Potage de Crécy - French Carrot Soup

Potage de Crécy or French Carrot Soup is a traditional dish made from sweet carrots with rice as a thickener. It’s smooth, savory and delicious!

The story behind this very traditional French soup is that is it named for Crécy-en-Ponthieu , a town in northern France that is said to produce carrots with the best flavor in the country. I’ve done a little research and visited several sites about the town and their claim to carrot fame isn’t mentioned these days. 

I did find out more information about the battle that started the Hundred Years’ War which was fought there in 1346.  Despite its name, the war lasted 116 years and involved not just the English who started it by attacking the French on their own soil, but it grew to encompass much of what is now considered Europe. Who knew? 

Certain historians fix the creation of Potage de Crécy on this date, because it would have been made to nourished the British army. In fact, it has also been suggested that the soup was served to triumphant English soldiers after the battle was over, with carrots sourced (pillaged?) from Crécy. Talk about kicking a town when they are already down!

To commemorate the battle, this soup was eaten King Edward VII each year on August 26th, the day of the battle in honor of his ancestor, Edward of Woodstock who led the battle. Today seems an appropriate time to share the recipe. 

Potage de Crécy - French Carrot Soup

I’ve added fine sea salt as an ingredient but how much you will need depends greatly on how salty your stock is. A little salt always seems to help accentuate the sweetness of the carrots though. 

Ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 small shallots, finely chopped

1 small stalk celery, stringed and finely chopped

1 pound sweet carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup or 45g rice, preferably Arborio 

5 1/4 cups or 1.25L chicken or vegetable stock

1/2 teaspoon sugar

fine sea salt, to taste as needed

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Optional for garnish:

Chopped fresh herbs, such as chives or parsley

1 cup toasted croutons

Method

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium-low heat and add the shallot and celery. 

Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. 

Add the carrots, cover partially and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender and fragrant. 

Add the rice, stock and sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes, or until the carrots are completely soft.

Blend the soup either with a hand blender or in a blender, in batches. Do be careful not to splash or overfill as the hot soup will scald you. 

Return to the pot. 

Stir and taste. Adjust salt, add a generous amount of freshly ground pepper, and heat through. If the sweetness of the carrots needs a boost, add another pinch of sugar.

Serve, garnishing each bowl with sprinkle of herbs. Put the croutons on the table and let people help themselves. (I did make croutons! They just didn't get in the photos.)

Enjoy! 

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- French Carrot Soup!

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Creamy Hatch Chili Pepper Spinach Chicken

Truly, the title "creamy Hatch chili pepper spinach chicken" says it all: Tender breasts in a spicy, succulent sauce! Serve over rice or pasta to complete the meal. 

Years ago, when we lived in Brazil (circa 1993-1999) one of my closest friend’s husband was from New Mexico. They made it a point to travel home during Hatch chili pepper season (or would enlist relatives to make their purchases) and they would return to our small town of Macáe with bags and bags of frozen roasted peppers to use all year. I had never heard of Hatch peppers but being a lover of all things chili pepper, I was quickly hooked.

The name Hatch chili actually refers to the area in which they are grown - the Hatch Valley - but generally they are a long green pepper with a mild heat but lots of flavor.  

We moved to Houston in 1999 and I hoped for New Mexican peppers, but Hatch peppers hadn’t made it there yet. It took another few years but eventually, Hatch season became a thing, even that far east due to Central Market, the upscale purveyor of gourmet food owned by the parent company of Texas grocery store H-E-B. 

Central Market brought in the peppers by the truckload and the immense roasters (think huge turning cages like you'd put raffle tickets in!) and roasted them fresh outside of their stores. Since then, other area supermarkets have gotten in on the action and the Houston air on the weekends right now is filled with aroma of charred peppers.

Make note: If you are lucky enough to be able to travel to New Mexico, the Hatch Chile Festival takes place every year on Labor Day weekend in Hatch, NM. This year they celebrate their 50th anniversary so it should be a lot of fun. 

Creamy Hatch Chili Pepper Spinach Chicken

Yep, it’s Hatch chili pepper season again and, as promised, here’s my first recipe using that wonderful pepper. It’s quite easy to make but the flavor is out of this world wonderful! Because I lack freezer space, I like to roast my own in the oven but you can use the already roasted ones, if you can get your hands on them. 

Ingredients - to serve six

For the creamy hatch chili pepper sauce:

4 fresh hatch chili peppers

juice from half a lime

2 cloves garlic

1 cup or 240ml heavy cream

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the chicken:

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 8oz or 225g each)

1 tablespoon white vinegar

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

For optional garnish: chopped cilantro or parsley

Method

Broil the peppers on a baking sheet until they’re charred and black all over on both sides. 

