Consommé Douglas

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •4-quart wide saucepan with lid
• •Smooth 1-inch (2.5 cm) round cutter
• •Two flat plates or small trays and a 1 to 2 lb (450 to 900 g) weight
• •Fine-mesh strainer and cheesecloth
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •3-quart warmed soup tureen

Instructions

1. 1

   Blanch the sweetbread

   Rinse the sweetbread and soak it in a bowl of very cold water for 1 hour, changing the water twice, until the last water remains nearly clear. Bring fresh water and 1 teaspoon of the salt to a bare simmer in a wide saucepan. Lower in the sweetbread and blanch it for 5 minutes, keeping the water gentle, then transfer it immediately to ice water. Once cool enough to handle, peel away the thick outer membrane and remove the obvious cords without picking so fiercely that the lobes fall apart.

   Ask for the heart sweetbread, which is plumper and more regular than the throat portion. Its broad lobes give the cutter enough room to make clean, matching rounds.
2. 2

   Braise, press, chill

   Dry the saucepan and melt the butter over gentle heat. Add the onion and carrot with a pinch of salt, then cook for 5 minutes without browning. Set the sweetbread on top and add the stock, which should come about halfway up its sides. Cover and hold at a bare simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once, until the sweetbread feels firm and reaches 160°F (71°C) at its thickest point. Lift it onto a parchment-lined plate, cover with a second sheet and plate, then add a 1 to 2 lb (450 to 900 g) weight. Let excess heat escape for 15 minutes and refrigerate under the weight for at least 2 hours.

3. 3

   Cook the vegetables

   Rinse the saucepan, fill it with fresh water, add the remaining teaspoon of salt, and bring it to a simmer. Cook the frozen artichoke bottoms until a small knife enters with slight resistance, 8 to 12 minutes; they must be tender but firm enough to cut. Drain them flat on a towel and cool. Bring fresh salted water to a boil, blanch the asparagus heads for 60 to 90 seconds until vivid green, then cool them in ice water and dry them thoroughly.

4. 4

   Cut equal roundels

   Slice the cold, pressed sweetbread into sections exactly 1/3 inch (8 mm) thick. With a smooth 1-inch (2.5 cm) round cutter, punch out 24 sweetbread roundels. Trim the artichoke bottoms to the same thickness and cut 24 matching roundels with the same cutter. If the sweetbread smears or tears, it isn't cold enough. Stop, rewrap the uncut pieces, press them lightly, and chill them for 20 minutes in the freezer or 45 minutes in the refrigerator before continuing. Ça se rattrape. Keep the finished garnish covered and cool, then remove it from the refrigerator 15 minutes before service.

5. 5

   Boil and season

   Pour the finished ordinary consommé into the clean saucepan and bring it quickly to a full boil. Skim away any surface fat without disturbing the broth, then taste from a warm spoon and season with salt until the flavor is clear and emphatic. Highly seasoned does not mean peppery; ground pepper would mark the consommé with specks. If sediment rises, don't whisk it through. Let it settle for 2 minutes, pass the broth gently through damp double cheesecloth into the cleaned pan, and return it to a boil.

6. 6

   Fill the tureen

   Warm a 3-quart soup tureen with boiling water, then empty and dry it. Put in all 24 sweetbread roundels, all 24 artichoke roundels, and the 4 tablespoonfuls of green asparagus heads, preserving the book's sequence and proportion. Pour the boiling consommé directly over the garnish and serve immediately, giving each bowl three rounds of sweetbread, three of artichoke, and an equal share of asparagus. Don't hold the filled tureen; waiting dulls the asparagus and cools the consommé. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Order veal heart sweetbread from a butcher several days ahead. Buy a little more than the finished garnish appears to require, because its irregular edges are the price of cutting 24 exact rounds.
• •The ordinary consommé is a finished foundation, not plain stock. A well-made consommé from your freezer or a trusted butcher is an honest home equivalent to the brigade stockpot; don't add the sweetbread braising liquid, which carries fat and protein that can muddy the clarity.
• •A smooth 1-inch (2.5 cm) canapé or biscuit cutter replaces the book's penny-sized even cutter. A plain round piping nozzle of the same diameter also works, provided its edge is sharp and unfluted.
• •Frozen artichoke bottoms are the better classical-pantry choice outside their season because they remain firm and mild. Canned bottoms are softer and more acidic; rinse and dry them well if they are all you have, and expect less exact edges.
• •Save the sweetbread and artichoke trimmings. Fold them into an omelette or warm them gently in a little butter for lunch; precision at dinner needn't become waste.

Advance Preparation

• •The sweetbread can be blanched, braised, pressed, and refrigerated up to 2 days ahead. Keep it covered and cut the roundels while it is thoroughly cold.
• •The artichoke roundels and blanched asparagus heads can be prepared earlier on the serving day. Refrigerate them separately in covered containers so the artichokes don't dull the asparagus.
• •The ordinary consommé may be prepared or thawed up to 3 days ahead. Keep it cold, remove any set fat from the surface, and make the final seasoning adjustment only after reheating.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 325g)