🇫🇷 France
Potage ParmentierFrench leek and potato soup
A hot French soup of leeks and floury potatoes sweated in butter, cooked in water or stock and puréed, usually finished with cream or butter and garnished with chervil, chives or croutons. It is named for Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, the promoter of the potato in France.
Origin and history
Potage Parmentier is named after Antoine-Augustin Parmentier (1737-1813), the army pharmacist who, according to French sources, learned of the potato's food value while a prisoner in Prussia during the Seven Years' War, when the tuber was mostly fed to animals, and later presented it to Louis XVI. The French dictionary uses 'parmentier' for dishes made with potatoes and cites an 1869 recipe for a potato soup with butter, broth, chervil and croutons.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 6 servings
- Total time
- 30 min
- Hands-on
- 20 min
Ingredients
- 400 g14 oz leeks (about 4 large), white and pale green parts only
- 600 g1 1/3 lb floury potatoes, such as Bintje or Russet; peeled, cut in chunks
- 30-45 g2-3 tbsp butter, or olive oil; plus a little more to finish if you like
- 1.6 l1 2/3 quarts water or light chicken or vegetable stock
- 50 ml3 tbsp crème fraîche or cream, a drizzle, optional; more for a richer soup
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- chervil, chives or parsley, chopped, to serve
- bread croutons, fried in butter, to serve
Method
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1. Trim the roots and dark green tops from the leeks, split them lengthwise and rinse well under running water, fanning the layers to wash out the grit. Slice thinly.
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2. Peel the potatoes and cut them in chunks; keep them in cold water until needed so they do not darken.
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3. Melt the butter in a heavy pot over low heat and sweat the leeks for 5 to 8 minutes without letting them colour.
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4. Add the drained potatoes, pour in the water or stock, salt lightly and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, until a knife slides into the potato without resistance.
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5. Purée with a stick blender, a blender or a food mill until velvety. For a thicker soup, add only part of the liquid first and thin to taste.
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6. Stir in the cream if using, taste and adjust the salt and pepper, and serve hot with chervil or chives and buttery croutons.
Notes
- The ratio in the Cuisine Culinaire recipe is about two parts leek whites to three parts potato by weight; more leek gives a lighter, greener flavour, more potato a heavier soup.
- Floury potatoes break down for a smooth soup; Cuisine Culinaire names Bintje, Manon and Marabel, and Russet in the US. The older French text quoted by La Langue Française (an 1869 recipe) describes a purée of floury potatoes cooked with fresh butter and broth, served with chopped chervil and fried croutons.
- Cooked without the cream, the soup freezes for up to 3 months; reheat and add the cream just before serving.
- The name Parmentier is also used for hachis parmentier, the potato-topped mince.
- Olive oil can replace the butter, as Cuisine Culinaire allows, for a dairy-free version without the cream.
Adapted from Cuisine Culinaire: Potage Parmentier (soupe poireaux pommes de terre) and La Langue Française: Parmentier (definition, 1869 Journal des demoiselles recipe).
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