Consommé Parisienne

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Four straight-sided 2-ounce (60 ml) ramekins or silicone muffin cups
• •Small roasting pan for the bain-marie
• •Mini blender or small food processor
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •6 mm melon baller or sharp paring knife
• •3-quart heatproof soup tureen

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the julienne purée

   Measure ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) of the chicken consommé into a small saucepan. Add the julienned carrot, turnip, leek, onion, and celery. Julienne means fine matchsticks, though these will be puréed, so even thinness matters more than perfect length. Cover and hold at a bare simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, adding a spoonful of consommé only if the pan dries, until every vegetable collapses beneath a spoon. Purée until smooth, press through a fine sieve, and measure ½ cup (120 ml / about 120 g). If there is too much, reduce it gently; if there is too little, loosen it with consommé. Cool completely before adding the eggs.

2. 2

   Set the royale

   Heat the oven to 150°C / 300°F. Butter four straight-sided 2-ounce (60 ml) ramekins or silicone muffin cups. Whisk the whole egg and yolks only until blended, then stir in the cold julienne purée. Royale is a savory custard, and trapped air leaves holes, so let any foam settle and spoon it away before dividing the mixture among the moulds. Set them in a small roasting pan, add hot water to come halfway up their sides, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the centers tremble slightly and reach 71°C / 160°F. If the water begins bubbling or the edges puff, lift out the pan, replace a little bath water with cool water, and lower the oven slightly. Ça se rattrape. The finished royale should be smooth, moist, and entirely unbrowned.

3. 3

   Cut the macédoine

   Prepare the macédoine, the mixture of small spring vegetables. Use a tiny grooved scoop or 6 mm melon baller for the garnish carrots and turnips if you own one; otherwise cut tidy 5 mm dice with a sharp knife. The fluting was presentation scaffolding, but equal size is essential because it controls cooking. Cut the French beans diagonally into 1 cm lozenges, small diamond shapes, and trim the asparagus tips to a similar scale. Keep every vegetable separate.

4. 4

   Blanch each vegetable

   Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil and add the measured salt. Use this single pan in sequence, blanching the carrots for 3 to 4 minutes, turnips for 2 to 3 minutes, French beans for about 2 minutes, asparagus tips for 60 to 90 seconds, and peas for 30 to 60 seconds. Lift each vegetable into cold water as soon as it is tender with a little resistance, then drain it separately. Cooking them all together saves a pan but loses the dish: their colors bleed, their cooking times quarrel, and the macédoine becomes muddled.

5. 5

   Cut royale roundels

   Let the royale cool for at least 15 minutes, then run a thin knife around each mould and invert it gently. If one clings, dip the base in warm water for five seconds and try again; never pry at the custard. Cut each cylinder crosswise into regular roundels about 5 mm thick. A warm royale smears, so chill it briefly before cutting if the blade does not pass through cleanly.

6. 6

   Heat the consommé

   Pass the remaining chicken consommé through a rinsed fine-mesh sieve into a clean saucepan if any sediment has settled. Heat it slowly without whisking or vigorous stirring, skim away any film that rises, and bring it just to the boil at serving time. Taste carefully. The consommé should be clear, deeply chicken-scented, and seasoned enough to remain vivid once the unseasoned royale and vegetables enter it.

7. 7

   Fill the tureen

   Warm a soup tureen with hot water, then empty and dry it. Return the macédoine briefly to boiling water for about 20 seconds, drain it thoroughly, and arrange it in the tureen with the royale roundels. Pour the boiling consommé over everything only when the guests are ready, then scatter on the chervil pluches, the fine tender leaves reserved for soup. Ladle gently so the custard stays whole and the vegetables remain distinct. À table!

Chef Tips

• •This entry begins with finished chicken consommé, just as the source does. That foundation is not brigade scaffolding you can discard. Make it ahead, or begin with one that is brilliantly clear, deeply flavored, and lightly gelatinous when cold; ordinary boxed broth remains broth, however handsome the garnish.
• •The macédoine is judged by size before ornament. A sharp knife and even 5 mm dice serve better than an uncommon grooved scoop used badly. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.
• •This is a spring garnish. Frozen petits pois picked at their peak are an honest choice, and fine frozen beans can serve after a very brief blanching. The asparagus tips should be fresh, tight, and sweet; when they are woody or tired, the dish has lost one of its defining pleasures.
• •Serve Consommé Parisienne as a first course in warmed bowls. A dry Champagne or a mineral Chablis suits its delicacy, though the consommé needs no wine to prove its point.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the chicken consommé up to three days ahead and chill it promptly. Lift off the set fat while cold, then strain and reheat it only when the garnish is ready.
• •The royale can be baked one day ahead. Keep it covered and cold in its moulds, then unmould and cut the roundels shortly before serving.
• •Blanch the macédoine earlier on the day of serving, cool it, drain it well, and keep each vegetable covered in the refrigerator. Rewarm it for 20 seconds before filling the tureen.
• •Do not assemble the soup ahead. The final pour is the technique that protects both the consommé's clarity and the garnish's shape.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 275g)