Purée de Topinambour, otherwise Palestine

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •4-quart heavy saucepan with lid
• •10-inch skillet
• •Immersion blender or heat-safe countertop blender
• •Sturdy fine-mesh sieve
• •Small whisk and ladle

Instructions

1. 1

   Toast the filberts

   Set the filberts in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat. Toss them frequently until their skins darken in spots and the nuts smell warm and biscuit-like, about 4 minutes. Rub away the loose skins in a folded towel, then crush the nuts almost to a powder. Torrefied means deeply toasted, not scorched; blackened nuts will make the whole pot bitter.

2. 2

   Prepare the topinambours

   Scrub and peel the Jerusalem artichokes, trimming away any dark crevices, then slice them evenly about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick. Keep the prepared slices covered as you work so they don't discolor. Evenness matters more than elegance: thin slices become tender together, while thick stray pieces remain fibrous.

3. 3

   Stew without color

   Melt the stewing butter in a heavy 4-quart saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the sliced topinambours and a small pinch of salt, cover, and cook gently for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until their edges look translucent but take no brown color. Add the crushed filberts and stir for 1 minute. If the butter begins to brown, lower the heat and add a spoonful of the measured consommé to stop it; the flavor should be sweet and nutty, never roasted.

4. 4

   Moisten and simmer

   Pour in the white chicken consommé or pale stock and scrape the saucepan clean as it comes to a bare simmer. Partially cover and cook gently for 25 to 35 minutes. The topinambours are ready only when a slice collapses under a fork and offers no firm center. If the liquid drops before that point, add hot water a few tablespoons at a time and keep cooking; tenderness decides the purée, not the clock.

   Piercing a slice is not enough. Press it against the side of the saucepan with a fork; it should flatten without resistance.
5. 5

   Blend and sieve

   Blend the soup directly in the saucepan until no visible pieces remain, keeping the blender head submerged. Pass it through a sturdy fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl, pressing with a ladle until only a little dry fiber remains. If the pulp clogs the mesh and refuses to pass, return it to the blender with a ladleful of the strained liquid, blend longer, and try again. Ça se rattrape. The sieve is not ceremony here; it removes the fibers that separate a silken purée from a merely blended soup.

6. 6

   Fry the bread dice

   Wipe out the skillet and melt the crouton butter over medium heat until its foam subsides. Add the bread dice in an even layer and toss frequently until every side is crisp and biscuit-gold, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer them to an absorbent towel and keep them uncovered. Covering warm croutons traps moisture and softens the crust.

7. 7

   Bind with fécule

   Return the strained purée to the clean saucepan. Whisk the fécule into the cold milk until completely smooth, scraping the bottom because potato starch settles quickly. Bring the purée to a gentle simmer, whisk in the slurry, and let it reach its first clear bubble; cook for 30 seconds, then lower the heat. A long boil weakens potato starch. If small lumps appear, take the pan off the heat, blend briefly, and pass the purée through the sieve once more.

8. 8

   Mount with butter

   Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the cold finishing butter a few pieces at a time until the surface looks smooth and softly glossy. Taste before adding salt, especially if the consommé was already seasoned. If a yellow slick appears, the purée was too hot; whisk in 1 tablespoon of cold water off the heat until the emulsion returns. Ladle generously into warm bowls and scatter the fried bread dice over each serving at the last moment. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose Jerusalem artichokes that feel hard and heavy, without soft patches. Smooth specimens are quicker to peel, but careful cooking matters more than handsome tubers.
• •Five filberts look almost comically modest beside two pounds of topinambours. Keep the restraint. They are there to deepen the tuber's natural sweetness, not turn the pot into hazelnut soup.
• •A prepared white chicken consommé keeps the source formula exactly. A pale, well-made chicken stock is the sensible home equivalent because the purée will never display a consommé's clarity; clarification is brigade scaffolding, not the soul of this dish.
• •The source also permits a velouté or a cream, but those are sibling preparations, not invisible substitutions. This version remains the purée: fécule in cold milk, a thorough sieving, and butter mounted at the finish.
• •For a dinner party, pour a dry white with enough body for the butter and filberts, such as a Mâcon-Villages. Serve the purée in modest portions before roasted poultry or veal.

Advance Preparation

• •The purée can be prepared through the sieving step up to 1 day ahead. Cool it promptly, cover, and refrigerate; reheat gently before adding the milk and fécule, then mount with butter just before serving.
• •The bread dice can be fried up to 4 hours ahead. Let them cool completely before storing them in an airtight container, then scatter them over the soup only as the bowls go to the table.
• •Finished purée keeps for up to 3 days under refrigeration. Reheat it over low heat without boiling, whisking in a spoonful of water if the fécule has tightened it overnight.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 225g)