Put into the soup-tureen two tablespoonfuls of a [julienne] of salted mushrooms, one oz. of soaked [vesiga] cut into dice and cooked in broth, and pour thereon the boiling consommé.
N.B.—Vesiga or the spine-marrow of the sturgeon ought to be soaked in cold water for a few hours in order to soften and swell it, after which it should be cut into dice and cooked in broth. For every four tablespoonfuls of cooked vesiga, one oz. of dry vesiga should be allowed.
[590—CONSOMMÉ NESSELRODE]
Have ready one quart of game consommé, prepared with hazel-hen [fumet]. Poach two [baba-moulds] of royale made from chestnut purée with two small tablespoonfuls of game salmis sauce added thereto; cut it into roundels half-inch thick, and trim these with a grooved fancy-cutter.
Put them into the soup-tureen with two tablespoonfuls of a [julienne] of hazel-hen fillets, the same quantity of a [julienne] of mushrooms, and pour thereon the boiling game consommé.
[591—CONSOMMÉ AUX NIDS D’HIRONDELLES]
The nests used for this soup are those of the esculent swallow, and their shape somewhat resembles that of the rind of a quartered, dry orange.
In the first place, prepare a chicken consommé containing a large proportion of nutritious principles. Set three nests to soak in cold water for twenty-four hours, the object being to swell the mucilaginous elements of which they are composed and to make them transparent.
When they have soaked sufficiently remove any pieces of feather which may have remained in them, using for this [213] ]purpose the point of a needle, and, when the nests are quite clean, drain them and put them into the consommé. At this stage set the consommé to boil, gently, for thirty or thirty-five minutes without interruption. During this time the gummy portions of the nests will melt into the consommé, giving the latter its characteristic viscidity, and there will only remain visible those portions which, in the natural state, constitute the framework of the nests; that is to say, little threads not unlike superfine transparent vermicelli.