Soupe Paysanne Au Lard

Hello!

I have endeavored to cook French food. Easier said than done, obviously. Before taking my last steps on French soil, I went into a librarie (book store) and bought The Small Book of Soups (Chavanne, Philippe. Le petit livre de soupes. Editions FIRST, 2003.) with the intention to cook my way through the easier recipes, simultaneously surprising my parents and myself. Then, on my first day home, I skimmed the book's pages and realized that even this would be barely possible, since I live very far from 'Parisian mushrooms' and authentic French wine (and what we do find here is certainly too expensive to pour into soups prepared by a kitchen novice like myself) not to mention all those 'fine herbs' and seasonings I cannot find at the Associated supermarket in the neighborhood.

But I have set up the somewhat illusory goal of making all but the most exotic and challenging soups at least once by the time I graduate from college in May of 2011. After all, I'll have to eat something once I'm on my own! No more dining halls means I'll have to roll up my sleeves and fend for myself.

Why start with soups? I could have chosen a book that instructed me on cooking secrets of cakes, pies, and cocktails. But I like pastries enough to always learn on my own, and I happen to LOVE soups; so behold the first - and so far, the most filling - recipe translated directly from the French cook book and adapted to your local grocery store.

Peasant Soup with Lard/Bacon (preparation time: 30 minutes)

200g fat, streaky bacon

20g butter

3 leeks

3 potatoes

2 onions

1 cube of chicken soup

1 garnished bouquet

fine herbs

salt, pepper

1. peel potatoes and cut them in big cubes
2. wash leeks and cut in thin straps (round slices)
3. cut the raw bacon into little cubes
4. peel and mince the onions
5. in a cooking pot, melt a small knob of butter
6. add the onions, the potatoes, the fine herbs, the garnished bouquet and the cube of chicken soup
7. wet (i.e. cover) with 1 Liter of water and let cook for 20 minutes
8. in a frying pan, let brown the bacon strips with the rest of the butter
9. add the leeks and let cook for 10 minutes (with lid)
10. blend the soup after having removed the garnished bouquet (note: 'blend' means 'stir well')
11. incorporate the leeks and the bacon
12. salt and pepper to taste; serve very hot (note: this is said to serve 4 people, but 3 can effortlessly consume the contents of the casserole)

This recipe can be followed to the letter, but there may be some minor adjustments of ingredients (depending on where you live and what is available to you):

• The 'lard' spoken of here is sold in cubes in French stores, whereas on the US you will probably find bacon strips that recquire slightly different preparation; this is a minor detail, and it will not derail your cooking process.


• 1 cube of chicken soup is about 1 1/2 tsp of chicken soup powder.


• Fine herbs are a personal touch. I added a few pinches of vegetable Vegetta (there is a chicken Vegetta seasoning too), I guess the same as a teaspoon.


• The garnished bouquet normally includes parsley, thyme and bay leaf. It should be tied with a colorless string, or can be wrapped into a sort of gauze - less messy and easier to remove). It can be enriched by adding basil, burnet, chervil, rosemary, peppercorns, savory and/or tarragon. As I discovered, not all of these seasonings are readily available in American stores (but then again, I live far from Tesco, Walmart, Shoprite, Hanaford, etc.). What to do? I added quite a bit of oregano instead - and I did have tarragon and basil. I also bought Italian seasoning (which included savory and rosemary); that was also thrown into the mix. The bouquet smelled great, and that's what's matters!

Bon Appetit!