I have already made Brussels sprouts soup with cannelli beans a while ago, this is another version that is as good as the other one, just a little greener. I prefer Brussels sprouts in soups than as a side dish, I think their flavor gets smoother and more subtle. It has a velvety and creamy texture, with a nutty flavor from the mushrooms but very delicate. The weather forecast predicted a rainy week and season as a matter of fact and I am getting ready for some winter dishes and brussel sprouts being a winter vegetable, will be occasionally on my table this winter.

I know many people are not fond of Brussels sprouts, but I think it’s good to try new ways to prepare things. I like them, I am not crazy for them like I would be for artichokes but I like to make velouté with those cute little round balls.

I got a new cocotte Le Creuset (I think in the US it’s called Dutch oven), I had an old one that was too small. That’s wonderful to cook anything such as stews, sauces, soups, and I cooked the soup to celebrate its first use. I think every one who cooks has a cast-iron cocotte. It is indispensable in cooking. The advantages of enamel cast-iron pots is that they diffuse the heat evenly and are perfect for slow cooking, braising, roasting, etc…

Le Creuset line tends to be a little on the expensive side in the US, it’s not that cheap in France either but still cheaper than here, in my opinion, it’s worth it since those pots last a lifetime.

Ingredients for 4-5

• 1 lb Brussels sprouts, cut in halves
• 4 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 cup cremini mushrooms, roughly cut
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 thyme leave
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 4 tbs crème fraîche
• 4 slices prosciutto (optional)
• 1 vegetable bouillon cube
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Wash the sprouts, cut the extra stem and remove the hard leaves from the outside.

In a large pot, heat olive oil, add onion and brown them. Add thyme and stir for another 5 minutes.

Add Brussels sprouts, potatoes and stir again to coat the vegetables with olive oil and onions. Add bouillon and water. For water quantity, I cover the vegetables with about 1 cm water showing above level of vegetables. That is the perfect quantity I use when making velouté. Adjust with salt and pepper.

Cook until all the vegetables are cooked. When cooked remove thyme branch, and blend using a blender or a mixer.

Serve with a small spoon of creme fraîche and a slice of grilled prosciutto.

Endive also called chicon in Belgium and Northern France is often used in French cooking and is such a creative vegetable. You can use it as a salad, soup, gratin, tarte, braised, and so many other ways. It is also high in magnesium, phosphorus, calcium so quite a nutritious little plant. Endive was found in the 19th century in Belgium by Mr. Bresiers who was responsible for the botanical gardens in Brussels, that’s why they’re called Belgium endives in the US. Supposedly to pay less taxes, Mr. Bresiers hid chicorée roots underground in his cellar and a few weeks later when he came to pick them up, he noticed beautiful white leaves coming out of the ground, those leaves are since then called endives.

The particularity of endive is its bitterness, and that’s what I love about it.

We have a traditional endive dish called endives au jambon, that every household in France knows how to prepare. It’s quite a simple dish but so delicious. It’s basically cooked endives and rolled inside a slice of ham, in a béchamel sauce and topped with gruyère, then cooked in the oven until the cheese melts and turns golden brown. I don’t know if Julia Childs brought that back to the US, but it’s definitely a traditional French dish, that is worth testing.

The bitterness of endives goes perfectly well with the sweetness of the shrimps, overall endives are a great combination for fish or white meat and I use them quite often in my dishes. Also a many dishes combine orange and endive, because  of the flavor match.

Ingredients for 4

For the soup

• 5 endives, cut crosswise
• 4 endives, shredded or cut lengthwise
• 1 yellow onion sliced
• 1 medium size potato, cubed
• 2 tbs crème fraîche or heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbs olive oil
• vegetable bouillon

For the shrimps

• 1 lbs of medium size shrimps or about 20
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tsp soy sauce

Preparation

Marinate shrimps in garlic and soy sauce for about 1 hour.

In a large pot, heat olive oil, add onions and potatoes and cook for about 5-10 minutes. Add cut endives and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring. Add broth (enough quantity to cover the vegetables), salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables are cooked, about 30 minutes. Blend in a mixer and add cream. Mix well and place at low heat to keep it warm.

