PURRUSALDA (LEEK SOUP)

PURRUSALDA (LEEK SOUP)

Ingredientes:

• 5 leeks (the white parts of the leeks)
• 2 potatoes
• 2 carrots
• 2 onions
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 20 milligrams saffron (not grams!!!)
• 750 ml water
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• Olive oil, salt, white pepper 
• 1 Bouquet Garni*
• 1 table spoon of vinegar

To garnish 

• Fine chopped parsley
• 2 pieces of skin of bream ( cooked in the oven until it gets crispy)

Ingredientes

Chop 1 carrot and 2 leeks in Julienne*,chop 1 onion in Emincer*. Put 1-2 table spoons of olive oil to a sauce pan,add onions and cook for 1 minute. Then add the carrot, leeks, salt, white pepper and 1 Bouquet Garni. Add 250 ml water and cook for 15 minutes. When it is cooked, add 1 table spoon of vinegar and stir it. 

Cut the cloves of garlic into 4 pieces and cook it within 2 tablespoon of olive oil very slowly for 10 minutes (until it gets soft) Then, mash the garlic with saffron. 

On the other hand ,chop 2 potatoes, 1 onion and 1 carrot in fine Mirepoix*, chop 3 leeks as half-moons. Put 2 tablespoon of olive oil into a pot, add the potatoes when the oil is hot, cook them for 1-2 minutes. Then add leeks, carrot and onions, cook them for 2-3 minutes. Add 500 ml water, salt and cook for 15 minutes. When it is cooked, add the garlic-saffron paste into the vegetables and blenderize it. Finally add 1 table spoon of butter.

Fry the pre-oven cooked fish skins in an abundant amount of olive oil.

Put 1-2 table spoon of Julienne-cut vegetables into the serving bowl, then pour the soup around it, place the fried fish skin at the top. Garnish it with the chopped parsley.

Tips

• The garlics to be used for the paste with saffron should have a soft texture. So be careful about not to fry them, just cook them.
• The butter to be added after the soup is blenderized, should be cold. If the butter is warm or melted, it cannot add extra-brightness to the soup.
• The fish skin and butter can be removed from the recipe so that it would be suitable for vegans. 

*Mirepoix: Mixture of diced onions, celery, and carrots. The sizes of mirepoix be fine (0,5 cm),medium (1cm)or large (2-3 cm) depending the cooking time and purpose.  The ratio of the ingredients is 2:1:1 of onions, celery, and carrots.Also it means the shape of that cut in dices.

*Emincer: Cut in regular thin sheets, bulbs or roots.

*Julienne:A culinary knife cut in which the food item is cut into long thin strips, similar to matchsticks. 

*Bouquet Garni: A bouquet garni is a bundle of herbs that is added to casseroles, stocks, sauces and soups. It traditionally comprises parsley (or parsley stalks, which have lots of flavor), a few sprigs of thyme and a bay leaf. These herbs may be bundled into a strip of leek or a piece of celery stalk, or tied in a muslin bag or with string, to keep them together during cooking and allow easy removal before serving.