Consomme might be simple but it's a broth big on flavour, says Tom Parker Bowles
Consommé. It's the shimmering soul of carnivorous broth — stock with a Légion d’honneur; soup dressed in Dior.
On first glance, it might seem light and insubstantial, more edible whimsy than bowl of meaty might.
But don’t be fooled because properly made, this is the sip that keeps on giving.
‘A consommé is a meat stock, lightly salted, its flavour enhanced with meat juices, seasoning and flavouring,’ declares the legendary haute cuisine chef Paul Bocuse.
The pot-au-feu (beef stew) may be the backbone of French food, with its deeply flavoured bouillon still bubbling away on a thousand spluttering hearths, but this broth is transformed into consommé not with clarification alone but by boosting its flavour with still more meat.
With consommé, there’s simply nowhere to hide. And that’s why it’s as sure a sign of a chef’s art than any soufflé Suissesse.
As Phil Howard, the supremely talented chef behind The Square in Mayfair, points out: ‘Soups should not be seen as the easy option.
'They require love, investment and intelligent cooking… the art of making consommé is a surprisingly simple process, albeit one that requires control and understanding.’
Now such is the nature of fickle food fashion that dishes move in and out of favour with the wax and wane of the moon. (Of course, anyone who takes their eating seriously should ignore this, and concentrate on what is fundamentally good.)
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The consommé is one such dish, deemed less ‘dated’ than downright antediluvian.
As for the cold, jellied version — a bowlful of wobbling amber-tinted bliss, and one of the finest starters known to man — I’m pretty sure this classic disappeared with the dinosaurs. But what other liquid provides such a magnificently clear depth of flavour?
The base is good stock, with a cut of beef, and perhaps a few chicken giblets.
And from there you can go rich with consommé de volaille, which wears its roasted chicken heft with admirable aplomb, or go delicate — a consommé printanière, perhaps, filled with the pert joys of spring.
The Alsace version has choucroute (French sauerkraut) and sausage added, while consommé à la strasbourgeoise takes in juniper, horseradish, sausage and tapioca (for thickening, just like consommé à la royale, which has baked custard shapes on top).
Clarity is, of course, key. There’s nothing wrong with a cloudy broth, but it just ain’t consommé.
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With a beef or oxtail version, I like it a mild brown, like a Deeside stream stained with peat.
Egg whites mixed with mince is the classic concoction to pull out any impurities and although it sounds a touch cheffy, it’s not hard work.
The albumen elongates when hot and traps all the suspended particles, while the blood in the meat also contains serum albumin, which does much the same thing.
The result is a solid cap on the broth containing all those impurities, and the resulting broth is gin (well, whisky) clear.
But if this seems too much for the home cook, worry not.
Pour your consommé (left to stand for an hour or so, so that the solids drop to the bottom) carefully through a sieve lined with a muslin.
Twice. It won’t be restaurant-clear but will certainly suffice.
One of the best consommés comes from the ever-wonderful Bellamy’s in Mayfair (see the recipe below).
Chef Stéphane Pacoud comes from the French mountains and tells me it’s the perfect antidote to frostbite.
I can’t guarantee it’s medicinal properties. But when it comes to matters of taste, real consommé is king of them all.
SQUARE MEALSThe Square is one of Britain’s truly great restaurants, a Michelin starred pleasure palace. Chef Philip Howard’s new book, The Square: Volume 1, Savoury, is most certainly haute cuisine, and the recipes not basic. But it’s as much a pleasure to read as it is to cook from. And his sections of consommé makes it worth the cover price alone. £40, Absolute Press
BELLAMY’S BEEF CONSOMMÉ
Serves 12 to 15 but can easily be frozen. Making a smaller quantity loses too much through evaporation. INGREDIENTS 200g bone marrow (deboned) 3 Oxtail or 1 shin of beef 6 litres of water 1 litre of white wine 6 onions with skins on (adds colour to the stock) cut in half 4 washed carrots 4 washed celery sticks 2 washed leeks 10 cloves 2 heads of garlic cut in half 1 tablespoon of whole black pepper 4 bay leaves 1 tablespoon of dry thyme METHOD Put everything together EXCEPT THE BONE MARROW in a large pot
Bring to the boil and then skim off anything floating on the top
Add 2 tablespoons of coarse sea salt
Bring down the heat to simmer and leave to cook for 5 hours
Pass through a sieve leaving the meat to one side which should then be shredded
Bring the remaining liquid back to the boil, add the bone marrow and shredded meat and wait until the marrow softens (3 or 4 minutes)
Check seasoning and serve very hot in a soup bowl with some chervil sprinkled on top
