California Consomme Recipes

Steps:

• Some Traditional Garnishes: Brunoise-Consomme garnish with small cubes of carrots, turnips, leeks, celery, peas, and chervil
• Cheveux d'anges-Chicken Consomme garnished with very small vermicelli and grated Parmesan cheese
• In a mixing bowl, whip the egg whites slightly. Combine the lean meat, vegetables, tomato puree, herbs, and spices together. Mix in the egg whites. In a spigot stock pot, blend the cold chicken stock with the meat mixture. Place the stock pot on medium heat. Stir the liquid occasionally until the raft forms. (the liquid should reach 160 degrees F) Simmer the soup for 1 1/2 hours, making sure the raft does not break or sink. Remove the first cup of the consomme from the spigot to remove sediment and discard. Line a china cap with 5 layers of cheesecloth. Strain the liquid slowly. If the liquid is cloudy, strain the consomme again with fresh cheesecloth. Season with salt, hot sauce, and garnishes.

Steps:

• Place the tomatoes, mint, garlic, lemongrass, chopped scallion and jalapeno in a blender and pulse until still chunky but releasing liquid.
• Line a fine sieve with a double layer of cheesecloth over a large container. Pour the tomato mixture into the sieve and let drain for 2 to 3 hours, or refrigerate overnight.
• Season the strained liquid with salt and pepper. Pour into shooter glasses, garnish with the grape tomatoes and sliced scallions.

Steps:

• Heat broth to near boiling in a medium pot.
• Divide the avocado slices between bowls.
• Place 2-3 lemon slices over the avocados.
• Pour heated broth into the bowls.
• Add 1 tbsp sherry to each bowl.
• Sprinkle parsley over the broth in each bowl.

Steps:

• Prepare clarification mixture Pulse chopped onion, carrot, and celery in a food processor or mini-chopper until finely chopped. Whisk egg whites until frothy, then add ground beef and chopped vegetables and mix well with your hands. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (or overnight).
• Make onion brûlé Sear the remaining onion wedge in a small cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat on both cut sides until blackened, then coarsely chop.
• Clarify stock Pour stock into a stockpot. Remove the clarification mixture from the refrigerator and add the browned onion and the tomato, then add this mixture to the pot. Set over medium-high heat and whisk briskly until thoroughly incorporated with the stock. Use a wooden spoon to stir at a slower speed until the solids rise to the top, then stop stirring. Continue cooking until frothy bubbles start to form around the sides of the raft. Reduce heat to medium-low and use a spoon or a ladle to make a hole in the raft so the consommé can bubble freely, and you can see the color and clarity of the broth. At this point the broth should be clear; further simmering is to develop more flavor.
• Remove raft and strain consommé Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the raft starts to sink a bit. Ladle the consommé from the pot through the hole in the raft (or you can crack it at this point, since it has solidified) into a cheesecloth-lined sieve set over a heatproof container. Discard the raft. Then strain broth again, this time through a coffee filter. Remove fat by sweeping a paper towel across top of consommé several times. Reheat if necessary. Season with salt and garnish as desired. If not serving immediately, allow consommé to cool and then refrigerate overnight in an airtight container. Before using, remove and discard solidified fat that has accumulated at the top and reheat consommé over gentle heat, just until hot.
• Follow the directions above for beef consommé, substituting ground chicken and chicken stock for the ground beef and beef stock.
• Use only coarse salt to season consommé; iodized (table) salt will cause it to turn cloudy.
• The clarification mixture should be kept as cold as possible until needed (always add tomato, or other acidic ingredient, just before using, since it will cause the egg whites to coagulate too soon).
• Monitor the temperature of the consommé as it cooks to make sure it is at a gentle simmer.