Most soups can be classified by cooking technique and appearance as either clear or thick.

Clear soups include broths, made from meat, poultry, fish, or vegetables as well as consommé, which are broths clarified to remove impurities.

Thick soups are those made from vegetables cooked in a liquid that is thickened with a starch and pureed; cream is then incorporated to add richness and flavor.

Pureed soups are generally made from starchy vegetables or legumes. After the main ingredient is simmered in a liquid, the mixture or portion of it, is puréed.

CLEAR SOUPS:

All clear soups start as a stock or broth. Broths are prepared by simmering flavoring ingredients in a liquid for a long time. They are made with meat instead of just bones.

1. Brown the meat
2. Add mirepoix to the broth
3. Strain the broth

Consommé is a stock or broth that has been clarified to remove impurities so that is crystal clear. It is a fortified stock. The finished consommé will only be as good as the stock or broth from which it was made.

To clarify the consommé the cold stock or broth is combined with a mixture known as clearmeat. Clearmeat is a mixture of egg whites, lean protein, mirepoix, herbs, and spices; and an acidic product usually tomatoes, lemon juice or wine. A onion brulee, is also added to help flavor and color the consommé.

Onion Brulee – burnt onion

Clearmeat ingredients combined.

The stock or broth and clearmeat are slowly brought to a simmer. As the albumen in the egg whites and meat begins to coagulate, it traps impurities suspended in the liquid.

Albumin is valued for its clarifying properties. It is soluble in cool water and coagulates when heated.

The albumen-containing items combine with the other clearmeat ingredients and rise to the liquids surface, forming a raft. The raft ingredients release their flavors, further enriching the consommé.

Raft has formed with a hole for bubbling.

Strain the Consommé

Not bad for my first one.

1. Combine the ingredients for the clearmeat.
2. Once the raft forms on the top, make a hole to allow the liquid to bubble through.
3. Strain the consommé.

THICK SOUPS:

There are to kinds of thick soup: cream soups and puree soups.

1. Cream soups are thickened with roux or other starch.
2. Puree soups rely on a puree of the main ingredient for thickening.

Split Pea Soup

OTHER SOUPS:

• Bisques are shellfish soups thickened with cooked rice.
• Chowders are hearty soups with chunks of the main ingredients (including, virtually always, diced potatoes) and a garnish. Chowders contain milk or cream. Chowders are NOT pureed and strained before the cream is added.
• Cold soups can be as simple as a chilled version of a cream soup or as creative as a cold fruit soup blended with yogurt.

Side Notes:

Add dry herbs – beginning of cooking.

Add fresh herbs – at the end of cooking.

• 1 cup = 8 ounce
• 2 cups = 1 pint
• 2 pints = 1 quart
• 4 quarts = 1 gallon

Clarified butter (three ingredients in butter):

1. water
2. milk solids
3. butter fat

To clarify butter you remove the water by evaporation during steaming and the milk solids with a ladle when it floats to the top, what remains is the pure butterfat used for cooking.

Salts:

1. Sea salt – (best) not refined.
2. Kosher salt – comes from the ground, has less sodium.
3. Iodized salt – iodine added so it will not clump.

Pepper:

Three kinds: (black, white, and green). 70% of pepper flavor leaves after grinding.

This Weeks Recipes:

Chicken Consommé

Yield: 1/2 gal

Clarification:

• 1/2 lb. mirepoix
• 1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
• 5 egg whites
• 2 roma tomatoes, concassé
• 1 onion brule
• 2 1/2 qt chicken stock, cold
• 1 sachet d’epices
• 1/2 tsp salt – to taste

Procedure:

Combine the clear meat ingredients: egg whites, beef, mirepoix, and tomatoes in a stockpot.

Add the cold stock to the stockpot with the clear meat ingredients, mix well and add onion brules and sachet.

Bring the mixture to a simmer over moderate heat, stirring occasionally. Stop stirring when the raft begins to form.

Break a hole in the center of the raft to allow the consommé to bubble through

Simmer approximately 1 1/2 hours.

Strain through several layers of cheesecloth, degrease and adjust the seasoning.

Serve warm or cool and refrigerate

French Onion Soup

Yield: 2 qt

Ingredients:

• 5 lb. yellow onions, sliced thin
• 4 fl oz clarified butter
• 2 qt beef stock or chicken stock
• 1/4 oz fresh thyme
• 4 fl oz sherry
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Toasted French bread slices, for garnish as needed
• Gruyere cheese, grated for garnish as needed

Procedure:

Sauté the onions in the butter over low heat. Carefully caramelize them thoroughly without burning.

