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CHAPTER VIII
The Various Garnishes for Soups
ROYALES.
206—ORDINARY ROYALE
Put one oz. of chervil into one pint of boiling consommé, cover the saucepan, and let infusion proceed away from the fire for twenty minutes. Now pour this infusion over two eggs and six yolks, beaten briskly in a basin, and mix with the whisk. Strain through muslin, and carefully remove therefrom the froth that has formed. Pour into buttered moulds; poach in a bain-marie, as in the case of cream, and take great care that the water in the bain-marie does not boil.
According to the way in which the royale is to be divided, it may be poached either in large or small “Charlotte” moulds; but the latter, large and small alike, must be well buttered.
If the preparation be put into large moulds, thirty-five or forty minutes should be allowed for poaching; if, on the other hand, the moulds are small, about fifteen minutes would suffice.
Always let the royale cool in the moulds.
207—DESLIGNAC OR CREAM ROYALE
Boil one pint of thin cream, and pour it, little by little, over one egg and six yolks, well whisked in a basin. Season with a little salt and nutmeg, strain through muslin, and, for the poaching, follow the directions given above.
208—CHICKEN ROYALE
Finely pound three oz. of cooked white chicken-meat, and add thereto three tablespoonfuls of cold Béchamel. Put this paste in a bowl, season with a little salt and a dash of nutmeg, dilute with one-fifth pint of cream, and strain through tammy.
Thicken this preparation with one egg and the yolks of three, [88] and poach in small or large moulds, in accordance with the procedure already described.
209—GAME ROYALE
Finely pound three oz. of the cooked meat of that game which gives its name to the preparation, and add three tablespoonfuls of cold Espagnole Sauce and one-fifth pint of rich cream, in small quantities at a time. Warm the seasoning with a very little cayenne, strain through tammy, thicken with one egg and three yolks, and poach as before.
210—FISH ROYALE
Stew in butter four oz. of fillet of sole cut into cubes, or the same quantity of any other fish suited to the nature of the intended soup. Cool, pound finely, and add, little by little, two tablespoonfuls of cold Béchamel and one-quarter pint of cream. Season with salt and a pinch of nutmeg, and strain through tammy. Thicken by means of the yolks of five eggs, and poach in large or small moulds.
211—CARROT OR CRÉCY ROYALE
Stew gently in butter five oz. of the red part only of carrots. Cool, crush in a mortar, and gradually add two tablespoonfuls of Béchamel and one-fifth pint of rich cream. Season with table-salt and a pinch of castor sugar, and deepen the tint of the royale with a few drops of vegetable red. Strain through tammy, thicken with one egg and four yolks, put into moulds, and poach.
212—FRESH PEAS OR ST. GERMAIN ROYALE
Cook one-half lb. of fresh, small peas in boiling water with a bunch of chervil and a few leaves of fresh mint. Pass through a sieve, and dilute the resulting purée (in a saucepan) with two-fifths of its volume of the liquor it has been cooked in and one-fifth of cream. Add a little sugar, the necessary salt, one egg, and two yolks. Pass through a fine strainer, and poach in well-buttered moulds.
213—VARIOUS ROYALES
Royales may also be made with leeks, celery, &c., the procedure being as follows:—
Finely mince six or seven oz. of the chosen vegetable; stew [89] the same gently and thoroughly in butter, and strain through tammy. Add to the resulting purée three tablespoonfuls of Béchamel, one-fifth pint of cream, two eggs, and four yolks. Put into large or small moulds, and poach.
Remarks.—In order that these royales may have the required delicacy, I should urge the reader not to exceed the prescribed quantities of eggs and yolks, these being so calculated as to exactly produce the density required.
214—THE DIVIDING-UP OF ROYALES
When the poaching is done take the mould or moulds out of water, and leave the royale to cool in them. Do not turn out the moulds whilst the preparation is hot, as it would surely scatter. It only assumes the necessary solidity for being divided up by means of the aggregation and contraction of its various constituents during the cooling process.
If the royale has been poached in small moulds, slightly trim the cylinders of royale, divide them up laterally into discs, and stamp them uniformly with a plain or indented fancy cutter.
If the royale has been poached in large moulds, withdraw it from these, and place it on a serviette; trim the tops, cut into half-inch slices, and stamp with small, fancy cutters of different shapes. These little divisions of royale must always be stamped very neatly and quite regularly.
215—CHIFFONADE
The name “Chiffonade” is given to a mince of sorrel or lettuce, intended as a complement for such soups as “Potage de santé,” “le Germiny,” &c., or various clear consommés like “Julienne.”
To prepare Chiffonade, first carefully shred the sorrel or lettuce, and remove therefrom all the leaf-ribs. Carefully wash the leaves, and squeeze the latter tightly between the fingers of the left hand and the table. Now cut them into fine strips with a sharp knife.
If the chiffonade be intended for a consommé, add it to the latter half an hour before dishing up; it is thus actually cooked in the soup itself. If, as is most often the case, it be intended for a thick soup, it is better to let it melt well in butter, to moisten it with a little consommé, and to let it boil for ten minutes before adding it to the soup.
Whatever the purpose be for which it is made, chiffonade should always be prepared with very tender sorrel or lettuce.
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216—DIRECTIONS FOR SOUP WITH PASTES
Vermicelli and the various Italian pastes should measure about three oz. per quart of consommé. They should first be thrown into boiling, salted water, where they are left to poach for three minutes, whereupon they are drained, cooled, and their cooking is completed in the consommé.
The parboiling of these pastes is necessary in order to get rid of the little agglomerations of flour which adhere to them, and which would otherwise make the consommé cloudy.
Tapioca, sago, salep, &c., should also be apportioned at about three oz. per quart. But this is only an average, for the quality of this kind of products varies greatly, and it is best to choose the goods of an excellent maker, and, in order to avoid surprises, to abide by that choice.
These products need no parboiling; they are merely sprinkled into the boiling consommé while stirring the latter, and they are left to cook until the soup is quite clear. The boiling should be gentle, and the scum should be removed as often as it forms.
The time allowed for cooking naturally varies in accordance with the quality of the goods, but the absolute transparency of the consommé is an infallible sign of its having been completed.
Brazilian, Japanese, and other pearls are used in the same quantities, but they should poach for thirty minutes if required to be very transparent.
217—THREADED EGGS
Beat up three eggs in a bowl, season with salt and pepper, and strain through a sieve. Now pour the eggs into a fine strainer, hold same over a sautépan containing some boiling consommé, and shift it about in such wise as to let the egg fall in threads into the boiling liquid beneath, and thus immediately coagulate. Drain the egg-threads very carefully lest they break.
218—PROFITEROLLES FOR SOUPS
These consist of little choux about the size of a large hazel-nut, stuffed with some kinds of purée, such as that of foie gras with cream, or of chicken, or of vegetables, &c. Four profiterolles should be allowed for each person.
To make profiterolles, put a few tablespoonfuls of “pâte à choux” without sugar (No. 2374) into a piping-bag fitted with [91] a smooth pipe, whose orifice should be about one-quarter inch in diameter. Squeeze out portions of the preparation on to a tray, so as to form balls about the size of a small hazel-nut; gild by means of beaten egg applied with a fine brush, and cook in a moderate oven.
Do not take the profiterolles from the oven until they are quite dry.