Consommé à la Bergère (Consommé Thickened with Tapioca)

Ingredients

• consommé ordinaire (ordinary clear broth)
• tapioca
• asparagus tips (pointes d'asperges)
• double proportion mushrooms, finely sliced (mousserons finement émincés)
• tarragon leaves, finely sliced (feuilles d'estragon ciselées)
• chervil sprigs (pluches de cerfeuil)

Instructions

1. Prepare an ordinary consommé (fond de cuisine – cooking stock – strained and clarified to a crystal-clear broth). Thicken it with tapioca, cooking until the starch is fully transparent and has bound the liquid.
2. Garnish the consommé with the following: blanched asparagus tips, finely sliced mushrooms in double the proportion of the asparagus, slivered tarragon leaves, and delicate sprigs of fresh chervil.