Luis Blasco Madrid
Irene Fernández Jubitero (video)
Madrid
Updated Wednesday, February 7, 2024-00:11
Ten in the morning on a cold winter Monday. The Puerta del Sol, already stretched, is full of tourists. On
Carrera de San Jerónimo
, a mahogany façade stands out on the street profile.
In the recently renovated
Lhardy
, a couple of tourists enjoy breakfast: a couple of coffees and sweets freshly brought from the kitchen. Next to him, a man from Madrid breaks his fast at the bar. "It's never too early for a Lhardy consommé," he tells visitors.
Behind the conversation, a century-old
samovar
keeps the consommé safe and at the optimal temperature. "It's from the mid-19th century, Emilio Huguenin brought it when he opened the pastry shop in 1839," explains
Pascual Fernández
, director of Lhardy, referring to the founder of the legendary Madrid establishment, whose first years were spent as a confectionery.
Just like the Madrid resident who tempers his body on this cold morning, thousands of people, from the capital or from any point in Spain, pass through Lhardy, now under the mantle of
Pescaderías Coruñesas
, to drink their legendary consommé. And they have been doing it for 185 years, when Emilio Huguenin was inspired by the Parisian Café Hardy to open an establishment in the center of Madrid.
One of the cups of consommé.EM
"Emilio himself brought the recipe when he came from France," explains Pascual. And since then it has been on the menu at Lhardy, the "first restaurant in Spain" that had a
menu with fixed prices
, something that was not popular in Madrid restaurants, according to the restaurant director.
Before reaching the centenary samovar, the
broth
is made in the establishment's kitchen almost as it has been since the first day it opened.
On one of the immaculate tables, a tray presents the
ingredients
with which it is made: free-range chicken carcasses and thighs, Iberian ham bones, onion, caramelized onion, leek and chickpeas. They all go into a huge 150 liter kettle.
In its almost two centuries of history, there have only been two changes to the recipe, both related to clarification. We have switched from using normal
egg white
to pasteurized egg white for health reasons; and the minced meat has been added to the clarification. "This removes any type of impurity," says Pascual.
With the liquid already clarified after the first cooking, the consommé is blended, tempered and brought to a boil again. "He starts
chup-chup
until he reduces and gets the optimal body," explains Pascual. In total, 48 hours of preparation. From those 150-liter kettles, around "90-100 liters of consommé" will ultimately come out, according to his calculations.
Resting in one of the four samovars, the liquid is a deep dark color, almost black. But once served in one of the
Rosenthal porcelain
cups , it takes on an intense mahogany color. Its aroma already gives a clue to the concentration of flavors that leaves an aftertaste on the palate that is difficult to forget for those who taste it.
Proof of this is that for many visitors the consommé works as a kind of
Proust madeleine
, reviving their memories after many years without trying it. "There is no greater gratitude for us than generating those memories," adds Pascual.
The consommé is one of the stars of Lhardy's appetizer, and it is usually accompanied, almost as if it were an indissoluble couple, by one of the
croquettes
that are in the store's also iconic croquetero. "Very few people eat only consommé or only croquette," says Pascual.
It is less common to add the "spark" to the consommé, as Pascual calls the light splash of
sherry wine
, which
enhances
its flavor even more and gives another nuance to its aroma. The tradition was established by the founder. "Now we make it with a Palocortado from the house," he adds, although some clients also add Manzanilla.
The busiest months are the autumn-winter, especially during the All Saints and Constitution bridges, when Puerta del Sol and the surrounding streets are bustling with people. Pascual estimates that in December alone they have served
10,000 liters
of the 45,000 that are made throughout the year.
Many are served directly at the door thanks to the samovar that they have installed at the entrance for the days when Madrid is packed to capacity. "We could have put a thermos," he adds, "but the samovar is part of the
consommé
ritual
." Because drinking this consommé is "an experience".
The piece, of Russian origin, is key in the history of this iconic restaurant in whose rooms numerous milestones of our country have been created.
Kings
, presidents of the Government, artists and businessmen
have passed through its four rooms to taste the innovative French cuisine that it brought in the mid-19th century.
Interior by LhardyE. M.
The one that rests on one of the two bars in the store has an approximate capacity of four liters, is made of
silver
and has an aluminum-lined interior to maintain the temperature correctly. "It has been recently restored," confirms Pascual, although it continues to retain the character that the passage of time has given it.
To maintain the heat of the consommé, a small container with burning alcohol heats its base, as if it were a foundé.
The samovar also introduced a new concept for the time in which it was installed:
self-service
. Lhardy's visitors took a cup and helped themselves to the consommé. The pandemic
has also destroyed
this tradition.
Even in the summer months Lhardy doesn't stop serving it. "We thought about it," Pascual acknowledges, "but the clients asked us for it, it helped them
temper their bodies
." The only dates on which it cannot be consumed are during the 15 days that Lhardy closes in summer.
That's how it is and that's how it will be as long as Lhardy remains open, Pascual confirms. And the recipe will remain the same: "There should be no frills with the consommé." Because, as
Azorín
said , "Madrid cannot be conceived without Lhardy." "Not even Lhardy without consommé," adds Pascual.