MONDAY, MAY 10, 2010
The farmer’s market has begun! How nice to be among the familiar sights and smells, even though it was raining. Also familiar was the enticement of fresh lettuces, spinach, cheeses, etc. It takes will power to not buy every alluring item, which inevitably leaves me with not enough time to do something with everything. This time I limited myself to lovely asparagus so that I could try Lydie’s asparagus soup.
I was once again impressed with how simple, yet delicious Lydie’s recipes can be. Asparagus, oil and flour for a kind of roux, and chicken stock (guiltily, I opted for store-bought), pureed at the end. That’s it! Delicious!
Lydie suggests serving the soup with aioli. This was my first attempt at making aioli. Ladies and gentlemen: don’t try making aioli when you’re in a hurry. It requires incorporating olive oil into a mixture of egg yolks, garlic, salt and cayenne one drop at a time! This cannot be hurried or short-cut without a curdled mess on your hands! (Believe me, I know!) Next time I will use the standing mixer, not the hand held one, which will allow for a more leisurely emulsification of the oil with egg yolks. The end result was delicious, despite the aioli’s consistency being less than perfect. How can you go wrong with a garlicky mayonnaise. What a nice addition to the soup!
I am curious to know why this is called a bouillabaisse, not a soupe. Apparently, bouillabaisse has a meaning beyond fish soup, but I’m not familiar with what distinguishes a bouillabaisse from a soupe. Anyone out there know?
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