Deglaze the pan with 8 fl oz beef or chicken stock. Cook au sec.

Repeat this process until the onions are a very dark, even brown.

Add the remaining beef stock and the chicken stock and thyme.

Bring to a simmer and cook 20 minutes to develop flavor. Adjust the seasonings and add the sherry.

Serve in warm bowls. Top each portion with a slice of toasted French bread and a thick layer of cheese. Place under the broiler or salamander until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Minestrone

Yield: 1 Gallon.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz bacon, diced
• 1 oz vegetable oil
• 8 oz onions, paysanne (pahy-sahn) flat or square cut, 1/2″x1/2″x1/8″
• 4 oz celery, paysanne
• 4 oz carrots, paysanne
• 4 oz green peppers, paysanne
• 4 oz zucchini, paysanne
• 2 qt  chicken stock
• 8 oz potatoes, paysanne
• 8 oz tomato concassé
• 2 oz chickpeas, cooked
• 3 oz macaroni, cooked
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 oz Parmesan cheese, grated

Procedure:

Place the bacon, oil into a sauce pot and sweat, “Do not brown”.

Add the onions, celery, carrots, peppers, zucchini, and garlic and sweat until the onions are translucent.

Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer, simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the potatoes and tomato concassé and simmer for 5 minutes until the vegetables are tender. “Do not overcook”.

Add the cooked chickpeas and macaroni; simmer the soup until all ingredients are hot.

Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese just prior to serving.

Cream of Mushroom (or any vegetable) Soup

Yield: 2 qt

Ingredients:

• 3 oz clarified butter
• 4 oz onions, diced
• 2 oz celery, diced
• 2 oz leeks, diced
• 2 lb. mushrooms, diced
• 3 oz all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 qt chicken stock, cold
• salt and white pepper, to taste
• 1 cup heavy cream, heated

Procedure:

Heat a saucepot and add the clarified butter.

Add the onions, celery, and leeks, sweat until translucent.

Add the mushroom and sweat to release the moisture.

Dust with the flour and stir until absorbed.

Add the cold chicken stock and stir to dissolve the roux, bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.

Puree the soup with the stick blender and bring back to a simmer.

Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the cream and add the cream to the soup just before serving.

Puree of Split Pea Soup

Yield: 2 qt

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb. split peas, soaked overnight
• 2 oz bacon, chopped
• 6 oz onion, diced
• 2 oz celery, diced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 1/2 qt chicken stock
• 8 oz potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 ham hock
• Salt and white pepper to taste

Procedure:

Soak the split peas over night.

Render the bacon in a sauce pot, add the onion, celery and sweat until onion is transparent, add garlic and sweat until an aroma develops; do not brown.

Add the chicken stock, potatoes, split peas, ham hock, and bring to a simmer. Allow the soup to simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the peas are very tender.

Remove the ham hock. Puree the soup with the stick blender. Adjust the consistency with additional stock if necessary.

Dice the lean meat from the ham hock and return it to the soup. Bring the soup back to a boil. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken Waterzooi (cream of chicken)

Serves: 16

Serving Size: 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 lb. chicken, whole
• 1 gal cold chicken stock
• 1 sachet d’epices
• 3/4 lb. roux, pale
• 5 oz carrots, allumette (al-yoo-meht) match stick cut, 1/8″x1/8″x2″
• 5 oz celery, allumette
• 3 oz turnips, allumette
• 8 oz potatoes, russets, allumette
• 4 oz leeks, allumette
• 3 egg yolks
• 11/4 pint half and half
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 bunch parsley, chopped

Procedure:

Place the chicken, cold stock, and sachet d’epices into a stock pot and bring to a boil. Simmer it for 45 minutes, skimming the surface if necessary.

Remove the chicken and let it cool down. Strain the chicken broth and combine it with the cold roux and bring it to a boil, reduce and simmer the soup for 1 hour.
 Add the vegetables to the soup and continue to simmer for 5 minutes.

Create the liaison; combine the egg yolk with the half and half. Temper the liaison with the hot veloute and add the liason to the veloute.

Remove the chicken meat from the bones and skin, dice the meat to medium dice and add to the soup.
 Bring the soup to serving temperature. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, garnished with the parsley

Hope you give these soups a try. Let me know what you think. leave me a comment.

Juan

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