An Exaltation of Soups (27 page)
Read An Exaltation of Soups Online
Authors: Patricia Solley
A
LMOND
J
OY
Almonds were known throughout antiquity for stimulating desire: Samson wooed Delilah with them; Sheik al-Nefzawi swore by them; Alexandre Dumas dined on a bowl of almond soup each night before enjoying the favors of Mme. Mars, a diva of the theater.
Where’d they come from? From a beautiful tree-related to the peach, apricot, and plum—that is said to have originated in the deserts of southwestern Asia—then spread into Greece and Italy, where it was cultivated from at least 200
B.C.E.
on. Cato himself brought the almond from Greece into Italy. From here, cultivation spread to North Africa, Spain, Portugal, and France. In fact, in
A.D.
812, Charlemagne ordered almond trees to be planted in his imperial orchards.
An early defining moment in the life of almonds: remember in Egypt when Moses and Aaron challenged Pharaoh’s priests in miracle making? “Behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds”
(Numbers 17:8).
NDORRA
/C
ATALONIA
, S
PAIN
CREAMY FENNEL SOUP WITH SHALLOTS AND ORANGE SPICE
SOPA DE FONOLL
Serves 2
S
UBTLE AND
F
RAGRANT
, this Catalan soup is as smooth as your practiced line and as brightly sharp as your desire.
M
AXIM
M
E
T
HIS
You can find women who have had no love affairs, but scarcely any who have had just one.
—F
RANÇOIS
D
UC DE LA
R
OCHEFOUCAULD
,
seventeenth-century French writer and moralist, Maxim #73
2 tablespoons butter
2 shallots, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups Vegetable or Chicken Stock
A large piece of orange rind (about the size of a tablespoon), scraped of the white pith
1 large or 2 small heads of fennel, trimmed and chopped
¼ cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon salt
Dash of white pepper
G
ARNISH
Fine gratings of orange zest
Paper-thin slices of green onions, separated into tiny rings
O
P
REPARE
Prep the ingredients as directed in the recipe list.
O
C
OOK
1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat, then sweat the shallots and garlic, covered, for about 10 minutes. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the orange rind piece and the chopped fennel, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
2. Puree the soup in a blender, solids first, then strain, pressing hard. Discard the solids, then return the soup to the saucepan. Stir in the cream, salt, and pepper.
O
S
ERVE
Heat the soup to a boil over medium-high heat, then ladle it into elegant bowls. With a fine grater, freshly grate orange zest over each portion and decorate with a few circles of finely sliced green onion rings.
“M
ESTER D
’A
MOR
”
You don’t have to read Catalan to know what Joan Salvat-Papasseit is up to in this poem, strongly urging a beautiful girl to kiss and be kissed (boldface mine).
Si en saps el pler no estalviïs el
bes
que el goig d’amar no comporta mesura.
Deixa’t
besar
, i tu
besa
després
que és sempre als llavis que l’amor perdura.
No
besis
, no, com l’esclau i el creient,
mes com vianant a la font regalada;
deixa’t
besar
-sacrifici ferventcom
més roent més fervent la
besada.
¿Què hauries fet si mories abans
sense altre fruit que l’oreig en ta galta?
Deixa’t
besar
, i en el pit, i a les mans,
amant o amada-la copa ben alta.
Quan
besis
, beu, curi el veire el temor:
besa en el coll, la més bella contrada.
Deixa’t
besar
i si et quedava enyor
besa
de nou, que la vida és comptada.
If you know the pleasure of it, don’t spare the kiss,
for the joy of loving cannot bear to be measured.
Let yourself be kissed, and then you kiss back,
for it’s always on the lips that love endures.
No, don’t kiss like the slave, like the submissive,
but like the traveler at the welcome fountain;
let yourself be kissed, a fervent sacrifice,
for the more burning the kiss, the more fervent.
What if you had died before with no other reward
than the balmy breeze against your cheek?
Let yourself be kissed on the breast and on the hands,
lover or beloved, the chalice filled to the top.
When you kiss, drink; take care with the glass, with
your fear:
kiss on the neck, the most beautiful spot.
Let yourself be kissed and if longing lingers
kiss again, for the days are numbered.
—J
OAN
S
ALVAT
-P
APASSEIT
,
early twentieth-century Catalan poet, translated by Stephen G. Gudgel
CURRIED SPRING ASPARAGUS SOUPServes 2
D
ELICATE AND HIGHLY
suggestive, this exquisite soup is best when you have a long campaign in front of you. Serve it as a first course, then see what develops.
M
AXIM
M
E
T
HIS
It is a form of coquetry to emphasize the fact that you do not indulge in it.
—F
RANÇOIS
D
UC DE LA
R
OCHEFOUCAULD
,
seventeenth-century French writer and moralist,
MAXIM #107
F
ROM
A
RT TO
F
ATALITY
Asparagus, a member of the lily family, was said, with Champagne, to have inspired the main theme of Johannes Brahms’s Third Symphony. By contrast, it was considered such a delicacy in ancient Rome that Emperor Augustus ordered executions to be carried out “quicker than you can cook asparagus”—proving in a phrase his reputation for both mercy and gustatory discrimination.
½ pound asparagus, with tips cut off and reserved, woody stems snapped off and discarded, and the remainder diced
3 cups Vegetable or Chicken Stock
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 egg yolk
½ teaspoon curry powder
½ cup heavy cream
Salt and white pepper to taste
O
P
REPARE
Prep the ingredients as directed in the recipe list.
O
C
OOK
1. Place the diced asparagus spears in a large saucepan with the stock. Bring the soup to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool briefly, then puree, solids first. Set aside.
2. In the same saucepan, melt the butter over low heat, whisk in the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in the reserved puree and, keeping the heat on low, stir until the soup is hot and thickened.
3. Add the asparagus tips and let them simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolk, curry powder, and cream in a small bowl. Stir in this enrichment and let the soup heat through on low heat for another couple minutes, stirring from time to time. Season with salt and pepper.
O
S
ERVE
Ladle the soup into flat soup plates, evenly distributing the asparagus tips, and serve immediately.
“T
O THE
V
IRGINS, TO
M
AKE
M
UCH OF
T
IME
”
Gather ye rosebuds while ye
may
,
Old time is still a-flying
,
And this same flower that smiles to-day
,
To-morrow will be dying.
The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun
,
The higher he’s a-getting
,
The sooner will his race be run
,
And nearer he’s to setting.
That age is best which is the first
,
When youth and blood are
warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times still succeed the former.
Then be not coy, but use your time
,
And while ye may, go marry;
For having lost but once your prime
,
You may for ever tarry.
-R
OBERT
H
ERRICK
,
seventeenth-century English poet