And I can't even blame it on the booze. I was distinctly abstemious on New Year's Eve - only one glass of wine. This could be down to natural virtuousness but also the near-absolute certainty of meeting the flics out in force at Couiza crossroads.
In fact les Gendarmes were all at home in beddybyes, I was surprised to find, while driving home at 1.30am. The theory au Café de Fa this morning was that they were all tired and shagged out after a prolonged and forlorn wait for Armageddoff.
On reflection that's probably wasted the overtime budget for the next three years, so you can understand their lack of enthusiasm. But of course it's not good to drink and drive.
New Year's Day usually being a gentle affair, I decided to indulge in the noble art of faire la soupe. Not the infamous and Petomaneous soupe au choux, I hasten to reassure you. But I have got a bit of a root vegetable thing going at the mo.
I don't know if it's the same where you are, or why, but round here le prix des legumes has shot through the roof. Root vegetables, being in season and occasionally even on offer, are the only reasonable proposition. Thus it was, that I decided on a cheap and cheerful leek and potato soup with lardons:
* Chop up a couple of onions and three cloves of garlic, a packet of lardons and fry together in a little olive oil in an iron casserole or large saucepan with lid.
* Chop up a couple of leeks and four large potatoes. I was particularly careful about washing soil out of the leeks so that I could use the whole vegetable, discarding only a few bruised outer leaves.
* Add four mugs of water.
* Add a veg stock cube, two bay leaves, a teaspoonful of marjoram, and of thyme, half a teaspoonful of nutmeg, a dash of paprika and black pepper.
*Bring to boil and simmer for half an hour until the leeks and potatoes are soft.
*Take off the heat. Allow to cool a bit. Remove bay leaves and blend together.
*Stir in a pot of crème fraiche and salt to taste.
It's fine like that, if you like your food mild but I couldn't help feeling that I'd prefer a bit more bite. I stirred in a half a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper and some grated Parmesan that seemed to be lurking in back of my fridge, thus disposing of another leftover (and awarding myself a Gold Star on the domestic budgetary front).
Bring back to a simmer, add a little more water to taste if you prefer a lighter soup, then serve.
Bon appetît!
PS my mate Viv, of Vivinfrance's Blog, Normandy, suggests substituting an inch of harissa paste for the cayenne pepper. I can find no fault whatever with this suggestion!
Sounds good, but it would be even better with an inch long squirt of Harissa (Jock calls it Chilli toothpaste).
RépondreSupprimerGlad you're steering clear of the cops.
Harissa. Wonderful stuff, especially for heating up you own portion of curry if you've made it mild for a French guest.
RépondreSupprimerRound here the Arabs always look enthusiastic if you order your kebabs etc with harissa rather than the mild white sauce they usually put on for all the French people.
I almost certainly put some nutmeg in the soup, must correct the recipe.
Bonne année!