Consommé Divette

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •4-quart (4 L) heavy saucepan
• •Small saucier or saucepan
• •Fine-mesh sieve and cheesecloth
• •Mini food processor
• •Two 3-ounce (90 ml) baba-moulds, dariole moulds, or straight-sided espresso cups
• •Small roasting pan for the bain-marie
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Two demitasse spoons
• •5 mm Parisienne or pearl cutter, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Raise the clarification raft

   Reserve ¾ cup (180 ml) of the cold stock for the crayfish velouté. In a 4-quart saucepan, mix the remaining stock with the minced chicken, 3 egg whites, onion, carrot, and celery. Set it over medium-low heat and stir steadily across the bottom until the whites gather the meat and vegetables into a rising raft. Once that cap forms, stop stirring. Open a small chimney in its center and hold the liquid at the barest tremble for 45 minutes. A hard boil tears the raft and throws its impurities back into the broth; if that begins, lower the heat at once and ladle a little clear broth over the cap until it knits together again.

   Clarification starts cold because the slowly coagulating whites must catch particles throughout the stock. Dropping egg white into hot broth merely cooks an omelet in it.
2. 2

   Strain without pressing

   Dampen a double layer of cheesecloth and set it inside a fine sieve over a clean saucepan. Ladle the consommé through the chimney and cloth without disturbing or pressing the raft. Skim away every trace of surface fat, then simmer gently until exactly 4 cups (about 950 ml) remain. If the broth is still cloudy, ça se rattrape: cool it until merely warm, whisk the optional egg white with 2 tablespoons of cold water, stir it into the broth, and repeat a gentle 15-minute clarification before straining again. Cover and hold the finished consommé below a simmer.

3. 3

   Cook the crayfish

   If the crayfish are raw, bring 4 cups (1 L) of the water to a boil with half the salt. Add the crayfish and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, just until the shells turn red and the tail flesh becomes opaque. Drain and cool them promptly. If using thawed cooked crayfish, skip this cooking. Twist off the tails, remove the meat and dark intestinal vein, and reserve every shell, including the heads. Keep the meat cold.

4. 4

   Build the crayfish velouté

   Melt the tablespoon of butter in a small saucier. Add the shallot and reserved crayfish shells, crushing the shells firmly with a wooden spoon, and cook for 4 minutes until fragrant and deeply coral. Sprinkle in the flour and cook this pale roux for 2 minutes without browning it. Add the wine, scrape the pan clean, then whisk in the reserved ¾ cup of stock. Simmer gently for 15 minutes, strain through a fine sieve, and press the shells firmly here, because this is flavor extraction rather than consommé clarification. Add the crayfish meat and ¼ cup cream, blend until completely smooth, then pass the velouté through the sieve once more. If it has lumps, blend and strain again. If it is too tight, loosen it with a spoonful of clarified consommé; if thin, reduce it gently until it coats a spoon.

5. 5

   Set the crayfish royale

   Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Measure ½ cup (120 ml) of crayfish velouté and let it cool until it no longer feels warm. Whisk in the whole egg and yolk without raising foam, then strain the mixture. Butter two 3-ounce baba-moulds, dariole moulds, or straight-sided espresso cups and divide the custard between them. Cover each loosely with foil and stand them in a small roasting pan. Add hot water to reach halfway up their sides, making a bain-marie, or water bath. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the centers are just set but still quiver. The water must never boil. If bubbles appear, add a little cold water at the pan's edge and lower the oven heat immediately. Cool the moulds, then chill them for at least 30 minutes so the royale will slice cleanly.

6. 6

   Make the smelt forcemeat

   Chill the bowl and blade of a mini food processor. Purée the smelt with the measured salt and white pepper until sticky, then add the tablespoon of egg white and process again. Push the paste through a fine sieve to catch any hidden bone or membrane. This silky texture is part of the dish, not brigade scaffolding. Return the paste to the cold processor and pulse in the cream a teaspoon at a time. Stop as soon as the forcemeat looks smooth, glossy, and firm enough to hold a rounded spoonful. Keep it over ice while the poaching water heats.

7. 7

   Poach eighteen pearls

   Bring the remaining 4 cups (1 L) water and salt to a bare simmer. Shape one test pearl between two damp demitasse spoons and poach it for 3 minutes. Taste it. If it breaks apart, chill the forcemeat for 15 minutes and beat in a teaspoon of the optional egg white; if rubbery, fold in a teaspoon of cold cream. Ça se rattrape. Shape exactly 18 small round quenelles and poach them in batches for 3 to 4 minutes, keeping the water below a boil. They are ready when they float, feel lightly springy, and reach 145°F (63°C) at the center. Lift them onto a clean towel. If the water starts boiling, add a little cold water at the side of the pan before the quenelles roughen and toughen.

   The test quenelle is not an extra flourish. It is the moment to correct texture and seasoning while correction is still possible.
8. 8

   Cut the final garnishes

   Unmould each chilled royale and cut it diagonally into 6 neat oval slices, giving 12 slices altogether. Cut the truffle into tiny pearls with a narrow Parisienne cutter. If you do not own one, cut precise 5 mm cubes instead; the specialist cutter is brigade scaffolding, while the tablespoon of real black truffle is not. Keep the royale, quenelles, and truffle covered until the consommé is ready.

9. 9

   Assemble and pour

   Warm 6 consommé cups with hot water, then dry them. Place 2 royale ovals, 3 smelt quenelles, and an equal share of the truffle pearls in each cup. Bring the clarified consommé just to a full boil, taste for salt, and immediately ladle about ⅔ cup (160 ml) over each garnish. Do not boil the garnishes in the broth, or the forcemeat will cloud the clarity you worked to build. Carry the cups straight to the table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Begin with stock that tastes complete before clarification, rich with chicken and natural gelatin but not aggressively roasted. Clarification removes particles, not weak flavor, and a pale thin stock only becomes a pale thin consommé.
• •Frozen smelt is the classical pantry's honest answer when fresh smelt is unavailable. Thaw it slowly in the refrigerator, dry it thoroughly, and weigh only the cleaned fillets. Another fish would make a respectable quenelle, but it would no longer be Consommé Divette.
• •A whole preserved black truffle is acceptable and holds its shape better than slices from a tin. Drain it well and save its packing liquid for another sauce. Truffle oil cannot stand in for the dark, tender pearls this garnish requires.
• •Heat the cups before filling them. The original asks for boiling consommé because three garnishes pull heat from a small serving very quickly; warm porcelain preserves the broth's proper temperature without cooking the quenelles again.
• •Use real butter and cream in the velouté. They give the royale its fine texture and allow the crayfish flavor to open cleanly. We don't apologize for butter.

Advance Preparation

• •The rich chicken stock can be made several days ahead or frozen. Clarify the consommé up to two days before serving, chill it promptly, and lift off any set fat before reheating.
• •The crayfish royale can be baked one day ahead and kept in its moulds, covered and chilled. Unmould and slice it close to service so its edges remain neat.
• •Poach the smelt quenelles earlier on the day of serving, cool them promptly, and refrigerate them covered. Let them lose their refrigerator chill before placing them in the warmed cups.
• •Cut preserved truffle pearls several hours ahead and keep them covered with a spoonful of their packing liquid. Drain them thoroughly before assembling the soup.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 160g)