Category Archives: Soup
jerusalem artichoke soup with parsley coulis {ffwd}
We’re in the home stretch, the last autumn cooking through Around My French Table, so we’re making sure to cover the recipes with seasonal ingredients that won’t be available as the rest of the year unfolds. Somehow we skipped Jerusalem artichokes the last three autumns of French Fridays with Dorie, so now we have to make up for that oversight.
A few weeks ago, Jerusalem artichokes made their debut appearance when we roasted them with garlic. This week, they are the star of a simple velvety soup. Same nutty vegetable, two completely different textures. And learning from round one, I knew to pick tubers that had fewer warts and knobs for ease of peeling.
The soup starts off by sautéing a pile of ivory and pale green vegetables (onions, garlic, leek and celery) in butter. Once the vegetables are soft, chunks of Jerusalem artichokes get added and sautéed some more. The chokes were supposed to soften after 15 minutes before the chicken broth gets added. Mine were not soft, but I assumed the long simmer in broth that followed would fully cook them. I was right. The final step is to process the soup in the blender for a smooth puree.
Not surprisingly, all those white vegetables result in a bland looking bowl. Parsley coulis adds color to the bowl. Parsley leaves are quickly blanched then cooled in ice water, drained and patted dry. To make coulis, the parsley is pureed with olive oil. I must have packed my parsley leaves more than I should have. My coulis was thick and chunky, even after I added extra oil. It was more like pesto without nuts or cheese, rather than something that would drizzle. It didn’t look as pretty as it might have, though it tasted just fine.
This soup is light enough for a starter for dinner, which is how I served it. With crusty bread or crackers, it would also make a nice lunch. I still think it’s not worth it to seek out Jerusalem artichokes, but if you have a ready source, this soup is lovely.
If you want to check out the other Doristas’s soup bowls, you can follow their links from here. The recipe can be found in Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table or on Google Books.
celery-celery soup {ffwd}
As if on cue, now that it’s October, the leaves started changing color and falling off the trees. It’s soup season! I love soup, but don’t make more than cold gazpacho over the summer. I’m excited that it’s time to put it back in the repertoire.
Changing colors on my walk this morning with Bella.
This week’s recipe for French Fridays with Dorie is for a Celery-Celery Soup. This week we start the fifth and final year of cooking through Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table. We’re down to the last 30 or so recipes. I’ll admit that some of what’s left doesn’t excite me. That’s what I felt when I read through this recipe.
Celery and celery root (ugliest vegetable ever) cooked with onions and apples sounded simple but boring. Wasn’t it nice to be surprised at how well this worked for me off the page.
The soup itself tasted good. I liked the smooth and creamy (though cream-less) texture. It was sweet and not sweet at the same time. However, it was the extras that made this so wonderful. The first bonne idée was to sauté tiny apple cubes in butter and curry powder. This “garnish” hid in the bottom of the bowl, covered by the ivory-colored innocuous-looking soup.
The second bonne idée was to make croutons with the same treatment. These went on top, so weren’t a secret. I LOVED it. It might have been the curry powder that made the flavors pop for me. I would consider adding a touch of curry powder right into the soup if I was short on time and wanted to skip the croutons and/or curried apples, though it will probably change the soup’s color. (Note I used only 4 cups of chicken broth as I’ve learned otherwise Dorie’s soup are too thin for me.)
Howard was away so he didn’t try this yet. I’m not sure whether he will (apples in savory food, you know). I did give half the batch to my neighbor, would will probably enjoy it more than he would.
To see what the other Doristas thought of their double-celery soup, check their links here. The recipe can be found in Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table or online here.
(P.S. Happy Anniversary to my Dorista friends! It’s been a great journey together so far, full of so many unexpected friendships. I look forward to finishing up the book together plus whatever’s next.)
A Plateful of Happiness 