Consommé Rossini

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3-quart (3 L) heavy saucepan
• •Small saucepan for poaching tapioca
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Clean tightly woven muslin or lint-free linen
• •Small piping bag with 1/4-inch (6 mm) plain tip
• •Rimmed baking sheet
• •2-quart (2 L) soup tureen and separate warm serving dish

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the foundations

   Have the finished chicken consommé cold enough to inspect. Lift away every trace of set fat, then check that you can see clearly through a ladleful. Set out 36 Profiterolles for Soups (No. 218), already prepared hazelnut-size and unfilled from Common Pâte à Choux (for Souffléd Fritters, Gnochi, Potatoes à la Dauphine) (No. 2374). Keep the shells dry while you prepare the filling and binder.

   A consommé must taste slightly more assertive than an ordinary broth. The tapioca softens its edges, while the foie gras and truffle demand a foundation with enough chicken character to answer them.
2. 2

   Poach the tapioca

   Bring the water to a gentle boil in a small saucepan, rain in the tapioca, and reduce the heat immediately. Poach for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often, until the pearls are completely translucent and tender through the centre. If you can still see white pinpoints, they're underdone; return them to the water rather than forcing them through the cloth. Drain well and measure 1/4 cup (60 ml / about 60 g) of the cooked tapioca.

3. 3

   Strain the binder

   Line a fine-mesh sieve with damp, tightly woven muslin or lint-free linen. While the measured tapioca is warm, rub it through the cloth with the back of a spoon, moistening it with a tablespoon of consommé if it resists. What passes through should be a smooth, translucent gel without recognizable pearls. Scrape it from the underside of the cloth and discard anything coarse that remains.

4. 4

   Bind the consommé

   Warm the 8 cups of consommé over medium-low heat until its surface barely trembles. Whisk in the strained tapioca a little at a time, allowing each addition to disperse before judging the next. The finished consommé should cling almost imperceptibly to a spoon while remaining unmistakably broth, not sauce. If it tightens too far, don't pour it out. Ça se rattrape: whisk in the additional hot consommé one ladle at a time. Pass the broth through fresh damp muslin if any tapioca flecks remain, then cover and hold it off the heat.

5. 5

   Make the Rossini purée

   Press the softened foie gras through a clean fine-mesh sieve into a cool bowl. Fold in the chopped truffle and 1 tablespoon of cream, working only until the purée is smooth and pipeable. It should hold a soft peak rather than run. If it turns greasy from warmth, chill it for 10 minutes and beat it briefly; if it remains too firm, add the remaining cream drop by drop. Transfer the purée to a small piping bag fitted with a 1/4-inch (6 mm) plain tip.

6. 6

   Crisp and fill

   Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Set the Profiterolles for Soups (No. 218) on a baking sheet and refresh them for 5 to 7 minutes, until dry and audibly crisp when tapped. Cool for 3 minutes, pierce the flat base of each shell with the piping tip, and fill it gently with the foie gras and truffle purée. Stop when the shell feels weighted; forcing in more will split it.

7. 7

   Warm the profiterolles

   Lower the oven to 225°F (110°C), opening the door briefly to shed the excess heat. Return the filled Profiterolles for Soups (No. 218) for 5 minutes, just until the shells are hot and the filling has relaxed without becoming liquid. This low oven is the honest home equivalent of holding them near the warm front of the range. More heat melts the foie gras and softens the shells, so don't try to hurry them.

8. 8

   Serve the two apart

   Warm the soup tureen with hot water, then empty and dry it. Bring the consommé back to a bare tremble without boiling and pour it into the tureen. Transfer the hot Profiterolles for Soups (No. 218) to a separate warm dish and take both to the table at once. Ladle the consommé first, then pass four profiterolles to each guest so they meet the broth only in the bowl. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use cooked foie gras terrine or bloc de foie gras, never raw foie gras. The filled shells receive only a brief warming, so this is a question of both texture and proper cooking.
• •A preserved whole black truffle is the classical pantry's honest answer when fresh truffles aren't in season. Drain it, chop it finely, and leave truffle-flavored oil on the shelf; perfume without the truffle's earthy substance makes the filling taste hollow.
• •Keep four extra profiterolles beyond the four-per-person service. Tiny choux shells sometimes crack under the piping tip, and a dinner party is no place to conduct arithmetic over an empty dish.
• •Pour a dry Champagne or a mineral white Burgundy. Either has enough acidity for the foie gras while leaving the clear chicken broth in command.

Advance Preparation

• •The chicken consommé can be finished up to 3 days ahead and kept covered in the cold, or frozen for several weeks. Remove every trace of fat while it is chilled, then warm it gently on the day.
• •The Profiterolles for Soups (No. 218), prepared from Common Pâte à Choux (for Souffléd Fritters, Gnochi, Potatoes à la Dauphine) (No. 2374), can be baked 1 day ahead. Cool them completely before storing airtight, then refresh them in the oven before filling.
• •The foie gras and truffle purée can be prepared up to 6 hours ahead and kept covered in the cold. Bring it out for 10 minutes before piping, but don't fill the shells until shortly before service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 275g)