http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/food_and_drink/features/story.jsp?story=506635
In the clear
The secret to simple, flavoursome consommés and
soups all boils down to a good stock, says
Mark Hix
03 April 2004
Elixir, crystal and bouillon sound so glamorous
on a menu. But is it clear exactly what they are?
Don't let the fanciful names fool you - they're
nothing more than consommé in drag. Once you see
through the terminology - the French just love
to dress up their dishes and menus with
elaborate terms - you'll realise they're simply
different names for clear soup.
You'll find similar clear soups elsewhere in the
world - described without anywhere near as much
fuss. In Asia a clear broth - dashi, for example
- forms the basis of most soups. And though
these may look thin and not especially interesting,
clear soups can have amazing depths of flavour.
I've eaten some incredible clear soups in my time
from fragrant Thai broths to Italian brodo with
tiny agnolotti pasta parcels filled with rabbit,
and intense lobster consommés infused with truffle.
Whatever it's called, consommé has always had a place
on classic French menus. There would be one in the
soup section as a light and luxurious option to a
creamy soup or broth, and grand old banqueting menus
would almost certainly feature a consommé before the
fish course or after the first course.
As a commis chef in a hotel kitchen you would normally
be relegated to making the clarification, or base, for
the consommé, which consists of meat, fish or vegetables.
You can make a consommé from just about anything, but
the basis generally consists of lean, flavoursome meat,
such as shin of beef, vegetables and herbs all minced
up and mixed with egg white and cold stock, then brought
up to a slow simmer and cooked very gently for an hour
or so. The concoction is then left to settle and
carefully strained through doubled-up muslin.
In large hotel kitchens we used to have this scary
contraption called a bowl chopper, a rotating bowl
with two fast moving, sharp double blades. You feed
ingredients in one end and they come out all chopped
up. It was probably the most useful and most dangerous
piece of kit in a kitchen. There you'd be, with a bit
of a fuzzy head, chatting to your colleagues about the
events of the previous night while feeding food into
the machine ... Ouch. I won't go any further as I would
love you to make and enjoy clear soup without associating
it with young chefs short of a finger or two.
These consommés, achieved at such a cost, have been
elbowed out, though, by frothy veloutés and cappuccino
soups. It's incredible how froth has caught on since
Gordon Ramsay started it off at Aubergine, giving soups
an amazing extra dimension. Everybody's at it now,
whizzing soups with hand blenders. Having said that,
those bubbles are beginning to lose their appeal now
they're everywhere. So let's forget all the froth and
seriously try and clarify the issues.
If you are not too fussed about your clear soup being
crystal clear, you can, with fresh ingredients and
careful cooking, make a stock that will still pass
as a consommé. It's often more luck than judgement
though, as the blood on the bones or carcasses will
make the stock cloudy. A way around this is to blanch
the bones by bringing them up to the boil from cold
and then draining and washing them and then just make
your stock as normal.
Basic clear chicken stock
Makes about 2 litres
This recipe gives you the basis of a perfect clear
soup - all you need to do is add a garnish. It won't
qualify as a full on consommé, with the depth of
flavour that implies. The way to do that is to make
a double stock, using this stock instead of water as
a base for the next batch of stock. Chicken wings and
necks make very good stocks, although the wings will
leave a fair bit of fat on the stock. This isn't hard
to get rid of. Chill the stock so the fat solidifies
and then it can be lifted off. This recipe makes a
couple of litres. Freeze it in smaller quantities and
it will keep for up to six months.
2kg chicken bones with as much fat removed as possible
2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large leek, roughly chopped and washed
3 sticks of celery, roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
A few sprigs of thyme
10 black peppercorns
Chop the chicken bones with a heavy knife or cleaver
a few times, then wash them in cold water. Put them
into a saucepan, cover them with cold water and bring
to the boil. Drain in a colander, discarding the water
and wash off again in cold water. Return to a clean
pan with the other ingredients and cover with cold water.
Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 112 hours
(they must mean 1-1/2 hours)
skimming every so often. Strain the stock through a
fine meshed sieve, taste and continue to simmer to
concentrate it if it needs more flavour. The stock
can then be seasoned to taste and garnished with some
shredded cooked chicken and vegetables, especially
mushrooms or asparagus. If you want to call it a brodo,
add some tiny agnolotti or other small filled pasta
parcels to it. Or buy ready made won tons from Chinese
supermarket and turn it into won ton soup.
Basic beef consommé
Makes about 2 litres
Consommé can be made with beef, minced chicken
legs (bones removed) or game. Once made it can be
frozen and used as a base for lots of interesting soups.
Add shredded meat and vegetables, or follow the
suggestions above for an Italian or Chinese soup.
