quenelle

American  

[kuh-nel] / kəˈnɛl /

noun

1. French Cooking. a dumpling of finely chopped fish or meat that is poached in water or stock and usually served with a sauce.

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quenelle British  

/ kəˈnɛl /

noun

1. a finely sieved mixture of cooked meat or fish, shaped into various forms and cooked in stock or fried as croquettes

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Etymology

Origin of quenelle

1835–45; < French < German Knödel dumpling

Example Sentences

At Camden Harbour Inn, pastry chef Gwynthe Frenchette served me a tartlet of heirloom Gravenstein apples from nearby School House Farm, topped by a tidy quenelle of applewood-smoked almond ice cream.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

Word on the street is that Cafe du Soleil serves up the best quenelle — the must-have bouchon dish — in Lyon, and I’d believe it.

From Washington Post • May 20, 2022

There's a hunk of ale-poached pear as a smidge of token sweetness and a quenelle of an improbable ice cream made with the gamy, stinky goat cheese Humboldt Fog.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2015

If that row and its aftermath exaggerated already divided opinions of him in France, Laurens believes the quenelle episode may deprive him of any good will that is left.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2014

Notice also the seasoning; if more salt is needed, add it carefully, and try again, till you have the quenelle mixture just right, that is to say, creamy, light, very tender, yet keeping its form.

From Choice Cookery by Owen, Catherine