Consommé Mirette

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Mini food processor, 3-cup capacity or larger
• •4-quart heavy saucepan for the consommé
• •3-quart saucepan or sauteuse for poaching
• •Two teaspoons or small quenelle spoons
• •Fine-mesh skimmer
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Heatproof 3-quart soup tureen
• •Rimmed baking sheet

Instructions

1. 1

   Make cold forcemeat

   Make the farce mousseline, a cream-lightened chicken forcemeat. Chill the processor bowl and blade for twenty minutes, then pulse the cold chicken with the first measure of salt and the white pepper until the meat becomes smooth and tacky. Add the egg white and process until completely absorbed. With the motor running, pour in the cold cream in a thin stream, stopping as soon as the paste looks smooth, pale, and satiny. If it turns shiny and slack or leaves streaks of cream on the bowl, it is warming. Stop immediately, nest the bowl in ice for ten minutes, then pulse only twice or three times. Ça se rattrape when you stop before forcing a warm emulsion. Cover and chill the finished forcemeat for twenty minutes.

   A mini processor suits this home-sized quantity better than a broad full-sized bowl. The blade must catch the chicken cleanly rather than throwing it against the sides.
2. 2

   Poach pearl quenelles

   Bring the water and poaching salt to 175 to 180°F (80 to 82°C), a bare tremble with no rolling bubbles. Using two teaspoons dipped in the hot water, pass rounded two-teaspoon portions of forcemeat between them until they resemble large pearls. Poach one tester first. If it frays or collapses, pull the pan from the heat and chill the remaining paste for fifteen minutes; the water was too hot or the forcemeat too warm. Ça se rattrape. Poach the remaining quenelles in three uncrowded batches until firm, buoyant, and 165°F (74°C) at the center, about five to six minutes. Lift them out with a skimmer and hold them covered in a shallow dish set over gently hot water. You need thirty-six.

   Never boil a quenelle. Boiling roughens its surface and tightens the chicken before the cream can give it tenderness.
3. 3

   Ready separate garnishes

   Set a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat it fully to 450°F (230°C). Eight to ten minutes before serving, bake the prepared Paillettes au Parmesan (No. 2322) until their layers are crisp and the Parmesan is a deep butter-gold. Warm the Chiffonade (No. 215) gently in a small covered pan just until its butter glosses the lettuce; do not brown it. If the paillettes soften while they wait, return them to the hot oven for two minutes. Ça se rattrape, but only if they never meet the broth.

   The Paillettes au Parmesan (No. 2322) belong on their own napkin-lined plate. A lid traps moisture, so leave them uncovered and serve them immediately.
4. 4

   Boil the consommé

   Heat the Consommé of the Petite Marmite in a covered saucepan so it reaches temperature without reducing. Skim away any trace of fat or foam, and strain it through a damp fine cloth if storage has left particles behind. Taste it hot; a consommé served this clear has nowhere to hide weak seasoning. Bring it to a full boil only when the tureen and garnishes are ready.

5. 5

   Fill the tureen

   Fill the soup tureen with boiling water, leave it for a minute, then empty and dry it. Arrange the thirty-six warm chicken quenelles and the warm Chiffonade (No. 215) in the tureen. Pour the boiling Consommé of the Petite Marmite over them and scatter the chervil pluches across the clear surface. Carry the tureen straight to the table and pass the very hot Paillettes au Parmesan (No. 2322) separately on their napkin-lined plate. Each bowl receives four or five quenelles, a little lettuce, and several crisp paillettes eaten alongside. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ordinary chicken stock is not consommé. Consommé of the Petite Marmite must be clear, concentrated, and properly seasoned before this recipe begins; the garnish composes the soup but cannot build its foundation for it.
• •Keep every part of the farce mousseline cold. Cold chicken binds the cream into a smooth emulsion, while warm chicken releases it again and gives you grainy quenelles.
• •Chiffonade (No. 215) means a finished garnish, not raw shredded lettuce dropped into the broth. Tender leaves cut julienne-fashion and softened in butter give sweetness without sacrificing the consommé's clarity.
• •Fresh chervil has a delicate anise scent that dried chervil cannot supply. If fresh chervil is unavailable, omit it rather than burying this restrained soup beneath a stronger herb.
• •Serve a dry blanc de blancs Champagne or a mineral white Burgundy. Both meet the Parmesan and cream without trampling the clear chicken broth.

Advance Preparation

• •The Consommé of the Petite Marmite can be prepared two days ahead, chilled quickly, and kept covered. Lift off every trace of set fat before reheating it gently.
• •The chicken quenelles can be poached one day ahead and chilled in strained poaching liquid. Rewarm them below a simmer, then drain them thoroughly before they enter the tureen.
• •The Chiffonade (No. 215) can be prepared earlier on the day of serving and rewarmed gently. Keep it covered so its tender lettuce does not dry at the edges.
• •The Paillettes au Parmesan (No. 2322) can be shaped and refrigerated on their tray for several hours, but bake them only eight to ten minutes before service. Their crispness is part of the dish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 315g)