The watercress in this appetizing blend of ingredients donates the peppery kick to an otherwise elegant soup suitable to drink during the spring. It serves perfectly as the first course of every meal and is the ideal dish to cook when you wish to impress your boss and his wife. This is a dish that will get your to savor every single spoonful and keep you full until the second course of the meal arrives.
Ingredients
ounces of watercress with the stems removed: 10
tbsp of unsalted butter: 3
pound of leeks with the white and light green parts attached only, they should be halved, rinsed, and thinly sliced: 1
large yellow onion, finely chopped: 1
salt
cups of chicken or vegetable stock: 4
cups of heavy cream: 3
Freshly ground white pepper
juice of lemon: 1
tbsp of caviar (this is optional): 2
How To Make Cream of Watercress Soup
- In a medium sized saucepan add water that leaves only a quarter of the pot uncovered with water. Set the flame on medium-high heat for the water to boil.
- Once that is done add the watercress and let it cook until it has become bright green and wilted, this should take you about 3 minutes.
- Once you see the watercress gaining color and becoming soft, drain it of water and put it in a bowl of ice and let it sit for a minute. Drain the water while squeezing out as much liquid from the watercress as possible.
- In another saucepan, put butter and set it over medium heat to melt.
- To the melted butter add leeks, onion, and season it with salt. Cook the vegetables as you stir occassionally to soften them up a bit, this should take you 6 minutes.
- To the now softened vegetables add stock and 2 cups of heavy cream and bring it to a simmer, stir it occassionally till you see the vegetables becoming tender, taking about 30 minutes. Add the watercress to the vegetable mixture and let it cook for 5 minutes.
- Transfer this watercress infused soup to a blender and puree it till it achieves a smooth consistency.
- Return the puree to the saucepan and season it with salt and white pepper to taste, keep it warm till it is ready to serve.
When serving
Take the remaining cream and put it in a bowl. Beat it with a whisk until soft peaks form over it. Add to its lemon juice and season it with salt and white pepper.
Pour the soup into the bowls and top it with whipped cream which has been seasoned and some caviar.
Trivia
Potatoes are originally in the vegetable family but are considered grain since they have high amounts of starch present which brings them up to level with rice, pasta, and other such grains.