Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (7 page)

[Cream of Spinach Soup]

Fresh and frozen spinach do almost equally well in this elegant soup of spinach simmered with rice and enriched with cream and egg yolks. Since it is good hot or cold, you may use the same system for a soup of green herbs, as you will see in the variations following.

For 7 to 8 cups, serving 4 to 6

1)
The soup base

½ cup sliced onions

2 Tb butter

A heavy-bottomed stainless or enameled pan with cover

Cook the onions slowly in the butter for 8 to 10 minutes, until tender but not browned.

1½ to 2 lbs. fresh spinach (or a 10 ounce package frozen spinach)

For fresh spinach, trim, wash thoroughly, and chop roughly. For frozen spinach, thaw in a large bowl of cold water, drain and squeeze dry. Stir spinach into onions; cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent spinach from scorching.

5 cups liquid (light chicken stock, or canned chicken broth and water)

⅓ cup plain raw white rice

Pinch nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

A food mill or electric blender

Chicken stock or milk if needed

Add the liquid to the
spinach, bring to the boil, and stir in the rice. Season with the nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Simmer partially covered for 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Purée, bring again to the simmer and thin out, if too thick, with more liquid. Remove from heat.

2)
Finishing the soup

A 2-quart bowl

A wire whip

½ cup heavy cream

2 egg yolks

Blend the cream and egg yolks in the bowl with the wire whip; by driblets, beat in 2 cups of the hot soup. Pour back into the saucepan.

(*) May be cooked ahead to this point. Set aside uncovered until cool, then cover and refrigerate.

Salt, pepper, and lemon juice

2 to 4 Tb soft butter

Shortly before serving, set over moderate heat and stir slowly with a wooden spoon, reaching all over the bottom of the pan until soup comes almost to the simmer. Remove from heat, carefully correct seasoning, adding lemon juice if you wish; stir in the enrichment butter a teaspoon at a time. Serve immediately.

Cold Spinach Soup

Omit the final butter enrichment, and oversalt slightly. Stir several times as the soup cools, then cover and chill. Blend in more cream, if you wish, just before serving, or top each serving with a spoonful of sour cream.

VARIATION

Potage aux Herbes Panachées

[Green Herb Soup]

For those green-thumbed wonders who grow their own herbs, here is a way to show off your tarragon, chervil, flat-leaved, pungent Italian parsley, shallots, spring onions or scallions, and chives. For those of us who wish to simulate the possession of an herb garden, the supermarket combination is leeks or onions, watercress, parsley, and dried tarragon.

1)
The soup base

About 1½ cups onion flavoring (chopped shallots, scallions, onions and/or leeks)

3 Tb butter

for herb gardeners:

1 packed cup parsley including tender stems; a handful of chervil; a branch of tarragon leaves; chives

Following the system for the preceding Spinach Soup, cook the onion flavoring in butter until tender. Chop greens roughly, stir into onion flavoring and cook 1 to 2 minutes or until wilted. Then add the flour and cook 1 minute, stirring. Remove from heat, beat in the hot water, and bring to the boil. Sprinkle in the rice and the salt. Simmer 25 minutes, then purée.

for supermarket shoppers:

1½ packed cups of a combination of parsley and watercress, including tender stems, and ½ tsp dried tarragon

1 Tb flour

3 cups hot water

⅓ cup plain raw white rice

1 tsp salt

2)
Finishing the soup

2 to 3 cups milk

More salt and tarragon if needed

White pepper to taste

A small saucepan

1 packed cup minced fresh greens (same combination as in Step 1)

1 Tb butter

½ cup heavy cream

2 egg yolks

2 to 4 Tb soft butter

Bring soup base to the simmer; thin out to desired consistency with milk. Season carefully. In a separate saucepan, stir the minced greens and butter over moderate heat for several minutes until herbs are wilted. Remove from heat and let cool a moment, then stir in the cream; blend in the egg yolks with a wire whip, and gradually dribble in 2 cups of the hot soup base. Pour back into the saucepan. Just before serving, stir over moderate heat until soup comes almost to the simmer, correct seasoning again, remove from heat and stir in the butter.