Mcgrath Farms’ Watercress Soup with Gentleman’s Relish Toast
Super-green watercress makes the perfect starter to a St. Patrick’s Day dinner. One St. Patrick’s Day at Lucques, in order not to lose the bright, vivid green color and fresh lively taste of the watercress, I decided to make the soup to order. Rather than cooking the watercress, I planned to wilt it with hot vegetable stock and then purée it with tarragon, parsley, chives, and a touch of cream. As that night approached, the restaurant was booked solid, and I began to worry about my made-to-order soup scheme, but Daniel Mattern, my equally obsessive sous-chef, insisted we go for it in spite of the anticipated 180 reservations. He recruited the waitstaff to bring their blenders from home, and organized his new found equipment into a lean, mean soup station as if it were business as usual. That night, all 180 bowls of soup were made to order and managed to arrive at the tables pipinghot. Dan must have had the luck of the Irish because he pulled it off without a hitch. Served with an anchovy toast, this “à la minute” soup is great any day of the year.
Ingredients
Gentleman’s relish on toasts
Preparation
Step 1
Heat a large pot over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add 4 tablespoons butter, and when it foams, add the sliced onion, leeks, carrot, and celery. Stir to coat with the butter, and season with 1 tablespoon salt and some pepper. Cook 5 minutes and add the chile, thyme, and parsley sprigs. Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes, until the vegetables are just starting to caramelize.
Step 2
Add 10 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat down and simmer 30 minutes. Strain the stock, discard the vegetables, and set the stock aside.
Step 3
Return the pot to medium heat for 2 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons butter, and when it foams, add the diced onions, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt, and a healthy grind of pepper. Cook the onions about 5 minutes, stirring often, until they’re translucent and tender. Add the vegetable stock, turn the heat up to high, and bring to a boil.
Step 4
You will need to purée the soup in batches. Place 2 1/2 cups of the watercress, 1 tablespoon chives, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, and 1 1/2 teaspoons tarragon in the blender. Ladle 1 1/2 cups of the hot stock over the greens. Cover tightly, and carefully start the blender at the lowest possible speed. When the mixture is puréed, add another cup of stock and turn the blender up to high. Add more stock, until the soup is a little thicker than heavy cream. Run the blender at high for 1 minute to ensure the soup is very smooth and creamy. With the motor running, pour in 1/2 cup of cream and taste for seasoning. Add a little squeeze of lemon juice if you like. At this point, the soup’s consistency should be that of heavy cream.
Step 5
Set the first batch of soup aside, and repeat the process with the remaining watercress, herbs, stock, and cream.
Step 6
Pour the hot soup into a large tureen or soup bowl and pass the toasts on the side, so they remain crunchy. Tell your guests to float the toasts in their soup.
Gentleman’s relish on toasts
Step 7
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Step 8
Cut the baguette on the diagonal into twelve 1/4-inch-thick slices. (You may have leftover bread.) Brush both sides of each slice generously with olive oil, about 1/4 cup in all. Arrange the slices on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven 10 to 12 minutes, until golden and crispy but still tender in the center. Let cool.
Step 9
Combine the butter, anchovy, shallot, lemon juice, zest, cayenne pepper, parsley, and chives in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 10
When the toasts have cooled, spread them with gentleman’s relish.
