Livonian Soup with Kloskis

Ingredients

• 50 g butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 50 g sorrel, sliced
• 500 g spinach, blanched and pressed
• 4 dl béchamel sauce (white roux-based mother sauce)
• 1 litre white consommé (light cooking stock)
• 4 dl heavy cream
• 60 g butter
• 20 pieces kloskis (potato-choux dumplings)
• 1 pinch chervil leaves (whole herb garnish)
• 200 g choux pastry, unsweetened
• 2 pieces shallots, finely chopped, blanched, and pressed
• 25 g cooked lean ham, chopped
• 25 g small croutons, fried in butter

Instructions

1. Melt 50 g butter in a pot. Add the chopped onion and sliced sorrel, cooking gently until softened.
2. Add the blanched and pressed spinach and cook all ingredients together in butter for a few minutes.
3. Pour in 4 dl béchamel sauce. Simmer gently for 15 minutes.
4. Press the entire mixture through a fine sieve. Dilute the purée with 1 litre of white consommé and allow it to simmer for 20 minutes, skimming off any impurities as they rise.
5. Finish the soup just before service with 4 dl heavy cream and 60 g butter, stirring to incorporate fully.
6. For the kloskis: Mix 200 g unsweetened choux pastry with 2 finely chopped, blanched, and pressed shallots, 25 g finely chopped cooked lean ham, and 25 g small croutons fried in butter. Divide the mixture into portions of 12 g each, molding them by hand into small balls. Poach them in simmering salted water for 20 minutes. Time their cooking so they are ready just as you serve the soup.
7. Garnish each bowl with kloskis and a pinch of chervil leaves.