Consommé Imperiale

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •15 cm shallow round cake pan
• •Deep roasting tin for the bain-marie
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •2.5 cm round cutter
• •Fine-mesh sieve or clean fine linen
• •2.5 to 3 quart soup tureen

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach the mousseline

   Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Line the base and sides of a shallow 15 cm round cake pan with parchment. Spoon in the very cold Fine Chicken Forcemeat or “Mousseline” (No. 195), spreading it into an even layer about 2 cm thick without beating air into it. Cover the pan and set it in a roasting tin; pour hot water around it to reach halfway up the sides, making a bain-marie (hot-water bath). Poach until the centre feels just firm and reaches 165°F (74°C), about 20 to 25 minutes. If the edges rise while the centre remains loose, lower the oven to 275°F (135°C) and add a little cool water to the bain-marie. Ça se rattrape: gentler heat lets the centre set before the edges tighten.

   Keep the mousseline cold until the pan is ready. If it softens while you spread it, refrigerate the filled pan for 15 minutes before poaching.
2. 2

   Chill and cut

   Lift the mould from the bain-marie and let it cool, then refrigerate it until completely cold and firm, at least 1½ hours. Turn it onto a chilled board and remove the parchment. With a 2.5 cm round cutter dipped in cold water, cut neat roundels the size of a small coin. Do not cut the mousseline warm or the edges will drag. If they look ragged, chill it another 20 minutes and cut again with a clean, wet cutter. Reserve the trimmings for another soup rather than crowding this tureen.

3. 3

   Strain the tapioca

   Combine the small-pearl tapioca and water in a small saucepan. Bring them slowly to a bare simmer, then cook gently for 25 to 35 minutes, stirring often, until the pearls have no white cores and the surrounding liquid is glossy. While hot, press the tapioca and its clinging liquid through a dampened fine-mesh sieve with a flexible spatula. Fine linen performed this job in the brigade; the sieve is its honest home equivalent. Measure exactly 6 tablespoons (90 ml / about 90 g). If the tapioca becomes too gummy to pass, loosen it with a spoonful of hot consommé and continue pressing. Ça se rattrape.

4. 4

   Compose the tureen

   Fill the soup tureen with hot water, leave it for 5 minutes, then empty and dry it. Arrange the mousseline roundels across the bottom with the cocks’ combs prepared by Blanchings (No. 273), the sliced cocks’ kidneys, and the green peas. Spread the garnish evenly so each serving receives a little of everything. Handle the roundels with a spoon, not tongs, because their tenderness is part of the pleasure.

5. 5

   Bind the consommé

   Reserve 1 cup of the chicken consommé and bring the remaining 7 cups to a bare simmer in a clean saucepan. Whisk in the 6 tablespoons of strained poached tapioca one spoonful at a time, keeping the liquid below a boil. Add the reserved consommé and heat only until the broth carries a faint satin body while remaining clear enough to see the bottom of a spoon. This is a light liaison, not a thick soup. If flecks appear or the broth turns cloudy, remove it from the heat and pass it through clean damp linen or a very fine sieve without pressing. Ça se rattrape.

6. 6

   Pour and serve

   Pour the hot bound consommé slowly over the garnish at one side of the warmed tureen so the stream does not break the mousseline roundels. Cover for 1 minute, just long enough for the small garnishes to warm through, then ladle into heated soup plates. Serve at once, while the broth is brilliant and the peas are still green. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Cocks’ combs and kidneys require advance conversation with a poultry farmer or specialist butcher. There is no invisible substitution that preserves Consommé Impériale; these pieces define its garnish, so source them properly or choose another named consommé.
• •Use frozen peas outside their short fresh season. They were picked green and sweet, and a brief cooking leaves them brighter than tired peas carried too long from the field.
• •The chicken consommé must taste complete before the tapioca enters. Binding magnifies both good seasoning and bad, while no garnish can disguise a weak or cloudy foundation.
• •In the book’s vocabulary, mousselines are small moulded portions. Here the same paste is poached in one shallow mould because it must be chilled and cut into roundels, saving six little moulds without altering the forcemeat.
• •Serve modest first-course portions in heated plates. A dry Champagne or a restrained white Burgundy suits the clear poultry broth without bullying its delicate garnish.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the Fine Chicken Forcemeat or “Mousseline” (No. 195) through its own entry, then poach and chill the sheet up to 1 day ahead. Keep it covered and cut the roundels while fully cold.
• •The cocks’ combs may be prepared by Blanchings (No. 273), cooked tender, and refrigerated in a covered container up to 2 days ahead. Poach and slice the kidneys no more than 1 day before serving.
• •The tapioca may be poached, strained, covered directly against its surface, and chilled for several hours. Warm it with a spoonful of consommé before measuring so it incorporates smoothly.
• •Keep the finished chicken consommé and all garnishes separate until service. Once assembled, the roundels continue absorbing broth and lose their precise texture.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 315g)