With flaked almonds & garlicky mash
This was a bit of a disaster to plate up. As I’d gone with a thin broth (with no roux added) and wanted the creamy, garlicky potato mash to thicken the soup I couldn’t get the mash out of its mould. So, starting again I oiled the mould very lightly and managed to slide the garlicky mash unto the plate. Only to carefully pour in the broth which attracted the excess oil like proverbial moths to a flame which left large puddles of oil floating like an oil spill. After cleaning up, reheating the soup I tried again. However, the paprika used in the stock separated and floated awry only to form an unsightly rim around the edge of the plate. Couldn’t use the photos. Third and last time, I frantically cooked a runny roux of sunflower oil and plain (all purpose) flour as the natural light was wearing as thin as my patience. The roux helped to amalgamate the excess oil and the smoked sweet paprika, the latter colouring the soup.
So, third time lucky it is then. And it’s the third time to develop this soup that was brought over by my, apparently, ancestor’s Mother-in-law from France to Edinburgh, around 400 years ago. Unfortunately, I can’t find an original recipe for this soup online, and the version I’d made several years ago was only loosely based on a recipe I’d found in an old cookery book, mostly about ‘ye olde’ British food, that belonged to my neighbour living directly above my then flat in Central London. Chances are this is nothing close to the original as it would’ve been a thick potage with the meat of the poached chicken minced or ground with the almonds and then reheated in the stock. Presumably the potage would’ve been so thick a spoon could’ve stood all by itself. As for the garlicky potatoes, well, yours truly had run out of garlic for the stock. Highly unusual. Yesterday I bought more and added slivers of it to some oil before adding the poached chicken. The garlic was removed, and mashed with the salad potatoes and a drizzle of single/light cream, when soft enough. The chicken meat was then added to the pan with a drizzle of lemon – less is more with the latter. I’ve had delicious sour chicken soup whilst travelling in Romania, specifically Oradea in the North West – an absolutely stunning city – and this isn’t mimicking a sour soup. I’ve used a squeeze of lemon when reheating the chicken and another drizzle on the plate. Just a hint works really well here. And a little bit of freshly snipped parsley helped to counter balance any sweetness. For the original post please click here.
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What an intruiguing soup, no wonder with its Marie de Guise pedigree! I’d love to try it some day, it sounds very delicious with an array of tastes and texture (the liquid, the mash and the crunch of almonds) … Perfect for cold weather too? (in your earlier post you mentioned a preference for summer).
You are so right about the textures! That really worked for me. I guess, when I stumbled upon this soup, I was intrigued as to what my ancestors had been supping on all those years ago. Not that my lifestyle is anything like Marie de Guise’s was, I hasten to add.
I would love to cook this in summer, too. It’s light enough, packed full of veggies and served warm would be really nice for cooler nights that we experience here on the coast. Most days, even during summer, we only get highs of low 20′s.
Wonderful comment, btw. Thank you.
Yum yum yum….!!! :)
Gorgeous as always.
As always, your comments are gorgeous! Thank you.
Who’s ready for some serious baking and cooking? Welcome to a new Linky Party –Weekend Kitchen Creations at http://www.weekendkitchencreations.blogspot.com. Please join us, share your delicious creations and sign up for reminders for the next WKC.
Thanks for the invitation. I don’t always blog at weekends, but I’ll have another look at your blog when it starts to happen.
That soup looks so so good! Its the sort of food I love to eat and never cook! Yum
It’s actually quite easy to make. Must stress within its post about the use of lemon as I reckon even a slightly sour soup probably won’t be to everyone’s taste, especially here. I suppose citrus zest is used more often these days. I love the stuff!
Hi! I really like your blog and going through it I found a picture, the one of the update A La Reine Soup that I wanted to use in a video documentary I am working on at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, U.S. I know this sounds odd but if I end getting my documentary aired then I will need your permission to use the image! I can’t cook/don’t have time to recreate what you did and I really like the way you have the photo staged. I can give you a photo credit at the end of the documentary if you do allow me to use it.
Please let me know! Thank you!
Yes, by all means. If you need written permission then contact me at: johnnysenough@yahoo.com letting me know exactly what I should write for your permission to use. Thanks!