French Country Soup

September 14, 2024
Maria Bandella
(0)
Astuce Cuisine

Serves
4, or 2 very generously as dinner, with leftovers

Author Notes

When I become a younger lady bicycling on my own through France, I incessantly stayed in miniature accommodations in runt cities, a ways from the Routes Nationales. Family race and operated, these accommodations had miniature eating rooms the keep apart the proprietors served soft, easy food, consistently with care and kindness. Over the course of my 1500 mile recede, which took me all over France, I loved on the least a dozen diversifications on this soup. Every bowl become utterly different from the others, no question as a consequence of what went into the stock. Without exception, every bowl become pleasing! My interpretation of it is a ways one of our favorites. Or no longer it is a ways a cinch to manufacture, even on a weeknight. Enjoy Nigel Slater, I rob attend of the practicality of working through this in a linear type, i.e., cutting back as I’m going along, and no longer following a strict mise-en-keep apart assignment. (Doing it this capability permits one with ease to put this hearty one-bowl meal on the desk in 45 minutes.) I must tag, too, that the bits of meat are my addition, to manufacture it a “essential dish” soup. Or no longer it is a ways a mountainous capability to enlighten leftover bits of ham or smoked turkey. NB: this soup relies on a effectively-made, aromatic stock. Revel in!! ;o) —AntoniaJames

Ingredients

1 medium yellow onion
2 tablespoons olive oil (Query point out beneath.)
2 bay leaves
Salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium leek or enough shallots to manufacture ½ cup, sliced
2 cloves of garlic
3 mountainous red or white (thin skinned, nonetheless no longer Yukon Gold) potatoes (1 ½ pounds)
4 cups of aromatic homemade chicken or red meat broth (Query point out beneath.)
1 smoked pork reduce, or 1 cup chopped Black Woodland ham or smoked turkey (elective, nonetheless good)
1 stalk of celery and a handful of celery leaves (or regardless of it is possible you’ll well own)
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon fresh marjoram leaves
1 factual-sized bunch of green Swiss chard or kale
A generous handful of parsley leaves
Black pepper
For the Optionally available Cheese Toasts or Tomato-Rubbed Rustic Bread * * *
Bread, sliced on the angle if it’s a baguette or batard
Stone floor mustard (elective)
Grated cheese (Parmigianno-Reggiano, Gruyere, Manchego, regardless of you like) * OR *
1 no doubt juicy tomato + a contact of low sea salt

Directions

Display cloak: These instructions are for making this in a device that has you cutting back and cutting while substances are cooking. The key is to flip the warmth down each time you put the stirring spoon down. It seems to be like a huge selection of turning the warmth up and turning the warmth down, nonetheless it completely works. In the event you favor to prep the entirety in come, depart forward. The total cooking time needs to be about 40 minutes.
Thinly slash the yellow onion. In a mountainous pan that has a factual lid – I no doubt enlighten a sizable skillet for making this — heat the olive oil, then put the onion in with the bay leaves. With the warmth on medium excessive, hotfoot for roughly a minute. Add a factual pinch of salt, hotfoot about a extra events, then flip the warmth all the device down to medium low.
Completely wash, lower in half of lengthwise after which slash thinly the white and no doubt pale green parts absolute most sensible of the leek. (Or thinly slash the shallots, if the usage of.) Place in the pan with the onions and the butter, and give all of it a factual hotfoot.
Coarsely reduce the garlic.
Peel (or merely scrub, in the event you favor) and lower the potatoes into ¾ slip cubes. Place the potatoes and the garlic in the pan and flip the warmth as a lot as medium excessive. Cook dinner, stirring consistently, for roughly two minutes. Turn the warmth down and put a lid on the pan.
Finely reduce the celery and coarsely reduce the celery leaves, the thyme and the marjoram.
Turn the warmth support as a lot as medium excessive. Race the potato and onion combination effectively, then add the celery and chopped herbs. Race yet again, then add three cups of the stock. In the event you’re the usage of a smoked pork reduce, add it now, total. Race yet again, flip the warmth all the device down to medium low and put the lid support on.
Remove the fairway leafy fragment of the chard or kale from the more durable central rib and stems. Slice the stems if the usage of chard and add to the pan. Race, flip the warmth as a lot as medium and put the lid support on.
Slice the kale or chard leaves and put them in the pan. Race effectively, then add the final cup of stock. Race yet again, lower the warmth so the soup is merely simmering, and put the lid support on. In the event you’re the usage of cooked ham or smoked turkey, add it with the kale or chard.
Preheat broiler, in the event you’re making cheese toasts.
If the usage of cheese and no longer tomato for your bread, slash the bread, and toast it very rapid beneath the broiler, in the event you like to own all sides crisp. Slather a diminutive bit of mustard on the side no longer toasted (or on both side, in the event you didn’t toast the bread), then sprinkle the cheese on.
Slice the parsley and add it to the soup. Race effectively. Add a cup of water, or extra, if there doesn’t appear to be enough broth.
Simmer the soup gently for about a extra minutes. The usage of the support of a spoon, crush 5 or six tender potato pieces in opposition to the bottom of the pan and hotfoot them into the broth to thicken it.
Remove the bay leaves. If the usage of a smoked pork reduce, rob away it and lower the meat into chunk-sized pieces, then return them to the pan, with the warmth restful on medium low.
Place the cheese-lined bread slices beneath the broiler for a minute or so. Seek for them fastidiously, lest they burn.
If no longer making cheese toasts, and going the tomato on bread route, slash the bread. Decrease the tomato in half of. Rub it on one side of every slash of bread, bearing down a diminutive bit to free up the juices. Sprinkle on a contact of low sea salt.
Take a look at the soup for salt and beautiful if important. Add freshly floor pepper to style. Serve in heat bowls with the cheese toasts or tomato-rubbed bread.
Revel in!! ;o)
N.B. When they allege that a factual stock is compulsory for a factual soup or sauce, they’re talking about this soup. In the event you don’t own an aromatic, flavorful stock, you are doubtless larger off making ready one thing else for dinner as an alternate. ;o)
I incessantly enlighten bacon elephantine moderately than oil when softening the aromatics, especially when i manufacture no longer own on hand any filthy rich chicken stock (i.e., stock simmered with a portion of ham or prosciutto).