RobbsSlowCookerBook: And So It Begins

by Caitriona Devery

I’ve had a slow cooker for a few years now. I am a big fan of the patient, comforting and unfussy cooking it promotes. When Robb asked me to test out some of the recipes for his new slow cooker cookbook Braised, Simmered & Stewed: Heritage Dishes from the Slow Cooker, I snapped at the chance. Obviously it’s cool to get a sneak peek at these slow cooker creations before they hit the press, but I was also attracted to the prospect of being given a catalogue of new things to try. I sometimes get stuck in food ruts, making the same dishes I’ve cooked for years. I began to imagine myself as Julie in Julie and Julia, determinedly working my way through a vast repertoire of ingredients and techniques, acquiring new skills and learning about who I really am in the process. One recipe down, I can say that I have primarily learned that I should pay more attention when sautéing vegetables.

I decided to start with one of the simpler recipes; the potato and leek soup or Potage Parmentier. The recipe is included below this post. I’m fascinated by the history of Antoine Augustin Parmentier, the dedicated potato advocate, scientist and public figure of the eighteenth century. I came across Parmentier through the work of artist Deirdre O’ Mahony who has researched the influence of this Frenchman on diet and agriculture across Europe. In Parmentier’s time in France the potato was believed to be unfit for human consumption. He fervently believed otherwise and staged a PR crusade to change public perceptions of the crop, which he thought would lead to better public health and food security. Way before social media, Parmentier was an eighteenth-century “influencer” who invented potato recipes and devised stylized feasts to persuade important public figures of the time in France of the potato’s value.

But back to the soup. I’ve never thought to cook soup in a slow cooker. I often cook simple soups at home – soups like courgette and mushroom, kale and spinach with green lentils, or spiced butternut squash with coconut milk. My assumption has always been that as it’s convenient and efficient to cook soup in a saucepan on the stove, why mess with what works? Well, my mind has been opened. I am sure there are many instances where the regular sauté-simmer-and-blend method still wins, but for this particular recipe the slow cooker delivered a deeper flavour and a more luxurious mouthfeel than any potato and leek soup I’ve quick-cooked in the past.

The recipe is simple. I agree that the optional step to sauté the leeks first is important to add flavour, so I diligently popped them in a saucepan with butter and olive oil while I prepped the rooster potatoes. I have to confess, in this attempt to be efficient, I failed to pay appropriate attention to the leeks while cooking. They got a little bit frizzled. Not too much, but a little. Since this soup has quite clean and simple flavours, I think it’s best to cook the leeks slowly and at a lower heat, so they don’t brown at all. They should be glossy and soft. Next time I will be more gentle.

I chopped up my three cloves of garlic, which were gigantic. I spotted this at the time but ignored my better judgement and threw all three in, rather recklessly. In retrospect, my soup was a little over-garlicked. It definitely overpowered the broth at the start when the raw garlic was still pungent, but happily as the soup progressed over the cooking period, it mellowed in flavour. I chucked in the potatoes, broth, bay and thyme and even at that stage, with the attention seeking garlic dominating, it smelled savoury and appetising. Then it was time for the most satisfying part of using a slow cooker: putting the lid on and walking away, safe in the knowledge that you don’t really have to do anything while the magic is happening. I went for the quicker ‘high’ cook option that took four hours.

When I came back four hours later, everything was soft and the liquid was starchy. I tasted a little bit and the garlic, while still noticeable, had very much blended into the other flavours. I removed the bay and thyme, added the cream and blended the soup using an immersion blender. It was quite thick at that point, so I added a little bit more chicken stock. The chives in the garden at my parents’ house, where I was cooking, have died back for the winter, so I had to substitute some curly parsley. I drizzled a bit more cream on top, sprinkled the fresh herb and grabbed my spoon.

On tasting, the main thing I noticed about the soup was its gentle softness – this is real comfort food. Perfect for winter or if you’re feeling overwhelmed. There is a richness of flavour here, but it’s easygoing, digestible. The interesting thing for me was the effect of the slow cooking on the potato and the resulting texture of the soup. I’m no Harold McGee, but the slower cooking seems to break down the potato starch in a distinctive way. It could be the type of potato I used – roosters are quite floury – but the texture reminded me of baked potato. It was smooth and creamy of course, but there was a kind of fluffy, pillowy feel in the mouth, which I really liked.

So, my first slow cooker soup – I’ m converted, as well as comforted, by this soup. A soothing, simple recipe that feels more luxurious than its humble ingredients would suggest. You can try the recipe below – let us know what you think!

Bio: Caitríona Devery is a writer from Offaly but based in Dublin, with interests in food, art, heritage and the environment. She is a member of the Irish Food Writers’ Guild and has written for the UK-based Feast Journal, Dublin’s Rabble magazine as well as District magazine and its offshoot Char.  

 

Recipe from Braised, Simmered & Stewed: Heritage Dishes from the Slow Cooker: Potato and Leek Soup (Potage Parmentier, Vichyssoise)

The velvety combination of potatoes and leeks is a soothing comfort food and a favorite slow cooker soup. You can skip cooking the leeks in butter and add them directly to the slow cooker if you’re pressed for time, but the resulting soup is a lot blander. There are many variations.

English recipes often call for the addition of chopped parsley and fresh or frozen peas before blending, which turns the soup an appealing shade of bright green.

Potage Parmentier is the French name for this soup. Antoine-Augustin Parmentier popularized the potato in 19th century and so the French version of leek and potato soup is named after him. To turn it into Potage Bonne Femme, simply add fresh garden herbs.

French chef Louis Diat added “Crème Vichyssoise Glacée” to the menu of the Ritz-Carlton in New York early in the 20th century. There isn’t any big difference between potato and leek soup and Vichyssoise except the later is blended smooth, served cold and always includes milk or cream.

4 quart/3.7 liter slow cooker

2-3 leeks (about a pound/500 grams, trimmed)
Knob of butter
Glug of olive oil
Dash of salt
Grind of fresh black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound/500 grams potatoes, peeled and diced
Quart/liter chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
Whipping cream, half and half or milk (optional)
Chopped chives for garnish

Trim the loose green tops from the leeks, then slice the rest lengthwise. Clean them thoroughly under running water to remove mud and grit between the leaves, cut into thin half moons. Melt the butter and add the olive oil to a skillet over medium heat and cook the sliced leeks until soft, about 15 minutes, then transfer to a slow cooker.

Add potatoes, broth, bay, and thyme and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or 3-4 hours on HIGH.

When the potatoes are meltingly tender, remove the thyme stems and bay leaf. Taste and season as needed. If the mixture is too thick, add water, milk or additional broth. The soup can be served chunky or blended to a smooth consistency using an immersion blender (or in batches in a regular blender). Add milk or cream if desired.

Serve in soup bowls, sprinkled with chopped chives

Potage Bonne Femme: Add washed and chopped chevril, sorrel, or other fresh herbs to the hot soup before serving

Vichysoisse: Blend smooth with the cream and serve cold.

Leek Potato and Pea Soup: Add half a cup of chopped parsley and 2 cups fresh or frozen peas in the last 30 minutes of cooking and puree until smooth.

Serves 6 to 8