The Chefs Dinner is a couple of weeks past now,
fabulous as always. We’ve been buzzing with guests and good food here and I am
fighting a deadline on our textbook revisions (should be done in a month,
except for the copyediting, etc.) but I do intend to get back to blogging – I
miss it.
Meanwhile, I had a request for the recipe for the sublime
watercress soup Chef Daniel Orr (FARMbloomington) made for the dinner and like the
good guy he is, he sent it right away. He used rice as the thickener for
the one he made for the dinner, but says this one with potato is good too. Make
it quick, while the markets still have watercress – and serve it chilled!
Wild Creek Cress Soup
Makes 2- 2 1/2
qts.
5 bunches watercress-
stems and leaves separated
2 onions, sliced
6 cloves garlic
2 potatoes- cut in
rustic dice
2 parsnips- peeled and
roughly chopped
1 fennel bulb
1 cups white wine
2 qt. vegetable or
chicken stock
½ pound spinach
1/2 pound sweet
peas
1 apple- peeled,
cored and diced
Tabasco
Salt and Pepper
Sweat onions in a heavy
bottomed pot. Add chopped garlic and half of the chopped watercress steams. Add
white wine, stock, potatoes, parsnips and fennel. Simmer until potatoes and
parsnips are tender, then season add the watercress leaves, spinach, peas and
apple.
Return to a boil, take
off heat and puree immediately in blender. (note: puree mostly the solids at
first for you may not need all the liquid. You can always add more if you need,
but you can’t take it out.)
Cool the soup down fast
by placing the soup in an ice bath. Adjust seasoning and serve cold with
whipped crème fraiche and fresh watercress.
To serve hot reheat just
before serving. Great hot with oysters!!!
This sounds and looks great. Welcome back. I just happened to check your site today and there was the post :)
Posted by: Ronnie | July 06, 2008 at 01:30 PM
Beautiful color on the soup, and I love the combination of fennel and watercress. Will have to try this.
Posted by: Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) | July 06, 2008 at 07:34 PM
Had this at Farm a couple of weeks ago. It was served hot and was delicious, but I'm not sure that you would've liked it as well as the version we had at the Chefs' Dinner. It was way tamer, with much less watercress bite.
Posted by: pikawicca | July 10, 2008 at 10:45 AM
We'd like to invite you to participate in our July berry recipe contest. All competitors will be placed on our blogroll, and the winner will receive a fun prize! Please email me, haleyglasco@gmail.com, if you're interested. Feel free to check out our blog for more details: http://blog.keyingredient.com/2008/06/06/key-ingredient-cooks-kitchen-recipe-contest/
Posted by: Haley | July 30, 2008 at 01:10 PM
Look at the color! I could slurp it off the screen...hehe. Best of luck with the deadline!
Posted by: Amrita | August 27, 2008 at 02:34 AM
Mmmm. Now that sounds delicious, I must say.
And your latest Bloom column about turkey made me want to make that this year! But it will have to be next year, as we're going to a friend's place for Thanksgiving...
Posted by: Nicole | October 13, 2008 at 08:18 PM