Consommé Printanier

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large 3-quart saucepan with lid
• •Small 1-quart saucepan
• •Sharp chef's knife and paring knife
• •1/8-inch tubular cutter, optional
• •Small plain round cutter or metal piping tip for the leaves
• •Fine-mesh strainer and clean muslin
• •2 1/2-quart soupière or soup tureen

Instructions

1. 1

   Cut the printanier garnish

   Peel the carrot and turnip and cut them crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick roundels. Use a 1/8-inch tubular cutter to punch out little round rods, or cut them with a sharp knife into rods 1/8 inch square and 1/2 inch long, measuring two tablespoons of each. The round cross-section was a brigade refinement; the knife-cut equivalent preserves the size and cooking time without requiring a drawer of special cutters. Cut the haricots verts diagonally into tiny lozenges, leave the peas and asparagus heads whole, stamp twenty small rounds each from the sorrel and lettuce, and pick the chervil into fine pluches.

   Uniform pieces cook uniformly. Keep a finished carrot rod beside the board as your measure and cut everything else to match it.
2. 2

   Glaze the root rods

   Reserve about 1 cup (240 ml) of the consommé for cooking the garnishes and put the remainder in a clean covered pot. Add 1/2 cup (120 ml) of the reserved consommé, the carrot rods, and the turnip rods to the smallest saucepan that holds them in a shallow layer. Glacer means cooking in a little liquid until that liquid reduces to a shining coat. Simmer gently until the rods are tender and the consommé has reduced to a clear glaze, swirling rather than stirring so the pieces keep their shape. If the vegetables soften before the liquid glazes, lift them out, reduce the consommé, then return them. If the glaze catches at the edge, add a spoonful of consommé and loosen it at once. Ça se rattrape. The vegetables should gleam, not brown.

   A wide pan evaporates the consommé before these tiny rods become tender. Use a small saucepan and keep the simmer measured.
3. 3

   Poach the green garnish

   Lift the glazed roots onto a clean plate and rinse the saucepan. Bring the remaining reserved consommé to a bare simmer. Poach the haricots verts for about 2 minutes, the asparagus heads for 1 minute, and the peas for 30 to 60 seconds, lifting each with a small strainer as soon as it is tender but still distinctly green. Poach the lettuce rounds last for about 10 seconds, just until supple. Leave the sorrel raw; the boiling consommé will soften it at service. Strain any clear cooking liquor back into the main pot through damp muslin. If it carries green sediment or tastes overcooked, leave it out. Clarity is worth more than the last spoonful of broth.

4. 4

   Boil the consommé

   Heat the main pot of consommé uncovered just before service. Taste it while hot; it should be fully seasoned and deeply chicken-scented, since nothing added at the table will correct a weak foundation. Skim away any trace of fat, bring the consommé to a full boil, then take it off the heat immediately. If flecks appear, let them settle briefly and strain the liquid through damp muslin into a clean pot, without pressing. Ça se rattrape. Return it to the boil only when the tureen is ready.

5. 5

   Assemble and serve

   Warm the soupière (soup tureen) with hot water, then drain and dry it thoroughly. Arrange the glazed carrot and turnip rods, peas, haricots verts, asparagus heads, poached lettuce rounds, and raw sorrel rounds across its bottom. Pour the boiling consommé directly over the garnish and add the chervil pluches at the last instant. Ladle at once, giving every bowl a little of each vegetable. À table!

Chef Tips

• •This recipe begins exactly where the source begins, with finished chicken consommé. Homemade or excellent purchased consommé is suitable, but it must be clear, concentrated, and properly seasoned before the garnish comes near it. Ordinary cloudy chicken stock makes a pleasant soup, but not this one.
• •The tubular cutter creates perfect cylindrical rods, but a sharp knife is the sensible home equivalent. Preserve the original dimensions rather than the shape: 1/8 inch across and 1/2 inch long. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.
• •Use frozen petits pois when fresh peas are starchy or out of season. They were picked sweet and will serve the dish better than tired pods. Thaw them only enough to separate before their brief poach.
• •Sorrel supplies a clean green acidity that lettuce cannot replace, while chervil contributes its quiet anise fragrance. Add both only at service because prolonged heat turns their flavour blunt and their colour drab.
• •Serve the consommé as a first course in warmed bowls. A restrained dry white wine or dry Champagne suits it; anything heavily oaked overwhelms the delicacy you worked to preserve.

Advance Preparation

• •The finished chicken consommé can be prepared up to 3 days ahead and chilled. Remove every trace of set fat while it is cold, then reheat it gently for service.
• •The carrot and turnip rods may be glazed up to 6 hours ahead. The peas, haricots verts, and asparagus may also be poached ahead, but keep every garnish separate, covered, and chilled so the colours remain distinct.
• •Cut the sorrel and lettuce rounds and pick the chervil pluches within 1 hour of serving. Assemble the soup only at the last moment; once the boiling consommé meets the garnish, it waits for no one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 250g)