I have decided to quit dwelling on my particular (short term) handicap.
I mean you don’t need the excuse of having your mouth wired shut to enjoy a smooth, velvety cup of soup. Lots of people with perfectly functioning mandibles eat soup. Oh wait that sounds vaguely like I am dwelling upon my affliction. I am not.
That’s because, as the jingle goes, ‘soup is good food’.
For today’s good food I choose a Leek & Potato Soup. It’s finished with just a touch of cream. Which adds a luxurious bit of richness with out being overly indulgent. Because honestly, a touch is all this soup needs to be creamy and delicious.
This soup is strongly associated with the French. Serve it chilled and you would call it a vichyssoise. Though vichyssoise was actually ‘invented’ in New York at a French restaurant.
Still, I love classic French cooking. I have a lot of opinions about it too, especially for some one who is not French! I am the type of American who might have invented vichyssoise.
When many of us think of French soups our mind automatically turns to French Onion Soup. French onion soup succeeds on many levels. Its utter lack of pretension is just one winning aspect of this soup. Leek & Potato Soup too excels at simplicity.
But in many other ways French onion and leek and potato soups are polar opposites. Onion soup is typically the specialty of informal and inexpensive restaurants in France. But leek and potato soup is more usually regarded as ‘la cuisine de bonne femme’ in its homemade version.
But in my opinion onion soup and leek and potato soup go hand in hand and are inextricably linked with a particular style of Parisian cooking. Humble yet hearty. Eat in or eat out they are gastronomic symbols of the social and psychological lives of many Parisians.
In its most basic form (my favorite form) Leek & Potato Soup is nothing more than a couple of medium leeks that are trimmed down to the white and light green parts. They should be rinsed carefully to remove the inevitable sandy, mucky grit, and roughly chopped.
You then saute them in a few tablespoons of butter over medium low heat in a good-sized soup pot until soft.
I use 1 1/2 pounds, more or less, of peeled potatoes cut into chunks to 2 chopped leeks. The ratio is amendable to your particular taste. I follow the advice of Joel Robuchon and use waxy red potatoes. They have a lighter potato flavor and are less heavy and starchy on the palate. But I promise you any type of potato is fine. In fact a great many chefs in France favor brown potatoes. In any case the chunked potatoes are tossed in with the leeks and butter.
You should then add just enough water to cover the potatoes and the leeks. Add a couple big pinches of salt and bring the pot to a boil.
At this point turn the heat down to a simmer and cook until the potatoes begin to disintegrate; about half an hour.
I usually use the back of my spoon to gently break the potatoes down to a rough puree once they are soft enough. This way it is quite easy to use an immersion blender to finish the job resulting in a smooth velvety texture.
An additional dollop of butter is also a very good idea. I personally like a tiny bit of cream (less than 2 tablespoons) stirred in right before serving. Though this is not a mandatory amendment.
I usually choose finely minced parsley and white pepper as a garnish. But chervil, chives or even a bit of herbes de Provence are also acceptable options.
This may seem like the simplest of flavor combinations. And there is certainly nothing too difficult in achieving perfection in this preparation. But don’t let the apparent simplicity fool you. There is intricacy too. Good potatoes will be mellow, but they will define the subtle sweetness of the leeks.
In return the leeks augment the earthiness of the potatoes. The tiny addition of fat in the form of butter and optionally cream adds the smoothness to the texture. And like all fats it transforms the flavors so that they harmonize in the mouth.
The overall effect is of psychological well being. And believe me if you had your jaw clamped shut with sharp pointy wires, you’d need all the well being you can get. Not that I am dwelling on my predicament. Why would I?
SERIOUS FUN FOOD
Greg Henry
SippitySup
I visited Montreal with my husband for the first time about five years ago. Being the true foodie that I am, I’d read all about Montreal bagels and knew I had to try them. St. Viateur was the destination of choice. Using public transportation to get there from our hotel was a bigger ordeal than we realized, and it included a two mile hike through a “not very scenic” industrial area. We finally found this bagel mecca and were quite surprised to find how very small and unassuming the place was. I’m a Southern Californian and used to slicker bagel joints. This little ole shop had flour sacks partially obstructing the windows and a little wood burning oven cranking out the two varieties of bagels, poppy seed and sesame. After my first bite, I knew it was worth the trek. Two dozen bagels were packed in my suitcase to bring back as souvenirs so friends and family could try them. Now, I find they’re available to ship to the U.S. I’ll be ordering some soon!
