GARDE MANGER: VICHYSSOISE

Tonight, a test on the appetizer we're making for the L'Ecole, the school restaurant, hopefully all the ingredients were ordered for the extra dish we want to do, an avocado soup with crabmeat. We're getting close to the end folks...tonight, Vichyssoise, tomorrow, the world!

More after class after the jump...

DISH: Chilled Cream Of Zucchini, Leek, And Potato (Ile De France), Vichyssoise De Courgettes

RECIPE:

The Soup
750 ML Chicken Stock
2 KG Zucchini
25 ML Blended Olive Oil
300 G Leeks, White w/ Pale Greet Parts, Eminces
1 Clove Garlic, Crushed
300 G Idaho Potato, Peeled, Emincee
Bouquet Garni
250 ML Heavy Cream
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
Lemon Juice

Garnish
2 Tablespoons Mixed Chopped Parsley, Chervil, & Minced Chives
100 G Cooked Yellow & Green Zucchini, Macedoine or Julienne

Bring 750 ML chicken stock to a boil. Peel the zucchini and blanch the peels in the stock. Drain, refresh, and set aside. Warm oil in a small marmite, add the leek and sweat until tender but not browned. Slice the zucchini (still reserving the blanched peels) and add along with the garlic. Cook gently for a few minutes to develop the flavor. Pour in the stock and add the potato and the bouquet garni. Season lightly and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Remove and discard the bouquet, and puree the soup in a blender, working in batches. Pass it through a fine chinois into a bowl or container set over ice and let chill, stirring occasionally. During the chilling and after the soup has cooled a bit, puree the reserved blanched peels with a portion of the soup, and return it to the rest of the soup. When the soup is thoroughly chilled, add the cream and adjust the seasoning and acidity if necessary. Serve the soup in chilled, shallow soup bowls garnished with the herbs and the squash macedoine.

BREAKDOWN: The recipe above is for 8 servings. We multiplied all ingredients by three for restaurant service (it's not a big seller, especially when the Level Four group's two dishes are seviche, right, and gazpacho). The significant changes to the recipe that our chef made were with the peels and the timing of adding the zucchini. We did not blanch the peels and we softened the zucchini over heat at the last moment before pureeing the soup mixture.

The soup was tasty enough though I'd prefer a creamed cucumer than zucchini soup. In fact I prefered the avocado soup to it as well. Ahem, I was so much more interested in the Cream of Avocado I forgot to take a picture of the zucchini soup. Just look at the picture of the avocado soup below and imagine it a little thinner and speckled with tiny, dark green bits of peel with small cubes of zucchini and squash in the center, and chopped parsley sprinkled around it.

DISH: Chilled Cream Of Avocado With Spiced Crabmeat (Nouvelle France), Crème D'Avocat Glacée Au Crabe Épicé

RECIPE:

The Soup
500 G Blue Crabs or Bodies, Cleaned & Chopped (~1 lb)
Blended Olive Oil, For Sautéing
150 ML White Wine (Little More Than ½ Cup)
1 Liter Clear Chicken Stock
Bouquet Garni With 2 Garlic Cloves
4 Large, Ripe Haas Avocados
Lemon Juice
250 ML Crème Fraîche (1 Cup)
1 Tablespoon Shallot, Ciselée
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
Dash of Tabasco
Juice of 1 Lime
2 Tablespoons Minced Chives

Crab Garnish
200 G Crabmeat (Slightly less than ½ lb)
2 Tablespoons Granny Smith Apple, Cut Large Brunoise (small cubes)
2 Tablespoons Red Pepper, Seeded, Cut Large Brunoise (small cubes)
2 Tablespoons Cucumber, Peeled, Cut Large Brunoise (small cubes)
2 Tablespoons Tomato, Mondée, Cut Large Brunoise (small cubes)
1 Teaspoon Jalapeno, Seeded, Cut in Tiny Brunoise
2 Tablespoons Grapefruit Juice
Squeeze of Lemon Juice
1 Teaspoon Currty Powder
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
4 Tablespoons Blended Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Chopped Cilantro
Cilantro Sprigs, for garnish

SOUP Chop the crab bodies, reserving as much liquid as possible from the interiors and set aside. Heat the oil in a large sautoir until very hot and add the crab bodies. Cook the crab until the shells turn bright red. Deglaze the pan with the wine and reduce to a glaze. Add the stock, body liquid, and the bouquet garni, and simmer gently for 20 minutes.

Strain the stock through a china cap with medium-size holes, pressing hard on the solides to extract the liquid. Discard the shells and bouquet. Chill the stock. From this point on, try to prepare the soup as close to service time as possible. Cut one of the avocados in small macédoine and set aside, moistened with a few drops of lemon juice. Purée the other avocados in a food processor, adding the stock as you go. Stir in the crème fraîche and shallot. Season the mixture with the salt, pepper and Tabasco. Add the lime juice and taste for acidity, adding a bit more juice if needed. Include the chives and refrigerate the soup.

CRAB GARNISH Place the crab and all the brunoise in a chilled bowl. In a separate bowl, make a dressing with the juices, spices, and oil. Add enough of this dressing to the crab to moisten it. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Add the cilantro just before serving.

FOR SERVICE Mound a 1½- to 2-tablespoon portion of the crab garnish in the center of a chilled, shallow soup bowl. Ladle some of the soup around the mound and garnish with a cilantro sprig.

BREAKDOWN: The recipe above makes enough soup for 8 servings. The only change we made wasn't very significant, to not chop the crab bodies.

It's a very thick soup, a beautiful, pale green, extremely creamy and low-fat (wink). It's a tasty soup but shouldn't be ladled out too generously because it's heavy. The dressed crab garnish cuts the creaminess and offers a good contrast to it.

Chef C., asked if we would be interested in helping to set up the kitchen for the final the Level Four students will have next Wednesday. Most of our group volunteered so we'll be going in with our knives at 3:15 p.m. to help set up before the lecture we'll be having that night in the kitchen auditorium. We also got our new Level Four books, the menu that is going to be changing after next week. We'll be moving over to Entremetier Monday so we have to come up with two dishes. I'd like to created one of them so I'll be playing with a few things this weekend in preparation. We still don't know who our chef will be for Level Four or how our groups will be reorganized.