Winter. Blah. Thoughts of moving to Miami come and go, though I still haven't been. To commemorate the beginning of the season, I read Philip Roth's "Everyman", which was a cheerful diatribe on death, illness and aching loneliness. I remember reading an interview with him shortly after the book was released saying something along the lines of although you know that your parents and grandparents will die and people prepare you for it no one tells you your friends will die when you get older and so you are unprepared. This stuck with me because somehow it seemed novel and true.
It's a good book, even though you might feel like your heart muscle is getting pounded into little cutlets whenever you read it. But maybe you should read it if you are in the Yucatan sipping a mango shake, as opposed to an ill-lit subway smashed between a dozen people in dour, black coats. I do like the winter sometimes though. Like last night, through the third layer of clothing, a kernel of hope leaked through and I was giddy for winter. And so I went to Housing Works Book Store to leaf through old cookbooks and get cozy with humanity on their laptops. The shear number of American dishes that can incorporate a can of cream of mushroom soup is simply amazing! Which brings me to this next recipe, which is a soup, although not a mushroom one. It's nice and simple and makes an elegant appetizer to a second course of pancakes.
Leek, Potato and Roasted Garlic Soup
1 leek (slice lengthwise in half, then pull apart to rinse then chop keeping only white and pale green parts)
1 large onion chopped
2 large russet potatoes
1 chicken or vegetable bouillon cube or 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups water
salt/pepper
1-2 cloves garlic cut in half
olive oil
Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil into small sauce pan and turn on heat at the lowest setting possible. Put garlic in there and let roast while you prepare vegetable. (If/when garlic starts to brown take off heat and pour garlic and oil into soup pot.) In a soup pot, pour in two tablespoons oil and put on medium heat. Sauté leeks and onion until they are just soft, a few minutes. Add water. Bring to boil. Add potatoes and bouillon cube. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. If garlic is still roasting on your stove, pour it into soup pot with its oil and stir. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour in a blender and puree in batches. Pour back into pot and heat through. Serve immediately.
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