Velouté Cressonière

Velouté Cressonière (watercress velouté) teaches the difference between a puréed green soup and a true velouté. The leaves bring their peppery freshness, but the texture comes from the smooth velouté foundation and the liaison added at the end. The one true thing to know before touching the pan is this: once the yolks and cream enter, the soup must never boil.

The original formula assumed a saucier on staff, Ordinary Velouté and Ordinary White Consommé never far from the fire, and a tammy ready for the labor of rubbing the soup smooth. Here the same proportions become a home batch of about two quarts, made with those finished preparations, a blender, and a fine-mesh sieve. The large service pot and hand-rubbing are brigade scaffolding and can go. The slight parboil, the butter stew, the seven-to-eight-minute simmer, the sieving, and the last-minute liaison are the dish itself, so they stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.

The finished cressonnière should be pale herb green, glossy with butter, and smooth enough to leave no fibrous trace on the tongue. The whole leaves on top bring back the honest character of the cress. Before you begin, set out the yolk-and-cream liaison and remember the final command: gentle heat after it enters, never a boil.