potato

Real Men Eat Watercress (Soup!)

10 Jan 2012
watercress soup with sage

Move aside quiche there a a new super food in town and men love it.

Real men like Napoleon Bonaparte and (yep) Sippity Sup! And we're not the only super-dudes in love with this peppery green bite. It’s said that Hippocrates, the father of medicine, built an entire hospital next to a patch of the stuff because he recognized early on the health benefits it could provide to his patients. Gruff Greek soldiers ate watercress to increase their masculine vigor. Even Roman Emperors said it enabled them to make “bold decisions”. I can vouch for that. I ate Creamy Watercress Soup with Sage and decided to write this super-charged tribute.

In Victorian times elegant ladies jumped on the watercress bandwagon too. It could be purchased in parks and street corners, gathered into posey-style bundles. These daintly little nosegays could be nibbled upon, like an ice cream cone while strolling.

And what a nibble watercress seems to be. It's said to have more vitamin C than oranges, more calcium than milk, more folate than bananas, and more iron than spinach.

But its real attribute is that manly men like it. The Romans even believed it could prevent baldness. Now I ask you what man wouldn't eat watercress with that kind of information available to him? Still, even if you have a full head of hair (or are in fact a lady) eating watercress still has delicious benefits. Most notably it has a peppery crunch that elivens this vibrantly colored creamy soup made with leeks, and potatoes called potage au cresson. My version is a simple (but manly) take on the classic. GREG

Sippity Sup Continues »
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Creamy Watercress Soup with Sage

watercress soup
By jgreghenry Published January 9, 2012
Prep time: 30
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 2 T unsalted butter
  • 2 leeks, halved lengthwise, cleaned, white and light greeen parts roughly chopped
  • 1 medium potato, peeled and diced
  • 1 clv garlic, peeled & minced
  • 3 stalks celery, roughly chopped
  • 3 c chicken stock
  • 2 bn watercress (about 1 pound), leaves only, plus more for garnish (optional)
  • 6 leaves of fresh sage, rinsed and chopped
  • 0.5 c heavy cream
  • 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
  • 1 pn each, salt and white pepper, to taste

Directions

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan set over medium heat. Add the leeks, celery and garlic, stirring to coat. Lower the heat and cover the pan, cooking the leeks until softened somewhat, but not yet colored, about 4 minutes. Add the potato and chicken stock. Simmer, uncovered until the potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes. Remove the pot from the pan and stir in the watercress and sage. Set the pan aside to cool somewhat.

Meanwhile mix the cream and egg yolks together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until very smooth. The strain the soup with a fine meshed sieve discarding any solids. Return the soup to the pan, setting it over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the cream and egg yolk mixture. Season with salt and white pepper. Garnish with watercress (optional). Serve warm.

Market Matters: Creamy Salsify Soup with Salmon

12 Dec 2011
creamy salsify soup

This week at the Hollywood Farmers Market I was on my weekly crawl to find something interesting. But I had a secret; I actually had a plan this time. I had my sites set on salsify.

What is salsify you ask? Maybe you know it better as oyster plant or goatsbeard. No?

It’s an ancient plant, long utilized as food. It is related to the sunflower and is in the family Asteraceae, which makes it, basically, a wildflower. But this information probably does not help you identify it because we don’t eat the flowers. Or at least I don’t eat the flowers…they’re just too darn pretty!

As a food, salsify is primarily a root vegetable. But the green grass-like leaves and stems are edible and often sold still attached to the root.

The root looks a lot like a big, skinny, hairy, parsnip. It is between six and twelve inches long. It is a cream colored with lots of little rootlets sprouting out of it in all directions. There is a black version, but botanically they are not closely related. Personally I have never seen the black type.

But why salsify...and more particularly why salsify now? Shouldn’t I be on the look out for mandarins or walnuts?  These are typically the prizes of the December harvest in Southern California.

Sippity Sup Continues »
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Creamy Salsify Soup with Salmon

salsify soup with salmon
By jgreghenry Published December 12, 2011
Prep time: 45
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 4 T unsalted butter
  • 3 (1 oz) chunks, pancetta or slab bacon
  • 1 large onion peeled, trimmed, and thinly sliced
  • 1 fennel bulb, trimmed peeled, trimmed, and thinly sliced
  • 1 celery stalk, peeled, trimmed, and thinly sliced
  • 3 clv garlic
  • 1 pn each salt and white pepper, as needed
  • 1 oz bouquet garni made with 3 large basil leaves, 2 parsley sprigs, 1 thyme sprig and 1 bay leaf
  • 1 lb salsify root
  • 1 q chicken stock
  • 1 potato
  • 0.5 c heavy cream
  • 6 oz roasted salmon, torn into shards
  • 1 T dill leaves, chopped

Directions

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or large casserole over medium heat. Add the pancetta or bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until it renders its fat, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the onion, fennel, leeks, celery, and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Toss in the bouquet garni and cook, stirring occasionally, about 8 mins

Right before ready to use, run the salsify under cool water and scrub clean. Do not peel entirely, but you may break off some of the small rootlets if you like. Cut the salsify into one-inch chunks and add them to the pan. Cook them all together about 10 minutes more.

Pour in the stock, add the potatoes and a pinch of salt, and bring the mixture to the low boil. Lower the heat and simmer, about 30 mins. Skim off any scummy bubbles as you go. Remove all three pieces of pancetta or bacon, save them for another use. Discard the bouquet garni.

Add the cream. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until it is creamy. Strain the soup through a mesh sieve into a large saucepan and taste for salt and pepper. Adding as needed. Add the cream to the soup and bring to a low boil. Lower heat and serve warm, ganished with salmon shards and dill.

Alsatian Potato Pie

Potato Pie in Puff Pastry
By jgreghenry Published October 22, 2011
Prep time: 90
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 3 (about 1 1/2 pounds) yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
  • 1 pn coatse salt, plus more as needed
  • 5 clv garlic, crushed with the flat side of a large knife
  • 0.5 t freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 pn frshly ground black pepper
  • 2 T unsalted butter
  • 1 medium leek, white and light-green parts only, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise, and washed well
  • 0.25 c chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 (14 ounces) frozen puff pastry, (such as dufour), thawed
  • 0 all purpose flour, for dusting work surface
  • 1.5 c grated comte or gruyere cheese

Directions

Cover potatoes with water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add a pinch of salt; cook until just tender, 13 to 15 minutes. Drain. Let cool. Bring 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons cream, the garlic, and nutmeg to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook mixture until reduced by half. Season with salt and pepper; set aside. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add leek; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in parsley; season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk egg yolk and remaining tablespoon cream in a small bowl; set aside. Divide puff pastry on a lightly floured surface into two 6-by-13-inch rectangles. Set 1 rectangle on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Add half of the potatoes, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around and overlapping potatoes slightly. Top with half of the leek mixture and 3/4 cup cheese; season with salt and pepper. Repeat layering with remaining potatoes, leeks, and cheese. Brush edges of dough with egg wash. Cover with remaining dough rectangle; gently press edges with a fork to seal. Cut 2-inch slits lengthwise in center of crust, 2 inches apart. Brush with egg wash. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes. Bake pie until golden brown and puffy, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven. Pour cream mixture into pie vents with a funnel. Bake 10 minutes more. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
Source: Martha Stewart Living