Consommé Jacqueline

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •8 to 10 cup soup tureen
• •Four 4 fl oz (120 ml) baba or dariole moulds, or straight-sided ovenproof cups
• •Small roasting pan for the bain-marie
• •Small Parisienne scoop or oval vegetable spoon-cutter
• •Fine-mesh sieve and damp filtering cloth
• •Small slotted spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Divide the consommé

   Measure 2 cups (475 ml) of the finished chicken consommé into a small saucepan for cooking the carrots. Keep the remaining 6 cups (1.4 L) covered and cold until service. The consommé must already be clarified and properly seasoned, because this recipe garnishes that foundation rather than rebuilding it.

2. 2

   Set the cream royale

   Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Butter four 4 fl oz (120 ml) baba or dariole moulds very lightly. Stir the whole eggs, yolks, cream, and salt together without beating in air, then pass the mixture through a fine sieve and divide it among the moulds. Cover each loosely with foil, place them in a small roasting pan, and add hot water to reach halfway up their sides. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until the royale is set at the edges, trembles gently in the centre, and reaches 160°F (71°C). Lift the moulds from the bain-marie, cool, then chill for at least 30 minutes. If bubbles or small holes appear, the water was too hot; remove the moulds immediately and cool them. Ça se rattrape: trim away any porous outer edge after chilling and use the smooth centre for the pastilles.

3. 3

   Cut carrot pellets

   Use a small Parisienne scoop or oval vegetable spoon-cutter to draw forty-eight neat pellets lengthwise from the carrots, each about 3/8 inch (1 cm) long. Bring the reserved 2 cups of consommé to the barest tremble, add the pellets, and poach for 8 to 12 minutes, until tender at the centre but still holding their shape. Lift them out with a small slotted spoon. Pass their cooking consommé through a damp fine cloth or paper filter and reserve it. If the liquid has become cloudy from an accidental boil, let it stand for five minutes before filtering it slowly. Ça se rattrape.

4. 4

   Keep the greens bright

   Bring a small saucepan of water to a lively boil. Blanch the asparagus tips for 60 to 90 seconds, until tender and brilliantly green, then transfer them directly to cold water. Blanch fresh peas for 45 to 60 seconds, or frozen peas for about 20 seconds, and cool them the same way. Drain both thoroughly and blot them dry. This separate blanching is not fuss for its own sake: it preserves their colour and keeps vegetable sediment out of the consommé.

5. 5

   Cook and rinse rice

   Rinse the dry rice under cold water until the water runs clear, then cook it in a small pan of gently boiling water until tender but still distinct, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain and rinse briefly with hot water to remove loose surface starch, then spread it on a clean towel to dry. Measure exactly 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) for the soup. Rice cooked in the main pot would turn a precise consommé cloudy, so this separation must stay.

6. 6

   Cut royale pastilles

   Run a thin knife around each chilled royale and turn it out gently. Slice the cylinders crosswise into small pastilles about 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick. Work with the royale cold so the rounds hold clean edges. If one tears, press the damaged surface together lightly and recut it with a small round cutter; never crumble it into the soup.

7. 7

   Assemble at service

   Let the prepared garnishes stand out of the cold for 15 minutes while you warm an 8 to 10 cup soup tureen with hot water. Combine the reserved main consommé with the filtered carrot-cooking consommé and bring it just to a full boil. Drain the tureen, then arrange the forty-eight carrot pellets, all the royale pastilles, 2 tablespoons each of peas, asparagus tips, and cooked rice inside. Pour the boiling consommé over the garnish without stirring and carry it directly to the table. The broth should shimmer, the pastilles should remain whole, and every colour should show clearly through it. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The finished chicken consommé is the foundation, not an interchangeable carton of ordinary stock. It should be clear, deeply chicken-scented, and firm enough to tremble when chilled. A weak broth leaves nowhere for these delicate garnishes to hide.
• •A small Parisienne scoop is the modern spoon-cutter. Pull it along the carrot rather than twisting it in one place, and the pellets become oval instead of round. Save the perforated carrots for a potage or mirepoix.
• •Frozen peas are often the better choice outside their brief fresh season. Asparagus is less forgiving: Jacqueline depends on genuinely green, tender tips, so poor woody asparagus means waiting for a better bunch rather than pretending the change is invisible.
• •Do not warm the royale in a saucepan. Its cream custard is delicate and may feather into the broth; the boiling consommé and warmed tureen give it all the heat it needs.
• •A restrained Chablis or dry Champagne suits the consommé without overpowering its quiet chicken foundation and spring garnish.

Advance Preparation

• •The finished chicken consommé may be refrigerated for up to three days or frozen for up to three months. Reheat it only when the garnishes and table are ready.
• •The cream royale can be baked, chilled, and left in its moulds one day ahead. Cut the pastilles while cold, then cover them closely so their surfaces do not dry.
• •The carrots, peas, and asparagus may be cooked earlier the same day and refrigerated separately. Cook and rinse the rice no more than a few hours ahead.
• •Do not store the assembled soup. Rice releases starch and absorbs broth, while the royale loses its clean edges. Keep every element separate and make the final pour at service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 310g)