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.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Consommé Rejane
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 605, Consommé Rejane, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
A limpid white consommé carrying matchsticks of chicken, leek, and potato, cooked at the gentlest tremble so every garnish turns tender while the broth keeps its crystalline composure.
Soups & Stews
French
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
Make Ahead
35 min
Active Time
25 min cook•1 hr total
YieldAbout 2 quarts (6 to 8 first-course servings)
Consommé Rejane (clarified pale poultry broth with fine matchsticks of chicken, leek, and potato) teaches restraint. Once the garnish enters, clarity is protected by stillness: a bare tremble, one careful skim, and almost no stirring. The broth should arrive limpid and pale gold, carrying tender strips that remain distinct rather than collapsing into a muddle.
The original formula assumed excellent white consommé standing ready from a stockpot never off the fire, a saucier guarding its clarity, and brigade hands trained to cut every strip alike. Your honest home equivalent is finished consommé made ahead, one sharp knife, and a heavy saucepan. No salamander is needed because nothing is browned. This version doubles the one-quart formula evenly for a dinner-party tureen while preserving every ratio. Preparing and clarifying the consommé beforehand is brigade scaffolding; the exact julienne and quiet poach are the dish.
Cut julienne-fashion, meaning fine, even matchsticks, so the chicken, leek, and potato cook at the same pace. Then let the ladle wait. The moment that decides Consommé Rejane comes after the garnish enters: keep the broth at a tremble and disturb it as little as possible. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Consommé Rejane belongs to the Parisian grand-kitchen repertoire of named consommés, where a flawlessly clarified base carried a precise garnish and often honored a celebrated figure of the stage. Réjane was the stage name of Parisian actress Gabrielle Réju, yet the soup bearing her name is strikingly spare: chicken, leek, and potato rather than truffles or ornament. As the preparation passed from grand dining rooms into bourgeois kitchens, its distinguishing method remained intact, with the garnish cooked directly in the consommé and stillness preserving its clarity.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
excellent white consommé
Quantity
8 cups (1.9 liters / about 1.9 kg)
finished, chilled, and well strained
boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Quantity
2 small halves (about 2½ cups / 340 g)
trimmed and cut julienne-fashion into fine matchsticks
slim leeks
Quantity
4 (about 2½ cups / 300 g trimmed)
white and palest green parts only, cleaned and cut julienne-fashion to match the chicken
waxy yellow potatoes
Quantity
1½ cups (6 oz / 170 g)
peeled and cut julienne-fashion
fine sea salt (optional)
Quantity
as needed
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| excellent white consomméfinished, chilled, and well strained | 8 cups (1.9 liters / about 1.9 kg) |
| boneless, skinless chicken breast halvestrimmed and cut julienne-fashion into fine matchsticks | 2 small halves (about 2½ cups / 340 g) |
| slim leekswhite and palest green parts only, cleaned and cut julienne-fashion to match the chicken | 4 (about 2½ cups / 300 g trimmed) |
| waxy yellow potatoespeeled and cut julienne-fashion | 1½ cups (6 oz / 170 g) |
| fine sea salt (optional) | as needed |
Equipment Needed
- •4-quart heavy saucepan
- •Sharp chef's knife and stable cutting board
- •Fine-mesh skimmer
- •Fine sieve with clean muslin or unbleached coffee filters
- •Instant-read thermometer, optional
Instructions
- 1
Cut the julienne
Clean the leeks thoroughly, especially between their tight inner layers, then cut the white and palest green portions into matchsticks about 2 mm thick and 5 cm long. Cut the potatoes to the same dimensions, rinse them under cold water until the water runs clear, and drain them well; loose surface starch is a quiet enemy of a limpid consommé. Chill the chicken for 15 minutes if it feels soft, then slice it across the grain and cut it julienne-fashion to match the vegetables. Evenness matters more than mathematical perfection because pieces of one size finish cooking together.
