I got into a whirl this spring, and didn’t thin the carrots until it was too late.  They are gnarly-looking, but turned out very sweet.  Three different kinds were grown out in a sort of carrot experiment: Oxheart carrots, Chatenay Red Core, and an interesting red carrot that I intend to save seeds from called Pusa Rudhira.  Of the three carrot varieties, the oxheart had the best flavor when we did a side-by-side taste test.

This soup surprised me with it’s flavor – almost like caramel.  I love the way the French recipes bring out the natural flavors of the ingredients!  This soup can be Riche or Maîgre, depending on if you add meat broth or water.

 

Potage Crécy

Peel some large, tender carrots, cut them into fine rounds, put them to cook on a low fire with butter, salt and sugar, for a quarter of an hour or more, then pour in water or broth, and let cook for an hour.

Blend your carrots, put them back in the broth, make a light roux, and pour everything over it.  Stir until it is mixed.

Potage Crécy is sufficiently thick to be served without bread.

Crécy Soup

6-7 large carrots (or the approximate equivalent of smaller carrots if, like me, you didn’t get around to thinning them!)

1-2 Tablespoons butter

Salt to taste

2 teaspoons sugar (I used coconut sugar, as that is what I always use, but white sugar would have a less noticeable impact on the flavor)

1 1/2 quarts broth or water

For the roux:

3 more tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon flour

1.  Peel and slice the carrots.  Melt 1-2 tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan, and add the carrot slices.  Sprinkle them with salt and the sugar, and let them cook gently for about 15-20 minutes.  They will start to become soft and tender.
2. Pour broth or water over the carrots and leave to cook down for about an hour.  When the carrots are very soft, and the liquid has cooked down, blend up the soup.
3.   In another sauce pan, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter, and sprinkle the tablespoon of flour over it.  Mix it so it makes a thin, bubbling paste.  When it is very lightly toasted, pour the blended carrots and broth over it, and stir well to mix it.  Let it cook just another few minutes and thicken up.

 

 

{My grandmother, Claudia Meraud, was born in Nice, France.   She immigrated to the US after meeting my grandfather while he was stationed there as a US soldier in WW II.  We spent several summers together, just the two of us, living with her sister in Nice.  She passed along to me an old French cookbook titled  title is La Cuisine:  Guide Practique De La Ménagère by R. Blondeau, Chef de Cuisine.  It originally belonged to my great-grandmother, Lucie Thomas, who was a native of St. Marie-aux-Mines in Alsace.

This cookbook was published in the 1930’s, and was written as a practical guide for a household cook before the days of the fridge and the food processor.  The recipes are delicious, practical, and (of course) packed with good traditional nutrition.

I am creating translated versions of these antique recipes, re-written for the modern cook, and tested with home-grown and seasonal food.}

(Carrot Super Hero)