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Jellied Consommé Madrilène © 2019 Claudia Ward

Growing up I recall my father enjoying a chilled bowl of Jellied Consommé Madrilène with a squeeze of lemon on hot summer days. In those days, and in our house, soup came from a can and this one was no exception, although this can was refrigerated before serving up its contents. Back then, I seem to recall the label reading "Cross & Blackwell". 

Recently, I transferred my paper recipe box to Pepperplate, my online recipe box. Amongst the cut out recipes I found one for Jellied Consommé Madrilène from an unidentified source. I learned to love this subtle, tasty soup too and vowed to make it this summer. It's remarkably easy and amazingly interesting in it's subtle flavors wrapped in a delightful jelled broth.

Naturally I had to do a little clarifying (no puns intended) research. Consommé is clarified beef broth, made by simmering a combination of egg whites, even their shells, and beef broth, then removing the impurities by straining. The cloudy particles in the broth attach themselves to the egg whites and rise to the surface where they form a raft along with the beef, vegetables and eggshells, leaving a clear, deep amber fluid below. It's imperative that the assembly start with room temperature ingredients (not heated), and once the broth has boiled, simmer without stirring (so as not to disturb the raft!). When simmering is complete, carefully pass the ingredients through a well-lined sieve. Madrilène is consommé flavored with tomato.

Building the Consommé Raft

The assembly and cooking couldn't be easier. The raft couldn't be much more unsightly. And the clear, deep amber broth couldn't be more sublime. My husband, the sometime skeptic, even said so.

Jellied Consommé Madrilène 
(Makes 5 cups)

4 ½ cups canned beef broth
2 ½ cups canned chicken broth
3 pounds tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 cup chopped scallion
2 carrots, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
½ teaspoon black pepper corns
¼ teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1 pound lean ground beef
4 large egg whites plus shells, crushed
2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
¼ cup Sercial Madeira
Fresh lemon juice to taste
White pepper to taste
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• In a kettle, combine the broths, tomatoes, scallions, carrots, celery, peppercorns, thyme, beef and egg whites & shells.
• Bring to a boil, stirring; then, simmer, UNDISTURBED, for 1 hour.
• Ladle mixture into a sieve lined with triple thickness of rinsed/squeezed cheesecloth set over a bowl and skim fat from surface.
• In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the Madeira. Let soften 5 minutes and stir into hot consommé until dissolved.
• Let consommé cool completely. Stir in lemon juice, white pepper and salt to taste.
• Chill, covered until firm.
• Divide among chilled bowls and serve with a lemon wedge.