In a small pan, add 1 tsp olive oil, saute shredded endives until soft and browned then add sugar and caramelize them. Remove from heat and set aside. In the same pan, saute shrimps, then add orange juice and let it reduce.

Serve soup in bowls, place shredded endives in the middle and 5 shrimps on top. Sprinkle with parsley.

I was listening to Yves Montand’s classic song “les Feuilles Mortes” translated by “Autumn Leaves” but it literally means “Dead Leaves” and it never fails, I get tears in my eyes…that song makes me shiver. And yes, automne (fall) is coming…and I felt this soup really is a nice representation of fall, with its yellow and green colors.

Originally I bought this squash to stuff with a goat cheese mousse…it did not make it. I tried to resist for days to not cut it. It was too beautiful to cut and would have been such a great dish if I could have stuck to my plans…but no, I wanted a soup, and the only thing that was left to turn into a soup was this baby. So here. Morale of the story, don’t be too rigid, sometimes you can change plans.

I never get tired of soups, they can be blended, in chunks, cold, whatever, I love them…besides when they’re as healthy as this one, I love them even better, because I do watch roughly my calories intake and my weight. They say French women don’t get fat, well the bad news is, they do get fat, if they eat a lot…They do not have a particular nor wonderful metabolism (and the truth is that I am not even French, I just pretend, because I am just a confused woman).

So my question is why not eat delicious gourmet dishes that are most of all a bundle of health and nutrition (hope my English makes sense). The pancetta is optional, I love its crunchiness on top of the soup though.

The yogurt touch at the end is somehow a substitute to crème fraîche. In France we usually add 1 tbs crème fraîche in any velouté to make it even more velvety (velouté). Yogurt works perfectly fine here, let’s make it light, fat does not necessarily mean flavor anyway. Now do I sound like those “freaks” who watch every little bite they eat and do not enjoy anything always counting calories and talking about non-fat? Please say no, because I am really not, if you know me.

The roquefort tartine is a nice addition to the soup, they really make a pleasant combination of flavors, but you need good walnut bread to truly enjoy the roquefort. Obviously you don’t need to have a tartine to enjoy the soup, but the combination is something to absolutely try. Melting roquefort on walnut bread is a real treat.

I got a little frustrated with my camera today, obviously I am no photographer, I could not shoot anything despite the great light I had coming from the bay window, everything turned out awful, just two shots out of 30 came out just ok and not even great. Too bad you cannot see the white dash of yogurt in the middle of the bowl because of the angle. I have no idea why some days where light is great I get terrible shots and days where it’s all grey, I get decent bright pictures. Is there a little demon in my Canon? Could be. Maybe taking one class or two where I bought this camera would not hurt.

Ingredients for 4

For the soup

• 1 leek
• 6 large sunburst squash
• 1 onion
• 3 tbs fresh oregano, chopped
• 1 tbs olive oil
• vegetable broth
• 4 tbs plain yogurt
• 4 slices of pancetta (optional)
• salt and pepper

For the roquefort tartine

• 4 tbs Roquefort cheese (or any blue cheese)
• 4 slices walnut bread
• pepper

Preparation

Wash leek and cut it in medium size chunks. Wahs squash and cut in quarters. In a large pot, heat olive oil, add onion and let it cook until it becomes transparent. Add 1 1/2 tbs oregano, cook for a few minutes, then add squash and leeks. Cook for another 10 minutes at medium heat, stirring. Add broth. I never measure broth. I add enough so that it covers the quantity of vegetables and that is the perfect quantity for a veloute. Add salt. COver with a lid and cook at medium heat until the vegetables are soft and cooked, about 30 minutes.

Blend using a hand blender or mixer.

In a small bowl, add yogurt and the remaining chopped oregano

In a non-stick pan, cook pancetta until it gets crunchy.

Cut roquefort in slices and place on top of bread. Broil until the cheese has melted.

Serve soup in bowls, adding a tbs of yogurt/oregano mixture in the middle of the bowl and top with a slice of pancetta. Serve with roquefort tartine on the side.