French Chef Paul Bocuse's Truffle Soup
Soupe aux truffes noires Élysée (Truffle Soup)
Ingredients (per person)
2 tablespoons of cooked beef, finely diced
2 tablespoons of finely diced vegetables, tossed in butter (use equal amounts of celery, onions, mushrooms, and carrots -- removing hard yellow cores)
50g fresh, raw truffles
20g foie gras
1/4 litre chicken consommé (see recipe below)
60g puff pastry dough
1 egg yolk
Chicken and Beef Consommé
2 1/2 litres of meat broth
650g lean beef, with all the fat removed
1 young chicken (around 800g)
3 giblets
bones of 1 chicken
1/2 a carrot
3 leeks (white parts only)
1 egg white
To prepare the Consommé:
Finely chop the meat and the giblets, and cut the carrot and leeks into small cubes. Place all the cut-up ingredients into a casserole dish with the chicken bones and the egg white. Mix well. Pour the cold or lukewarm broth into the casserole, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Warm over low heat, stirring often. When it begins to boil, remove the casserole from the stovetop and place it on a hotplate on low heat. Let it simmer (without boiling) for 1 and 1/4 hours. Filter the consommé through a linen cloth. The liquid should now be completely clear.
To prepare the Truffle Soup:
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees celcius. Place the prepared vegetables and the cubes of beef in a small soup bowl. Place the truffles --cut into large and small slices -- on top, followed by the slices of foie gras, cut into different sizes. Pour in the consommé and cover the top of the bowl with a thin layer of puff pastry. Brush the pastry with the egg yolk.
Place the soup bowl in the preheated oven until the pastry rises and is golden in colour, around 25 minutes. To eat the soup, break the pastry crust with a spoon.
This recipe is dedicated to France's former president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. He ate it at a dinner to honour Paul Bocuse, who was awarded the "Légion d'Honneur" for his culinary accomplishments.