Prepare the vegetables before cutting the raw chicken, then wash the board, knife, and your hands. Keep the chicken cold until the broth is ready. - 2
Heat the consommé
Pour the finished white consommé into a clean 4-quart heavy saucepan and bring it just to a boil over medium heat. Inspect the broth as it warms. If sediment rises from the bottom, stop before adding any garnish and pass the consommé through a fine sieve lined with clean damp muslin or an unbleached coffee filter into a clean pan. Taste and correct cautiously with fine salt if needed; the consommé must already possess its full character because this brief cooking cannot build a weak foundation.
- 3
Poach chicken and leek
When the consommé reaches the boil, scatter in the chicken and leek julienne without dumping them into one clump. Let the liquid return only to a bare tremble, then cook gently for 10 minutes. Pass a fork once through the surface if several chicken strips cling together, but do not stir the pot. Skim away any pale protein foam with a fine skimmer held nearly flat, taking as little broth as possible. A hard boil breaks particles into the liquid and clouds it, so lower the heat the instant the surface becomes busy.
- 4
Add the potatoes
Lower the rinsed potato julienne into different parts of the saucepan in small handfuls, again without stirring. Hold the consommé at the gentlest tremble for 6 to 8 minutes, until the potatoes are tender but still keep their straight edges and the thickest chicken strip is opaque throughout with no pink remaining. If a light haze appears, do not chase it around with a spoon. Ça se rattrape: lift the cooked garnish into a warm bowl with the skimmer, pass the broth gently through damp muslin or an unbleached coffee filter into a clean pan, return the garnish, and warm it without boiling.
- 5
Ladle and serve
Warm the soup bowls with hot water, then dry them. Taste the consommé once more without stirring through the garnish. Divide the chicken, leek, and potato evenly among the bowls with the skimmer, then ladle the clear broth over them from the quietest part of the saucepan. Serve immediately, while the julienne is tender and distinct and the consommé still carries its clean reflective sheen. À table!
Chef Tips
- •The excellent white consommé is the foundation, not a decorative phrase. Use a properly clarified, pale poultry consommé with enough body to feel lightly silky on the lips; ordinary boxed broth remains broth and will not give this dish its defining clarity.
- •Choose small waxy yellow potatoes rather than floury baking potatoes. They hold their matchstick shape and release less starch, but rinsing the cut surfaces is still essential.
- •Use only the white and palest green portions of the leeks. The dark green leaves are fibrous, strongly colored, and better saved for the next stockpot.
- •A sharp chef's knife is safer and more useful here than forcing every ingredient through a mandoline. The chilled chicken, especially, must be cut by hand.
- •For a special dinner, pour a dry blanc de blancs Champagne or a restrained Chablis. Both have enough freshness for the consommé without trampling its quiet flavors.
Advance Preparation
- •Prepare and clarify the white consommé up to 3 days ahead, chill it promptly, and keep it covered. Remove any solidified surface fat while cold, then strain it once more before beginning the recipe.
- •The chicken and leek julienne can be cut up to 8 hours ahead and refrigerated in separate covered containers. Keep raw chicken below other foods and bring it directly from the cold to the simmering consommé.
- •Cut the potatoes shortly before cooking. If they must wait for up to 1 hour, hold them submerged in cold water, then rinse again and drain thoroughly.
- •Do not fully assemble the soup ahead. The original instruction to serve immediately is part of the dish: held potatoes soften, leeks lose their shape, and repeated stirring slowly takes the consommé's clarity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 320g)
Calories
120 calories
Total Fat
2 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
1 g
Cholesterol
30 mg
Sodium
760 mg
Total Carbohydrates
10 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
14 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Soups
Browse the full collection
Chef Juliette
Consommé Ambassadrice
Crystal-clear chicken consommé poured over jewel-like dice of truffle, tomato, and pea royale, with fine chicken and mushroom: a formal first course made practical for one careful home cook.
Chef Juliette
Consommé Andalouse
Consommé Andalouse sets a jewel-clear chicken broth around tomato royale, ham julienne, separate grains of rice, and fragile egg threads, a lesson in precision whose final pour must be swift and gentle.
Chef Juliette
Consommé D’Arenberg
A crystal-clear consommé set with jewel-like vegetable and truffle pearls, tender chicken quenelles, peas, and asparagus royale, where precision in the garnish makes a formal soup feel generous rather than fussy.