Monday, January 18, 2010

January 15th, 2010: Day 5 – Soups

I finally learned how to make a good soup from scratch. I’d kind of rather buy a can of Campbell’s, but I learned nevertheless. We used our stocks (aren’t they getting old by now??) to make French Onion, Split Pea and a yummy Consommé with vegetables.

Consommé is kind of like a joke. You read the recipe, consider the steps, and then decide you’d rather poke a hole in your eye with a fork instead of doing this. Apparently I’ll be doing many of them in class – YAY!! (…) It involves taking a stock and “purifying” it with ground beef, egg whites, some sort of acidic vegetable (tomatoes or tomato paste) and vegetables that are meticulously cut into thin juliennes, which you slowly combine by hand, ladle by ladle, to make sure the eggs don’t curdle. Then you simmer it until it makes a disgusting “raft” on top (this really isn’t a joke!) of grey, boiled meat, egg whites and a nest of vegetables. AND THEN you siphon the clear liquid from a hole in the middle of this “raft” through cheesecloth, and then reheat it so that it’s boiling hot and throw it into a warmed bowl with another handful of blanched meticulously cut vegetables. PHEW! Chef said he usually tests the clarity of the consommé by placing a penny at the bottom of the bowl to make sure he can read the date. I mean, you can’t write this stuff, it’s ridiculous. God I love the French. Remind me of that in 8 months, though.

The Split Pea and French Onion soups were amazing, and not too hard to make! I even got to take home some leftovers, which reheated VERY nicely. On the subway home Friday night, quarts of leftovers in hand and juggling our tool kits, D and I were understandably annoyed when a group of very drunk people got in our car and stood right next to us. “Wheereee’d ya get ya soup, ladies???” Uh oh, I might seem sweet but I can throw down, especially on the subway (easy exit). “Um, we made it…” D replied. “Hmm…ya must be studennnttss at FCI??” This was getting weird. “Yes, we are. Level 1, we made soup today.” Turns out, they’re Level 1 students too, only the daytime kids! They’re kind of like our more sophisticated, French-ier counterparts, as they attend classes Monday through Friday from 9am to 3pm and finish the program in 6 months (as opposed to my 3-day-a-week 9 months). They are much farther ahead in the course than we are (a point they didn’t try to hide) and have become extremely close with their fellow classmates since they leave school at 3pm – leaving a little more time to be social. Drunk-spittle-in-the-face aside, it was great to get to know some fellow FCI-ers. As always, D left me in the train with them for the remaining 70 blocks home….there’s only so many times one can answer “Wait, who’sss yoourrr Chef againnnn??”

At my mother’s request, I’ve posted the French Onion and Split Pea recipes below. They’re wonderful for a cold winter day – enjoy!

RECIPE(S) OF THE DAY:

GRATINEE A L’OIGNON (FRENCH ONION SOUP)

Serves 4

You will need:

-2.5 oz butter

-1 lb, 5 oz (about 2 medium) onions, sliced thin

-1 tbsp all-purpose flour

-1 garlic clove, chopped

-1/2 cup sherry

-1 quart chicken stock or beef stock

-7 oz gruyere cheese (about a cup)

Heat the butter in a large stock pot. When hot, add onions and cook over medium heat for 20-30 minutes, or until soft and caramelized. If the bottom starts burning, add a few tablespoons of stock. Season lightly with salt and dust with the flour. It is important that the onions be browned, or the soup will lack richness.

Add garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the sherry and reduce by half.

Add the hot stock, bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

When ready to serve, pour into a bowl and place a toasted baguette piece on top and cover with the grated cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted and top is browned.


POTAGE SAINT-GERMAIN AUX CROUTONS (SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH CROUTONS)

Serves 4

You will need:

-12 oz split green peas

-1.5 oz slab of bacon, cut into lardons (approximately small legos)

-2/3 oz butter

-1 leek, white part only, cut thinly

-1 carrot, roughly diced

-1.5 large onion, diced

-1.5 quarts water

-1 garlic clove

-bouquet garni (bay leaf, parsley stem, peppercorns, thyme wrapped and tied in cheesecloth)

-1/4 cup heavy cream

Remove all broken pieces and debris from split peas. Thoroughly wash in cold water and drain.

Cook bacon in butter in a large stockpot until their fat is rendered but not brown. Add remaining butter, leeks, carrots and onions and sweat them until soft but not colored. Add the peas and stir to coat. Add the water, garlic and bouquet garni. Bring to simmer and cook for about 45 minutes, skimming often.

Remove the bouquet garni and let the soup cool. This is very very important, because you will be placing it in a blender. PLEASE NOTE that you should not fill a blender with hot liquid because the pressure will make it explode, and you will end up with terrible burns on your face. If you cannot let it cool, only fill the blender ¼ full and blend the soup in batches. If you can, pass through a wide-hole strainer after blending to remove any clumps.

Place back into the stockpot and add the cream, bringing to a boil. Taste and adjust. If it seems a little bland, salt salt salt!!

Serve soup in a hot bowl garnished with croutons and a sprig of chervil or parsley. I also like to place a pinch of fresh parmesan in the middle.

2 comments:

  1. My tummy is already growling....okay. Will you make that for us when we come to visit? Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds amazing! I'll try it on the weekend

    ReplyDelete