Garbure Soup with Vegetables (Gardener Style)

Ingredients

• 100 g salsify
• 50 g celery stalks
• 50 g potatoes
• 1 small head lettuce heart
• butter
• white parts of leeks (julienne cut)
• round croutons of household bread, dried in the oven
• grated cheese
• ordinary consommé

Instructions

1. Slice the salsify, celery stalks, potatoes, and small lettuce heart. Stew them in butter and finish cooking them in a light court-bouillon (brief moistening). Pass the cooked vegetables through a tamis (fine-mesh sieve) and reduce to a tight purée.
2. Separately, prepare a very fine julienne (thin-cut strips) of white leek parts. Stew these in butter and mix them into the vegetable purée.
3. Mask (coat) rounds of dried household bread croutons with this vegetable mixture. Dust with grated cheese, gratinée (brown under high heat), and mitonner (keep hot without boiling) as described in the general method above.
4. Serve with ordinary consommé (clear broth) on the side.
5. Note: When salsify is out of season, increase the proportions of the other vegetables accordingly to achieve the desired quantity of purée.