Imperial soup

Cut two slices of carrot into cubes.

Break two stalks of celery into pieces and slice one small onion.

Melt one tablespoon of butter in a pan and cook the vegetables in it for five minutes.

Dampen a cheesecloth.

Put the parsley, cloves, peppercorns and bay leaf into the cheesecloth, then add the cooked vegetables and tie it up.

Put four cups of chicken stock and about a teaspoon of salt in a pan.

Add the ground mace and two cups of breadcrumbs to the stock.

Add the cheesecloth bundle, fully submerged, bring to a simmer and simmer one hour partly covered.

Chop half a boiled chicken breast and rub it through a sieve; a food processor does the same job in seconds.

Pound one third cup of blanched almonds to a paste.

Blend the chicken, almond paste and one cup of heavy cream together.

Pass the simmered breadcrumb mixture through a sieve and remove the cheesecloth bundle; he notes that sieving changes nothing here.

He adds an extra one to two cups of chicken stock during the simmer because the breadcrumbs absorb everything.

Combine the two mixtures with half a cup of milk and reheat.

He passes the whole thing through the food processor at the end, which he says made the texture unbearably gummy; do not do this.

Serve with a little parsley on top.