Baconssoise

I wanted to make a potato soup that would not be heavy or overwhelming, and I had a couple of leeks calling to me from the crisper, so I decided that a cold-weather version of vichyssoise would be yummy. And what better way to achieve the darker, more robust version than to add some bacon?! And of course, serve it hot.

5 strips unsmoked bacon
2 leeks, cleaned and chopped
2 shallots, chopped
1/2 cup fino sherry
4 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 quart chicken or veggie stock
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp thyme
splash heavy cream (about 1/4 cup)

First, render the bacon in a large saute pan. When it is very crispy, remove from pan with tongs and drain on paper towels. Set aside. In same pan, saute the shallots and leeks until very soft, about 7 minutes. Add sherry to deglaze the pan, and saute another 2 minutes.


Move leek mixture to a large soup pot. Add potatoes, stock, water, salt, pepper, thyme and celery seed. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cover and cook about 40 minutes, or until potatoes are quite soft. While it's cooking, break up the crispy bacon into small crumbles, called lardons.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until it is very smooth. Add the cream and whisk in. Taste, and adjust seasonings (typically plenty of salt).

To plate, ladle hot soup into a bowl and garnish with lardons. You can also add snipped chive, but it's not really necessary.

Pea-Potato Soup

This soup is actually quite light, due to the absence of dairy, but still feels rich and comforting because of the potato. It's very very simple to make and very tasty.

2/3 bag frozen peas, thawed
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
2 cups chicken or veggie stock
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 medium red potatoes, peeled
1/4 tsp salt
fresh ground black pepper
3 strands fresh thyme
1 tbsp olive oil

First, peel and chop the potatoes and boil until tender/soft, but not mushy. Then saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil 5 minutes, then add thyme. Saute another 3 minutes.

By this time the potatoes should be ready. Drain, and place in food processor. Add the thawed peas, onion mixture, wine, salt, pepper, and stock. Process until smooth, but not too long or the potato will get gluey. If you want it really smooth, you'll have to push it through a fine sieve by hand, but I don't have the patience for that.

Taste and add more salt & pepper as needed. Return to saucepan and heat through.

You might want to finish this with a splash of cream, or toss in a double handful of tiny cubes of Canadian bacon, but you might not. It's good as is.

Grouse of the Day: Wine Snobbery

There is a very nice wine and spirits shop around the corner from my apartment I frequent mainly because of its proximity, but also because their wine selection and prices are pretty good for a medium sized neighborhood shop. However, the owner of the store is never especially friendly, doesn't remember me even though I shop there regularly, and when I mention that I heard about a cheap wine that gets good ratings (for example, a $7 Barefoot chardonnay that got an 85 in Wine Spectator) he not only expresses minimal interest, but also makes me feel that I must have an amateur palate if I am tasting $7 bottles of wine.

What a snob! Perhaps if I were regularly dropping over $40 per bottle he would remember me, but that's not fair. Most of the people in Park Slope are interested in wine, and I'd venture to guess that a bargain white would warrant at least a taste-test bottle for them as well. I have decided to boycott this shop. There is another shop a bit farther down 7th Avenue called Shawn Liquors (even its name is auspicious!) that is smaller, but everyone who works there, including the blue-haired chick at the register, is very friendly and helpful. They will get my business from now on, dammit.

Anchovy Crostini

OK, so we had half a container of that tofu-based, creamy spinach spread left over from dinner the other night. I had been wondering how to use it (it doesn't taste good enough to me to spread on a bagel), when I came up with this:

lightly toasted slices of baguette - served warm
smear generously with the tofu florentine - cold
top with one or two alici fillets - cold

Alici is Italian for anchovy, and I was surprised when I looked this up on Wikipedia because I had thought that they were sardines. The ones I bought at Blue Apron on Union St. in Park Slope are already boned, and cured in a light, lemony olive oil. Slightly tart, slightly salty, they counter well the bland creaminess of the tofu. Just delicious.

I recommend a Sterling Vineyards chardonnay to drink with it. Yum!