Name: Crème de Cresson Tourangelle (Cream of Watercress Soup)
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 1 cup/250 ml. milk, more if needed; salt and pepper; 1 large bunch watercress (about 1 pound/450 g); ¼ cup/60 ml. crème fraîche or heavy cream; 1 very large baking potato, peeled and thinly sliced; 2 tablespoons/30 g butter; grated nutmeg; 3 cups/750 ml. chicken broth or water

Preparation info

Serves
4 to 6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Country Cooking of France

By Anne Willan

Published 2007

About

My eyes light up whenever I see watercress soup, with its brilliant green color and slightly acidic bite that is delicious hot or chilled. However, watercress must be blanched and then thoroughly simmered in broth before any milk is added, or the acid in the watercress will cause the milk to curdle. This piquant green can be difficult to cultivate, prospering in currents of clean river water. It flourishes around Tours, where this soup originated. For Cream of Spinach Soup, substitute