"Do you test your recipes?" is the first question people usually ask when they hear I write cookbooks. I always suspect they're inquiring because at some point some cookbook author's dish came out gawd-awful for them. When I answer, "Yes, always!" and they look highly skeptical, I'm sure they've been burned in the past.
But I truly am a stickler: This particular recipe was tested three times before I got the texture and taste right. Sometimes, a dish is tested and tweaked many more times than that before I consider it "publication worthy." (For much more on this topic, go here.)
Sometimes, (rarely, thank goodness) I eventually sadly conclude that the dish was just a bad idea and give up on it. In the interest of economy I do try to serve some of the better failures to my family. Which has led the hubs, an engaged, supportive companion over my entire food writing career, to say, "It's good enough for me to eat, but not good enough to go in a cookbook!"
The inevitable follow-up question I'm asked, "Where do you get your recipes?" is a lot tougher. I'm always tempted to respond with, "Have you got an hour?" because, as people often say of relationships, "It's complicated."
Take the Cream of Green Herb-Potato Soup here. It just sort of evolved and emerged from about a dozen ideas rattling around in my head since I first made Julia Child's Potage Parmentier back in the early 1970s. Potage Parmentier sounded so grand that I initially tried it mostly to enjoy rolling the words off my tongue, but, in fact, this humble French Potato-Leek Soup is justly famous. (BTW, Parmentier was a French horticulturist born in 1737; his name is always a tip-off a dish contains potatoes.)
Volume I of Julia's Mastering the Art of French Cooking served up another revelatory recipe that was an early precursor to this Cream of Green Herb-Potato Soup--a watercress potage. At that point in my culinary education using a fresh herb such as watercress in any cooked dish was a most exotic and exciting notion! I filed the info away and have put it to good use any number of times since.
My head spun again a few years later when my family went to live in Germany, and I discovered a traditional heavily herbed potato soup called "Grüne Suppe, Frankfurter Art," (meaning Green Soup, Frankfurt Style). Assorted fresh green herbs not only contributed a distinct green color to the local specialty, but imparted an extremely intriguing and enticing vegetable flavor.
Another bit of inspiration for this soup came a couple of years later when I discovered on a trip to Denmark that a heavy sprinkling of fresh chopped dillweed (along with a generous chunk of butter) did extraordinary things for a simple dish of boiled potatoes.
I could go on, but I think you get the picture. This recipe (like many) is somehow drawn from a whole grab bag of culinary samplings, experiences, kitchen experiments and bits of know-how amassed over the decades. (For another, totally different but equally good potato soup, try the curried version.)
Perhaps I should mention here that a few blog visitors have asked me why I mostly run my own, from scratch recipes, and not those adapted from other books and food writers (as many bloggers do). For one thing, the creative process is fun and I'm proud to bring you dishes that are unique and not versions you've seen elsewhere in a slightly different form. Plus, over the decades of developing recipes for food magazines, newspapers, and cookbooks, I've learned that editors and publishers are always looking for fresh, original material and are exceeding leery of submissions that appear to be based on another food writer's work. (For lots of info on what one noted cookbook editor wants from authors, go here.)
Yes, editors want to provide their readers with something new, but, even more important, for legal reasons, they want to be absolutely certain that the author actually created and has the rights to sell what they are buying and intend to publish. So, coming up with my own recipes is, in fact, essential and not a habit I'm going to break now! Finally, perhaps it seems quaint, but I know how time consuming it is to come up with solid recipes and just feel it's right to do my own heavy lifting instead of borrowing from others.
Cream-of-Green Herb-Potato Soup
What's up with the cauliflower in this recipe, you wonder? I discovered while working on a book called Skinny Soups some years ago that adding cauliflower to a potato soup not only reduced the calories, but added nice flavor and valuable nutrients.
To pare down the prep time and get this very tasty soup on the table a bit faster, I call for leftover mashed potatoes. Don't tell anybody, but I have even used purchased, ready-to-serve mashed potatoes, and they will do just fine.
You do need to remove the coarse stems from the dillweed and parsley and use only the leaves though. The stems are too tough to produce a pleasant texture.
Of course, the color makes this soup a perfect choice for St. Paddy's Day. In the left side of the pic above, you can see the edge of a slice of Irish soda bread, likewise an appropriate option if you're interested in marking the occasion in a traditional fashion. Another possibility--my Guinness Extra Stout no-knead bread is here.
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped cauliflower florets
4 cups reduced-sodium or regular chicken broth
1/2 cup each fresh coarsely chopped dillweed and parsley leaves (no stems)
3 tablespoons finely snipped fresh chives, plus more for garnish
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup half-and-half (or ¼ cup each regular milk and light cream)
1 1/2 to 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes, as needed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 to 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes, as needed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
In a 4-quart saucepan or similar-size soup pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cauliflower and cook, stirring, about 3 minutes, until the onion softens but does not begin to brown. Add 1 1/2 cups broth; adjust heat so the mixture simmers and cook for 5 minutes, then set aside.
In a food processor, combine the herbs and cornstarch and pulse until the herbs are finely chopped. Scoop up 2 cups of cauliflower mixture (drain the excess broth back into the pot) and add vegetable mixture to the processor.Process until the herbs are finely chopped and the mixture well blended and as smooth as possible.
Add the pureed mixture back to the pot, along with the remaining 2 1/2 cups broth. Bring back to a boil, and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 3 to 4 minutes.Whisk in the half-and-half and 1 1/2 cup mashed potatoes until smoothly and evenly incorporated. For a thicker soup, whisk in more potatoes as needed. Taste and add salt and pepper if desired. Return the soup to the stove, and heat, stirring to piping hot. Serve garnished with chopped chives and sprigs of dillweed, if desired. Makes 1 1/2 quarts of soup, 4 or 5 main dish servings.
Fine accompaniments to this soup recipe: Guinness stout bread, left, and Irish soda bread, right. Or perhaps you'd like my curried potato soup instead of this one.
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Add the pureed mixture back to the pot, along with the remaining 2 1/2 cups broth. Bring back to a boil, and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 3 to 4 minutes.Whisk in the half-and-half and 1 1/2 cup mashed potatoes until smoothly and evenly incorporated. For a thicker soup, whisk in more potatoes as needed. Taste and add salt and pepper if desired. Return the soup to the stove, and heat, stirring to piping hot. Serve garnished with chopped chives and sprigs of dillweed, if desired. Makes 1 1/2 quarts of soup, 4 or 5 main dish servings.
Fine accompaniments to this soup recipe: Guinness stout bread, left, and Irish soda bread, right. Or perhaps you'd like my curried potato soup instead of this one.
