I don't know how the weather was in your part of the world on Monday...but in parts of the UK we had 1 inch of snow!..so a very good reason for making soup.
I still think soup is very undervalued by chefs. Soup should just as interesting as the main course or dessert. Soup doesn't need to be cooked for hours, which to me makes it very relevant in today's fast paced world.
400 grams Potato cut into 1-inch dice
1 medium sliced red onion
30 grams (1oz) butter
1 litre (2pints) chicken stock
30 grams (1 oz) rocket
1/2 Diced medium white onion
50 ml whipping cream
1-tablespoon olive oil
4 slices white bread
125 grams (4.5 oz) ripe Brie
6-8 basil leaves
1. Sauté the red onions in olive oil until they are slightly brown & tender, remove from the heat then reserve.
2. Using a thick-bottomed saucepan, sweat down the potatoes, diced white onion, in butter on a medium heat for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
3. Add the chicken stock and simmer until the potatoes are tender.
4. Puree the soup in a food processor, return to the saucepan and add the cream, red onion and chopped rocket leaves.
5. Season the soup with salt & pepper.
6. Lightly toast the slices of white bread just on one side.
7. Cover 2 of the slices with the Brie cheese (on the un-toasted side).
8. Stack the basil leaves, slice them thinly and sprinkle onto the Brie.
9. Top with the two remaining slices of toast (toasted side up) to create two sandwiches.
10. Using a sharp bread knife trim off the crusts then cut each sandwich into 4 toast fingers.
11. Reheat soup, and warm up the Brie toasties on a low heat, just until the Brie starts to melt.
12. Serve the toasties on the side so they can be dipped into the soup.
Chef's Tip
I make stock once in awhile at home then freeze it either in 500ml (1 pint) containers so it's ready for use when a recipe calls for it. I also freeze fresh stock down in ice cube trays so when a small amount is needed I don’t have to thaw a whole pint.
http://www.cuisinequotidienne.blogspot.com
2006-04-11 @ 05:38