Paul Bocuse Truffle & Foie Soup

Chef Paul Bocuse created Truffle Soup for the Élysée Palace in 1875 when he received the Legion of Honor from French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. The soup is considered one of Bocuse’s signature dishes and is dedicated to President VGE. Served in a lion’s head tureen, the consomme is topped by a billowing dome of puff pastry. When the puff pastry is broken, a mouthwatering aroma of foie gras and truffle is released.

This is our version of the classic Paul Bocuse soup. For a developed flavor, we caramelize the shallots really hard, deglaze with madeira, reduce it, and then add chicken stock and aromatics. The dried porcini mushrooms and msg add a layer of extra umami while the foie gras adds even more richness. As most soup, this base develops in flavor overnight as it cools.

The recipe will make more soup base than needed, but can be easily frozen. Also, remember when baking puff pastry that it needs to go straight from the refrigerator to the oven so it can puff higher and brown more evenly.

Paul Bocuse Soup
serves 4+

shopping list —

for the soup base —

• 25 grams canola oil

• 150 grams shallot, sliced thin

• 6 grams garlic, sliced

• small bunch thyme

• 1 each bay leaf

• 4-5 each dried porcini mushrooms

• 1/2 bottle madeira

• 3000 grams chicken stock before reduction

• 2 grams msg

• 8 grams salt

• 50 grams raw madeira

for each soup tureen —

• 5 each brunoise carrot, blanched until just tender

• 5 ea brunoise celeriac, blanched until just tender

• 15 grams foie gras, cut into small cubes

• 5 each diced poached chicken

• 3 grams burgundy truffle, shaved on the mandolin (you can also use canned truffles as well)

• puff pastry, punched into rounds 1/4” larger than the soup rim

• 2.5 oz madeira chicken soup base

equipment —

• stock pot

• chinois

• 3 oz lion’s head soup tureens

steps —

for the soup base —

1. In a pot, caramelize the shallots in the canola oil. Add the garlic and thyme bunch. Let the thyme leaves pop and release their aroma before deglazing with the madeira. Add the bay leaf and the dried porcini mushrooms.

2. Reduce au sec. 

3. Add the chicken stock and reduce by about half or until flavorful. Pass the soup base through a chinois.

4. Season with the msg, salt, and raw madeira. Chill and store in quarts.

for each soup —

1. Lightly season the foie gras with salt and a sprinkle of sugar.

2. Pour the soup base into the lion’s head soup tureens. Add the carrot brunoise, celeriac brunoise, poached chicken dice, foie gras, and burgundy truffle. 

3. Brush the rim of the cup with egg wash and top with puff pastry, wrapping it down the sides of the cup. Egg wash twice before baking, resting in the cooler for 20 minutes between. 

   *Before baking, make sure the puff pastry is sealed around the lip of the soup tureen so it doesn’t fall into the soup as it bakes.

4. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Place the tureens on a sheet tray. Bake from cold for 8 minutes. Rotate. Cook for another 7-10 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden brown. Brush with brown butter and sprinkle with fleur de sel. Serve immediately.