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Consomme Royal
Beat 1 egg thoroughly; add 2 tablespoonfuls clear stock, 1/2 teaspoonful onion juice, a saltspoonful salt, and 1/2 saltspoonful pepper. Mix well and turn into a small custard cup; stand this in a pan of hot water and cook in the oven till the custard is set, turn out, and cut into dice--or cook in a shallow pan and cut in fancy blocks; put these into tureen and pour over hot seasoned stock.
This is the classic royale garnish: a savoury baked custard, set firm, cut into shapes and dropped into hot clear soup at the last moment. The recipe assumes you already have good consommé on hand.
- The hinge: gentle heatThe custard must set without bubbling, or it turns spongy and weeps into the soup. No temperature is given; a water bath in a moderate oven (around 325F), with the water hot but not simmering, should give a smooth block that holds a clean edge when cut.
- SaltspoonfulA saltspoon is a quarter teaspoon, so this is 1/4 teaspoon salt and a scant 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Use white pepper if you want the custard to stay unspecked.
- TimingNo time is given. In a small cup the custard sets in about 20 to 25 minutes; poured 1/2 inch deep in a shallow pan, 12 to 15 minutes. It is done when the centre is just firm to a light touch and a knife tip comes out clean.
- Onion juiceGrate a piece of onion and press the pulp in a fine sieve, or grate on a microplane and squeeze. Bottled onion powder is not a substitute here; the point is a trace of fresh sharpness with no colour or texture.
- Strain the mixtureNot in the original, but worth doing. Passing the beaten egg and stock through a fine sieve removes the ropy white and gives a custard that cuts without crumbling.
- Cooling before cuttingLet the custard cool before you turn it out. Warm royale tears on the knife; once cool it cuts into dice or diamonds cleanly with a thin blade dipped in hot water.
- YieldOne egg makes enough garnish for four to six cups of consommé. Add the cut custard to the tureen or the soup plates and pour the hot stock over; do not boil the royale in the soup, which would break it up.