The finer things

GNOCCHI light as clouds, sauces so smooth they’re like velvet, macarons that dissolve to nothing in your mouth, pates and mousses as fine as Irish butter, a rain of Parmesan like fine dust. Achieving such kitchen refinement doesn’t take a closetful of expensive gadgets -- nor a wave of Harry Potter’s wand -- just a single old-fashioned tool.

It’s called a tamis, or drum sieve, and it looks like a cross between an ordinary strainer and your rock-star son’s snare drum. It dates to around the Middle Ages, and it’s been used in professional kitchens pretty much since.

“It’s one of the most important tools in our kitchen,” says chef Thomas Keller of the French Laundry, “because it’s what gives food that sense of refinement. In our restaurant it’s in use constantly.” Keller says it’s the key to dishes as diverse as English pea soup, fish mousse and mashed potatoes; he even uses his as a steamer.

It couldn’t be easier to use. Just place the tamis (rhymes with “whammy”) over a bowl, then spoon whatever you want to sieve onto the center of the fine metal mesh and pull the food through, using a plastic bowl scraper. Julia Child recommended pushing ingredients through using a wooden pestle in 1961; chefs nowadays go the carefree flexi-plastic route.

Boiled potatoes or blanched English peas might take a few minutes to press through, while a coulis of fresh blackberries only needs a few swipes.

Sifting is even easier: Flour or powdered sugar might take a little pressure if there are lumps, but often a few taps on the tamis’ side is all it takes to translate coarse flours into fine dust.

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Simply brilliant

THE tamis’ genius is in its design. Because it’s flat, you can take advantage of the sweep of the surface, and apply downward pressure by pulling across, without much effort.

Because of this, a tamis can do what neither a conventional strainer nor a chinois (a china cap, or conical strainer) can easily achieve: It can strain quickly and very finely. It’s like a study in applied plane geometry. (Imagine Euclid in the kitchen, studying a bowlful of potatoes.)

“With a chinois you’re pushing down through a tip,” says Keller. “The tamis is much broader -- and it’s even.” Keller’s tamis are large, 18 inches in diameter. “You have so much more area to work with.”

For those of us without a Michelin-starred restaurant, a smaller tamis will do just fine: They come in a wide variety of sizes, and you can find them with metal or wood sides.

Besides sifting and straining, a tamis is also great for purifying: it removes the tiny veins and impurities from foie gras, turning it into silky pates and terrines. For a classic foie gras torchon, many chefs use a tamis to sieve the liver before rolling it tightly in cheesecloth and poaching it. Craig Strong, chef at Pasadena’s Ritz-Carlton, Huntington Hotel & Spa, makes his torchon this way, ditto his foie gras mousse. “Anything that you want to be sure is smooth,” he says.

Strong also uses it for an unusual, amazingly smooth eggplant marmalade, “to remove all those seeds.” And when he makes a Bavarian cream, he first passes cooled pastry cream through a tamis to lighten it up before folding it into whipped cream.

A tamis can rice a cooked potato more finely than any ricer or food mill -- it was key to making French chef Joel Robuchon’s famous potato puree (that and a frightening amount of butter). And if you’ve ever tried mashing raspberries or straining a bulky soup through a strainer -- concave, insecurely hooked, often too small -- you’ll find the beautiful flat expanse of a tamis a happy revelation.

“Anyone who has ever spent any time in the kitchen with me has been taught how to use a tamis,” says Michael Cimarusti, chef and owner of Providence restaurant. “There is no better tool for fining purees.” Cimarusti says all of Providence’s fruit and vegetable purees are passed through a tamis, as is grated Parmesan cheese. Grated cheese?

“Try it yourself,” Cimarusti says. “Make a simple pasta and toss it with cheese grated the normal way. Then make the same pasta and toss it with the cheese that has been passed through a tamis. The latter will have a stronger flavor of the Parmesan and you will have used less cheese. Also, when finishing risotto, cheese that has been passed through a tamis melts into the rice much more evenly.”

That might be good sprinkled over the corn ravioli with brown butter truffle sauce Josiah Citrin makes at Melisse; the sweet corn filling owes its smoothness to a trip through, well, you guessed it.

A tamis is also one of the secrets to making beautiful quenelles -- light-as-air fish dumplings -- as well as a classic shrimp bisque.

Though as rare on today’s menus as quenelles, velvety shrimp or lobster bisque is achieved by flambeing, then caramelizing the shells before cooking them with the other ingredients. Next the shells are finely ground up with the rest of the bisque before being pressed through a tamis. The shells impart a glorious pink color as well as a depth of flavor that you simply can’t achieve otherwise -- but you don’t want them in your soup. A tamis is fine enough to strain them out.

