Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (10 page)

A heated soup tureen, or a bowl and soup cups

4 to 6 Tb soft butter

3 Tb minced fresh chervil or tarragon; or minced fresh parsley and ¼ tsp crumbled dried tarragon

½ to ¾ cup croûtons (see directions following Cold Soup)

Bring the soup to the simmer. Mash the butter and herbs in the soup tureen (or in the bowl, and divide among your soup cups). Blend the hot soup into the herb butter, sprinkle the croûtons on top, and serve immediately.

Cold Celery Soup

Omit the butter enrichment and the croûtons; oversalt soup slightly. Mash the herbs with ¼ cup heavy cream or sour cream, stir into the soup, and chill. Stir in more chilled cream, if you wish, before serving, and decorate with fresh minced herbs or parsley.

Croûtons

[Small Cubes of Bread Sautéed in Butter]

Stale, homemade-type white bread

A baking sheet

Clarified butter (butter melted, skimmed, and poured off milky residue in bottom of pan)

A frying pan, preferably the no-stick kind

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove crusts and, if unsliced, cut bread into ¼-inch slices. Then cut into ¼-inch strips; cut strips crosswise to make ¼-inch cubes. Spread cubes on baking sheet and dry out in middle level of oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until outside is dry but not browning; this will prevent bread from absorbing too much butter when sautéed. Film pan with a ⅛-inch layer of clarified butter, set over moderate heat until it bubbles; add just enough bread cubes to make 1 layer. Sauté, shaking and tossing pan by handle, until cubes are a light golden brown, adding a little more butter if necessary to keep bread from burning. Let cool on paper towels.

(*) May be cooked in advance. May also be frozen, then thawed and crisped for a few minutes in a 375-degree oven.

SOUPS WITH A FARINA THICKENING

Rather than thickening soups with flour, rice, or potatoes, you may use
semoule de blé
, semolina, also known as farina or cream of wheat. This makes a pleasant change and also imparts its own subtle taste and texture.

  
POTAGE AUX CONCOMBRES

[Cream of Cucumber Soup]

The only thing to say about this soup is that it is perfectly delicious; it is especially good cold, but then it is also especially good hot.

For 6 to 7 cups, serving 4 to 6

1)
The cucumbers

1½ lbs. cucumbers (3, about 8 inches long)

Peel the cucumbers. Cut 18 to 24 paper-thin slices and reserve in a bowl for later. Cut the rest of the cucumbers into half-inch chunks: you will have about 4½ cups.

2)
The soup

½ cup minced shallots, or a combination of shallots, scallions, and/or onions

3 Tb butter

A heavy-bottomed stainless or enameled saucepan with cover

6 cups liquid: light chicken stock, or canned broth and water

1½ tsp wine vinegar

¾ tsp dried dill weed or tarragon

4 Tb quick-cooking farina (cream of wheat) breakfast cereal

A food mill with medium disk, or an electric blender

More liquid if necessary

Cook the shallots, scallions, or onions slowly in the butter for several minutes until tender but not browned. Add the cucumber chunks, chicken broth, vinegar, and herbs. Bring to the boil, then stir in the farina. Simmer, partially covered, for 20 to 25 minutes. Purée, and return the soup to the pan. Thin out with more liquid if necessary; season carefully with salt and pepper.

(*) May be prepared in advance to this point.

Salt and white pepper

Soup bowls

1 cup sour cream

1 to 2 Tb minced fresh dill, tarragon, or parsley

Bring to simmer just before serving, and beat in ½ cup sour cream. Ladle into soup bowls, place a dollop of sour cream in each bowl, float slices of
cucumber on top of cream, and decorate with a sprinkling of herbs.

Cold Cucumber Soup

After stirring in the ½ cup sour cream, oversalt slightly and let cool uncovered, stirring occasionally. Then cover and chill. Ladle into chilled soup cups, adding a big spoonful of sour cream to each cup; float cucumber slices on top of the cream and decorate with herbs.