Consomme Princesse

This is a garnish formula rather than a full recipe: it assumes you already have a pot of clear consomme and tells you only what goes in the bowl. Everything hinges on the clarity of the base and on keeping the garnish bright.

• The base"Standard consomme" here means a strong chicken or veal-and-beef broth clarified with egg white and lean minced meat, then strained through a cloth. A good commercial chicken stock reduced by a third and clarified will pass; an unclarified cloudy stock will not, since the whole point of a named consomme is that you can read the garnish through it.
• Cut of the chickenShreds presumably means a fine julienne, about matchstick thickness; small dice, something on the order of 1/8 inch. Cook the chicken separately, as poached breast rather than by simmering it in the consomme, which would cloud the broth.
• PeasFresh shelled peas, briefly boiled, are the likely intent, though canned peas were also in common use in this period. Frozen petits pois are closer to that intent than large fresh peas late in the season; drop them in for a minute at the last moment so they stay green.
• Assemble at the table, not in the potWarm the chicken and peas in a little of the strained consomme, then divide them among heated cups and pour the clear soup over. Garnish left standing in hot broth clouds it and dulls the peas.
• QuantitiesThe original gives none. Something like a tablespoon of garnish per serving, split roughly evenly between chicken and peas, in six to eight ounces of consomme, is in keeping with usual practice for a clear soup.
• ServingConsomme of this kind is served very hot in two-handled cups or shallow soup plates, as a first course. Figure this as one course in a longer meal rather than a bowl of soup for supper.