Chef Juliette
Consommé Alexandra
A clear chicken consommé gains the faintest body from tapioca, then carries fine chicken julienne, long grooved quenelles, and lettuce chiffonade, each garnish distinct beneath the shimmering golden broth.
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Consommé Julienne
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 576a, Consommé Julienne, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
A clear bowl that teaches precision: six vegetables cut into matching julienne, softened in butter without color, then suspended with peas, sorrel, lettuce, and chervil in a white consommé of spotless clarity.
Soups & Stews
French
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
Make Ahead
50 min
Active Time
45 min cook•1 hr 35 min total
YieldAbout 2 quarts (6 to 8 first-course servings)
Consommé Julienne (clear consommé with fine-cut vegetables) teaches precision through restraint. The one true thing to know before touching a pan is this: every vegetable must be cut evenly and cooked without browning, because clear broth exposes every careless edge. Julienne means fine, uniform matchsticks, and the word carries the technique.
The source assumes a saucier at service and white consommé from a stockpot never off the fire. A salamander, useful to many old service recipes, has no job here because nothing should brown. At home, one prepared pot of consommé, a wide saucepan, and a skimmer replace the brigade. I have scaled the little service formula to about two quarts, enough for six to eight first-course bowls, while preserving its proportions and sequence. Separate holding pots and a dedicated cook are scaffolding and can go; the knife work, the étuver, meaning to stew gently in butter without browning, and the patient skimming are the dish and must stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
When it is right, the pale-gold consommé remains clear enough to see every carrot thread, green pea, and chervil leaf, while the vegetables are tender but still distinct. Make the entire julienne before the butter reaches the pan. The cut decides the bowl.
Consommé Julienne belongs to the Parisian classical dining room, where clear soup opened a formal meal and a precisely cut vegetable garnish displayed knife discipline without concealing the broth. It traveled readily into bourgeois home cookery because the garnish could be prepared ahead; stories tying julienne to a particular woman remain unproved, while in kitchen practice the name belongs to the fine, even cut itself.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
outer orange carrot flesh
Quantity
2 cups (475 ml / 250 g)
from about 4 medium carrots; cut into 2-inch fine julienne
turnip
Quantity
1½ cups (350 ml / 225 g)
peeled and cut into 2-inch fine julienne
leek, white and pale-green parts
Quantity
1½ cups (350 ml / 150 g)
thoroughly washed and cut into 2-inch fine julienne
celery
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 50 g)
strings removed and cut into 2-inch fine julienne
tender cabbage leaves
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 70 g)
thick ribs removed and cut into 2-inch fine julienne
onion
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 150 g)
cut into 2-inch fine julienne
unsalted butter
Quantity
4½ tablespoons (67 ml / 64 g)
fine sea salt
Quantity
¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 1.5 g), plus only what the finished broth needs
caster sugar
Quantity
¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 1 g)
prepared white consommé
Quantity
8 cups (1.9 liters / 1.9 kg)
chilled and completely defatted
Brussels sprouts
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 125 g)
trimmed
very green cooked peas
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g)
prepared sorrel-and-lettuce Chiffonade
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 10 g) Chiffonade (No. 215)
chervil pluches
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 2 g)
small picked leaves
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| outer orange carrot fleshfrom about 4 medium carrots; cut into 2-inch fine julienne | 2 cups (475 ml / 250 g) |
| turnippeeled and cut into 2-inch fine julienne | 1½ cups (350 ml / 225 g) |
| leek, white and pale-green partsthoroughly washed and cut into 2-inch fine julienne | 1½ cups (350 ml / 150 g) |
| celerystrings removed and cut into 2-inch fine julienne | ½ cup (120 ml / 50 g) |
| tender cabbage leavesthick ribs removed and cut into 2-inch fine julienne | 1 cup (240 ml / 70 g) |
| onioncut into 2-inch fine julienne | 1 cup (240 ml / 150 g) |
| unsalted butter | 4½ tablespoons (67 ml / 64 g) |
| fine sea salt | ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 1.5 g), plus only what the finished broth needs |
| caster sugar | ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 1 g) |
| prepared white consomméchilled and completely defatted | 8 cups (1.9 liters / 1.9 kg) |
| Brussels sproutstrimmed | 1 cup (240 ml / 125 g) |
| very green cooked peas | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) |
| prepared sorrel-and-lettuce Chiffonade | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 10 g) Chiffonade (No. 215) |
| chervil pluchessmall picked leaves | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 2 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Sharp chef's knife
- •Mandoline with hand guard, optional
- •Wide 4-quart heavy saucepan with lid
- •Fine skimmer or shallow spoon
- •Fine sieve and clean muslin
Instructions
- 1
Cut the julienne
Pare the carrots so you use only the tender, deep-orange outer flesh specified by the source, leaving the paler core for another pot. Cut the carrot, turnip, leek, celery, cabbage leaves, and onion into fine matchsticks about 2 inches long and 1/16 inch thick. Keep the pieces as alike as your hand permits, because thick strips remain hard while thin ones collapse. Spread them on a tray as you work and correct the uneven pieces now; once they enter the butter, their size cannot be repaired.
