- 1½ Tb butter
- 2 Tb flour
- 1 cup boiling milk
- Pinch of pepper
- 1 lb or about 2 cups of chicken livers
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 6 Tb whipping cream
- 2 Tb port, Madeira, or cognac
- 1 chopped, canned truffle, optional
- 1 Tb butter
- 2 cups sauce béarnaise
- 8 ramekins of ½-cup capacity, or a 4-cup ring mold
- A pan containing 1 to 1½ inches of boiling water
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Make a thick béchamel sauce in a small saucepan by cooking the butter and flour together until they foam for 2 minutes without coloring. Off heat, beat in the boiling milk and seasonings. Boil, stirring, for 1 minute. Allow to cool while preparing other ingredients, beating occasionally.
- Place the livers, eggs, egg yolks, and seasonings in the blender, cover, and blend at top speed for 1 minute. Add the cool béchamel sauce, cream, and wine to the liver and blend for 15 seconds. Strain through a sieve into a bowl. Stir in the optional truffle and correct seasoning. (If not used immediately, cover and refrigerate.)
- Butter the interior of the ramekins or mold heavily. Pour in the liver mixture filling each ramekin or the mold to within about 1/8 inch of the top.
- Set in pan of boiling water, then place on a rack in middle level of preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until a needle or knife plunged into the center comes out clean, and the timbales have just begun to show a line of shrinkage from the ramekins. (If not served immediately, leave in hot turned-off oven, with door ajar, for 15 to 20 minutes.)
- Run a knife around the edge of each timbale and reverse onto a serving platter or serving plates. Top each with a spoonful of sauce, and pass the rest of the sauce separately.
- VARIATIONS
- Using the same proportions and method, substitute for the chicken livers any of the following cooked ingredients: ham, chicken, turkey, sweetbreads, salmon, lobster, crab, scallops, mushrooms, asparagus tips, or spinach.