Consommé à l’Infante

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3-quart heavy saucepan
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Lint-free straining linen or four layers of cheesecloth
• •Small piping bag with a plain filling tip
• •Plain porcelain soup tureen
• •Rimmed baking sheet

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the referenced puffs

   Have the Common Pâte à Choux (for Souffléd Fritters, Gnochi, Potatoes à la Dauphine) (No. 2374) and 36 unfilled Profiterolles for Soups (No. 218) ready according to their own entries. Their methods stay in those preparations, as the book intended. Cool the profiterolles completely and check that their shells are crisp and dry; if they have softened, ça se rattrape: return the unfilled puffs to a 300°F (150°C) oven for 5 to 8 minutes, then cool them again before filling.

   A warm shell traps moisture around the foie gras and softens. Fill only when the profiterolles are completely cold.
2. 2

   Poach the tapioca

   Pour 4 cups (950 ml) of the chicken consommé into a 3-quart saucepan and bring it to a bare simmer. Rain in the tapioca while stirring, then cook gently for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring often so nothing catches, until the pearls are translucent and the liquid has a faintly syrupy pull from the spoon. Keep it below a hard boil. Broken tapioca and rough agitation make the next straining needlessly difficult.

3. 3

   Strain for clarity

   Rinse a piece of lint-free linen or four layers of cheesecloth under cold water, wring it well, and use it to line a fine sieve set over a clean saucepan. Ladle in the tapioca consommé and let the bound liquid pass by gravity. Do not squeeze, scrape, or press the pearls through the cloth. Combine the strained liquid with the remaining 4 cups (950 ml) of consommé. If the broth looks cloudy, stop and let it settle for 5 minutes, then filter it once more through fresh damp linen. Ça se rattrape. The finished consommé should remain visibly clear while coating the mouth with the lightest silk.

4. 4

   Cut the capsicum

   Peel the capsicum, remove every seed and white rib, and cut the flesh into a julienne, match-shaped rods about 1 inch (2.5 cm) long and as fine as you can make them evenly. The boiling consommé will soften these threads in the tureen, so keep them delicate; thick strips remain raw and dominate a broth built on restraint.

5. 5

   Fill the profiterolles

   Work the chilled purée de foie gras smooth with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) of the cooled velouté, then add the rest a little at a time until the filling holds a soft peak and will pass through a small piping tip. Pierce the base of each cold profiterolle and pipe in enough filling to make it feel just heavy, without forcing the shell apart. If the mixture turns loose or oily, chill it for 10 minutes and stir again; if it is too stiff, add the final drops of measured velouté. Keep the filled profiterolles cool until the soup is ready.

6. 6

   Warm both elements

   Heat the oven to 275°F (135°C). Warm the soup tureen with hot water, then empty and dry it. Arrange the filled profiterolles on a tray and warm them for 4 to 6 minutes, only until the shells recover their crisp edge and the filling loses its chill. This low oven is the home equivalent of the old front-of-oven holding zone; higher heat renders the foie gras and softens the choux. Meanwhile, bring the consommé to one clean boil and remove it from the heat immediately.

7. 7

   Pour and serve

   Put the fine capsicum julienne into the warmed tureen and pour the boiling consommé directly over it. Carry the tureen to the table at once. Pass the warm foie-gras profiterolles separately, allowing four per person with a few extra, so each guest adds them only at the moment of eating. That separate plate is practical, not pomp: the shells remain crisp until they meet the broth. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Begin with a chicken consommé you would happily serve alone. Homemade clarified consommé is ideal; a good prepared consommé can serve if it is genuinely clear and not aggressively salty. Ordinary chicken stock may taste splendid, but it is not the same preparation and linen will not clarify it.
• •Choose a smooth cooked bloc or terrine of foie gras for the purée, not a coarse country pâté. The filling must pass cleanly through a small piping tip and melt softly against the hot consommé.
• •The book explicitly permits omitting the capsicum. If its sweetness distracts you, leave it out and let the separately passed profiterolles form the entire garnish; that version remains faithful to the entry.
• •Serve a dry Champagne or a restrained dry white wine. The glass should refresh after the foie gras without trampling the clarity of the chicken broth.

Advance Preparation

• •The chicken consommé and chicken velouté can be prepared up to three days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Bind and strain the consommé with tapioca on the day of service.
• •The unfilled Profiterolles for Soups (No. 218), made from Common Pâte à Choux (for Souffléd Fritters, Gnochi, Potatoes à la Dauphine) (No. 2374), can be baked a day ahead. Cool them fully, store airtight, and dry them briefly in the oven before filling if needed.
• •The foie-gras filling can be mixed a day ahead and chilled. Fill the profiterolles no more than two hours before dinner, keep them cool, and warm them only as the consommé comes to its final boil.
• •The capsicum can be peeled and cut several hours ahead. Wrap the julienne closely and refrigerate it so the edges remain fresh.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 270g)