A mandoline may cut the vegetables into thin slabs, but finish the matchsticks with a knife. It gives better control over their length and keeps the softer leek and cabbage from being crushed. - 2
Parboil small cabbages
Lower the Brussels sprouts, the source's small cabbages, into gently boiling water and parboil them for 3 minutes, just until the leaves become pliable while keeping their green color. Drain and cool them promptly, then slice them lengthwise into fine strips matching the rest of the julienne. Hold them separately; their first cooking removes raw brassica sharpness without burdening the consommé.
- 3
Étuver the vegetables
Melt the butter in a wide, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat without letting it color. Add the carrot, turnip, leek, celery, cabbage leaves, onion, salt, and caster sugar, turning gently until every strand glistens. Cover and étuver for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring carefully every few minutes, until the vegetables soften and smell sweet but show no brown edges. If the butter begins to color, add 2 tablespoons of the chilled consommé and lower the heat at once. Ça se rattrape. If you see black specks, move the vegetables to a clean pan and leave the scorched butter behind.
- 4
Moisten and simmer
Pour in the remaining white consommé and add the parboiled Brussels sprouts. Bring the liquid slowly to the barest simmer, with only an occasional movement at the surface, then skim away foam and free butter with a shallow spoon. If the consommé reaches a rolling boil and turns hazy, remove it from the heat, lift out the vegetable garnish, and let the broth stand undisturbed for 5 minutes. Pass the clear upper broth through damp muslin into a clean pot, stopping before the sediment follows, return the garnish, and continue over very low heat. Once the simmer is calm, fold in the prepared Chiffonade (No. 215) and cook gently for 25 minutes, skimming whenever beads of fat gather.
- 5
Finish the bowl
Add the cooked peas for the final 2 minutes, just long enough to heat them without dulling their color. Remove the pan from the heat and scatter in the chervil pluches. Taste the broth before adding any more salt, since a finished consommé should already carry its seasoning. Ladle into warmed bowls or bring it to the table in a soupière, distributing the julienne evenly so every serving receives the full garnish. À table!
Chef Tips
- •White consommé means a properly clarified, pale stock, not merely broth from a carton. Prepare it ahead, chill it completely, and lift away every patch of set fat before measuring. If the foundation is cloudy, the vegetable garnish cannot make it clear.
- •The source's red part of the carrot is the tender, deeply colored outer flesh, while its small cabbages are Brussels sprouts. These are translations of the book's working vocabulary, not changes to its ingredients.
- •Uniformity matters more than extreme thinness. A consistent 1/16-inch julienne cooks together and remains visible in the bowl; a mixture of threads and batons gives you mush beside raw turnip.
- •Petite frozen peas are the honest choice outside their short season. Blanch them separately, cool them promptly, and add them at the finish so their green remains vivid against the pale consommé.
Advance Preparation
- •Prepare and clarify the white consommé up to 3 days ahead, chill it promptly, and keep it covered at or below 40°F (4°C). It may also be frozen for up to 3 months and thawed overnight in the refrigerator.
- •The julienne and parboiled Brussels sprouts may be prepared and étuvered 1 day ahead. Cool them quickly and refrigerate them separately from the consommé, then combine and simmer on the day of service.
- •For the clearest make-ahead result, complete the soup through the gentle simmer, chill it promptly, and reheat it without boiling. Add the peas and fresh chervil pluches only at service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 250g)
Calories
150 calories
Total Fat
8 g
Saturated Fat
5 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
3 g
Cholesterol
25 mg
Sodium
850 mg
Total Carbohydrates
13 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
7 g
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