Wednesday, February 11, 2009

February Recipe from Wildflower Cafe & Coffeehouse

Each month, Executive Chef & Owner of the Wildflower Café, TODD HUSDON, will be sharing an organic recipe with you! The Wildflower Café is an all-organic restaurant located at:
207 E. Main Street • Mason, OH 45040.

For more information, visit www.wildflowercafeandcoffeehouse.com or call 513-492-7514.

Rosemary Potato Soup


Ingredients:
- 1/4 lb unsalted butter
- 1.5 cups diced yellow onion
- 1 cup diced celery
- 2 whole 6” springs of rosemary
- 1 T. freshly chopped garlic
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 quart milk (organic or local, or better yet, BOTH)
- nutmeg to taste
- 1 cup mashed potatoes
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2/3 cup - 1” diced cooked potatoes
- 3 T. organic chicken base -or- 1.5 cups strong, flavorful homemade chicken stock
- 1T. all purpose seasoning
- 1 T. dried basil
- fresh ground pepper to taste
- couple dashes of hot sauce

Directions:

Make a blond roux: On low heat, melt butter. Add onion and celery to melted butter. Add sprigs of fresh rosemary, and garlic. Stir and cook until onions are clear, but not browned. Slowly add flour, and stir on low heat, until flour and butter are combined and smooth, but not brown.

Make that blond roux into a Bechamel Sauce: Add milk. Slowly cook on low heat until milk thickens a bit. Run a few scrapes of nutmeg across a planer, or cheese grater. Simmer for about 15 minutes, remove rosemary sprigs and discard them — preferably into a compost pile!

Season and adjust: Stir in cooked mashed potatoes, sour cream, diced cooked potatoes, chicken base, all purpose seasoning, basil, Fresh ground pepper to taste, a few dashes of hot sauce (it really makes it better, without adding heat). If the soup is too thick for your liking just add more milk and re-season with salt and pepper. If its too thin, let it cook and reduce.

Serve: Garnish with chopped chives or green onion, crumbled real bacon if you like, and a good shredded cheese of your choice. You can also add whatever other veggies you have, we've had good luck with asparagus. People will want you to make this one all the time.