Chef Juliette
Purée de Carottes, otherwise Crécy
Purée de Carottes, otherwise Crécy, turns carrots, butter, rice, and white consommé into a silken soup. The lesson is simple and absolute: blend for smoothness, then sieve for finesse.
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Crème d’Oxalis
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 710, Crème d’Oxalis, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
An uncommon classical cream soup where half-cooked oxalis roots finish in béchamel, pass through a fine sieve, and meet white consommé, cream, butter, and chervil in a pale silken bowl.
Soups & Stews
French
Comfort Food
Dinner Party
25 min
Active Time
50 min cook•1 hr 15 min total
YieldAbout 2 quarts (8 first-course servings)
Crème d’Oxalis (cream of oxalis root) teaches the discipline behind every classical crème: cook the principal ingredient until it yields, pass it fine, then finish without boiling away the delicacy you built. The one true thing to know before touching the pan is this: the roots are only half-cooked in salted water, then made fully tender in Béchamel. Put them into the sauce raw and the Béchamel tightens before their centers surrender; cook them fully in water and their character goes down the drain.
The original assumed a saucier on staff, Béchamel waiting at the stove, white consommé from a stock never off the fire, and a tammy broad enough for service quantities. At home, those two prepared foundations are measured in the book's exact three-to-one proportion, an immersion blender handles the heavy labor, and a fine-mesh sieve supplies the tammy's finish. The separate sauce and stock work is brigade scaffolding and may be done ahead; half-cooking the roots, completing them in Béchamel, and sieving the soup are the dish itself, so they stay. This is the same intent at about two quarts, for one cook, one stove, one evening.
What reaches the table is pale ivory, gently tangy, and satin-smooth, with chervil pluches, tender shreds of leaf, making small green sparks across the surface. Keep the Béchamel below a true boil while the roots finish. That quiet heat is the step that matters most, and if the pan begins to catch, ça se rattrape: transfer the clean upper portion at once and leave the scorched film behind.
Crème d’Oxalis belongs to the Parisian grand-kitchen family of crèmes rather than to a named regional household table, applying the familiar grammar of Béchamel, consommé, cream, and butter to an uncommon market vegetable. Oxalis here means an edible tuber, not casually gathered sorrel-like leaves; the classical glossary describes the vegetable as Mexican, while specialist growers may offer edible tuberous oxalis under names such as oca, making positive identification essential. Its place in the canon shows how unusual produce was made legible through an established soup method, then sieved to the fine texture expected of a crème.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
cultivated edible oxalis roots
Quantity
12 medium (about 1½ pounds / 680 g)
peeled and sliced ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick
water
Quantity
2 quarts (1.9 L / 1.9 kg)
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g), plus more to taste
prepared Béchamel
Quantity
4½ cups (1.06 L / about 1.10 kg)
warm
white consommé
Quantity
1½ cups (355 ml / 355 g)
warm
heavy cream
Quantity
¾ cup (180 ml / 180 g)
divided
cold unsalted butter
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g)
cut into small cubes
chervil pluches
Quantity
¼ cup loosely packed (60 ml / 5 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| cultivated edible oxalis rootspeeled and sliced ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick | 12 medium (about 1½ pounds / 680 g) |
| water | 2 quarts (1.9 L / 1.9 kg) |
| fine sea salt | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g), plus more to taste |
| prepared Béchamelwarm | 4½ cups (1.06 L / about 1.10 kg) |
| white consomméwarm | 1½ cups (355 ml / 355 g) |
| heavy creamdivided | ¾ cup (180 ml / 180 g) |
| cold unsalted buttercut into small cubes | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) |
| chervil pluches | ¼ cup loosely packed (60 ml / 5 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •4-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan
- •Colander
- •Immersion blender
- •Fine-mesh sieve or chinois
- •Flexible bowl scraper or small ladle
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the foundations
Have the Béchamel and white consommé finished, warm, and ready before beginning. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the cream in the cold for the final adjustment, then warm the remainder gently. Keep everything below a boil; this soup is built from pale, delicate foundations, and hard heat gives dairy a cooked taste before the oxalis has said anything.
