Vagiandium hyperis consommé with Alcatraze cumin and spider plant cream

An amber consommé of exquisite clarity, slowly drawn from beef and veal, scented with toasted cumin and poured before the guests around a silken salsify cream. At Crestignac, the culinary spider plant does not grow in drawing rooms: it is prepared in the kitchen.

Serves 8

Preparation: 1 hour

Cooking: 5 hours

Resting: overnight

1 kg bone-in beef shin

700 g veal shank

2 chicken wings

2 carrots

2 celery stalks

2 leeks

2 onions

3 garlic cloves

1 bouquet garni

6 black peppercorns

4 litres cold water

1 tablespoon neutral oil

salt

400 g lean minced beef

4 egg whites

1 small carrot

1 celery stalk

1 small leek

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 pinch fleur de sel

800 g fresh or frozen salsify

1 shallot

30 g butter

300 ml whole milk

200 ml full-fat pouring cream

1 pinch nutmeg

salt

white pepper

a few sprigs of chervil

8 drops hazelnut oil

a few toasted cumin seeds

fleur de sel

Preheat the oven to 220°C.

Arrange the beef, veal, chicken wings and halved onions in a large roasting tray. Add the oil and roast for 35–40 minutes, until evenly browned.

Transfer the meat to a large stockpot. Deglaze the roasting tray with a little hot water, carefully scraping up the browned juices, then pour everything into the pot.

Add the carrots, celery, leeks, garlic, bouquet garni and peppercorns. Cover with the four litres of cold water.

Bring very slowly to a simmer. Skim regularly, then cook for four hours, never allowing it to reach a rolling boil.

Strain once through a fine sieve. Leave to cool, then refrigerate overnight.

The following day, remove the layer of solidified fat from the surface.

Very finely chop the carrot, celery and leek set aside for clarification.

In a clean stockpot, combine the minced beef, vegetables and lightly beaten egg whites. Gradually add the cold stock.

Heat gently, stirring carefully until the proteins rise and form a raft on the surface. As soon as this raft appears, stop stirring.

Make a small opening in the centre and leave to simmer very gently for 45 minutes. The consommé should circulate beneath the raft without boiling vigorously.

Ladle the liquid through the opening, then strain it through muslin or a very fine cloth. The resulting consommé should be perfectly clear and amber in colour.

Adjust the seasoning.

Toast the cumin seeds in a dry frying pan for one to two minutes, until fragrant.

Reserve a few for garnishing. Place the remainder in a tea infuser and leave to steep in the hot consommé for five minutes.

Remove the infuser immediately. The cumin should perfume the broth without taking over the establishment.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the finely chopped shallot and cook until translucent, without letting it colour.

Add the salsify, cut into pieces, along with the milk and a small pinch of salt. Cook over a low heat for 25–30 minutes, until the salsify is completely tender.

Add the cream and nutmeg, then blend thoroughly until very smooth. Pass through a fine sieve.

The cream should be firm enough to shape into a quenelle, yet soft enough to blend gradually into the consommé. Add a little hot milk if necessary.

Keep warm without boiling.

Place a generous quenelle of spider plant cream in the centre of each warmed soup plate.

Add a drop of hazelnut oil, two or three toasted cumin seeds, a sprig of chervil and a hint of fleur de sel.

Present the prepared plates to the guests.

Then, at the table, pour the piping-hot consommé around the cream without covering it entirely. The spider plant slowly dissolves into the broth, changing its texture as the dish is enjoyed.

The consommé can be prepared and clarified the day before, then reheated very gently just before serving. The spider plant cream will also keep in the refrigerator for twenty-four hours.

La DdC