Consommé à la Jardinière

Consommés are a true test of a cook’s skill, for they must be both absolutely clear and delicately flavored. They take at least a day to make and are easiest done over two days, with the stock made on day one and then clarified on day two. Plain, they were often served to invalids, which is mildly ironic in view of the fact that it’s a consommé over which Robert vomits blood when his stomach ulcer bursts in one of the most memorable dining room scenes on Downton Abbey.