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Cream of Watercress
Put one quart of white stock, or beef stock and water, on the stove with 2 bunches of chopped watercress and 1 tablespoonful of butter. Simmer twenty minutes. When it begins to boil, add 1 tablespoonful of butter and 2 tablespoonfuls of arrowroot cooked thoroughly, 2 cups of hot milk, 1/2 teaspoonful salt, and a dash of cayenne. Garnish with 1 cup of whipped cream and 1/2 cupful of fresh cress tips.
A straightforward cream soup thickened with arrowroot rather than flour, from the era when a cream soup meant stock, a starch binder and scalded milk. The instructions run in a slightly loose order; read them through before starting.
- Order of workThe stock, cress and first tablespoon of butter go on together and simmer twenty minutes. The recipe then directs that the second butter, the arrowroot, the hot milk and the seasoning be added when the pot begins to boil.
- White stockA pale unsalted stock made from veal or chicken bones and aromatics, with no browning. A light chicken stock, or half stock and half water as the recipe allows, does the same job.
- Arrowroot"Cooked thoroughly" means blended smooth with the melted butter and cooked out for a minute or two, or slaked in a little cold milk, before it meets the hot liquid. Arrowroot thickens at a lower temperature than flour and thins if held at a hard boil, so bring the soup just to the boil and take it off.
- Watercress quantityTwo bunches is an indefinite measure and bunch size varies; treat it as a large double handful, stems included. The half cup of tips for the garnish can simply be set aside before anything goes in the pot.
- Cooking the cressTwenty minutes turns watercress olive-drab and dulls its pepper. Simmer the stems for the time given if you want the flavour extracted, then add the leaves for the last two or three minutes, blend, and strain if you want it smooth.
- MilkHeat the milk separately and add it hot, as the recipe specifies. Cold milk poured into the hot stock will drop the temperature enough to slacken the arrowroot.
- SeasoningHalf a teaspoon of salt assumes an unsalted stock. Taste after the milk goes in; cress needs more salt than it looks like it will.
- Garnish and yieldThe whipped cream is unsweetened and spooned onto each bowl, not stirred in, with the raw cress tips over it. About 1 1/2 quarts, serving four to six as a first course.