Put them in a plastic bag for about five minutes to loosen the peels. Open the bag and let the peppers cool until you can handle them with bare hands. Rub or pull the peels off. Cut the stem end off and discard. If you like things spicy, leave the seeds. If not, remove the seeds and discard. 

Chop the garlic cloves roughly. 

Place the peppers in a food processor with the garlic, lime juice and sour cream. 

Blend until combined and smooth. Add a good pinch or two of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. 

Refrigerate until you are ready to cook the chicken. The earlier ahead you make this, the better it is! 

Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise. 

Sprinkle them with the vinegar on both sides then sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. 

Drizzle your pan with olive oil and then pan fry the chicken breasts over a high heat until golden both sides. You may need to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your pan.

In that case, remove the browned breasts to a plate then pan-fry the second batch. The chicken does not need to be cooked completely through at this point. It will finish cooking, simmering in the creamy hatch sauce.

When all the chicken is browned and on the plate, add the baby spinach leaves to the pan and cover for a few minutes, until the spinach starts to wilt. 

Remove the lid and cook for a few more minutes until the spinach liquid evaporates.

Add the creamy hatch sauce back to the pan. Stir to combine and heat gently to warm. 

Tuck the browned chicken pieces into the sauce. 

Spoon it over to cover. Simmer till chicken is cooked through.

Sprinkle with a little chopped cilantro or parsley to garnish, if desired. 

Serve over rice or pasta. 

Enjoy! 

Do you get Hatch chili peppers where you live? For more information about these great peppers and possible substitutes, Chili Pepper Madness is a great source. 

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Spinach Chicken!

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German Applesauce Cake #BundtBakers

The tender crumb on this German Applesauce Cake reminds me of a buttery pound cake, but with raisins and pecans, making it perfect with a cup of tea. 

Whenever I see jars of applesauce on the grocery store shelves, I must confess that I wonder who is buying it. After all, applesauce has got to be the easy thing in the world to make. Just peel the apples, core, chop and cook down with a splash of lemon juice or water. Literally, that is the whole recipe and it doesn’t even take very long. 

The chopped apples turn to sauce in a matter of about 10 minutes or so. You can speed up the process by mashing them with a potato masher once they soften, if you are really in a hurry.  

Applesauce is a family favorite with roast pork at our house and sometimes even pork chops. The tart but naturally sweet applesauce complements the savory pork wonderful. If you haven’t tried that combination, please do! When we are in the UK, I use Bramley apples which are great for baking and cooking. If I am elsewhere, I use Granny Smiths.  

German Applesauce Cake

I made this cake using Simple Truth Organic Plant Based Egg Replacer. It’s a powder made from chia seeds and chickpeas aka garbanzo beans, specifically for recipes when eggs are a binding agent, for instance, baked goods and quick breads like pancakes or waffles. It's available from Kroger or online, if you are in the States. This recipe is adapted from one on My Patchwork Quilt. 

Ingredients

For the cake batter:

3/4 cup or 150g sugar 

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon or 78g shortening plus extra for the pan

2 medium eggs (or equivalent amount egg replacer)

1 1/8 cups or 290g homemade or store-bought applesauce

3/4 cup or 110g raisins

1/2 cup or 60g chopped pecans

1 1/2 cups or 187g flour, plus extra for the pan and raisins

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

For the cinnamon glaze:

1/3 cup or 41g powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 – 1  1/2 teaspoons water

Method 

Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C. Grease and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan.

With electric beaters or in the bowl of your stand mixer, cream shortening and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs (or egg replacement) and beat until light.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon and salt.

Add applesauce and dissolved baking soda alternately with dry ingredients.

Toss the raisins with a sprinkle of flour then fold in the raisins and chopped pecans.

Spoon batter into your prepared pan.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until golden and a wooden skewer comes out clean. If it starts browning too much before it's baked through, you can cover the top lightly with foil. 

Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes then turn the cake out to cool completely before glazing. 

To make the glaze, mix the powdered sugar and cinnamon. Add water gradually till you reach drizzling consistency. 

Drizzle the cake with the cinnamon glaze. I also gave mine an extra pinch of cinnamon sprinkled on top. Because apples and cinnamon are best friends. 

Slice to serve.

Enjoy!

Amazingly, it’s already the third Thursday of the month – this summer is zipping by! – so it’s time for my Bundt Baker friends to share their recipes. Today’s theme is applesauce! Many thanks to Sneha of Sneha’s Recipe for the theme and our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm for her behind the scenes work. Check out the recipes links below.

• All That’s Left Are The Crumbs: Amish Applesauce Bundt Cake 
• Patyco Candybar: Applesauce Bundt with Caramel Glaze 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Applesauce Spice Cake 
• Magical Ingredients: Caramel Coconut Apple Bundt Cake 
• Passion Kneaded : Cinnamon Walnut Applesauce Bundt 
• Food Lust People Love: German Applesauce Cake with Cinnamon Glaze

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.

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