Portfolio for TLE Soups and Sauces Consommé a consommé is a type of clear soup made from richly flavored stock, or bouillon that has been clarified, a process that uses egg whites to remove fat and sediment. Consommé has three English pronunciations: traditionally in the UK, the stress is on the middle syllable, in modern UK English, the stress is on the first, and in the US the stress is on the last. Ingredients and steps • 1 cooked chicken carcass, skin and fat removed • 1 medium onion, skin on, halved • 1 large carrot, roughly chopped • 1 stalk celery, roughly chopped • 1 clove garlic, unpeeled • Small handful fresh tarragon • Large handful flat-leaf parsley, leaves and stalks • 1 bay leaf • 3 large egg whites • 2 to 3 drops Kitchen Bouquet (or other gravy-browning liquid) • Kosher salt, to taste • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste • In a large stock or saucepan large enough to hold the carcass and all the vegetables, place the carcass, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, tarragon, parsley, and bay leaf. Cover with cold water and bring to a gentle, rolling boil. 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. Strain the stock through a large colander, discarding the solids. Return the liquid to the pan. Bring back to a boil and reduce by approximately a quarter. Allow the liquid to cool down, then refrigerate for 1 hour. Skim any fat from the surface. Then add the egg whites and whisk thoroughly. Bring the liquid to a boil, whisking all the time. If you want a darker consommé, then add the optional Kitchen Bouquet. Simmer gently, without stirring, for 15 minutes until the egg whites form a crust on the surface, called a "raft.“ Line a sieve with a piece of clean, unused muslin or a tea towel that has been washed in plain water. Gently ladle the crust into the sieve and then slowly ladle the liquid over the crust, allowing time for the liquid to pass through the crust and sieve before adding any more. Do not push the stock through, or it will make the consommé cloudy. 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. Julienne Soup Potage a la Julienne was/is a soup of broth with vegetables evenly cut in long thin square shapes, like wooden matchsticks or shoesting potatoes. Take a variety of vegetables: such as celery, carrots, turnips, leeks, cauliflower, lettuce, and onions, cut them in shreds of small size, place them in a stew-pan with a little fine salad oil, stew them gently over the fire, adding weak broth from time to time, soak them in the remainder of the broth, and when the vegetables are well done add all together and let it simmer for a few minutes. Ingredients and steps • 2 small carrots • 1 leek • 1 stalk celery • 1 small turnip • 3 outside cabbage leaves, shredded • 1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced • 1 tablespoon oil • 1/8 teaspoon salt • small pinch black pepper • 1/8 teaspoon sugar • 1 heaping tablespoon chicken soup mix (or parve chicken soup mix) • 4 cups boiling water • chopped fresh parsley • Cut carrots, leek, celery, and turnip into very thin strips about two inches long. Add cabbage and onion. • In a medium saucepan, over moderate heat, in hot oil, stir vegetables. Add salt, pepper and sugar. Cook, covered, five minutes, or until vegetables are tender. • Combine soup mix with water. Add to the saucepan; simmer over low heat for additional five minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley. Cream of Chicken soup Chicken soup is a soup made from chicken, simmered in water, usually with various other ingredients. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear chicken broth, often with pieces of chicken or vegetables; common additions are pasta, noodles, dumplings, or grains such as rice and barley. Chicken soup has acquired the reputation of a folk remedy for colds and influenza, and in many countries is considered a comfort food. Ingredients and steps • 1/2 cup unsalted butter • 1 medium Spanish onion, chopped • 2 stalks celery (with leaves), chopped • 3 medium carrots, chopped • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour • 7 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned • 3 sprigs parsley • 3 sprigs fresh thyme • 1 bay leaf • 2 3/4 cups cooked, diced chicken • 1/2 cup heavy cream • 2 1/2 teaspoons dry sherry • 1 tablespoon kosher salt • Freshly ground black pepper to taste • 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley • Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 12 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 2 minutes more. • Pour in the broth and bring to a boil while whisking constantly. Tie the parsley sprigs, thyme, and bay leaf together with a piece of kitchen twine and add to the soup. