Crecy Soup

By the RecipeCafe Archives

Ingredients

• 5.5 pints (2.6 L / 2600 ml) Brown Soup Stock
• 2 cups (about 260 g) carrots, chopped
• 1 blade of mace
• 4 tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter, divided
• 4 tablespoons (30 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. 1. Wash and scrape the carrots. Cut away the darker outer portion of each carrot, then chop the flesh finely or pass it through a meat grinder (food processor on pulse is an acceptable modern substitute).
2. 2. In a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, melt 2 tablespoons (28 g) of the butter. Add the chopped carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, until the carrots have softened and begun to turn translucent at the edges.
3. 3. Add the Brown Soup Stock and the blade of mace. Reduce the heat to low and cook slowly for 45 minutes, until the carrots are completely tender and press apart easily between two fingers.
4. 4. Remove and discard the blade of mace. Strain the soup through a fine-mesh sieve set over a clean saucepan, pressing the cooked carrots firmly through the sieve with the back of a spoon (a technique sometimes called tamis-straining or forcing through a sieve) to form a smooth puree that returns to the stock below. Discard any fibrous residue that will not pass through.
5. 5. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons (28 g) of butter. Add the flour and stir constantly for 1 to 2 minutes, until the mixture smells faintly nutty and looks pale gold — this is a roux (a cooked fat-and-flour paste that thickens the soup without producing a raw-flour taste).
6. 6. Gradually ladle the hot strained stock into the roux, whisking constantly after each addition to prevent lumps. Continue until all the stock is incorporated.
7. 7. Return the combined soup to medium-low heat and cook, stirring often, for 8 to 12 minutes, until the soup has thickened enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon and no raw-flour taste remains. Adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.
8. 8. Optional white variation: Replace the Brown Soup Stock with 1 quart (950 ml) White Soup Stock and add 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream or whole milk in step 6 in place of the equivalent volume of stock. Proceed as written; the finished soup will be pale and more delicate in flavour.