Colbert Consomme

This is a finishing method rather than a full recipe: it assumes you already have a clear, well-flavoured consomm‐ the base recipes in this section supply. Everything hinges on the eggs going in at the last moment.

• The baseYou need a properly clarified consommé, not a cloudy stock — the dish is judged on the egg showing through clear amber broth. The recipe specifies only one egg per person and gives no quantity of soup.
• Poach softlyPoach the eggs in water that is barely shivering rather than boiling, so the white is set and the yolk still soft. The recipe gives no temperature or timing beyond "carefully."
• Poach aheadEggs can be poached in advance, slipped into cold water, then trimmed and reheated for 30 seconds in hot water just before serving. This is the practical way to manage one egg per person.
• Do not cook them in the soupDropping raw eggs into the consommé clouds it with albumen. Poach separately, drain each egg well on a cloth, and lower it into the tureen.
• Season lastTaste for salt once the consommé is hot, as the recipe directs, rather than before. Sherry or Madeira is sometimes added to clear soups at this stage, though this recipe does not call for it.
• Serve at onceHeld in a warm tureen, the yolks continue to set and the whites toughen. Bring it to the table the moment the eggs are in.
• Classic garnishThe full Colbert garnish is a small julienne or brunoise of spring vegetables — carrot, turnip, peas, green beans — cooked separately and added with the eggs. The version here omits them.
• Raw yolkThe yolk stays runny by design. If serving anyone very young, elderly, pregnant or immunocompromised, use pasteurised shell eggs.