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. • Stir in the chicken and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. • Whisk the heavy cream, sherry, and salt into the soup and season with pepper to taste. Remove and discard the herb bundle. Divide among soup bowls, sprinkle the top of each soup with the chopped parsley and serve immediately. Bisque Bisque is a smooth, creamy, highly seasoned soup of French origin, classically based on a strained broth (coulis) of crustaceans. It can be made from lobster, langoustine, crab, shrimp, or crayfish. Alongside chowder, bisque is one of the most popular seafood soups. Bisque is a method of extracting flavor from imperfect crustaceans not good enough to send to market. In an authentic bisque, the shells are ground to a fine paste and added to thicken the soup. Bisques are thickened with rice, which can either be strained out, leaving behind the starch, or pureed during the final stages. Ingredients and steps • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter • Gather the ingredients. • 2 tablespoons chopped green onion • Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-low heat; add the chopped green onion and celery. Sauté, stirring, until tender. • 2 tablespoons chopped celery • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour • 2 1/2 cups milk • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper • Blend the flour into the butter and vegetables until well incorporated. Continue cooking, stirring, for about 2 minutes. • Warm the milk in another saucepan over medium heat. • 1 cup heavy whipping cream • Slowly stir the warmed milk into the butter and vegetables. Continue cooking, stirring until thickened. • 8 ounces cooked baby shrimp • Add the freshly ground black pepper, tomato paste, and heavy cream. • 8 ounces crabmeat • 2 tablespoons sherry wine • If desired, puree the soup in a blender or food processor at this point and then return it to the saucepan. • 3 tablespoons chopped parsley, cilantro, and/or green onion tops • Stir in the shrimp, crab, and sherry. Bring it to a simmer. • 1 tablespoon tomato paste • Serve hot, garnished with parsley, cilantro, and/or chopped green onion tops. Chowder Chowder is a type of soup or stew often prepared with milk or cream and thickened with broken crackers, crushed ship biscuit, or a roux. Variations of chowder can be seafood or vegetable. Crackers such as oyster crackers or saltines may accompany chowders as a side item, and cracker pieces may be dropped atop the dish. New England clam chowder is typically made with chopped clams and diced potatoes, in a mixed cream and milk base, often with a small amount of butter. Other common chowders include seafood chowder, which includes fish, clams, and many other types of shellfish Ingredients and steps • 2 cups peeled and diced potatoes • ½ cup diced carrots • ½ cup diced celery • ¼ cup chopped onion • 1 teaspoon salt • ¼ cup butter • 2 cups milk • ¼ cup all-purpose flour • 2 (15 ounce) cans whole kernel corn, drained • 2 ½ cups shredded Cheddar cheese • Place potatoes, carrots, celery, onion and salt in a large pot with water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. • Meanwhile, combine butter, milk and flour in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir constantly until smooth and thick. • Pour milk mixture into cooked vegetables. Stir in corn and cheese until cheese is melted. Serve. Turtle Soup Turtle soup is a soup or stew made from the meat of turtles. Differing versions of the soup exist in some cultures and are viewed as a delicacy. Eating the flesh of some marine turtles can cause a type of rare, but possibly lethal food poisoning called chelonitoxism. In China, and in several countries with large populations of Chinese people, such as Singapore, turtle soup is a delicacy. The meat, skin and innards of the turtle are used in the soup. The hard shells of certain turtles are used in the preparation of a dish called Guilinggao or "turtle jelly". Ingredients and steps • 1-1/3 pounds turtle meat • 4-1/2 cups water • 2 medium onions • 1 bay leaf • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper • 1-1/4 teaspoons salt • 5 tablespoons butter, cubed • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour • 3 tablespoons tomato puree • 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce • 1/3 cup chicken broth • 2 hard-boiled large eggs, chopped • 1/4 cup lemon juice • Chopped fresh parsley, optional • In a heavy 4-qt. saucepan, bring turtle meat and water to a boil. Skim off foam. Chop 1 onion and set aside. Quarter the other onion; add to saucepan along with bay leaf, cayenne pepper and salt. Cover and simmer for 2 hours or until the meat is tender. Remove meat with a slotted spoon and cut into 1/2-in. cubes; set aside. Strain broth and set aside. Rinse and dry saucepan; melt butter over medium-high heat. Cook chopped onion until tender. Add flour; cook and stir until bubbly and lightly browned. Whisk in reserved broth; cook and stir until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in tomato puree and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer, • uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add chicken broth, eggs, lemon juice and meat. Simmer for 5 minutes or until heated through. Garnish with parsley if desired. Béchamel sauce Béchamel sauce (/ˌbeɪʃəˈmɛl/ French: [beʃamɛl]) is a sauce traditionally made from a white roux (butter and flour in a 1:1 mixture) and milk. Béchamel may also be referred to as besciamella (Italy), besamel (Greece), or white sauce (U.S.). French, Italian and Greek Béchamel sauce recipes include salt and nutmeg as a seasoning base. Béchamel sauce is one of the Mother sauces of French cuisine. Ingredients and steps • 2 tablespoons butter • 2 tablespoons flour • 1 1/4 cups milk, heated • Salt • Freshly ground pepper • Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, but don't let it brown — about 2 minutes. Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring it to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat, and cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove from the heat. To cool this sauce for later use, cover it with wax paper or pour a film of milk over it to prevent a skin from forming. • Cheese Sauce. • Stir in 1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese during the last 2 minutes of cooking, along with a pinch of cayenne pepper. • How hot should the milk be? • Warm the milk on low heat just until little bubbles begin to form at the edges. Then remove from heat. Velouté Sauce A velouté sauce (French pronunciation: [vəluˈte]) is a savory sauce that is made from a roux and a light stock. It is one of the "mother sauces" of French cuisine listed by chef Auguste Escoffier in the early twentieth century, along with espagnole, tomato, béchamel, and mayonnaise or hollandaise. The term velouté is the French word for velvety. Ingredients and steps • 3 tablespoons butter • 3 tablespoons flour • 2 cups chicken stock • Salt • Freshly ground white pepper • In a saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in the stock, 1/2 cup at a time. Whisk until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil and reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve. Espagnole Sauce Sauce espagnole is a basic brown sauce that originated in Spain in the late nineteenth century. It was later popularized by chef Auguste Escoffier and became one of the five French mother sauces we still use today. It is a brown roux, to which veal stock and tomatoes are added and simmered until reduced. Espagnole sauce ais a basic brown sauce, and is one of Auguste Escoffier's five mother sauces of classic French cooking. Escoffier popularized the recipe, and his version is still followed today. Ingredients and steps • 1 small carrot, coarsely chopped • 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped • 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour • 4 cups hot beef stock or reconstituted beef-veal demi-glace concentrate* • 1/4 cup canned tomato purée • 2 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped • 1 celery rib, coarsely chopped • 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns • 1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf • Cook carrot and onion in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Add flour and cook roux over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until medium brown, 6 to 10 minutes. Add hot stock in a fast stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, then add tomato purée, garlic, celery, peppercorns, and bay leaf and bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat and cook at a bare simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 3 cups, about 45 minutes. • Pour sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding solids. • *Available at some specialty foods shops and cooking.com (stock requires a dilution ratio of 1:16; 1/4 cup concentrate to 4 cups water). Hollandaise Sauce Hollandaise sauce formerly also called Dutch sauce, is an emulsion of egg yolk, melted butter, and lemon juice (or a white wine or vinegar reduction). It is usually seasoned with salt, and either white pepper or cayenne pepper. Hollandaise is considered one of the five mother sauces in French cuisine. It is well known as a key ingredient of eggs Benedict, and is often served on vegetables such as steamed asparagus. Ingredients and steps • Egg Yolks – 3 eggs • Lemon Juice – 1 tablespoon • Dijon – 1 teaspoon • Salt – 1/4 teaspoon • Cayenne Pepper – just a pinch • Butter- 1/2 cup of melted butter • Melt the butter in a microwave for about 1 minute until hot. • Combine the egg yolks, lemon juice, dijon, salt and cayenne pepper into a high powered blender and blend for 5 seconds. • Slowly stream in the hot butter into the mixture as the blender is running. • Pour the sauce into a small bowl and drizzle over your meal! Vinaigrette Vinaigrette is made by mixing an oil with something acidic such as vinegar or lemon juice. The mixture can be enhanced with salt, herbs and/or spices. It is used most commonly as a salad dressing, but can also be used as a marinade. Traditionally, a vinaigrette consists of 2 parts oil and 1 part vinegar mixed into a stable emulsion, but the term is also applied to mixtures with different proportions and to unstable emulsions which last only a short time before separating into layered oil and vinegar phases. Ingredients and steps • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil • 3 tablespoons vinegar of choice (balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar) • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard • 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey • 2 medium cloves garlic, pressed or minced • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste • In a liquid measuring cup or bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Stir well with a small whisk or a fork until the ingredients are completely mixed together. • Taste, and adjust as necessary. If the mixture is too acidic, thin it out with a bit more olive oil or balance the flavors with a little more maple syrup or honey. If the mixture is a little blah, add another pinch or two of salt. If it doesn’t have enough zing, add vinegar by the teaspoon. • Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for future use. Homemade vinaigrette keeps well for 7 to 10 days. If your vinaigrette solidifies somewhat in the fridge, don’t worry about it—real olive oil tends to do that. Simply let it rest at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes or microwave very briefly (about 20 seconds) to liquify the olive oil again. Whisk to blend and serve.