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Chef’s best friend

AT Spago, pastry chef Sherry Yard uses hers to make the lightest macarons. She first pulses almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor, then sifts it through the tamis. “This ensures the lightest, finest flour,” says Yard, who also uses the tool when she makes the fillings for Austrian dumplings and strudels, using soft cheeses like farmer’s cheese, quark and goat cheese. “We flip the tamis upside down, put a bowl underneath, and press the cheese directly into the bowl,” Yard says. It’s the difference between a grainy texture and one fine as silk.

How does Water Grill chef David LeFevre make those incredibly fine straw-shaped raspberry tuiles he and pastry chef John Park pair with a red velvet cake? After breaking up house-made hard candy in a food processor, they sift it through a tamis; the resulting fine powder is baked, melting together into the tuile. It’s the key, LeFevre says, to making them so thin.

A quick press through the mesh is also the secret to making light, pillowy potato gnocchi. What sets cloudlike Italian dumplings apart from leaden ones is the texture of the dough, which should be as light and airy as possible. Enter the tamis.

If you’ve got a couple of pints of blackberries burning a hole in your fridge, you can make a perfectly smooth seedless coulis. Just simmer them with some sugar and a little grated lemon zest, then push the results through a tamis. Try this with a chinois or one of those little strainers casually hooked over the top of a bowl, and odds are your kitchen -- and your shirt -- will soon look like a Jackson Pollock painting.

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amy.scattergood@latimes.com

Tamis are available in various sizes at Surfas in Culver City, (310) 559-4770 and www. surfasonline.com; Cookin’ Stuff in Torrance, (310) 371-2220 and www.cookinstuff.com; and at Chef’s Toys in Santa Ana, (714) 435-9222 and www.chefstoys.net.

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Sage gnocchi with parsley-walnut pesto

Total time: About 1 hour, 45 minutes

Servings: 6

Note: The gnocchi recipe is adapted from “Lidia’s Kitchen” by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich. You’ll need a tamis, a bowl scraper and, for forming the gnocchi, either a fork or a wooden gnocchi paddle (paddles are available at Sur La Table and Bay Cities). Sage flowers are available at farmers markets. You may have a little pesto left over; pesto will store, refrigerated, for 3 days.

1 cup walnuts

1 1/2 pounds baking potatoes (all about the same size), scrubbed

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

Zest of 1 lemon

1 1/2 cups Parmesan, grated, plus extra for garnish

1 large bunch Italian parsley, stems removed, cleaned

1/3 cup walnut oil

2 large eggs, beaten well

1 1/2 cups flour, plus more for working with the dough

2 tablespoons finely minced fresh sage

Sage flowers for garnish (optional)

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast until brown and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Set aside.

2. Put the potatoes, whole and unpeeled, in a large pot with enough cold water to cover them by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, and cook until they’re easily pierced with a knife, about 20 to 25 minutes. Don’t overcook or let the skins burst.

3. In a food processor, place the garlic, one-fourth teaspoon salt, the walnuts, lemon zest, Parmesan and parsley, and puree until smooth. Spoon the pesto mixture into a medium bowl and gradually stir in the walnut oil. Mix until combined and reserve.

4. When the potatoes are done, drain them and peel them carefully with a paring knife while they’re still hot; use a kitchen towel to hold them. Put the peeled potatoes into the tamis, held over a large bowl. Using a bowl scraper, break the potatoes apart and scrape them through the tamis. Spread the potatoes into a thin layer on a baking sheet or tray, sprinkle the remaining three-fourths teaspoon salt over them, and let them cool and dry for at least 20 minutes and up to 2 hours.

5. To mix the dough, pile the dried potatoes into a large, loose mound on a board or work surface. Make a small well in the pile of potatoes, pour in the beaten eggs, then sprinkle 1 cup of the flour and the minced sage on top. Using your hands or the bowl scraper, work in the eggs, mixing and moistening the flour and potatoes. Gather into a single mass, and knead for several minutes, scraping in sticky bits from the board and your hands. Incorporate additional flour in small amounts, only as needed, until the dough is smooth, soft and only slightly sticky. Avoid adding too much flour, which will make the gnocchi heavy and dry. Cover the dough with a towel and form the gnocchi as soon as possible. Meanwhile, bring 8 quarts of water with 2 tablespoons of salt to a rolling boil.

6. To shape the gnocchi, cut the finished dough into three or four pieces. Dust the work surface and your hands with flour. Roll one piece under your hands into a thick cylinder, and gradually stretch it into a long rope, about two-thirds-inch thick. With a sharp knife or the bench scraper, slice the rope crosswise into half-inch lengths; sprinkle the pieces with flour.

7. To form the gnocchi, use a fork or a gnocchi paddle. Hold the fork or paddle with the tines (or grooves, if using a paddle) at an angle against your work surface. Place one of the cut sides of a piece of dough against the tines. With your lightly floured thumb, press into the dough, and at the same time push it off the end of the fork or paddle and onto a floured board. It will be hollow and curved where you pressed it, and ridged on the side that rolled off the tool. Press and roll the other cut pieces, dust them with flour, and set in a single layer on a floured tray, not touching. (Gnocchi should be cooked, or frozen, as soon as they are all shaped.)

