Crème de Chicorée de Bruxelles, otherwise Bruxelloise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •4 to 5-quart (3.8 to 4.7-liter) heavy saucepan with lid
• •Small lidded sauté pan
• •Immersion blender
• •8 to 10-inch (20 to 25-cm) fine-mesh sieve
• •Parchment paper for a cartouche
• •Flat-edged wooden spoon or silicone spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the endive

   Remove any bruised outer leaves from the endive intended for the soup. Trim only the dry root ends, leaving the tender cores, then quarter the heads lengthwise and slice them crosswise about 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick. Rinse only if needed and dry thoroughly. Water clinging to the leaves dilutes the butter before the endive can absorb it.

2. 2

   Étuver without color

   Melt 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) of the butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Add the sliced endive, lemon juice, and a small pinch of salt, turning until every piece gleams. Press a parchment cartouche directly over the endive, cover the pan, and cook at the gentlest murmur for 30 minutes, stirring two or three times. The leaves will release liquid, collapse, and turn tender without browning. If the bottom begins to color, immediately move the uncolored endive to a clean pan, add 1 tablespoon of water, and leave the browned residue behind. Ça se rattrape, provided the endive hasn't taken on a scorched smell.

   Color is the enemy here. Browning gives a fine endive gratin character, but it muddies the ivory soup and sharpens its bitterness.
3. 3

   Finish in Béchamel

   Fold the finished Béchamel into the softened endive and bring the mixture just to a bare simmer. Cook very slowly for 20 to 25 minutes, partly covered, scraping the pan floor every few minutes with a flat-edged spoon. The endive should yield completely when pressed against the side of the pan. Keep the bubbles lazy. A hard boil can scorch the milk-thickened base before the chicory is ready.

4. 4

   Cut and stew julienne

   While the soup base finishes, cut the garnish endive julienne-fashion, into match-shaped rods about 1/8 inch (3 mm) wide and 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) long. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter in a small lidded pan, add the julienne and a pinch of salt, then cover and stew over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Stir once or twice and stop when the rods are tender but still hold their shape. Drain them thoroughly in a fine sieve and keep them covered.

5. 5

   Pass it fine

   Take the thick endive and Béchamel mixture off the heat and blend it carefully with an immersion blender until no visible pieces remain. Push the purée through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl, working with the back of a ladle and scraping the smooth soup from the underside. The blender replaces the spare hands, not the sieve. Passing removes the chicory's fine threads and gives Bruxelloise its proper silk.

6. 6

   Set the consistency

   Return the passed base to the cleaned saucepan. Stir in 2 cups (475 ml / 475 g) of the heated white consommé a little at a time, then add as much of the final cup as needed to bring the base to 7 cups (1.65 liters). Heat gently and judge the texture from a warm spoon: it should coat lightly, then flow cleanly. If it is too thick, add more consommé; if it is too thin, reduce it at a bare simmer before adding the cream. Don't correct it with flour. The Béchamel has already done that work.

7. 7

   Finish with cream

   When the soup is ready to serve, lower the heat and whisk a ladleful of the hot base into the cream. Pour the warmed cream back into the saucepan, stirring constantly, then heat only until the soup is thoroughly hot. Do not boil it. Season with salt and white pepper after the Béchamel, consommé, and cream are united, since each brings its own seasoning. If the surface freckles from excessive heat, take the pan off the stove, blend briefly, and pass the soup once more with a spoonful of cold cream.

8. 8

   Garnish and serve

   Warm a soupière or the individual soup bowls. Divide the well-drained endive julienne among them, keeping a few rods for the surface, then ladle in the Bruxelloise and finish with the remaining julienne. Serve at once while the soup is glossy and fluid. No herb garnish is needed; the endive names itself. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose tight, heavy Belgian endive with cream-colored leaves and pale yellow tips. Loose green leaves have seen too much light and carry a coarser bitterness; this is one soup where the source's demand for very fresh chicory matters.
• •The finished Béchamel and white consommé are components the original kitchen kept ready. Reach for them whole and neutrally seasoned. A dark roasted stock changes the color and overwhelms the endive, so it doesn't belong in Bruxelloise.
• •A standard fine-mesh sieve is the honest home equivalent of the tammy. Blending alone makes the soup smooth enough for haste, but passing it removes the fibers that would otherwise catch on the tongue. Cooking well is not cooking fancy, but texture still counts.
• •Serve small first-course portions. The soup is rich, and its measured bitterness is most persuasive before a simple roast or poached fish. A dry, brisk white wine with good acidity suits the cream better than anything heavily oaked.

Advance Preparation

• •The finished Béchamel and white consommé can be prepared ahead and kept chilled according to their own preparations. The listed timing assumes both components are ready when cooking begins.
• •The endive and Béchamel base may be cooked, blended, passed, cooled promptly, and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. At service, loosen it with the heated white consommé and add the cream only after the soup is hot.
• •The julienne garnish can be stewed and drained up to 4 hours ahead. Keep it chilled, then warm it gently in a spoonful of the soup before serving so it doesn't cool the bowl.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)