Recipe: The Pillow of Fair Aurora

Name: The Pillow of Fair Aurora
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 880 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 500 g de pâte feuilletée pur beurre (soit 2 abaisses carrées de 30 cm environ); 1 faisan, les pattes dénervées et le tout complètement désossé, le foie et le cœur gardés juste sautés bleus, et toutes sortes de filets de gibiers à plumes (perdreaux, canard sauvage, bécasses, etc.); 120 g de dés de filet de sanglier mariné au cognac; 120 g de lard gras; 120 g de filet de veau (ou épaule); 150 g de filet de porc; 150 g de foie gras cru d'oie (si possible) taillé comme des pommes pont-neuf (frites); 1 truffe fraîche (mélanosporum) ou cuite de 30 à 40 g; 5 cl de fine champagne; Sel et poivre du moulin; Dorure; Gelée de gibier

By chef patrick Asfaux ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5/5 (11 reviews) Starters

Prep 40 min

Cook 120 min

Rest 12h

Total 14h40

Servings 8 serv.

This rich square pâté en croûte (shaped like a cushion) owes its name of Fair Aurora to Brillat-Savarin. Indeed, the mother of the illustrious gastronome was named Claudine-Aurora and was born a Récamier. It is even said that she created this recipe. This recipe was originally very rich: a puff pastry base (originally made with lard instead of butter) filled with a first farce (diced ham, fatty lard, veal, and pork), then in the center truffles, pistachios, slices of ham and sautéed veal sweetbreads. The whole was covered with a second farce made of partridge fillets, blond poultry livers, a sauté of mushrooms and truffles, and blanched beef marrow slices. Then it was covered with a second layer of puff pastry, glazed, and baked in the oven. The next day, once the cushion had cooled, a beautiful aspic was poured through the chimneys. Such was the original recipe for the Pillow of Fair Aurora, later remade almost word for word by Lucien Tendret.

I helped, as a commis, Chef Soustelle at Lucas-Carton in the making of this famous pillow, which had been specially ordered by a wealthy client. Roger Roucou, then owner of the celebrated restaurant now disappeared (La Mère Guy in Lyon), had us prepare this recipe just for us, and I still remember it!

So here is this recipe somewhat "adjusted" by yours truly, but while trying to preserve as much authenticity as possible. Note that this recipe is served hot, but it is also excellent cold.

Ingredients for 8 servings

500 g all-butter puff pastry (or 2 square sheets of about 30 cm)
1 pheasant, legs desinewed and completely deboned, liver and heart kept and just seared blue, plus various poultry game fillets (partridge, wild duck, woodcock, etc.)
120 g diced wild boar fillet marinated in cognac
120 g fatty bacon
120 g veal fillet (or shoulder)
150 g pork fillet
150 g raw goose foie gras (if possible) cut like pont-neuf potatoes (fries)
1 fresh truffle (mélanosporum) or cooked, 30 to 40 g
5 cl fine cognac
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Egg wash
Game aspic

Step-by-step directions

The evening before

1 In a bowl, pass through the mincer the meat from the pheasant thighs, the pork, veal, and fatty bacon. Then add the fine cognac, season with salt and pepper, add a little truffle juice if you have it, and mix everything well together. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

The next day, 2 hours 30 minutes before serving

2 Remove your baking sheet from the oven and preheat it to 210 °C (gas mark 7).

3 On this sheet, place parchment paper at the bottom, then lay your first square of puff pastry. Brush egg wash all around the edges for a width of 3 cm.

4 Spread half of the farce (without touching the glazed edges), then in the center, place all your pieces of foie gras, the truffle cut into sticks, the liver and liver and heart pieces cut the same way, as well as the two pheasant fillets cut into strips, the other game fillets, and the diced wild boar. Then add and spread the rest of the farce.

5 Cover with the second sheet of puff pastry, pressing down on the edges to seal them well, and flute around the edges. In the center, make 3 small holes where you will insert a small cardboard cylinder of 1 cm (chimney), then glaze your pillow and decorate it with small shapes cut out with a pastry cutter from the remaining pastry.

6 Place your sheet in the middle of the oven at this high temperature for 30 minutes, then lower to 150 °C (gas mark 5) for the 90 minutes that follow (a total of 2 hours cooking).

7 Remove your Pillow and let it cool down. When it is still warm (about 6 hours later), pour your aspic and let it cool this way (at least another 6 hours). Cut it with a serrated knife into eight square portions. The best way to serve it is with a sauceboat of Périgueux sauce on the side.

8 From there on, all that remains is a sensory visit to a monument of French gastronomy.

Chef Patrick's Comment

Hello everyone. Yesterday Wednesday November 5th present as a judge for the final of this France championship of this wonderful competition for recipes for the making of "The Pillow of Fair Aurora". 20 selected candidates from all over France each with between 60 and 80 hours of work to succeed. Very proud to have attended and participated in the CEPROC in Paris in the resurrection of this mythical recipe.