Also Pike quenelles, Quenelles lyonnaises, Quenelles sauce Nantua
Light dumplings of pike and a flour-and-egg panade, poached and then baked until they puff, usually in a crayfish sauce Nantua.
What makes it quenelles de brochet
Pike, pounded and passed through a sieve.
A panade of flour, milk, butter and eggs, so they rise in the oven.
Poached first, then baked in sauce until puffed.
Where it comes from
Pike was the common fish of the rivers and lakes around Lyon, and it is full of fine bones. Pounding the flesh and sieving it, then binding it with a panade and eggs, turned a difficult fish into something smooth and delicate.
The classic sauce is Nantua, named for a lakeside town in the hills to the east, made with crayfish butter and cream. In Lyon you can buy quenelles ready-made from charcutiers and specialist shops, and plain ones are eaten in a simple béchamel or tomato sauce at home.
How it varies
Sauce Nantua
The grand way: crayfish butter, cream and sometimes whole crayfish tails.
Quenelles de volaille
Made with chicken instead of fish, often in a vol-au-vent.