flipPotage à la Reine
Potage à la Reine
Why this dish? Like any cultured Parisian, Marivaux began his meal with a soup. The Potage à la Reine, a velvety almond and poultry soup, was a great classic of 18th-century bourgeois tables: nourishing, elegant, perfect before a day at the Comédie-Italienne.
A capon broth thickened with breadcrumbs and ground almonds, smooth and delicate. A refined "white" soup, emblematic of court cuisine that had passed into bourgeois homes.
Before rushing off to the Comédie, I cannot do without a good potage à la Reine. My people slowly simmer a capon in water until the broth has taken all its substance, then they bind it with ground almonds and breadcrumbs. It is as smooth as a salon compliment, Monsieur, and warms the mind as much as the body. I take a steaming bowl, and lo, I am ready to face the whims of the pit.
- •Capon or fat hen — half a fowl (broth base)
- •Blanched sweet almonds — a good handful (binding and sweetness)
- •Stale breadcrumbs — as needed for thickness (thickener)
- •Fresh egg yolks — two or three (final binding)
- •Salt, grated nutmeg — to taste (seasoning)
Potage à la Reine
A capon broth thickened with breadcrumbs and ground almonds, smooth and delicate. A refined "white" soup, emblematic of court cuisine that had passed into bourgeois homes.
Why this dish? Like any cultured Parisian, Marivaux began his meal with a soup. The Potage à la Reine, a velvety almond and poultry soup, was a great classic of 18th-century bourgeois tables: nourishing, elegant, perfect before a day at the Comédie-Italienne.
Before rushing off to the Comédie, I cannot do without a good potage à la Reine. My people slowly simmer a capon in water until the broth has taken all its substance, then they bind it with ground almonds and breadcrumbs. It is as smooth as a salon compliment, Monsieur, and warms the mind as much as the body. I take a steaming bowl, and lo, I am ready to face the whims of the pit.
Ingredients (period version)
- Capon or fat hen — half a fowl (broth base)
- Blanched sweet almonds — a good handful (binding and sweetness)
- Stale breadcrumbs — as needed for thickness (thickener)
- Fresh egg yolks — two or three (final binding)
- Salt, grated nutmeg — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Free-range chicken thighs — 2 large (broth base)
- Ground almonds — 80 g (binding and sweetness)
- Country breadcrumbs — 60 g (thickener)
- Egg yolks — 2 (final binding)
- Water — 1.2 L (broth)
- Salt, nutmeg — 1 pinch of nutmeg (seasoning)
Method
- Cook the chicken thighs in salted water at a gentle simmer for 1 hour to obtain a flavorful broth.
- Remove the chicken, take some of the white meat, and finely pound it with the ground almonds.
- Soak the breadcrumbs in a ladle of broth, then add the almond-chicken mixture.
- Pour back into the broth and let thicken gently for 10 minutes without boiling.
- Off the heat, bind with beaten egg yolks, grate in a pinch of nutmeg, and serve very hot.
How it was made : In the 18th century, "potages" were much more substantial than our soups: bread or ground almonds created a nourishing velouté. The Potage à la Reine, attributed to Catherine de Medici's cooks and refined over the centuries, appeared in all major cookbooks of the time, such as *La Cuisinière bourgeoise* (1746).
The contemporary twist : A few toasted slivered almonds on top and a drizzle of hazelnut oil for crunch and a contemporary touch.
Sources : Menon, La Cuisinière bourgeoise (1746)
Marivaux · Charactorium
