Carrot Consomme Recipes

CHICKEN CONSOMME: BASIC CLARIFICATION

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the ground meat with the onions, leeks, celery, carrots, thyme, tarragon, parsley, garlic, and black pepper. Puree on high speed.
• In a bowl, combine the egg whites with the pureed meat mixture. Stir well to blend.
• Place the stock in a large pot and add the "raft" (the pureed meat-egg white mixture). Bring to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent the raft from sticking to the bottom and sides of the pot. (Once the stock has come to a boil, do not stir again.) Reduce to a simmer and puncture a hole in the center of the raft for the stock to circulate through and clarify. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Gently poke a hole in the raft large enough to fit a ladle. With a ladle, gently scoop out the consomme into a clean pot or bowl. Strain through a layer of cheesecloth to finish clarifying.
• Serve hot with desired garnish. Alternatively, transfer consomme to a shallow bowl or roasting pan and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, covering with plastic wrap only when the consomme is cool enough that no condensation forms on the plastic. When the consomme is completely cooled, cut it into 1/2-inch cubes and divide between consomme cups. Garnish with sour cream, chopped chives, and a lemon slice and serve with toast points.

CARAMELIZED ESSENCE OF CELERY CONSOMME

Steps:

• In a non-stick pan, coated with a thin film of olive oil, cook the brunoise celery over medium heat until caramelized.
• Transfer to a stainless steel bowl, and set in an ice bath to cool.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the chicken, onions, carrots, cooled celery, and the leeks with 2 egg whites and mix well.
• In a large pot, combine the chilled stocks. Add a small amount of the stock to the chicken mixture. Add the tarragon, parsley, peppercorns, bay leaves, and thyme and mix well.
• Transfer the chicken mixture to the stockpot. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chicken mixture forms a raft on top of the stock; do not stir after raft has formed. Simmer on very low heat for 20 minutes.
• Strain through cheesecloth and return to the stockpot. Reheat, removing excess fat with absorbent paper.
• Blanch the celery and potato paysanne in boiling salted water, until crisp-tender. Shock in ice water and drain well. When ready to serve, place the paysanne vegetables, in 4 heated bowls. Carefully ladle 4 to 6 ounces of the celery essence into the bowls.

CLASSIC CHICKEN CONSOMMé

Steps:

• Simmer at a gentle boil for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If the water starts to boil away, add more because the ingredients must be covered in water.
• Taste the stock after the allotted cooking time. It should have a good flavor of chicken and a background hint of the vegetables and herbs. If not, cook a while longer.
• Return the clear liquid to the pan and reheat to hot but not boiling. Season with salt and pepper, as desired. This soup is best served warm to hot (not boiling) as it intensifies the flavor. Cold consommés are not as tasty.

CARROT CONSOMME

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a large pot with 3 quarts of water over very low heat. Simmer for 3 hours. Remove from heat and cool for 1 hour. Strain carefully through a fine mesh strainer. Discard the vegetables and reserve the broth.

CARROT PURéE

Steps:

• Steam the carrots above 1 inch of boiling water for 15 minutes or until soft. Remove from the heat and transfer to a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
• Pulse the carrots in the food processor and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn on the food processor and while the machine is running pour in the olive oil and lemon juice. Process until the carrots are pureed. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the cumin seeds, caraway seeds, Aleppo pepper or chili powder, and salt to taste and process until incorporated. Taste and adjust seasonings. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter.
• If using the seasoned yogurt, combine all of the ingredients and mix together well. Make a well in the middle of the carrots and spoon in the yogurt.
• Serve the carrot puree with pita triangles, croutons, or crudités.

CARROTS CONSOMME'

Steps:

• reduce chicken stock in sauce pan by almost 1/2 to concentrate flavor.
• Cut carrots in 1 1/2 inch peices.
• In saucepan, melt butter and saute' onion and parsley till tender.
• add carrots, chicken stock and nutmeg.
• cover and cook over medium heat for about 25 minutes.
• uncover and cook another 20 minutes or until carrots are tender.

BEEF CONSOMMé

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.