Potage Favori

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3-quart heavy saucepan
• •Two 4-cup heatproof measuring jugs
• •High-speed or immersion blender
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Whisk
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the asparagus

   Cut off enough tender asparagus heads to measure 1½ tablespoons and keep them whole or halved lengthwise if thick. Blanch them in salted water until bright green and barely tender, about 90 seconds, then cool them immediately in cold water and drain well. Cut the remaining asparagus into 1-inch pieces, keeping any tough peel or woody ends out of the soup.

2. 2

   Build asparagus velouté

   Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in ¼ cup of the flour and cook for 2 minutes without coloring, until the roux smells faintly of warm biscuits. Whisk in 2 cups of the chicken stock gradually, keeping the mixture smooth, then simmer gently for 10 minutes to cook out the flour. Add the cut asparagus and a pinch of salt, simmer only until tender and still green, about 7 minutes, then blend until completely smooth and pass through a fine sieve. Measure exactly 3 cups, thinning with a little reserved stock or reducing gently as needed, and hold it in a measuring jug.

3. 3

   Build lettuce velouté

   Rinse and dry the saucepan. Melt 1 tablespoon butter over low heat, add the lettuce, and turn it until collapsed but not browned. Stir in 2 tablespoons flour and cook for 2 minutes, then whisk in 1 cup chicken stock. Simmer gently for 8 minutes, blend thoroughly, and pass through the cleaned sieve. Adjust with reserved stock or a brief reduction until you have exactly 1½ cups. The lettuce should taste tender and fresh, not like boiled greens.

4. 4

   Build poultry velouté

   Clean the saucepan once more. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons flour, and cook the pale roux for 2 minutes without letting it brown. Whisk in 1½ cups chicken stock a little at a time and simmer at the barest tremble for 15 minutes, skimming if needed. Pass it through the sieve and measure exactly 1½ cups, correcting the volume with the remaining stock. It should lightly coat a spoon while tasting cleanly of poultry.

5. 5

   Marry the three veloutés

   Combine 3 cups green asparagus velouté, 1½ cups lettuce velouté, and 1½ cups poultry velouté in the clean saucepan. Measure, don't guess. C'est la même grammaire, but the proportion is what gives this potage its particular voice. Whisk in ½ cup of the white chicken consommé, then add more only until the soup pours from a spoon in a smooth, lightly coating ribbon. The consommé corrects consistency and strengthens the foundation; it must not wash the vegetables away.

   Taste before adding salt. The consommé will be more concentrated than the stock, and the finishing butter will make every flavor seem rounder.
6. 6

   Pass the soup

   Heat the married veloutés slowly, stirring along the floor of the pan, until the surface barely trembles at the edges. Do not let it boil. Pass the hot soup through the fine sieve into the cleaned saucepan, pressing gently but not forcing fibrous pulp through the mesh. This final passing is part of the dish, not ceremony; three textures have become one, and the soup should now feel like satin on the spoon.

7. 7

   Add liaison and butter

   Whisk the egg yolks with 6 tablespoons of the cream in a bowl, keeping the remaining 2 tablespoons cold. Gradually whisk in about 1 cup of the hot soup, then return the tempered liaison to the saucepan over the lowest heat. Stir constantly until it gains a little body and reaches 175 to 180°F (79 to 82°C), never a boil. If tiny curds appear, pull the pan off the heat immediately, whisk in the reserved cold cream, blend for 15 seconds, and pass it through the clean sieve. Ça se rattrape, provided you catch it before a full boil. If the liaison stays smooth, stir in the reserved cream normally. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cold diced butter a few pieces at a time until the surface gleams. If butter pools at the rim, set the pan on a cold damp towel and whisk until the soup comes back together.

8. 8

   Garnish and serve

   Taste for salt and white pepper, keeping both restrained enough for the asparagus and sorrel to remain clear. Divide the Potage Favori among warmed shallow soup bowls. Distribute the Chiffonade (No. 215) and blanched asparagus heads across the servings, using 1½ tablespoons of each over the whole pot. Serve at once while the surface is glossy and the liaison remains supple. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The Chiffonade (No. 215) is its own finished preparation. Make it from very tender sorrel exactly as that entry directs; raw chopped sorrel lands sharp and stringy in a soup this smooth.
• •Choose medium green asparagus with closed tips and juicy cut ends. Very thick stalks can be excellent once peeled, but dry or wrinkled asparagus will never give the fresh green flavor that decides this potage. This one genuinely belongs to spring.
• •The white consommé needn't be brilliantly clear because the veloutés make the finished soup opaque, but it must taste clean and concentrated. If none is available, reduce 1⅓ cups of unsalted chicken stock to 1 cup and strain it carefully. What changes is clarity, not the strengthening purpose it serves here.
• •Warm the bowls, then serve modest first-course portions. A dry mineral white wine suits the asparagus better than an aggressively oaked bottle, which makes the sorrel taste metallic.
• •Once the liaison is in, low heat is not a suggestion. Reheat leftovers gently while stirring and stop as soon as the soup is hot; boiling turns silk into scrambled egg.

Advance Preparation

• •The three veloutés can be made one day ahead. Cool them promptly, cover, and refrigerate them in separate containers so their measured identities remain intact.
• •The veloutés may be married with the consommé, heated, and passed up to 4 hours before dinner. Chill the soup promptly, then reheat it gently to 165°F (74°C) before adding the liaison and butter at the last moment.
• •The blanched asparagus heads can be prepared earlier the same day, dried well, and refrigerated in a covered container. Let them lose their refrigerator chill while the soup is finished.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)