Consommé Rachel

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3 to 4-quart heavy saucepan for the consommé
• •2-quart saucepan for tapioca and marrow
• •Sturdy fine-mesh nylon sieve and flexible bowl scraper
• •10-inch skillet
• •1¼-inch and ¾-inch round cutters
• •Small slotted spoon
• •2½ to 3-quart soupière

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach and sieve tapioca

   Bring the water to a quiet simmer in a medium saucepan. Rain in the tapioca while stirring, then poach it gently for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring often, until every pearl is translucent and collapses readily under a spoon. Drain without rinsing. While it is still warm, press the tapioca through a sturdy fine-mesh nylon sieve with a flexible scraper until you have a smooth paste, then measure exactly 6 tablespoons (90 ml / about 90 g). If the tapioca cools and turns stubborn before it passes through, warm it with a spoonful of water. Ça se rattrape. Forcing cold pellets through the sieve only leaves lumps.

2. 2

   Give consommé body

   Pour 8 cups of cold chicken consommé into a clean saucepan. In a bowl, loosen the measured tapioca paste with 1 cup of the consommé, whisking until perfectly smooth, then stir this mixture back into the pan. Heat slowly to about 180°F (82°C), below a simmer, and hold it there for 8 to 10 minutes. The consommé should remain clear enough to see through, with only a slight satin weight on the spoon. If small lumps appear, remove the pan from the heat and pass the liquid through damp cheesecloth without squeezing. If it tightens beyond that faint body, loosen it with a little reserved consommé.

3. 3

   Cut the garnishes

   Cut the cooked artichoke bottoms julienne-fashion, meaning into fine match-shaped rods, and measure 6 tablespoons. Stamp twenty-four 1¼-inch roundels from the crumb of the pain de mie, keeping each one a full ½ inch thick. Slice the very cold marrow into twenty-four coins and trim each just smaller than a bread round. Chilling makes clean slices possible; warm marrow smears under the knife.

4. 4

   Poach the marrow

   Heat 1½ cups of the reserved consommé in a small saucepan to 170 to 175°F (77 to 79°C), where the surface barely moves. Lower in the marrow coins in two batches and poach for 1½ to 2 minutes, until their edges turn opaque, the centers remain supple, and the marrow reaches 145°F (63°C). Lift each coin carefully with a small slotted spoon and hold it on a warm plate. If the marrow begins dissolving into the liquid, pull the pan off the heat at once and remove the slices. Broken pieces can be fitted into the hollowed croûtes, and no one at the table will know.

5. 5

   Fry the croûtes

   Begin exactly six minutes before serving. Heat the clarified butter in a skillet until it shimmers, then fry the bread roundels in batches for 45 to 60 seconds per side, until evenly butter-gold and crisp at the edges. Drain briefly. While they are warm, use a ¾-inch cutter or the tip of a paring knife to hollow a shallow well in each center without piercing the bottom. Crown every croûte with one poached marrow coin. If the bread drinks butter instead of browning, the fat is too cool; lift the pieces out, restore the heat, and fry them briefly once more.

6. 6

   Assemble the tureen

   Bring the thickened consommé back to 180°F (82°C), still without boiling. Warm the soupière with hot water, empty it, and dry it well. Scatter the artichoke julienne across the bottom, pour over the consommé, and set the twenty-four marrow croûtes on the surface. Carry the tureen straight to the table, because the contrast between crisp bread, yielding marrow, and silken broth waits for no speech. À table!

Chef Tips

• •This recipe begins with finished chicken consommé. Ordinary chicken stock, however carefully made, is not interchangeable: consommé has been clarified and seasoned, and that transparency is the canvas for every garnish in the tureen.
• •The original kitchen could spend extra consommé on poaching without mentioning it because the stockpot was always there. Budgeting 2 additional cups at home protects the full two-quart serving quantity and leaves enough to correct the consistency.
• •Ask the butcher for unsplit center-cut beef marrow bones so the marrow can be pushed out in cylinders. Soak the bones in several changes of ice-cold water for 4 to 12 hours, then extract and chill the marrow thoroughly before slicing.
• •Fresh or frozen whole artichoke bottoms are both honest choices. Cook them only until a knife enters cleanly, then cool before cutting. Marinated hearts bring acid and herbs that do not belong in Consommé Rachel.
• •Fry the croûtes at the last moment. Made early, they become little sponges, and the crisp bread against tender marrow is half the pleasure of the dish.
• •Serve with a very dry Champagne or a restrained mineral white wine. Anything heavily oaked overwhelms the quiet chicken, artichoke, and marrow.

Advance Preparation

• •Make and clarify the chicken consommé up to 3 days ahead. Chill it promptly, lift away every trace of surface fat, and reheat only when beginning the recipe.
• •Poach and sieve the tapioca up to 1 day ahead. Press plastic wrap directly against its surface and chill it; loosen it with cold consommé before incorporating.
• •Cook and cut the artichoke bottoms up to 1 day ahead. Keep the julienne covered with a small amount of consommé so it neither dries nor discolors.
• •Soak and extract the marrow 4 to 12 hours ahead, but slice and poach it on the day of serving. Keep it thoroughly cold until the knife touches it.
• •Stamp the bread roundels a day ahead and keep them airtight. Frying, hollowing, and crowning them belong to the final six minutes and should not be moved earlier.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 290g)