Crecy Soup

A thin carrot purée soup that depends almost entirely on the quality of the stock and the sweetness of the carrot. The instructions are terse but complete; the main decisions left to the cook are quantity and texture.

• Shave off the outer part, leaving the coreThis is deliberate, not a typo — the outer flesh of an older carrot is sweeter and more deeply coloured, while the woody core is bland and fibrous. With modern young carrots the core is not worth discarding; use the whole vegetable and simply trim any tough stem end.
• One carrot to a quart is thin"One large carrot" against a quart of stock gives a very lightly flavoured, thin soup. For a soup that reads as carrot soup today, use 3 to 4 medium carrots per quart.
• Rub through a strainerA chinois or fine sieve with the back of a ladle does this properly; a food mill is faster. A blender gives a smoother, more modern result but also a slightly foamy body, so let it settle before serving.
• The stock is the dishThe recipe says only "stock," and assumes the cook has a good homemade one. A weak commercial broth leaves nothing behind the carrot; use a well-reduced unsalted stock and season at the end.
• The teaspoon of sugarThe teaspoon of sugar may be compensating for dull storage carrots. Taste before adding any: with sweet supermarket carrots the sugar can push the soup toward dessert. A squeeze of lemon or a spoonful of cream does more for balance.
• Cooking waterBoil the carrot and onion in as little water as will cover them, and use that liquid to loosen the purée rather than pouring it off — some of the soluble sweetness has gone into it.
• CroûtonsSmall dice of stale white bread tossed in butter and dried in a 350F oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Cut them small enough to sit on a spoon with the soup.
• YieldA quart of stock makes four modest first-course servings.