- 2
Half-cook the roots
Bring the water and measured salt to a gentle boil. Add the sliced oxalis roots and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, until the outer flesh yields when pinched but the center still offers clear resistance to a knife. This is half-cooking, not blanching them for appearance and not cooking them tender. Drain thoroughly and leave them in the colander for 2 minutes so trapped water cannot thin the Béchamel.
Judge the roots, not the clock. Their size and maturity vary, so cut one slice and look for a softened outer ring surrounding a firm, opaque center. - 3
Finish in Béchamel
Put the warm Béchamel in a heavy saucepan and fold in the drained roots. Cook over the gentlest heat for 15 to 25 minutes, stirring across the pan floor often, until a knife passes through the slices without resistance. The sauce should make only an occasional lazy bubble. If it begins to catch, stop stirring and transfer the clean upper portion to another pan without scraping the bottom. Ça se rattrape, provided the scorched film stays behind.
- 4
Blend and sieve
Blend the roots and Béchamel briefly with an immersion blender until no pieces remain, keeping the head submerged so the soup does not fill with air. Rub the purée through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl, pressing firmly with a flexible scraper or the back of a ladle. The blender replaces the tammy's heavy labor, but the sieve supplies its silken finish and must stay. If the purée is too stiff to pass, work in one spoonful of the measured warm consommé.
- 5
Add the consommé
Return the sieved purée to the clean saucepan. Whisk in the remaining white consommé gradually, keeping the mixture smooth, then hold it at a bare simmer for 5 minutes. It should coat a spoon lightly while still pouring in an unbroken ribbon. If it seems thin, reduce it now over gentle heat; cream and butter come next, and boiling after that would spoil the finish.
- 6
Finish à la crème
Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the warm cream. Montez au beurre, whisk in the cold butter a few cubes at a time, letting each addition disappear before the next. Taste only now and correct the salt carefully, since both Béchamel and consommé bring seasoning of their own. If a buttery slick appears, remove the pan fully from the heat and whisk in the reserved cold cream until the emulsion closes again.
- 7
Garnish and serve
Ladle the Crème d’Oxalis into warm shallow bowls and scatter the chervil pluches over each serving at the last moment. The surface should be pale ivory and satin-glossed, with the chervil still bright and tender. Serve at once. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Buy only cultivated oxalis roots specifically sold as edible. Do not dig roots from ornamental oxalis or gather an unidentified wild plant; cooking softens a known edible tuber, but it does not make an uncertain species safe.
- •Use a light, pourable Béchamel and a pale white consommé. A dark beef consommé overwhelms the root and turns the ivory soup brown, while a stiff Béchamel makes the finished texture pasty.
- •The three-to-one proportion of Béchamel to consommé comes directly from the preparation and should remain intact. The consommé loosens and seasons the soup, but Béchamel is its body.
- •If edible oxalis roots do not appear at your market, do not disguise another root under their name. Make crème d’oseille, the leafy sorrel cousin, as its own dish and return to this one when the correct tubers arrive.
- •Serve in modest first-course bowls before roast poultry or a simple veal dish. A dry Loire Chenin Blanc has enough freshness for the oxalis and enough breadth for the cream.
Advance Preparation
- •The Béchamel and white consommé are finished components in this preparation. Make them up to 2 days ahead, cool them promptly, and refrigerate them separately before warming.
- •The soup can be completed through the addition of the consommé up to 1 day ahead. Cool it promptly in a shallow container, cover, and refrigerate; reheat it gently, then add the cream and butter only before serving.
- •Pick the chervil pluches earlier in the day, wrap them in a barely damp towel, and keep them cold. Add them only at the table so they remain green and fragrant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 240g)
Calories
320 calories
Total Fat
23 g
Saturated Fat
14 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
8 g
Cholesterol
65 mg
Sodium
570 mg
Total Carbohydrates
22 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
9 g
Protein
7 g
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