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Steps to Montmartre,
Paris, France
Walter Bibikow
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Provence Cookbook: 150 Recipes and Select Guide to the Markets, Shops, and Restaurants of France
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Sacre Coeur and Notre Dame de Lorette, Paris France
Walter Bibikow
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La Belle Cuisine
Joël Robuchon’s
Creamy White Bean Soup
(Crème de Cocos Blancs Joël Robuchon)
 
Paris Cookbook
Copyright © 2001 by Patricia Wells,
HarperCollins
Publishers, Inc.
12
demitasse servings
“During the last years of his chiefdom on the rue de Longchamp, Joël
Robuchon served this rich, soul-warming white bean cream as part of his
all-truffle menu.
With a faintly smoky flavor and that creamy richness of
good white beans, this
should be served in small portions. I like to serve
it as a small first course, which
can be drunk from a simple white demitasse cup. The soup can be anointed
with
finely minced truffles or with a drizzling of hazelnut oil. I only
recently learned
that fresh white beans, such as the French ‘cocos blancs’, which can be
found
from May to September, can easily be frozen. So when you find the beans in
your
farmers’ market, freeze them for one of those cool winter days when
bean soup is
all that will do!”
2 pounds fresh small white (navy) beans or
red (cranberry)
beans in the
pod, shelled;
or 1 pound dried small white beans (such as cannellini,
Great Northern, or marrow beans), soaked (see note)
2 carrots, peeled and halved
1 onion, peeled and stuck with a clove
4 cloves garlic: 3 peeled, 1 very finely minced
1 bouquet garni: several sprigs of parsley
and thyme, and several bay
leaves, tied
together with cotton string
3 ounces smoked bacon, in one piece
Sea Salt
2 cups homemade chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Freshly ground white pepper
1 small fresh black truffle (about 1 ounce),
cleaned and minced (optional);
or several teaspoons best-quality
hazelnut or pistachio oil (optional)
Equipment: A 6-quart stockpot; a food processor, a
food
mill, 12 demitasse cups or other very small bowls
1. In a 6-quart stockpot, combine the fresh or soaked dried
beans with the carrots, onion, garlic cloves, bouquet garni, bacon, and 1
teaspoon sea
salt. Cover with cold water, bring to a boil, and cover the
pot. Simmer
gently over low heat until the beans are very tender, about 30
minutes
for fresh beans, 1 to 1 1/2 hours for dried beans. (The cooking time
will
vary according to the freshness of the beans.) Add additional stock or
water if necessary.
2. Drain the beans. Remove and discard the carrot, onion, garlic, bouquet
garni, and bacon. Transfer the beans to a food processor and purée.
Pass the
purée through the finest grid of a food mill. (The soup can
be prepared ahead of time up to this point. Cool and refrigerate.)
3. At serving time, reheat the puree. Add the chicken stock and cream, stir
to blend, and bring just to a simmer. Stir in the butter and the minced
garlic. Add sea salt and white pepper to taste. Serve piping hot, in very
small warmed soup bowls or in demitasse cups. Sprinkle with minced
truffles
or drizzle with hazelnut oil, if desired.
Note: To prepare dried beans, rinse them, picking them over to remove any
pebbles. Place the beans in a large saucepan. Cover with boiling water by
2
inches. Cover and let stand until the beans swell to at least twice their
size and have absorbed
most of the liquid, about 1 hour. Drain the beans
in a colander, discarding
the soaking liquid. Proceed with the recipe.
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