8. When the water is at a rolling boil, brush off the excess flour from a large handful of gnocchi and drop them into the pot. Stir, cover the pot, and allow the water to return to a boil over high heat. As the gnocchi come to the surface, turn and stir them occasionally so that they cook evenly and don’t stick to one another. Boil for a total of about 6 minutes, until cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon or strainer. Repeat for the rest of the gnocchi.

9. While the gnocchi are cooking, spoon about one-fourth cup of pesto into a medium bowl and add a few tablespoons of the water you are cooking the gnocchi with into the bowl. Stir the pesto and water to combine. When the gnocchi are done, lift them out of the water with a slotted spoon and drop them into the bowl with the pesto. Stir gently to combine, then spoon the gnocchi into a soup plate. Sprinkle a little of the extra Parmesan on top, grind a little black pepper over it, adjust the seasoning and garnish with a few sage flowers. Serve immediately.

Each serving: 479 calories; 17 grams protein; 47 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams fiber; 26 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 85 mg. cholesterol; 328 mg. sodium.

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Shrimp bisque with Pernod

Total time: About 2 hours, 15 minutes

Servings: 8

Note: You will need a large tamis.

1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp with shells

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup olive oil, divided

2 medium fennel bulbs, chopped (about 3 cups)

2 shallots, chopped (about

1/2 cup)

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup Pernod, plus 1 teaspoon for finishing

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 bay leaves

1/2 cup Arborio rice

Salt

1 pint heavy cream

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

1. Pull off the legs of the shrimp, then peel them, saving the shells. Pull off the tail and devein.

2. In a large saucepan with a lid, heat the butter and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the fennel and shallots and saute until tender and beginning to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Add the shrimp shells and white wine and continue to cook until the shells have good color and are caramelized, about 10 minutes.

3. Add one-half cup of the Pernod, then ignite with a kitchen lighter or long match. After the flames have subsided, add the tomato paste, bay leaves and 2 quarts water. Stir, cover and cook for about 30 minutes.

4. Add the rice, cover and cook for another 30 minutes. (If all of the liquid evaporates and the mixture seems dry, add water as necessary.)

5. Meanwhile, saute the shrimp in about 2 tablespoons olive oil and a pinch of salt in a large pan over high heat, until just done, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

6. When the shell-rice mixture is done (the rice should be mushy, even overcooked), take it off the heat and let it cool briefly. Puree the mixture plus all but 8 of the shrimp in a food processor in batches. (You will be pureeing the shells too.)

7. Put a tamis over a large bowl and press the pureed shrimp mixture through it. It’s easier if you do this in batches and take your time. You should have about 4 cups of thick puree when you’re finished. Discard the shell mixture that remains in the tamis.

8. In a medium pot over low heat, whisk the puree and heavy cream, heating slowly. Add one-half cup water, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, white pepper and 1 teaspoon Pernod. Strain the soup again through the clean tamis and then back into a medium soup pot and warm over low heat.

9. Meanwhile, thinly slice the remaining whole shrimp lengthwise and keep warm, reheating if necessary in a small saucepan. When the bisque is hot, test for seasoning and ladle into soup bowls. Divide the sliced shrimp among the bowls, spooning the shrimp into the middle of the bisque, and serve immediately. This makes about 9 1/2 cups of soup.

Each serving: 488 calories; 20 grams protein; 17 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams fiber; 33 grams fat; 17 grams saturated fat; 218 mg. cholesterol; 400 mg. sodium.

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Eggplant marmalade

Total time: About 2 hours, 50 minutes, plus cooling time for the eggplant

Servings: Makes a little over 1 cup marmalade

Note: From Craig Strong, chef de cuisine at the Ritz-Carlton, Huntington Hotel & Spa. Strong serves this with spiced halibut and black rice, and suggests it would also go well with toasted flat bread, or grilled lamb chops or salmon. Golden raisins are available at Trader Joe’s and well-stocked supermarkets.

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup chopped white onions (about 1/2 large onion)

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

4 large eggplants, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes

Juice of 2 oranges

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs thyme

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup golden raisins

Grated zest of 2 oranges

1. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the oil and onions and saute the onions until they are translucent and tender, 8 minutes. Stir in the chopped garlic, being careful not to burn. Quickly add the eggplant, orange juice and herbs. Continue to cook over medium heat until the eggplant breaks down and becomes a paste, about 2 hours. Stir occasionally so that the eggplant does not burn on the bottom of the pan as it cooks. Remove the pan from heat and wait until cool enough to handle, 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Place parchment paper on a work surface. Push the eggplant mixture through an inverted tamis with a plastic pastry scraper. Season the mixture with one-half teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper.

3. Place the mixture in a food processor with the raisins and orange zest; puree until smooth and emulsified, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and serve.

Each tablespoon: 106 calories; 1 gram protein; 11 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams fiber; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 76 mg. sodium.