Watercress Potato Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Coarsely chop watercress leaves and stems seperately. Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat. Mix in onion, parsley sprigs, thyme sprigs, garlic, bay leaf, and watercress stems. Cover; cook until onion is tender, stirring occasionally; about 12 minutes. Add broth and potatoes; bring to boil. Reduce heat cover and simmer until potatoes are very tender, about 25 minutes.
• Discard parsley, thyme, and bay leaf. Purée soup in processor until smooth. Return soup to same saucepan. Add 1 cup milk and watercress leaves; bring to simmer, adding more milk if soup is too thick. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Chill until cold, about 4 hours.

Steps:

• Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add potatoes and onions. Stir until coated with butter, about 1 minute. Sprinkle flour over; stir 1 minute. Add 2 3/4 cups broth and milk. Cover pan. Boil gently until potatoes and onions are tender, about 10 minutes.
• Puree soup in batches in blender. Return to pan. Add 1 3/4 cups watercress. Bring back to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Thin with more broth, if desired.
• Lade soup into bowls. Garnish with remaining 1/2 cup watercress.

Steps:

• In a large pot heat oil over medium heat. Add shallots and potatoes and cook, stirring for 5-6 minutes or until softened, but not beginning to brown.
• Add broth, increase heat to high, bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute.
• Quickly add watercress and spinach. After they have cooked a few seconds, use slotted spoon to transfer all of the vegetables to a food processor.
• Pulse until smooth, but not watery.
• Add about 1 cup of the cooking broth and pulse until smooth. Return to saucepan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Gently reheat over medium heat.
• Ladle into warmed serving bowls. Add a spoonful of creme fraiche to the center of each and serve.

Steps:

• Thoroughly rinse and drain dark-green leek tops; transfer to a pot. Remove husks and silks from corn, rinse and drain them, and transfer to pot. Strip corn from cobs and transfer cobs to pot (reserving kernels). Add 8 cups water, 2 teaspoons salt, and whole peppercorns to pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 5 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding solids and reserving broth (you should have about 6 cups).
• Slice white and light-green parts of leeks; submerge in water and agitate with your hands to dislodge any dirt, then thoroughly drain. Wipe pot clean; add oil and heat over medium. Add sliced leeks and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until leeks are very soft but not developing any color (if color begins to develop, reduce heat), about 10 minutes. Add potato, 4 cups reserved broth, and reserved corn kernels to pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until potato is easily pierced with the tip of a knife, about 15 minutes. Stir in all but a handful of watercress; simmer 2 minutes.
• Transfer soup to a blender with miso and vinegar; purée until smooth. (Be careful blending the hot liquid: Remove feed cap from blender lid and cover with a kitchen towel to let steam escape, and purée in two batches if necessary.) Season to taste and thin with more broth, if necessary, to reach desired consistency. Serve warm or chilled, topped with blanched corn kernels, remaining watercress, a drizzle of oil, flaky salt, and ground pepper.

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add potatoes, watercress and onion to the pot.
• Cook, stirring about 5 minutes until onion is tender. Stir in the broth, half and half cream, pepper and celery seed.
• Cover and cook over low heat, 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
• Using an immersion blender, blend soup until pureed to desired consistency. Adjust seasonings if necessary.
• Serve garnished with watercress sprigs.

Steps:

• To make the soup, cook potatoes in boiling water until tender, about 30 minutes. When cool enough to handle, slip off the skins and pass through a ricer. Set aside.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 8 cups of the watercress and blanch for 5 seconds. Immediately drain and refresh under cold running water. Drain and squeeze out excess water. Place in a blender with the yogurt and blend until smooth. Scrape into a bowl and whisk in the milk, mustard, 2 teaspoons salt and pepper to taste. Coarsely chop the remaining 2 cups watercress and stir into the soup. Refrigerate until chilled.
• Meanwhile, to make the pesto, blanch the watercress as above. Drain, squeeze out excess water and coarsely chop with a knife. Place in a blender with the walnuts, garlic, olive oil and salt. Blend until smooth, stopping as necessary to scrape down the sides of the jar.
• Taste soup and add more salt if needed. Ladle the soup among 4 bowls. Place 2 teaspoons of the pesto in the center of each bowl and sprinkle the mustard seeds around it. Serve immediately.