Just so we're clear...

This week is a week of stocks, soups, and sauces. Today we focused on soups which had a chicken stock base, using the stock we made yesterday.

First, we started the consume` process. And oh, was it a process. Consume` is a soup very similar to chicken soup, only the vegetables and herbs and chicken are all strained out and the soup that is served is crystal clear. To make a consume`you need a few things that wouldn't necessarily come to mind... egg whites (for coagulation), burnt onion (for color), and ground chicken (since it goes through the meat grinder anyway).

We chopped the mirepoix, whipped the egg whites, and combined all of the ingredients and ran them through a meat grinder. We put the cold stock (remember: cold) on the fire and added the mixture. Eventually, the mixture slowly floated to the top of the liquid and created a "raft." We kept it at a simmer for a majority of the class.

I know. I totally get it. It looks like the most unappetizing thing you've ever seen. All I can say is try not to look directly at it. Did I have to post it on here? #sorrynotsorry

After it's been simmering for a couple of hours. it's seasoned with salt and white pepper (white pepper because you want the consume` to be super clear). Once it's been seasoned, it goes through a strain of several layers of cheesecloth to ensure its clarity. Like this:

And when it's finished it looks like this:

How clear is that?! It was really a fantastic process to be a part of, but to be honest, I can't ever imagine making a consume` again. Maybe if I were going into the restaurant business I'd want to perfect this on my own (this was a giant group effort), but I think I'm going to stick to my traditional chicken soup and try to perfect that at home.

Next up was Hungarian cabbage and apple soup. Now, I know what you're thinking. Hungarian? How could you? Well, I'll tell you how. I'll tell you exactly how.

I first cooked the cabbage, onions, and apple in the pot for about 10 minutes. The cabbage drastically reduced, as cabbage does when it gets wet. Then I added minced garlic, brown sugar, caraway seeds, and smoked paprika. Chicken stock and seasonings were added, soup was brought to a boil, and then white vinegar and sour salt were added last.

What is sour salt, you may ask? Think about the coating on a sour stick, and then think about adding that to your soup. Yeah, I know. Weird. But there's something to it, apparently.

I spent a while in front of the pot tasting the soup. Each time I tasted, I was paying attention to a different aspect. First taste, is there enough salt? Second, enough sugar? Third, vinegar? You get the idea. Tasting the soup like this is how the layers of flavors start to develop. I don't think I've ever paid that much attention to each ingredient after it's been added. I usually just taste for salt and pepper.

My finished product looked a little something like this:

You can't see it so well in the picture, but I cut the green apple brunoise (1/8 inch cubes) and garnished the soup with it, added a dash of smoked paprika, and finished it with parve sour cream and a parsley leaf. It was SO yum. I was skeptical of the sour cream at first, but it was such a great addition.

Then I got started on a Mulligatawny soup. This soup is an English soup modeled after an Indian dish. The spices in this soup reminded me of the dahl that we made last week: Turmeric, garam masala, cayenne pepper, and ground coriander. I'm not used to using these, but I'm loving them!

The soup had a deep, intense kick at the end of cooking, and after the soup was blended, coconut milk and lemon juice was added to cut the kick. Oh! I almost forgot about what makes this soup a meal! I poached some chicken is stock and once it cooled, diced it up and added it to the already pureed soup. We served it with basmati rice in the bowl. And there's your dinner.

I so enjoyed making these two soups since both of their flavors and techniques were unfamiliar to me. I also liked that today's class was directly related to what we worked on yesterday... I like seeing that consistency and connection in the kitchen.

Tip of the day: When poaching, you want to keep your liquid just under a boil. You want the liquid to be hot enough so it's moving but not boiling, and make sure you see steam rising off the top. The rule is: 7 minutes poaching for every 1 inch thick the protein is. Use tongs to flip the chicken in the stock, and make sure the chicken is completely covered in liquid as you're poaching. After the recommended time, stick a thermometer in the thickest part of the protein. You want it to read anywhere between 165-175 degrees F to be safe to eat.