Soup, Soup, Soup

Today was soup-making day. We made three: beef consommé, cream of broccoli soup, and a chilled cucumber soup. We made the consommé from the beef stock we made over the past two classes. It was awesome to see such a long process culminate in something magical and tasty. And the process for making consommé really is magical! Who knew that mixing copious amounts of egg whites and ground meat could turn a cloudy stock clear? The egg whites, meat, and mirepoix end up rising to the surface and form a raft, which absorbs the impurities in the stock. It reminds me a lot of a kombucha mother. It also leaves a soup that is almost completely fat-free (we finished it off by using paper towels to de-fat the wee bit remaining on the surface). The other interesting ingredient for the consommé was an onion brûlée, which was added for additional caramel color. Onion brule are onions that are peeled and cut in half along the equator, then placed on a flat heat source and blackened. I feel like most amateur cooks try really hard NOT to burn stuff, so it felt weird to burn something on purpose.

Chef used some of the remaining brown stock to make French onion soup, which we all got taste. That particular soup had nothing to do with the class, but he wanted to make it especially for the kitchen’s janitor, who apparently loves it. (Note: Always be nice to the person who helps clean up your mess!)

I was named sous chef for one of the two groups, and as nervous as I was about it, it made the day go faster and it let me stretch a bit and practice my communication skills. (Note: Always be nice to the people whom you are directing. Remember to say “please” and “thank you.” Don’t be afraid to ask people to do what needs to be done—direction is GOOD and efficient.)

We set up the mise en place for the cold soup and the cream of broccoli, then got started on the hot soup. The recipe was pretty basic, and sadly lacking in a bit of fresh nutmeg. But…when we did the tasting later the chef called out mine and three others as being very good. heh heh heh  I thought I was nervous about cooking for friends and family! Cooking for a chef is even worse because my ability is distilled down to one dish. Every plating is like that. Eenyway, the other thing that surprised me about this dish was that it was strained through a fine sieve after pureeing. It meant losing 1/3 of the soup and I asked Chef about it. He asked what I would do and I told him I’d leave out the straining part. He said that that would be fine for class, but if I were making the soup to be sold in a pricey restaurant it’d need to be as frou frou as possible (of course he did not use those words!).

The cold cucumber soup was a recipe designed by the chef. It featured copious amounts of crème fraiche and heavy cream, which is not my cup of tea. It does, however, make me want to work out a version that relies more on a yogurt base. We did a tasting of everyone’s chilled cucumber soup and Chef plated some soup with buttered croutons cut in crescent moons and flowers, a dollop of additional crème fraiche, and a spoonful of salmon roe. I had my first taste of caviar. It was fishy. For some reason I wasn’t prepared for that. Think I’ll keep my soup plain, although I am now curious to learn the technique for making mock caviar with totally unrelated ingredients.

We washed approximately eleventy jillion pots, pans, bowls, utensils, and trays. It sucked. The end.