3 litres cold beef stock (a good cube will do)
300g shin of beef, minced or finely chopped in a
food processor
1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 stick of celery, roughly chopped
Half a leek, roughly chopped and washed
A few sprigs of thyme
1tsp tomato puree
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 egg whites
Finely chop the vegetables in a food processor with
the thyme and tomato purée. Add the beef and
egg white. Mix well with the cold stock in a
saucepan; a whisk is good for this or use your
hands. Slowly bring to a simmer stirring a couple
of times in the first few minutes, then leaving
it. As it comes up to a simmer the egg white and
meat mixture will form a solid crust. Don't be
tempted to stir - just leave it to simmer very
gently for an hour. Carefully strain the consommé
through a colander or strainer lined with some
double folded muslin or a clean tea towel.
Thai spiced shrimp broth
Serves 4
After a shellfish feast I hate throwing away the
shells as they make such a good bisque or clear
soup. If you're not a shell hoarder like me just
buy your prawns with the head and shells on.
for the soup
500g large raw prawns with the heads and shells on
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small leek, roughly chopped and washed
1 stick of lemon grass, roughly chopped
2 lime leaves
A small piece (about 20g) of root ginger or galangal
3 cloves of garlic
Stalks from Thai basil and coriander
112 litres fish stock (a good cube will do)
3tbsp Thai fish sauce
for the garnish
1 stick of lemon grass, outer leaves trimmed off,
and chopped
4 lime leaves
A small piece of root ginger, peeled and shredded
1 mild red chilli, seeded and shredded
2 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced on the
angle
A few sprigs of Thai basil
A few sprigs of coriander
60g Oriental mushrooms - enoki or hoi shemegi
Remove the shells and heads from the prawns,
leaving the tail on. Put the meat in the fridge.
Wash the shells and put them in a saucepan with
the rest of the soup ingredients. Bring to the
boil and simmer gently, skimming regularly, for
1 hour. Strain the soup through a fine meshed
sieve into a clean pan and season with salt and
pepper if necessary. Run a small knife along the
back of the prawns and remove the black entrails
with your fingers under the tap. Put the prawns
and the rest of the ingredients for the garnish
in the soup and simmer for 4-5 minutes and serve.
Borsch with duck
Serves 4-6
In countries like Hungary and Russia there are
lots of variations on this great soup, some
including beef, goose and chicken as a base. It
can be served hot or cold and, in summer, can be
turned into a jelly. Traditionally it's probably
usually thicker than this one, and can be served
with sour cream and little stuffed patties called
pirogs. This is the opposite - a ruby red broth
of jewel-like clarity. Admittedly it's not as homely
as some borschs, but it looks very impressive.
It is quite a lot of trouble and potentially messy,
but if you really want to get into creating clear
soups it'll give you a sense of satisfaction. Try
to buy raw beetroot for this as you will get more
flavour into the soup. Remove the fat from the duck
before you begin making the soup, but don't throw
the fatty skin away as it makes a great salad
ingredient fried until crisp. Add to a bitter
lettuce like frisee, or simply sprinkle with
sea salt as a snack with drinks.
1 medium sized duck with the skin and fat removed
or 4 large duck legs
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 leek, roughly chopped and washed
A few sprigs of thyme
10 black peppercorns
1kg raw beetroot, peeled and roughly chopped
(1 small one or 200g reserved for the garnish)
3 litres chicken stock
1 egg white
Remove the legs from the duck and remove the bone
with the point of a sharp knife. Put the bones into
a pot with the rest of the duck carcass with the
breasts on, the onion, leek, thyme, peppercorns
and half the beetroot. If you're using only
duck legs take the meat off two of them and put
aside, adding the bones and the two other whole
legs to the pot. Add the small beetroot, or 200g piece,
cover with the chicken stock (add some water if it
doesn't quite cover the duck), bring to the boil
and simmer for one hour, skimming every so often.
Strain through a fine meshed sieve, reserving the
carcass with the breasts on (or the two whole legs)
and the whole piece of beetroot for the garnish. Put
the strained soup somewhere to cool. Remove the
cooked meat from the bones and shred it. Shred the
piece of beetroot into matchsticks with a knife or
mandolin if you have one, and store in the fridge
until required. Put the rest of the raw beetroot
in a food processor with the raw duck meat (remove
the bones from the legs if you haven't already) and
coarsely blend. Remove from the processor and transfer
to a large stainless steel saucepan. Mix in the
egg white and season with salt and pepper.
When the stock is cold, mix it well with your hands
or a whisk, with the beetroot mix and put it on a low
to medium heat. Carefully stir a couple times in the
first couple minutes, then allow it to come up to a
steady simmer. The mixture will form a crust that
will float on top of the stock. Don't be tempted to
stir it, but let it simmer very gently for an hour.
Carefully strain the soup with a ladle through a
colander or strainer lined with doubled-up muslin
or a clean tea towel, being careful not to disturb
the crust too much. You'll have a rich, clear ruby
tinged broth.
Season the soup to taste, then add the duck and
beetroot and simmer for a minute or so to re-heat.
3 April 2004 17:49
© 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd
Stoney
"Designated Rascal and Rapscallion
and
SCAMPERMEISTER!"
When in doubt, SCAMPER about!
When things are fair, SCAMPER everywhere!
When things are rough, can't SCAMPER enough!
/end humour alert
alt.atheism military veteran #11
{so much for the 'no atheists in foxholes' rubbish}
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