Semi-cooked Foie gras, chocolate bread and pear-cardamom chutney

For the foie gras

• 1 raw foie gras (500g (1 lb))
• 1 tsp of fleur de sel (5g)
• 1 tsp of raw sugar
• White pepper (5 turns of pepper mill)
• 2 tbsp of white Port

For the chutney

• 1 large onion
• 3 pears
• 70g (2,5 oz) of raw sugar
• 5 seeds of cardamom
• 10 Timut peppercorns
• 150ml (2/3 cup) of cider vinegar
• 150ml (2/3 cup) of water

For the chocolate bread

• 200g (2/3 cup) of flour
• 50g (1/2 cup) of buckwheat flour
• 70g (2,5 oz) of dark chocolate (80%)
• 6g of baker’s yeast
• 1 tsp of fleur de sel (5g)
• 175ml (3/4 cup) of water

The Foie gras must be prepared 3 days before.

Place the Foie gras in a bowl, cover it with milk and set aside in the fridge for 24 hours.

Drain the Foie gras, dry it with paper towel and place it on an aluminium foil. Separate the pieces of lobes and remove the nerve. Mix the salt, the sugar and the pepper with a tbsp of white Port, (you could also use Cognac or Armagnac according to your taste) and massage the Foie gras with the mixture. Pack it in a terrine using your fist. Smooth the top with a spoon or a rounded tip knife and drizzle with a tbsp of white Port (or the chosen alcohol). Cover with an aluminium foil and the lid, and allow to rest in the fridge for 12 hours.

Preheat the oven at 120°C (250°F). In an ovenproof dish, place a newspaper at the bottom, then the terrine and fill the dish with cold water (do not exceed 2/3 of the terrine height).

Bake in oven for ten minutes, turn off the oven and let the Foie gras in for 30 more minutes.

Remove from oven, add some cold water to cool down the terrine, then set aside in the fridge for 24h more before serving.

The chutney could also be prepared in advance.

Brown the chopped onion in a little bit of olive oil. Add the peeled and cut in pieces pears and the sugar. Mix. Add the cardamom seeds slightly crushed and the Timut peppercorns, then pour the vinegar and water. Let simmer, stirring occasionally until the liquid has evaporated. Set aside in the fridge.

Prepare the chocolate bread the day you will eat the Foie gras.

In a bowl, mix the flours with the salt and the chocolate coarsely crushed with a knife. Make a well in the center, pour the dry yeast and the water and mix until dough ball forms.

Knead the ball for a few minutes on a floured work surface, by always folding an external side inward.

Form a ball and coat it with olive oil. Place it back in the bowl, cover with a clean towel and leave to rise for half an hour.

Take back the dough on the floured working surface and knead it for one or two minutes to give the form you want.

Place in a floured clean towel and leave to rise half an hour more.

Place the bread in an ovenproof dish with a cover. Lightly flour the bread, make some cuts on the top and sprinkle with a few water drops.

Close the cover and bake in preheated hot oven (250°C (480°F)) for about 1/2h, until the crust is golden-brown.

For a well-baked crust you can bake the bread ten more minutes out of the dish.

Serve the Foie gras with the chutney, one or two slices of pear and the chocolate bread (toasted or not, according to you taste).