Lorraine Soup

Lorraine soup (soupe à la reine’s less-famous cousin) is a classic French first course built on medieval European technique: pounded chicken, ground almonds, and hard-boiled egg yolks mashed together with milk-soaked bread, then loosened with chicken stock into a pale, luxurious potage.

The thickening isn’t modern roux but old-school medieval: bread soaked in hot milk plus ground nuts plus egg. The combination creates a soup that’s creamy without being heavy and has an almost ivory color. Push everything through a sieve after blending for a truly velvety texture; any skipped step here leaves the soup grainy.

A liaison of egg yolks beaten with cream goes in at the end to finish and thicken. Temper it first with a few spoonfuls of hot soup so the yolks don’t scramble, then hold the heat gentle. A rolling boil will curdle the whole pot.

Chef Tips

• Do not let the soup boil after adding the egg-cream liaison. Even one aggressive bubble will break it into scrambled egg shreds.
• Grate whole nutmeg fresh. Pre-ground nutmeg is faded and flat compared to the bright, perfumed version you get from a microplane.
• Use good-quality chicken stock (ideally homemade). This soup has nowhere for weak stock to hide.
• Strain twice if you want a truly silk texture, once through a coarse sieve and once through fine mesh.

Variations

• Fold in a spoonful of sherry or dry vermouth just before the final heat for a deeper, more aromatic finish.
• Swap almonds for pine nuts or cashews for a different nutty profile.
• Garnish with finely chopped chives or a whisper of smoked paprika for color on the pale surface.