Consommé Boïeldieu

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Food processor with metal blade
• •Wide 12-inch straight-sided sauté pan with lid
• •Small saucepan for the velouté
• •Large saucepan for the consommé
• •Two small teaspoons
• •Three small piping bags or parchment cones
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Porcelain soup tureen

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the velouté

   Melt the teaspoon of butter in a very small saucepan over gentle heat. Stir in the flour and cook this roux for about ninety seconds without letting it colour. Whisk in 1/4 cup (60 ml) of the chicken consommé, then simmer gently for 3 to 4 minutes, until the velouté is smooth and lightly naps the back of a spoon. If it has lumps, pass it through a fine sieve while hot. Ça se rattrape. Cool it completely over ice before it touches the foie gras.

   A warm velouté melts the foie gras and makes the filling greasy. Cool means cool here, not merely removed from the stove.
2. 2

   Prepare three fillings

   Mash the foie gras with 2 teaspoons of the cold velouté until supple but not loose. Purée the cooked chicken with 1 tablespoon of consommé until it forms a smooth, firm paste. Crush the finely chopped truffle with the flat of a knife, or pulse it briefly, until it becomes a moist coarse purée rather than scattered pieces. Put the three fillings into separate small piping bags or folded parchment cones, label them, and chill for at least 20 minutes.

3. 3

   Make the farce

   Chill the food-processor bowl and blade for 15 minutes. Process the cold raw chicken with the fine salt and white pepper until completely smooth and tacky, scraping the bowl once. Add the egg white and process only until absorbed. With the motor running, add 3/4 cup (180 ml) of the cold cream in three additions, stopping as soon as the farce mousseline is smooth. Transfer it to a bowl nested over ice. Poach a teaspoonful in barely trembling water until its centre reaches 165°F (74°C), then taste it. If it is firm or rubbery, fold in the reserved cream one tablespoon at a time and test again. If the farce slumps instead of holding an oval, chill it for 15 minutes before retesting. If it looks grainy from warmth, set it firmly over ice and work in a spoonful of cold cream. Ça se rattrape, but only while the mixture remains cold.

   Warm chicken and warm cream make a broken, greasy forcemeat. Keep the bowl over ice whenever you pause, and process only as long as needed.
4. 4

   Fill the quenelles

   Butter the bottom of a wide sauté pan. Dip two small teaspoons in cold water. Spread a scant teaspoon of farce in one spoon, press a shallow hollow in its centre, pipe in a scant 1/4 teaspoon of filling, and cover it completely with a little more farce. Pass the mixture between the spoons once or twice to form a neat oval, then place it gently in the buttered pan. If filling shows through, patch the spot with a dab of farce before poaching. Make twelve quenelles at a time, four of each filling, and keep the remaining farce over ice. Repeat for three batches, giving you twelve foie gras, twelve chicken, and twelve truffle quenelles.

5. 5

   Poach at a tremble

   Heat the water with the poaching salt until it barely trembles. Pour enough down the side of the sauté pan to come halfway up the first batch of quenelles, cover with a round of parchment and the lid, and poach over the gentlest heat for 7 to 9 minutes. Turn one quenelle over midway if its top remains exposed. They are ready when resilient to a light touch and at least 165°F (74°C) at the centre. The liquid must never boil. If bubbles begin breaking across the surface, lift the pan from the heat and add a small splash of cold water around the quenelles. Ça se rattrape. Drain them carefully with a slotted spoon, keeping the fillings identified, then repeat with the remaining batches.

6. 6

   Bind the consommé

   Bring 8 cups (1.9 L) of the remaining chicken consommé to a bare simmer in a clean saucepan. Rain in the tapioca while stirring gently, then cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until its granules are translucent and the consommé has gained the slightest body. It should still pour freely and remain clear around the tapioca. If it tightens too far, loosen it with reserved hot consommé; if it is thin, give it another few minutes at the gentlest simmer. Taste and correct the seasoning only after the tapioca is cooked.

7. 7

   Warm the garnish

   Fill the soup tureen with hot water, leave it for 2 minutes, then empty and dry it. If the quenelles have cooled completely, warm them for 3 to 4 minutes in the reserved consommé held just below a simmer. Arrange all thirty-six quenelles in the warm tureen, keeping the three fillings evenly distributed, and scatter over the finely diced white chicken meat.

8. 8

   Pour and serve

   Pour the tapioca-bound consommé over the garnish only when everyone is ready to eat. Let it stand for 1 minute so the quenelles heat through, then serve six quenelles to each guest, two of every filling, with enough clear broth to surround them generously. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Begin with true finished consommé, clear, concentrated, and clean-tasting. Ordinary chicken stock lacks the clarity and seasoning this dish exposes. Make the consommé ahead or buy it from a serious butcher or prepared-food counter; keeping a stockpot going while you fill thirty-six quenelles is brigade scaffolding you don't need.
• •Use cooked foie gras terrine, not raw foie gras, for the filling. It should mash smoothly and taste cleanly of liver and seasoning. Add only enough velouté to make it pipeable, because a loose centre escapes during poaching.
• •Preserved whole black truffle is the classical pantry's honest answer when fresh truffles aren't available. Avoid jars labelled truffle paste unless truffle is the first ingredient; a mushroom paste perfumed with aroma changes the filling plainly.
• •Keep the three batches identified as they poach. The pleasure of the soup is receiving foie gras, chicken, and truffle in turn, not discovering five of one and none of another at the bottom of the tureen.
• •A dry Champagne suits the clear broth, foie gras, and truffle without smothering them. Serve modest glasses. The soup has enough ceremony of its own.

Advance Preparation

• •The chicken consommé may be clarified up to 3 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator, or frozen for up to 2 months. Chill it quickly before storing.
• •The three fillings may be prepared 1 day ahead and kept in separate covered containers in the refrigerator.
• •The quenelles may be filled and poached 1 day ahead. Cool them promptly, cover them with a little consommé so their surfaces don't dry, and refrigerate. Reheat below a simmer.
• •Cook the tapioca in the consommé shortly before serving. It continues absorbing liquid as it stands, so a pot made too early becomes heavier than this delicate soup should be.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 350g)