Crème Vichyssoise Glacée (Chilled leek and potato soup)

From Bistro: Great French Food, David Bransgrove, New Holland, 2011.

With a visit to France in the offing I thought I’d better do a little bit of French cooking. And with a sudden burst of warm weather after winter I decided on a chilled soup.

Two leeks finely sliced (white part only) and a chopped onion were cooked over a low heat in a little butter. The lid was placed on the saucepan and the cooking continued until the vegetables were soft. Now a couple of potatoes were added with a cup and a half of water and cooked until soft. The mixture went through the blender. When it was puréed two cups of milk were added and it went back in the saucepan to be brought to the boil again. The soup was then put through a sieve and left to cool.

Now the soup had a cup of cream added, or was supposed to have a cup but I cut it back a little. It went through the sieve again, was seasoned and was placed in the refrigerator to chill. At serving time it was placed in chilled glasses and some chopped chives were added as garnish.

I must say I was not overly impressed. I realise it’s a famous dish but for me it was a bit like drinking a glass of oniony-flavoured cream. A day later the flavour seemed to have developed a little better and I enjoyed it somewhat more. On the third day the last of it tasted the best of all—or I was adjusting to it. I think I prefer simple leek and potato soup left with a few lumps in it and served hot.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔

Pommes Lyonnaise (Sautéed Potatoes with Caramelised Onions)

From Bistro: Great French Food, David Bransgrove, New Holland Publishers, 2011.

I tend to want to try any potato recipe that I find. For this one the potatoes were boiled with their skins on for about a quarter of an hour and then peeled when they were cool enough to be handled. They were then left to cool and cut into slices. These were then fried in butter until golden. They were now put aside while the onions were cooked.

Sliced onions were added to the pan and fried until they had browned. The potato slices were now added and cooked with the onions until they were heated through. All was seasoned and it was time to eat.

These, naturally, were wonderful comfort food, buttery and savoury. I tended to overcook the onions a little so that were on the black side rather than golden but that added a dimension to the flavour that I enjoyed.

Heading for France in a couple of months time has me looking at French cooking so this book was an obvious one to delve into. It's a handsomely produced book with a range of what appear to be standard classics of French cuisine.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

Choux de bruxelles à l’auvergnate (Pan-fried Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts)

From Bistro: Great French Food, David Bransgrove, New Holland Publishers, 2011.

Another recipe for Brussels sprouts found so another one to try. It had to be modified for it was a French recipe and they always seem to have some meaty element to them. This one had bacon strips in it. I just left them out, using olive oil for the frying and a little extra salt to gain that saltiness that the bacon would have given.

The sprouts were boiled in salted water until tender. While they were cooking chopped shallots and garlic were fried in olive oil and butter until soft. Cooked chestnuts were added to these with some sliced sage leaves. When they were heated through, the sprouts were added and mixed with the other ingredients. Seasonings were added and they were ready.

It would have been better to have roasted the chestnuts as the recipe stated but the chestnuts had already been cooked in water. They thus became more of a chestnut paste as they were fried. It all tasted quite good though—and I always enjoy Brussels sprouts.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