Essential Skills 1 - Broth, Consomme and Cream Soups

Soup is on!

We moved from stocks and sauces to soups today. This is a perfect fit for the cold and rainy weather we have been experiencing here in the Bay Area.

Well, to begin. We made "broth" not "stock." There is a difference. Just like a wonderful sauce has to begin with a rich stock, a good soup has to begin with a flavorful broth. Oh my gosh - I'm starting to sound like Chef Parker! (Basically, broths are cooked with meat, and stock with bones.)We started off with a cream of broccoli. After "sweating" the broccoli and vegetables, and simmering them in the Veloute sauce we made last week, we put it through a food mill then strained it through a chinois (a very fine mesh strainer). This process left us with a beautiful base. We finished it off back on the stove with a little cream.

Next, we made a hearty vegetable beef soup. This was good practice, since all our vegetables had to be a 1/4 inch dice, which will be part of the final on Thursday. While that was simmering away, I started my consommé. This was a little tricky. You whisk up some egg whites and add some finely minced meat, carrots, onions, celery and tomato concasse. You cook this with your stock, an onion brulé, which is half an onion seared, cut-side down, in a sauté pan until it is carmalized a nice brown (a great trick to add flavor and color to any dish), as well as a sachet with some herbs and spices. As soon as this starts to boil, you leave it alone and turn it to simmer. As it simmers all the particles in your stock adhere to this egg white mixture and a "raft is formed”. Once it is formed you just simmer it for a bit to increase the flavor. Don't mess with the raft! Under this mess lies the beautifully clear consommé. When it was done, I carefully ladled it out and strained it through a coffee filter. All this and I had under 2 cups! It was wonderful. (Chef calls it Texas Tea.)

We had to garnish our soups and present them to Chef. He tasted and critiqued. It was fun to plate them and add our own personal touch. I blanched a couple of broccoli florets for my cream of broccoli soup and for my consommé I sprinkled it with a fine brunoise of carrots and celery that I cooked with my florets.
I got another nod.

Tomorrow: chowder and bisque.

Goodnight.