Potage Crécy

Potage Crécy

From Twelve Months of Monastery Soups, by Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourrette):

In France, the carrots grown in the vicinity of Crécy have the reputation as best and the tastiest in the whole country - hence the name given to the soup. From France, the soup crossed the Channel into England, where it has become part of the national folklore. According to an old tradition dating back the the 14th century, loyal Britons should eat carrot soup or "potage de Crecy" on the anniversary (August 26, 1346) of the battle of Crecy, a legendary victory of the English over the French in the the Hundred Years' War.

Last October, I made potage Parmentier and enjoyed it very much; since then, I had been looking forward to trying another French vegetable-based soup. There are many choices, featuring onions, asparagus, mushrooms, beans, peas and many more, and it's difficult to choose from so many options - so I decided to make an occasion out of it and offer the choice to the beautiful Mrs. Tas. When we were shopping this past weekend, I asked her which one she would like to try for her birthday, and this creamy carrot soup was her choice.

From Time/Life's Foods of the World - The Cooking of Provincial France (1968):

Potage Crécy Purée of Carrot Soup To serve 4 to 6: 2 tablespoons butter 3/4 cup finely-chopped onions 3 cups finely-chopped carrots 1 quart chicken stock, fresh or canned 2 teaspoons tomato paste 2 tablespoons plain, white raw rice Salt White pepper 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 Tablespoon soft butter 8 to 12 carrot curls (optional) In a heavy 3-to 4-quart saucepan, melt the butter over moderate heat. Stir in the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until they are soft but not browned. Add the carrots, chicken stock, tomato paste and rice, and simmer gently, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Purée the soup through a food mill into a clean saucepan. Season it with salt and pepper, and stir in the cream. Before serving, return the soup to low heat and bring it to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the tablespoon of soft butter. Ladle the soup into a tureen or into individual soup bowls and garnish with carrot curls if desired.

A good soup must be fresh. As was first said about all good food by Curnonsky, "prince of gastronomes," a good soup must taste of the things it is made of.... In simple French fare, a soup is kept simple: since it is meant to be eaten at the end of the day, it should lead to easy sleep unhindered by a too-active digesting of rich or unaccustomed ingredients. If there is no stock, the soup will be based, usually, on water, or on broth left from some dish like boiled beef, or occasionally on milk. The whole family will eat it, with the last of the daily bread, and then go to bed....A comparitively complex dish like a bouillabaisse is seldome served at night, being rich and in other ways eminently unsuited to peaceful slumber. [This and similar] main-dish soups [are] usually served in the middle of the day....   Many soups that evolved through the centuries in the French provinces are based more on vegetables than on meats or even meat stocks, and are...ancient, as basic as the need for cabin-bound men to go out with their livestock...and gather the [bounty] of the meadows.   It is impossible, of course, to try and change the modern American pattern of dining at home or in public at night, with snack-lunch or "business lunch" at noon. But a hearty soup in the winter after a long day, or a light one with fresh herbs and vegetables in the summer, bears out the saying that "soup's good enough, if there's enough soup."