I have heard of these Montreal bagels, but I have never had them. Though I am a total NY bagel snob, so I am going to say that ours are better!
And you have to have the nova — there is no better accompaniment to a fresh bagel!
w/r/t density, a lot of “NY Style bagels” available in the US are perversions (yeah i went there) of the true NY bagel, that staple of my parents’ youth. the holes are not big like the montreal ones, but the bagels are overall smaller and denser — as my mother likes to say , you know it’s a good bagel if it bites back. there are a few old-school jewish bagel places around (i’m in north jersey) but they are far outnumbered by places where you have to order your bagel toasted. (and yes, toasting is blasphemous; it is a sign of a weak bagel!)
on the other hand, i am sure you must be able to find some legitimate bagels in LA… right? please? i’m going out there in a week and a week sans bagel… egads!
…but if you find a place let me know. GREG
I keep putting bagels on my baking list, but I keep getting distracted. Thanks for the inspiration. Great pics!
… I’d go with NY-style. I’m not a huge bagel person, but Montreal-style actually piss me off: they’re all hole!!!! They’re too dense for my taste and I feel like I don’t get enough bang for my buck, since the hole is so large!
But I celebrate these “local” traditional foods! I think they’re paramount to keeping traditions alive in the whirlwind of globalization!
I read Shari’s post too, and now I have a clear picture of what she mentioned. It’s so cool that you found out more about Montreal bagels and reported back to us!
How fun! I have yet to try a Montreal-style bagel even though I wanted to on my two recent trips to there. I ran out of time and stomach-room.
Food bloggers sharing culinary care packages of regional treats is a superb plan! Whisk is also a fave of mine, so color me green with envy. I’ve visited Montreal once and missed out on these bagels. Thanks for sharing your bounty with us through an amusing and informative narrative.
and though I left at a young age, when I saw your photo on Tastespotting I almost yelped with joy. Montreal bagels are a food unto themselves, just as NY Pizza is a culinary world away from Chicago Deep Dish. Many of the shops will also sell their own cream cheese to take alongwith, one lighter and grainier than other styles. A toasted sesame bagel with a smear of the tangy spread — heaven.
Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid have a recipe for Montreal-style bagels in their book “HomeBaking: The Artful Mix of Flour and Tradition Around the World”.
I always thought I’d just as soon leave well enough alone and cede supreme bagel victory to the extremely talented NY bagel makers — but these have certainly piqued my interest. I don’t suppose you found any good recipes out there for “Montreal” style bagels did you? Having now had them, which do you prefer?
There are actually 2 shops in the upscale suburbs of DC operated by transplant NY Jews that operate excellent delis (slice their own nova, brisket sandwiches are ridiculous, matzoh ball soup goodness, etc. etc.), but make only “decent” bagels. For some reason, they just lack that je ne sais quoi of the shops in NY. A lot of people say it’s the water that makes the difference (same for pizza). Either way, Sara’s parents are coming down here this weekend and I’m putting in my order for a dozen ev. and then rationing them like it’s the great depression until we can replenish the supply during our next visit.
Yeahhh, i love Bagels. I will try that with the salmon, it looks so so good!
Greets Dirk
Your bagels look tasty. Although, at first I thought they were Turkish simit. Like this: http://www.seriouseats.com/2008/03/photo-of-the-day-simit-vendor-in-istanbul.html or this: http://www.oburkedi.com/en/2008/01/turkish-bagel.php#more
I learned a lot, and now I want to visit Montreal again just to visit these two rival bagel shops! Thanks for the research. Enjoy the treats!
… were very much appreciated. Good luck with yours! GREG
Mmmm…I’ve always wanted to try and make bagels. Montreal, eh? I gotta try that.