The Student Chef

Clear soups whether they are made from meat, poultry, game fish or vegetable, clear soups are all prepared in the same manner. Thin clear soups are a good first course. They stimulate the appetite. They are not difficult to make, but they do require attention and time. Broth or bouillon, consommés, essences and chilled jellied soups are all types of clear soups.

Clear vegetable soups are based on clear broth or stock. The vegetables are cut into uniform sizes and the soup is simmered until all ingredients are tender. Clear vegetable soups should have a full flavor and be somewhat thicker then broth. Croutons are a common garnish may be an integral part of the preparation, as in onion soup.

Procedure for clear soups

• Sweat long cooking vegetables in fat
• Add the appropriate stock or broth and bring to a simmer
• Add the seasonings and aromatics
• Add additional ingredients according to their cooking times
• Simmer the soup to blend all the flavors
• Garnish appropriately

Sautéing is a dry-heat cooking method with fat, heat is transferred by conduction from the pan, to the fat, to the food, using a small amount of fat. Sautéing is best suited for boneless, naturally tender, single serving size, sliced or diced pieces of meat, poultry or fish. To sauté foods properly, begin by heating a sauté pan, add a small amount of fat. The fat should just cover the bottom of the pan. Heat the fat to 325ºF. The food to be cooked should be as dry as possible, seasoned and dredged in flour, to promote browning and to prevent excessive spattering. Place the food in the pan in a single layer, presentation side down first. The heat should be adjusted so the food cooks thoroughly. It should not be so hot that the outside of the food burns before the inside is cooked. The food should be turned to develop proper color. The items should be turned using tongs without piercing the meat. Always turn the food away from you to prevent being burned by any fat that may splash. Sautéing includes the preparation of a sauce directly in the pan after the item has been removed.

Sautéing is a dry heat cooking method with fat, mostly done on the stove in a sauteuse or a sautoire.

The steps in order of preparation for sautéing are:

1.   Item preparation

2.   Select appropriate size pan

3.   Heat pan

4.   Add fat to 1/8 inch

5.   Heat fat

6.   Dry and season the protein

7.   Dredge the protein in flour, shake off excess

8.   Add protein to the hot fat, presentation side down

9.   Sauté item on first side, turn

10. Sauté item on second side

11. Remove item and make sauce

12. Finish sauce and serve over item

Watercress is believed to be native to Asia Minor and to the Mediterranean area. As with most ancient plants, various myths and beliefs became attached to it. The ancient Persians were advised to feed it to their children if they wished to improve their growth. Since green leafy vegetables are excellent sources of vitamins and minerals, the advice probably was good. Xenophon, general and historian of the Green-Persian campaigns and Xerxes, Persian king, recommended watercress for their soldiers in the belief it would improve their health. The Greeks century writers of England recommended watercress as a remedy for scurvy, and they were right. Aside from the health idea, the Romans certainly had a good basis for serving watercress as a salad with garum (oil and vinegar) or with pepper, cumin seed and lentiscus (leaves of the mastic tree).
            An enterprising German, Nicholas Messinger, is reported as the first to cultivate watercress, in the middle of the 16th century at Erfurt. As popular as it is in England, it probably was not cultivated prior to 1800. It is reported that in 1808 a farmer near London began its cultivation for use as a salad plant. Watercress is highly prized by the Mohammedans of western India and Pakistan.
            It is not known when it was brought to this hemisphere but probably by early explorers. It quickly became naturalized and wide spread.