Skip to main content

Potato Soup with Broccoli, Shallot and Mascarpone

Potato Soup with Broccoli, Shallot and Mascarpone

I think this is my one hundredth blog entry. Looking back over the soups I've made from the different sections of The Soup Book I realised I was falling behind in the Winter Vegetables section. A mere 31% of the forty-five recipes. I'd better get on with it and catch up. Hence last weekend's and this weekend's choices. Yesterday I made the potato soup with broccoli, shallot and mascarpone from Marie-Pierre Moine's recipe. The ingredients include shallots, floury potatoes (I used Roosters), broccoli and mascarpone (Moine suggests Caerphilly or Wensleydale as substitutes). I got out the spouse's new saute pan and set about my task.

I cooked the shallots and potatoes in butter and oil, then added boiling water and cooked for a further ten minutes. Next in were the broccoli florets. It took a further twenty-five minutes for these and the potato pieces to become tender (smaller potato chunks next time). Then into the blender for a quick whizz before straining back into the pan through a sieve. Time consuming. To finish off, I added a little more water and stirred in the mascarpone. The recipe says to serve the soup with croutes spread with blue cheese. As I had eaten a lot of junk yesterday, I didn't bother with the croute but dropped in a piece of Roquefort.

This soup would not be among my favourites. It was rather bland, redeemed only by the addition of the sharp blue cheese at the end. That said, if I was stuck for something to do with some sorry looking potatoes and some sorry looking potatoes and broccoli, I might re-visit the recipe.

I did take photos but someone has taken the camera connector or else I haven't looked in the right places. Spouse, where are you when I need you!

P.S. A week later I have added the photos of the soup in progress.

The broccoli has been added to the potato and shallot mix.







The mascarpone is added to the liquidised soup mix.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tuscan Bean Soup

Tuscan Bean Soup This recipe calls for canned beans (borlotti, flageolet or cannellini) and as I have been tidying and cleaning out our cupboards I've used cannellini beans. I have to mention that the younger offspring has done an impressive job on the cupboards. That's enough about him. Back to me and my soup! Other ingredients include onion, carrots, leek, garlic, tomatoes, tomato puree (I substituted sun-dried tomato paste as there was an open jar of it in the fridge), chicken stock (I had to use a cube as my home-made reserves have been used up) and spinach.When ready it's served with ciabatta bread, grated Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil. So it's quite a rich soup. We've just had the Tuscan bean soup for lunch. All enjoyed it. The adult males were particularly forthcoming in their praise. The spouse liked the "tomato-ey sharpness" and mused that ham stock should be considered as an alternative to chicken stock. Bees' Cheese and other recipes H...

Lovage Soup

Lovage Soup   Today I made lovage soup, the second recipe by Sophie Grigson in The Soup Book that I have used in the last four days. She introduces the recipe with these remarks: "If you don't grow this old-fashioned herb yourself, ask around among your gardening friends or head down to the nearest garden centre to see if they sell it. " As I mentioned in my last blog entry (18th May), lovage now features among the herbs in my front garden. As the spouse left the camera at home, I took some photographs. Parsley, sorrel and lovage in Minnie's garden. Rosemary, parsley and lovage in Minnie's garden.  I had hoped to add chervil to my collection of herbs - there's a recipe for vegetable and chervil soup in The Soup Book - but "Young Stephen" wasn't able to source any for me. At least he tried. Just while I'm mentioning Stephen, I have to reveal that the spouse and the older offspring claim that he has been mention...

A Sting in the Tale

Nettle Soup I have hesitated to make nettle soup from The Soup Book but last weekend I decided to overcome my doubts. The spouse and I were having a leisurely, offspring-free day in town and I spotted bagged nettles on a vegetable stall in  Meeting House Square . I checked with the stall-holders that they would have nettles again this weekend and determined to go back. The next day I was at a friend's and her husband was about to make nettle soup. My fate was sealed. I had to bring the younger offspring into town this morning and once I had completed various other errands I made my way to Meeting House Square. I bought the nettles and some chard and spinach for my next soup-making stint.  Yesterday the younger offspring and I could have picked all the free nettles I could ever have wanted down by the local river, but I wondered if they'd been sprayed with anything or by any beast. On arriving home from town this afternoon I put on my rubber gloves and washed the nett...