skip to main |
skip to sidebar
In the rich and often fanciful world of food and foodies, Famine Soup hardly sounds like a an inspiration for tonight's dinner. It isn't. But it does provide some food for thought and a window into the political world of food and famine.
The soup kitchen, which thankfully multiplied across America during the Depression Era helping to feed the legions of unemployed and destitute, was actually first introduced as a relief effort in Dublin during the Great Potato Famine of the mid-1840's. After the potato blight ruined three consecutive harvests in Ireland between 1845 and 1847, the British Prime Minister, Robert Peel, introduced the Soup Kitchen Act in January of 1847 which mandated the setup of soup kitchens throughout all the voting districts of Ireland. By the end of the year, there were over 1200 such kitchens operating, serving a bowl of soup for 1 penny.
And the effort did have its celebrity chef participation:
Alexis Soyer, certainly the most fabled chef and restauranteur in England during the middle of the 19th century, was a Frenchman by birth, trained in some of the best establishments in Paris. By the time he was 17, he was already a master chef with 12 assistants! At the ripe age of 21 (in 1831), he came to London, and quickly built a reputation as a flamboyant and gifted chef among the nobles and landed gentry. In 1837, he was recruited by the new Reform Club, which was to be the most elite gentlemens club in all of London, to help design the kitchen and be the chef de cuisine. He had a knack for innovation and introduced countless gadgets and cooking equipment. So, when he heard about the plight of the Irish in the winter of 1847, he asked for a leave of absence from the Reform club and went to Dublin to lend his talents and expertise to the cause. His soup kitchen became a model for all others. It was designed as a state of the art facility, which at its peak, served 5000 or more bowls of soup a day!
His signature dish? Famine Soup - yes, it was actually called that.
Soyer is one of my favorite characters in the history of Food. I hope to have more about him in future posts. And there will be more about soup kitchens, too, an important chapter in the history of food, relief and politics of charity.
Celery Root or Celeriac...
is a gnarly old thing easily passed up in the veggie display on account of its formidable ugliness and its often relatively steep sticker price. Definitely don't demur - take it home and you'll have enough to transform some of your everyday favorites into elegantly flavored new dishes.
Celery root is nutty and slightly sweet with a hint of celery flavor. The tough outer skin peels with a strong vegetable peeler to reveal a white turnip-like interior. Cooking time is similar to other root vegetables like turnip and sweet potato, though shorter than beets and white potatoes. The French love their celeriac au gratin, in addition to making a rich and creamy potato and celery soup. Northern Europeans make a delicious celery root salad by boiling and slicing the root, then dressing with onions, parsley and a sweet sour sauce.
For American palates, using less goes a long way. So, if you encounter celeriac in a recipe, try halving the amount until you know what you like!
And now that you've bought this thing, here are a few suggestions:
New Mashed Potatoes
Add a diced quarter of a celery root to your usual amount of potatoes. Potatoes take 20 minutes after water boils, so add the celery root 5 minutes into the cooking. Drain, steam, then mash using a hand mixer or ricer with 2 tbspns butter and up to a 1/4 cup milk or half n half until fluffy. Season with a few fresh gratings of nutmeg and server hot.
Wonderful with Swedish meatballs, roast chicken or duck, or perhaps roast beef.
Celery Surprise Roasted Root Vegetables
Half or quarter 4 small red potatoes with skins on, peel and cut a white turnip into 1/8 (slices look like half moons) and large dice half a celery root. Also slice a large carrot into 1 inch rings. Melt a tablespoon of butter with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss vegetables with 4 whole cloves of garlic, with skins on, with the oil/butter mixture, salt, and pepper. Put into a baking dish (higher than wide so flavors mix), and drizzle with juice of 1/2 a lemon. Bake 30 to 45 minutes, until vegetables are slightly crisp on the outside and tender.
Serve with roast chicken.
Soups with just a hint of nutty celeriac
Now you have a quarter of the root left. Just enough for either the Smoky Split Pea Soup posted earlier or, saving best for last, a delicious creamy Potato Veloute. Click on the link for this wonderful luncheon soup, best served only with a light salad of baby lettuces with a delicate lemony raspberry dressing and fresh pepper.
The Broth
2 cups whole milk (or 2%)
2 cups water
1/4 whole onion, studded with a clove
1 Bay Leaf
Warm the milk and water in a saucepan with the onion and bay leaf. Just before it starts to boil and foam, turn off heat and allow the mixture to steep.
Vegetables
1/2 lb potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 leek, slice lengthwise and diced (white and tender green parts only)
1/4 celery root, diced
1 to 2 tbsp butter
Prep vegetables. Melt butter in a medium soup pot, and sautee leek 10 minutes until slightly softened over medium to low heat - leek will finish cooking in the broth. Add potato and celery root and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and a dash of white pepper.
Ingredients to finish the soup
Have ready
1/4 cup creme fraiche
or
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup minced parsley
To make the soup, remove bay leaf and onion from the steeped broth and add the warm broth to the sauteed vegetables. Bring to a boil. Simmer gently on low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, or until vegetables are very tender when pieced with a fork. Using a hand blender, puree the soup until completely smooth and creamy. (Alternatively, blend in a blender in several batches and return to the the soup pot).
Reheat the soup, being careful not to boil. Taste for seasoning. Slowly add in the creme fresh or cream, stirring constantly. Re-taste and correct pepper, if needed. Serve warm, not piping hot, with minced parsley.
A light salad of baby greens is best. Try a fruity dressing of raspberry vinaigrette with a dash of lemon.
In the rich and often fanciful world of food and foodies, Famine Soup hardly sounds like a an inspiration for tonight's dinner. It isn't. But it does provide some food for thought and a window into the political world of food and famine.
