Soups

Avgolemono

(serves six)

The rice is a cheat to give body and to stabilise the soup, but no cheating is allowed with the rest: you must have a good, clean, fresh chicken stock and cook it as gently as though making a custard. The result is a lovely, delicate soup with a light velvety texture masking the sharpness of the lemon.

• 1.2 litres (2 pints) chicken stock

• 2 tbsp rice

• 2 whole eggs plus 2 extra egg yolks

• the juice of 3 lemons

• 75ml (3fl oz) Greek yoghurt

Put the stock and the rice in a saucepan, bring to the boil, season well and simmer for 15 minutes. Liquidise thoroughly, and then strain through a sieve back into the pan. Whisk the eggs, extra egg yolks, lemon juice and yoghurt together in a bowl. Bring the blended stock and rice back to the boil, then pour about a quarter of the liquid in a thin stream on to the egg mixture in the bowl, whisking constantly, You can now return the contents of the bowl to the pan, Cook the soup very gently stirring it constantly with a wooden spoon until the liquid almost imperceptibly starts to thicken: remove from the heat immediately and serve.

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH MAGAZINE, 4 FEBRUARY 2001

Rouille

For adding to bought jars of French fish soup.

Cheat of the week – by Henry Harris

Fish soup is a fabulous treat that requires a lot of shopping. considerable effort and time in the kitchen and a big bin for all those bones. For a quick version. a jar of French soupe de poisson will do the trick Every French supermarket stocks it, and the Perard brand is reliably tasty, particularly if you throw in a splash of Pernod and serve it with the traditional garnish of rouille, gruyère and croutons. Back here in Blighty the gourmet section of your supermarket, fishmonger or deli should prove fruitful, otherwise try www.merchantgourmet.com

Fish soup garnish

• 1 baguette

• Olive oil

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled

• ½ tsp sea salt

• 3 anchovy fillets

• 1tsp tomato purée

• 2 egg yolks

• 1 pinch saffron in a little boiling water

• ½ tsp harissa or chilli sauce

• Juice of half a lemon

• 200ml extra-virgin olive oil 2x750ml jars of French fish soup

• 200g gruyère, coarsely grated

Preheat the oven to 150C/Gas mark 2. Slice the baguette, brush each round with olive oil, place on a tray and bake for ten minutes, until golden. Set aside on paper towel to cool.

Process the garlic, salt and anchovy to a smooth paste. Add the yolks the saffron and its liquid, harissa and lemon juice, blend together and then add the olive oil, drop by drop as you would for mayonnaise.

Heat the soup, ladle into bowls.  Spread the rouille on the croutons and drop them in to the soup with a sprinkling of cheese.

Henry Harris is head chef at Fifth Floor, Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge SW1

Courgette Soup

(Heather Sutton – a dear friend)

• 15g unsalted butter

• 1 tbsp olive or sunflower oil

• 3 onions, chopped finely

• 750g courgette in 1” pieces

• 2 carrots thinly sliced

• 1.5 litre chicken stock

• 2 tsp finely chopped tarragon (add more if liked) and a bunch of stems tied

• ¼ litre semi skimmed milk

• Seasoning

Method:

Cook onions until golden, add courgettes, carrots, stock and bunch of stems.  Boil then reduce to simmer for 15 mins.

Remove from heat, discard stems, roughly puree, stir in milk, seasonings and a little cayenne if desired.  Reheat and add chopped tarragon.

Rhubarb soup

• 1 stem rhubarb chopped

• 2 tbs red wine vinegar

• 50g caster sugar

• 150g water

• Greek style yoghurt or mascarpone to serve

Method:

1. Place rhubarb in bowl with 2 tbs of the water cook in microwave 3 to 4 minutes to soften.

2. Heat wed wine vinegar with sugar and water in pan.  Bring to boil, stir in rhubarb.

3. Serve with yoghurt or mascarpone.