. Once poached, chill and reserve. Cut chicken into small regular dice. Curry sauce (for coronation chicken): Sweat the onions in oil, add the curry powder and tomato paste and cook out for about 5 minutes. Add red wine, water and bay leaf and reduce to syrup consistency. Pass through a chinois sieve and allow to cool. Add the apricot nappage, mayonnaise and double cream and mix to combine. Season and add lemon juice. Mix the diced chicken with the curry sauce. To serve: Slice open the choux and spoon in the wild mushroom and truffle into the pumpkin seed choux, smoked salmon and cream cheese into the sunflower seed choux, and coronation chicken into the nigella seed choux.

Step 2

Choux: Preheat oven to 200˚C. Heat butter, water and salt in a saucepan over a low heat. When the butter melts, bring the mixture to a boil then remove from the heat immediately. Add the flour into the hot liquid. Stir until a firm, smooth paste forms. Return the saucepan to a low heat to dry out the paste. Continue beating until it forms a ball and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the saucepan. Transfer the paste into a bowl and allow to cool for 5 minutes. One by one, add the eggs to the paste, beating vigorously after each addition to incorporate as much air as possible. The paste should be smooth and shiny. The paste is ready to be used when it falls from the spoon in a point. Transfer into a piping bag and pipe into shape. Egg wash with a brush once then sprinkle one third with pumpkin seeds, one third with sunflower seeds, and one third with nigella seeds, and egg wash a second time. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until cooked through. Wild mushroom and truffle: Sweat onion, garlic and thyme leaves in the butter. Add cleaned wild mushrooms and increase heat to fry until soft. Season and chill. Once chilled finely chop or process and finish with truffle oil. Smoked salmon and cream cheese: In a bowl, soften the cream cheese using a spoon then add the lemon juice and zest. Chop the smoked salmon into dice and fold into the cream cheese. Add the finely sliced chives. Coronation chicken: Gently poach the chicken breast in water with bouquet garni for about 15 minutes, until cooked through with a core temperature of 75°C. Once poached, chill and reserve. Cut chicken into small regular dice. Curry sauce (for coronation chicken): Sweat the onions in oil, add the curry powder and tomato paste and cook out for about 5 minutes. Add red wine, water and bay leaf and reduce to syrup consistency. Pass through a chinois sieve and allow to cool. Add the apricot nappage, mayonnaise and double cream and mix to combine. Season and add lemon juice. Mix the diced chicken with the curry sauce. To serve: Slice open the choux and spoon in the wild mushroom and truffle into the pumpkin seed choux, smoked salmon and cream cheese into the sunflower seed choux, and coronation chicken into the nigella seed choux.