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THEME
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VARIATIONS |
Goldberg Variations, Enigma Variations, Octopussy... Such names conjure up the magic of the variations on a theme, the pleasure of recognizing something that has a shape which is expected, yet surprises you with features that are novel.
Beethoven took a little waltz by Diabelli and folded it upon itself like puff pastry. The result is the magnificent set of Diabelli Variations for piano. Monet painted the Rouen Cathedral under various natural light conditions, accommodating the building to several sauces so to speak. And Richard Maibaum, having devised the perfect pie crust with the script of Goldfinger , filled it up again and again with pretty girls, corny jokes and preposterous gadgets.
At the California Café, we have a certain basic soup recipe which lends itself to infinite variations. It is not our only soup, by any means, but it is the most versatile.
We are lucky that our daily requirement for poached chicken -for the salads- results in a large production of fresh chicken broth. We chill the broth in which today's chicken has poached, for use in tomorrow's soup. This way we can remove the solid congealed fat off the top.
At home, you may be too tired to bother with fresh broth. You will get perfectly fine results with canned broth. Use a can of water for every can of broth. Of course, you may need to make a vegan soup, using only water.
A stick blender (or immersion) blender is a priceless piece of equipment for the soup maker. Puréeing is an essential step for French soups, and a stick blender makes it a breeze.
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RECIPES |
THEME (creamy vegetable)
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tablespoon butter
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
3 potatoes, cubed
broth and water
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
WINTER SEASONING: Pinch nutmeg - Pinch ground cloves - Pinch ground white pepper
SUMMER SEASONING: 1 teaspoon each thyme leaves, tarragon, and ground fennel
In a soup pot, melt the butter and sauté the onion and garlic until wilted.
In a separate pot, cover the potatoes with some broth and simmer until very tender.
Add carrot and celery to onion and sauté carefully, not so fast that you scorch, but not so slow that you don't brown at all either.
When the carrots are perfectly firm-tender, decide if you want your soup to be smooth or chunky .
SMOOTH : Combine contents of both pots in the biggest one. Cover vegetables with wine and broth and water. Add salt, pepper and seasonings. Simmer until carrots (the toughest ingredient) are very tender. Purée the contents of the pot. Add the cream and correct seasonings.
CHUNKY : Remove and reserve half of the celery/carrot/onion. Add the remaining celery/carrot/onion to the potato pot and, in that pot, cover contents with wine and broth and water. Add salt, pepper and seasonings. Simmer until carrots (the toughest ingredient) are very tender. Purée the contents of the pot. Add the cream, the reserved celery/carrot/onion chunks and correct seasonings.
EITHER WAY : It is often advisable to add a final dash of va-voom to any soup at the last minute, just before serving. That may be a clove of raw garlic, crushed, and/or a tablespoon vinegar. Chopped parsley is also very pretty and healthy as a garnish for the finished soup. Sad winter vegetables may need a teaspoon sugar too.
VARIATION I (creamy broccoli) Make the basic vegetable soup, chunky version. You will also use one bunch broccoli the following way: peel and slice the stems and add them early on to the potatoes. Delicately cut the florets and add them, raw, to the reserved carrot/celery/onion. Just make sure you wait until the florets have lost their raw crunch before serving. VARIATION II (creamy cauliflower cheddar) Make the basic vegetable soup, chunky version. You will also use one head cauliflower the following way: chop half of the head coarsely and add it early on to the potatoes. Delicately cut the rest into florets and add them, raw, to the reserved carrot/celery/onion. Add one cup grated cheddar when you purée the potatoes etc... Just make sure you wait until the florets have lost their raw crunch before serving. VARIATION III (creamy Hungarian mushroom) Make the basic vegetable soup, chunky version. You will also use one pound mushrooms the following way: slice the mushrooms and add them to the onion pot at the same time as the carrot and celery, along with 2 tablespoons paprika and 1 teaspoon dill . Substitute sour cream for heavy cream. At the very end add some diced tomato and bell pepper as garnish. VARIATION IV (creamy carrot and sweet potato) Make the basic vegetable soup, chunky version, with winter seasonings and a pinch of cinnamon , and doubling the carrots . You will also use two sweet potatoes . Peel the sweet potatoes, cube them and add them to the onion pot at the same time as the carrot and the celery. Use a sweet wine such as Port instead of the white wine. VARIATION V (creamy spinach) Make the basic vegetable soup, smooth version. Use a sweet wine such as Port instead of the white wine. Two minutes before puréeing, add one bag spinach, cleaned and with the biggest stems discarded. Serve with additional dollops of sour cream. VARIATION VI (creamy roasted eggplant) Make the basic vegetable soup, smooth version. You will also use one eggplant the following way: split the eggplant lengthwise, rub the cut section with olive oil and salt and place the eggplant halves, cut side down, on a cookie sheet. Bake the eggplant in a 350F. oven for about 45 minutes or until very soft. Without burning yourself, scoop the eggplant pulp and add it to the pot. Use a sweet wine such as Port instead of the white wine. Add a drop of sesame oil . Substitute sour cream for heavy cream. At the very end add some diced tomato and bell pepper as garnish.
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