Consommé Macdonald

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 6-quart stockpot
• •Fine-mesh sieve and washed cheesecloth
• •Four 3-ounce (90 ml) dariole-moulds or straight-sided ramekins
• •Small roasting pan for the bain-marie
• •Blender or food processor
• •Wide 4-quart pot and slotted spoon
• •Soup tureen

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach the brain

   Set the cleaned calf's brain in a nonreactive bowl with 1 quart (960 ml) of the cold water and the vinegar. Chill it for 30 minutes, then drain and rinse gently. Bring the remaining 1 quart (960 ml) water and its teaspoon of salt to the barest simmer, lower in the brain, and poach for 12 to 15 minutes, until opaque throughout and 160°F (71°C) at the center. Lift it onto a plate, remove any remaining membrane or dark vessels, and let it cool. If a lobe breaks, nothing is lost; the brain is going into a purée.

   Brains are delicate and highly perishable. Keep them cold until cooking, source them from a licensed butcher, and cook them on the day of purchase.
2. 2

   Set the royale

   Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C) and butter four 3-ounce (90 ml) dariole-moulds or straight-sided ramekins. Purée the cooled brain with the cream, whole egg, yolks, white pepper, and a small pinch taken from the consommé salt, then press the mixture through a fine sieve. Divide it among the moulds and set them in a small roasting pan. Pour hot water halfway up their sides to make a bain-marie, a water bath, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges are set, the centers still quiver slightly, and the royale reaches 160°F (71°C). Cool, cover, and chill in the moulds for at least 45 minutes. If the water boils and leaves the custards porous, lift them out immediately; once chilled, cut roundels from the smooth centers. Ça se rattrape.

   The bain-marie should barely tremble. Fierce water makes bubbles in the royale, while gentle heat gives the fine, close texture needed for clean roundels.
3. 3

   Raise the raft

   Put 4 egg whites in a heavy 6-quart pot and loosen them with a whisk without beating them to a foam. Work in the ground beef, carrot, leek, celery, tomato paste, and peppercorns, then stir in the cold beef stock. Set the pot over medium-low heat and scrape the bottom continuously with a wooden spoon until the mixture grows warm and pale curds begin rising, about 15 minutes. Once the solids close over the surface in a raft, stop stirring completely and open a 2-inch (5 cm) chimney through its center.

   The stock must begin cold. Warm stock cooks the egg white before it can gather the fine particles that cloud the consommé.
4. 4

   Clarify without boiling

   Lower the heat until liquid moves gently beneath the raft without reaching a rolling boil. Hold it there for 60 minutes, spooning a little broth from the chimney over any dry patches every 15 minutes without breaking the raft. If boiling tears it, turn off the heat for 5 minutes and resume at the gentlest setting. Should the strained broth remain cloudy, cool it until lukewarm, whisk the reserved egg white with 1 cup (240 ml) of the broth, stir it back into the pot, and bring everything slowly to a bare simmer for 15 minutes before straining again. Ça se rattrape, but only if you give the egg white time to gather the cloudiness.

5. 5

   Strain and season

   Ladle the broth through a fine sieve lined with damp, double-layered cheesecloth into a clean pot. Do not pour the raft into the sieve and never press it, because pressure drives the captured particles back into the liquid. Skim every bead of fat from the surface. You should have about 8 cups (1.9 liters); if there is more, reduce it gently to that volume. Season with the measured salt until the consommé tastes full and slightly more assertive than an ordinary sipping broth, since the royale and ravioles will soften it. Hold below a simmer, or cool promptly if serving later.

   Wet the cheesecloth before straining. Dry cloth drinks the first ladle of broth and can shed fibers into the consommé.
6. 6

   Glaze the cucumber

   Measure 1/2 cup (120 ml) of the clarified consommé into a small saucepan and add the cucumber dice. Simmer uncovered until the cucumber is tender but still distinct and the consommé has reduced to a glossy glaze clinging to every piece, about 8 to 12 minutes. This reduction is not brigade decoration; it is how cucumber enters the soup without watering it. If the glaze catches before the cucumber is ready, loosen it with 1 tablespoon (15 ml) more consommé and lower the heat.

7. 7

   Poach the ravioles

   Exactly 12 minutes before serving, bring the 3 quarts (2.8 liters) water and its tablespoon of salt to a boil in a separate wide pot. Lower in the 10 small Ravioli (No. 2296), reduce the water to a gentle boil, and poach for 12 minutes. Lift them with a slotted spoon, drain thoroughly, and blot the spoon's underside before carrying them toward the tureen. Never poach them in the consommé. Their starch and spinach belong in this water, not in the clear broth. If one splits, lower the heat and remove it; the failure is contained, which is precisely why the pots are separate.

   Give the ravioles room. Crowding presses their seams together and makes tearing more likely when you lift them.
8. 8

   Assemble the tureen

   Warm the soup tureen with hot water, then empty and dry it. Dip each royale mould briefly in warm water, unmould the custards, and cut them crosswise into roundels 1/3 inch (8 mm) thick. Arrange the roundels, glazed cucumber, and well-drained Ravioli (No. 2296) in the tureen. Bring the remaining consommé to a full boil only at the last moment, skim once more, and pour it directly over the garnish. Serve immediately, before the ravioles soften or the royale loses its clean edge. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Begin with stock that turns softly gelatinous when cold. Clarification removes particles and some body, so a thin boxed broth emerges clear but tastes hollow. If your stock is weak, reduce it before chilling and beginning the raft.
• •Calf's brain has the mild flavor and fine texture expected here. If it is unavailable but lamb brains are legally sold by a trusted butcher, use the same cleaned weight; the royale will taste slightly more pronounced. Do not replace the brain with pâté or liver mousse, which changes the garnish entirely.
• •The listed time begins with the Ravioli (No. 2296) already prepared, because the book treats it as a separate finished component. For Consommé Macdonald, form small ravioles and use chicken forcemeat combined with spinach equal to one-third of the forcemeat's volume.
• •Taste the consommé after the cucumber portion has been removed. It should be highly seasoned without becoming salty, because egg-rich royale and pasta both mute the broth once the bowl is assembled.
• •A restrained white Burgundy suits the brain royale and chicken filling without flattening the clear beef broth. Pour small glasses; the consommé should keep command of the first course.

Advance Preparation

• •Clarify the consommé up to 3 days ahead. Cool it promptly in a shallow container, cover, and refrigerate; lift off the firm fat while cold, then reheat gently on the day of service.
• •The brain royale can be poached, baked, and chilled in its moulds 1 day ahead. Keep the moulds covered and unmould only when the tureen is ready.
• •Prepare the Ravioli (No. 2296) 1 day ahead and refrigerate them in a single, lightly floured layer. They may also be frozen in that layer and transferred to a container once firm.
• •Glaze the cucumber earlier on the day of service and keep it covered separately. The final poaching and assembly must wait until the guests are seated.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 300g)