Mcgrath Farms’ Watercress Soup with Gentleman’s Relish Toast

Name: Mcgrath Farms’ Watercress Soup with Gentleman’s Relish Toast
Ingredients: 7 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 cup sliced white onion plus 2 cups diced white onions; 2 leeks, whites only, sliced; 1 carrot, peeled and sliced; 2 stalks celery, sliced; 1 chile de árbol, crumbled; 1/4 bunch thyme; 1/4 bunch flat-leaf parsley, plus 2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley; A pinch cayenne pepper; 5 cups chopped watercress (about 2 bunches); 2 tablespoons minced chives; 1 tablespoon chopped tarragon; 1 cup heavy cream; 1 lemon; Gentleman’s relish on toasts (recipe follows); Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 baguette; 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened; 1 teaspoon minced anchovy; 2 teaspoons finely diced shallot; 1 teaspoon lemon juice; 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest; Healthy pinch cayenne pepper; 1 teaspoon minced flat-leaf parsley; 1 teaspoon minced chives; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

January 24, 2012

Super-green watercress makes the perfect starter to a St. Patrick’s Day dinner. One St. Patrick’s Day at Lucques, in order not to lose the bright, vivid green color and fresh lively taste of the watercress, I decided to make the soup to order. Rather than cooking the watercress, I planned to wilt it with hot vegetable stock and then purée it with tarragon, parsley, chives, and a touch of cream. As that night approached, the restaurant was booked solid, and I began to worry about my made-to-order soup scheme, but Daniel Mattern, my equally obsessive sous-chef, insisted we go for it in spite of the anticipated 180 reservations. He recruited the waitstaff to bring their blenders from home, and organized his new found equipment into a lean, mean soup station as if it were business as usual. That night, all 180 bowls of soup were made to order and managed to arrive at the tables pipinghot. Dan must have had the luck of the Irish because he pulled it off without a hitch. Served with an anchovy toast, this “à la minute” soup is great any day of the year.

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