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

See Examples For:

quenelle

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

The quenelle, an ivory round of delicate custard formed from fish and cream, dares you not to take its photo.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 14, 2022

If you're up for cheese, there is queso fresco, which forms into a kind of fluffy quenelle in the hot broth, indistinguishable from tofu.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 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

With Quenelles.—Dish the meat, place half a dozen quenelles around it, and decorate it with skewers which you have run through a quenelle and then through a craw-fish and stuck in the meat.

From Hand-Book of Practical Cookery for Ladies and Professional Cooks by Blot, Pierre