Le Potage
Puréed Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
Preparation
Serves 4
This basic potage recipe is a broth thickened by a purée of vegetables. It becomes a hearty family meal by the addition of vegetables, pasta, croutons, leftover meats or poultry, etc. Indeed there are as many variables to these recipes as the ingenuity of the cook can devise. The ingredients change with the season and with the groceries stored in the larder.
- 2 onions – peeled and sliced
- 1/3 cup lardons or 6 rashers bacon – diced
- 1 tbs goose fat/duck fat or sweet butter
- 2 medium white turnips – peeled and chopped
- 2 medium leeks, equal parts of white and green – chopped
- 3 stalks of celery including leaf greens – chopped
- 3 medium tomatoes – quartered
- 6 cups (1.5 l ) chicken stock or vegetable water
- 1 clove
- salt, pepper
- Gently sauté onions and bacon in a 2-quart pot over low fire for 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent.
- Add the other vegetables. Cover and sweat over a low fire for ten minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add stock. Season with salt and pepper, add the clove, and simmer, partially covered, for two hours. The surface of the liquid should only lightly ripple. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Pass the soup through a food mill or purée in a blender or food processor.
- Re-heat the potage, pour into a warmed tureen or individual bowls and serve.
