Soupe aux Truffes V.G.E.

Name: Soupe aux Truffes V.G.E.
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons butter; 1 cup finely diced white onion; ½ cup finely diced celery; 1 ½ cups finely diced carrots; 2 ½ cups finely diced fresh mushrooms; ¼ cup ham, cut into quarter-inch cubes, optional; 1 pound canned truffles (see Note); ¼ pound fresh or tinned foie gras, more or less, optional; 6 tablespoons dry white vermouth; 6 tablespoons truffle liquid; ⅓ cup chicken broth for each serving; Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste; 1 pound or less puff pastry, made according to any standard recipe; 1 beaten egg

By Craig Claiborne

Updated January 30, 2018

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Rating: (0)
Comments: Read comments

Craig Claiborne brought this recipe to The Times in the summer of 1975, for a short profile of the acclaimed French chef Paul Bocuse. Guests at a lunch in East Hampton, N.Y., ate the soup out of dishes marked "Palais de l'Elysée, 25 Février 1975. soupe aux truffles V.G.E. Paul Bocuse," commemorating Mr. Bocuse's Legion of Honor award by then French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, the V.G.E. in question. Mr. Bocuse created the soup for the occasion and soupe aux truffles V.G.E. went on to become one of his most famous dishes.

Featured in: Paul Bocuse, Kind of Chefs, Creates in an East Hampton Kitchen

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

4 tablespoons butter
1 cup finely diced white onion
½ cup finely diced celery
1 ½ cups finely diced carrots
2 ½ cups finely diced fresh mushrooms
¼ cup ham, cut into quarter-inch cubes, optional
1 pound canned truffles (see Note)
¼ pound fresh or tinned foie gras, more or less, optional
6 tablespoons dry white vermouth
6 tablespoons truffle liquid
⅓ cup chicken broth for each serving
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 pound or less puff pastry, made according to any standard recipe
1 beaten egg

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Melt the butter in a heavy skillet and add the onion, celery and carrots. Cook about 15 minutes and add the mushrooms. The mushrooms will give up quite a bit of liquid. Cook about 10 minutes longer and add the ham. Cook 10 to 15 minutes longer.
Step 2
Meanwhile, drain the truffles, reserving the liquid. Cut the truffles into very thin slices, into quarter-inch cubes or into fine quarter-inch julienne strips.
Step 3
If used, cut the foie gras into 16 equal cubes.
Step 4
When ready to assemble the dish, add about ⅓ cup of the mushroom mixture to the bottom of each of eight, small, individual soup dishes such as French onion soup crocks. Add equal portions of truffles to each dish and two cubes of foie gras, if used.
Step 5
Blend the vermouth and reserved truffle liquid and pour equal portions of the mixture into each dish. Add the broth, salt and pepper to taste.
Step 6
Roll out the puff pastry to a depth of ⅛ inch and cut it into 8 rounds, about 6 or 7 inches in diameter, enough to cover the top of each dish with about half an inch hanging over the sides. Brush the rounds with beaten egg. Invert the rounds over the dishes so that the egg-brushed portion cover the dish. Press all around to seal the dough onto the soup dishes. Place on a baking sheet or sheets and refrigerate until ready to use.
Step 7
When ready to cook, heat the oven to its highest setting, 500 to 550 degrees. Brush the top of each serving with more egg and place in the oven on the bottom shelf. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and quite nicely browned.