The Prague Post
July 7th, 2008
Endowment Fund     Book of Lists ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    Subscriptions
Hotel Prague Centre

Home » Archives » Night & Day

You say potage

By any name, a satisfying soup
From the chef | Search restaurants | Archives

December 5th, 2007 issue

Soups are part of every culinary culture. They come in many forms and guises, as broth, chowder and stew.

They also offer an example of what makes cookbook terminology at once interesting and deceptive. Centuries ago, the French word soupe referred to bread after it had been drenched by leftovers from the cooking pot, or potage.
Jan Přerovský/THE PRAGUE POST
Pureed carrots provide all the color for this healthy and warming bowl, but many things contribute to the flavor.
Modern cooks often use the terms soup and potage interchangeably. But more precisely, the word soup encompasses bisques, veloutes and other hearty offerings studded with meat, pasta, fish or vegetables. Potage, on the other hand, is generally taken to mean purees strained to trap uneven pieces, leaving you with a smooth, viscous and densely flavored concoction.
Culinary terms continue to evolve, blurred by time and the fusion of global techniques. By any name, this is tasty fare for a cold winter night.
Milan Pešek is chef at Vltava Restaurant in the Hotel President, located at nám. Curieovych 100, Prague 1–Old Town. Tel. 234 614 138.
CARROT POTAGE WITH SOY SPROUTS
Ingredients:
5 carrots
2 shallots
1 scallion
1 tomato, cubed
1 clove garlic
4 slices fresh ginger
150 grams soy sprouts
3 deciliters white wine
100 grams sugar
150 grams softened butter
50 grams olive oil
Butter
Truffle oil
Sweet sour cream
Chives to taste
Preparation:
Marinate soy sprouts in truffle oil.
Clean one shallot and sear it in butter mixed with olive oil.
Add salt, white pepper, slices of fresh ginger and sugar.
Pour in white wine.
Sauté until beginning to soften, then add tomato, the other cleaned shallot, scallion and clove of garlic.
Continue until the vegetables begin to soften (it doesn’t take much time)
Pour into a mixer and blend until smooth.
Press the soup through a sifter.
Pour the hot soup into the plates, draw the surface with the sweet sour cream and sprinkle with marinated soy sprouts and fine-cut chives.


Other articles in Night & Day (5/12/2007):

Browse the Current Issue

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Book of Lists

Provokator
Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.