Consommé D’Arenberg

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •8 mm melon baller or Parisienne scoop
• •2 Dariole-moulds (small Baba-moulds) or 2 straight-sided 4-ounce ramekins
• •1.5 cm indented or fluted pastry cutter
• •Mini food processor
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Wide 20 cm saucepan
• •2 demitasse spoons or a ½-teaspoon measure
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •2-quart soup tureen

Instructions

1. 1

   Cut the vegetable pearls

   Use an 8 mm melon baller or Parisienne scoop to cut 2 tablespoons each of carrot and turnip pearls. Turn the vegetables steadily against the cutter so the pearls remain round and equal; uniformity is functional because pieces of different sizes will not become tender together. Keep the carrot and turnip separate, and save the perforated trimmings for a puréed soup.

   Choose a broad carrot and a firm round turnip. Thin vegetables leave too little room for the spoon-cutter and turn this precise job into unnecessary wrestling.
2. 2

   Glaze the vegetable pearls

   Pour 1 cup of the consommé into a wide 20 cm saucepan and bring it to a lively simmer. Add the carrot pearls, wait 2 minutes, then add the turnip pearls and continue cooking uncovered until both are tender and the consommé has reduced completely to a clear, syrupy glaze, about 8 to 12 minutes. Roll the pan frequently rather than stirring hard. If the vegetables become tender while liquid remains, lift them out, reduce the consommé alone, then return them; if the glaze tightens or catches, add a spoonful of reserved consommé and release it gently. Ça se rattrape. Transfer the shining pearls and every trace of glaze to a small dish.

3. 3

   Cut the truffle pearls

   Cut 2 tablespoons of truffle pearls with the same 8 mm cutter, preserving the source recipe's matching geometry. Do not cook them. Cover closely and keep cool while the other garnishes are prepared; their perfume will open when the hot consommé reaches the tureen. Save the trimmings for eggs, a sauce, or truffle butter.

4. 4

   Set the asparagus royale

   Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Blanch the asparagus heads in generously salted boiling water until completely tender, 3 to 4 minutes, then cool them under cold water and drain very well. Purée them with ¼ cup of the cream, pass the purée through a fine sieve, and measure ½ cup (120 ml / about 115 g). Whisk this with the whole egg, yolk, ¼ teaspoon salt, and a small pinch of white pepper, keeping air out of the mixture. Butter two Dariole-moulds or ramekins, divide in the royale, and set them in a baking dish. Add hot water to reach halfway up the moulds and bake until the edges are set but the centers retain a slight tremble, 20 to 25 minutes. If the edges begin to puff, lift the dish out, add a little cold water to the water bath, and lower the oven to 275°F (135°C); the royale can still finish smooth. Cool the moulds before unmoulding.

5. 5

   Make the chicken forcemeat

   Chill the bowl and blade of a mini food processor. Process the cold chicken with ¼ teaspoon salt and another small pinch of white pepper until sticky and very fine. Reserve 1 teaspoon of the egg white, add the rest, and process only until absorbed. With the blade moving, add the remaining ¼ cup cold cream in a thin stream, stopping as soon as the forcemeat is smooth. Press it through a fine sieve and chill it for 15 minutes. Keep everything cold: if the mixture turns loose or oily, stop, set the bowl over ice until firm, then mix briefly. Ça se rattrape.

6. 6

   Poach the quenelle pearls

   Bring a shallow pan of salted water to 175°F to 180°F (80°C to 82°C), a gentle tremble with no hard bubbling. Poach a ½-teaspoon test quenelle for 3 minutes. It should hold its shape, feel tender, and be fully opaque inside; if it spreads, beat the reserved teaspoon of egg white into the forcemeat and chill it for another 10 minutes. With two wet demitasse spoons or a wet ½-teaspoon measure, shape 24 small quenelles like large pearls. Poach them in batches without crowding for about 3 minutes, until their centers reach 165°F (74°C), then lift them onto a clean towel to drain.

7. 7

   Stamp the royale

   Loosen each cooled royale with a thin knife and turn it out. If one clings, dip the base of its mould in warm water for 5 seconds and try again. Slice the royales about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick, then stamp the slices with a small indented or fluted cutter, preserving the source's fancy-cut finish without hunting for obsolete equipment. Blanch the peas in boiling salted water just until bright green, about 30 seconds for frozen peas or 1 minute for fresh, then drain.

8. 8

   Fill the tureen

   Warm the remaining 8 cups of consommé slowly to a bare simmer. Taste and add only as much salt as it needs; reduction has already concentrated the vegetable glaze. If small particles disturb its clarity, pass the consommé through a damp coffee filter or double layer of fine muslin without pressing. Warm the soup tureen with hot water, empty and dry it, then arrange the glazed carrot and turnip pearls, uncooked truffle pearls, asparagus royale, chicken quenelles, and green peas inside. Pour over the hot consommé and carry it directly to the table. À table!

   Do not hold the assembled soup. The royale and quenelles continue absorbing liquid, while the truffle gives its finest perfume in the first moments after the consommé reaches it.

Chef Tips

• •Begin with finished chicken consommé that looks like amber glass and tastes distinctly of chicken. The source assumes this foundation is ready, and so does this entry; preparing it ahead and freezing it in measured containers is the honest home equivalent of a stockpot kept constantly on the range.
• •A fresh black winter truffle gives both the dark colour and the perfume the garnish requires. When it cannot be had, use whole preserved black truffles, drain and blot them thoroughly, and cut the same measured quantity. Truffle paste and scented oil cannot become pearls and do not belong in this tureen.
• •Frozen peas are often the sounder choice outside their brief season. They are picked young, stay brilliantly green after a short blanch, and taste more alive than tired peas carried too far from the field.
• •The vegetable reduction is the irreplaceable step. A brigade may have used several pans and several hands, but the carrot and turnip still must finish inside their consommé glaze; boiling them in water and dropping them into the broth loses the dish's concentrated sweetness.
• •Serve with a dry Champagne or a restrained white Burgundy. The soup already carries truffle, cream, chicken, and egg, so the wine should bring freshness rather than more weight.

Advance Preparation

• •The finished chicken consommé may be clarified, chilled, and completely defatted up to 3 days ahead, or frozen in measured containers. Warm it gently on the day of service.
• •The asparagus royale and poached chicken quenelles may be prepared 1 day ahead. Refrigerate them separately in covered containers, then stamp the royale shortly before assembling the tureen.
• •The carrot and turnip pearls may be cut up to 6 hours ahead and refrigerated separately in cold water. Drain and dry them thoroughly before glazing. Cut the truffle only shortly before service.
• •Glaze the vegetable pearls and blanch the peas earlier in the evening if needed, but heat the final consommé and fill the tureen only when the guests are ready to sit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)