Best Lemongrass Consommé Recipe Epicuriouscom Recipes

LEEK AND GINGER MATZO BALLS IN LEMONGRASS CONSOMMé

Steps:

• For consommé:
• Place chicken in extra-large pot. Add next 7 ingredients, then enough cold water to cover (about 18 cups). Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer soup 2 hours, skimming impurities from surface. Let stand 30 minutes. Strain consommé into large saucepan. Boil until reduced to 8 cups, if necessary. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled (fat will form solid layer on top).
• For matzo balls:
• Whisk 4 eggs in medium bowl. Mix in leek, chicken fat, broth, coarse salt, ginger, and pepper. Stir in matzo meal. Cover; chill at least 4 hours.
• Using wet hands, shape generous 2 tablespoons matzo mixture into balls. Place on sheet of foil. Bring large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Drop in matzo balls; cover pot. Reduce heat to low; simmer until matzo balls are cooked through, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer matzo balls in single layer to shallow dish. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
• Rewarm consommé. Add more lemon juice by teaspoonfuls, if desired. Add matzo balls; simmer to reheat, 5 to 10 minutes. Divide matzo balls and consommé among 6 bowls. Garnish with chopped chives.
• What to drink:
• A fragrant white wine would be great with the consommé. We like the Yarden 2007 Gewürztraminer, a kosher wine made in Israel ($18).

STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB CONSOMMé

Steps:

• Cut the rhubarb into small pieces and put it through a juicer. Rhubarb fibers can clog the juicer, so you may need to clean it about halfway through this process. Strain the juice and measure out 2 cups. Adjust the color with grenadine to make it a light pink.
• Pour about 1/2 cup of the juice into a small glass bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the surface. Let it sit for about 1 minute, then microwave for 45 seconds or heat gently in a saucepan until melted. Pour into the rest of the rhubarb juice and stir for about 1 minute.
• Pour into a whipped cream maker and screw on a fresh N2O charger. Shake vigorously for about 2 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, shaking vigorously every 30 minutes or so, as the gelatin sets, or for up to 1 week.
• Remove the zest from the orange and lemon with a vegetable peeler. Tie the zest in cheesecloth along with the vanilla pod and lemongrass. Juice the orange and lemon. Strain the juices and reserve.
• Put the strawberries, rhubarb, elderflower cordial, Moscato d'Asti, water, and grenadine in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the cheesecloth sachet, reduce the heat, and simmer the soup for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
• Remove the sachet and liquefy the soup with an immersion blender. Strain through a fine strainer set over a bowl or pitcher (discard the solids). Whisk in the orange and lemon juices and chill thoroughly before serving or for up to 3 days.
• Bring 2 cups of the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the tapioca and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. The tapioca will have lost about half its opacity. Drain and rinse the tapioca. Bring the remaining 2 cups water to a boil and add the tapioca. Cook until the tapioca has lost all its opacity, another 2 to 3 minutes. Large pearls will take longer to cook. Drain, and rinse well in cold water to remove the excess starch. Put the tapioca in a container with 1 cup of the simple syrup and refrigerate until you're ready to serve.
• Blanch the basil in boiling water for 15 seconds. Drain, refresh in ice water, and drain again. Squeeze out all of the water and put the basil in a blender. Add the remaining 1/4 cup simple syrup and blend on high for at least 1 minute, to make a smooth puree. Line a strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth. Strain the basil syrup (discard the solids) and refrigerate until you're ready to serve or for up to 1 week.
• Drain the tapioca. Stir the basil syrup into the tapioca and add a spoonful to a small glass. Pour in the consommé over the back of a spoon to help keep the layers distinct. Shake the whipped cream maker and top the glass with a shot of rhubarb foam. Sprinkle with sliced basil, if desired. Repeat for each serving.
• You could serve the consommé without the basil tapioca and foam, just with the Thai basil.

LEMONGRASS-SCENTED COCONUT RICE

Steps:

• 1. Place the rice in a 1-1/2- or 2-quart saucepan. Fill the pot halfway with cold water. If any rice hulls or small twigs float to the surface, scoop them aside with your hand and discard them. Gently swirl your fingers through the rice until the water becomes cloudy with the rice's surface starch, about 20 seconds. Be careful not to massage the rice aggressively-you don't want to crack or break the grains. Allow the rice to settle for a few seconds. Tilt the pot over a sink and drain out all the water, cupping the rice with your hand to prevent it from spilling out of the pot. Repeat this process with three more changes of water. The water after the first 2 rinses will be quite cloudy; by the fourth rinse, it will be much less so. The water need not run completely clear by the final rinse-slightly cloudy is fine. Leave the rinsed rice in the pot.
• 2. To the rinsed rice, add the tied lemongrass, the cooking water, the coconut milk, the salt, and the daun salam leaves (if using). Stir well to combine, making sure that the lemongrass stalks and daun salam leaves are submerged in as much of the rice as possible.
• 3. Place the pot over high heat and, stirring constantly with a large spoon to prevent the rice at the bottom of the pot from scorching or burning, bring the liquid to a rolling, noisy boil. Allow the rice to boil vigorously for fifteen seconds, continuing to stir constantly. (It's essential that you stir constantly, otherwise the fats and proteins in the coconut milk will cause the rice at the bottom of the pot to become gummy and stick together, which will ultimately lead to the final dish having a scorched or burned bottom layer.) Immediately reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cover the pot tightly with the lid. Continue cooking for 15 minutes. Don't be tempted to lift or remove the lid during this time-you'll lose essential cooking steam if you do.
• 4. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the rice to continue to steam, covered, away from the heat for an additional 10 minutes.
• 5. Open the pot and discard the lemongrass and daun salam leaves. Fold the rice over gently with a spoon, distributing the aromatic flavors which may be concentrated in pockets in the rice. Transfer the rice to a deep serving bowl, fluffing it gently with a fork and lifting it into a high, peaked mound. Serve hot or warm. (If serving the rice warm, keep it covered with aluminum foil until then.)

CHILLED TOMATO CONSOMMé

Steps:

• Cut fronds from fennel stalks and reserve. Cut whole fennel (with stalks) in half lengthwise and core. Separate layers, reserving 3 or 4 tender inner pieces, and coarsely chop remaining fennel, including stalks.
• Cook onions, garlic, and chopped fennel in oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until softened, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in puréed tomato, 1 teaspoon sea salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.
• Pour tomato mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a 4-quart saucepan, pressing hard on solids and then discarding them, and bring tomato broth to a full boil.
• Whisk together egg whites, herbs, ice, remaining 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl until frothy, then quickly pour into boiling broth, whisking vigorously 2 or 3 times. (Egg mixture will rise to surface and form a "raft.") When broth returns to a simmer, find a place where bubbles break through raft and gently enlarge hole to the size of a ladle. Cook broth at a bare simmer, uncovered, without stirring (keep raft opening clear by gently spooning out any froth), until broth is clear, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove saucepan from heat and, disturbing raft as little as possible, carefully ladle out consommé through opening in raft, tilting saucepan as necessary, and transfer to cleaned fine-mesh sieve lined with a double layer of dampened paper towels set over a bowl or large glass measure. Discard raft. Chill consommé, uncovered, until cold, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Just before serving, season consommé with salt. Slice reserved tender fennel into thin slivers and toss with fennel fronds, pear tomatoes, and vinegar. Divide consommé and tomato salad among chilled bowls.