Sweet, quick read, great for a snowy day or a long flight or anytime you want to visit another world, very different from your own (unless, of course, you live in a rustic French village)…
What happens to a barber when the people of his village begin to age (and grow bald), and those who still have their hair decide to go to a more stylish barber in another town? He becomes a matchmaker, of course!
There are so many lovely laugh out loud passages in this book! The conversations between the barber and the baker on their fishing expeditions where they try and one up each other with the elegance of their picnic baskets. The feud between two old women (one of whom is the barber’s mother) that leads to an assault by overripe tomatoes… I could go on and on, but really you should just read the book.
Some winter day make this rustic, French vegetable soup and open a bottle of French wine, and sit down and spend an afternoon with the barber and his quirky village. You won’t regret it!
Soupe Villageoise from Le Cordon Bleu at Home:
I halved the recipe and it made enough for two meals for one…
Ingredient List:
1 small head of cabbage
6 T unsalted butter
2 lbs of leeks
8 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper from the mill
1 cup vermicilli
chervil or parsley for garnish
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Remove and discard the large outer leaves of cabbage. Quarter the head and cut out and discard the hard central core.
Slice the cabbage fine and rinse in cold water
Add the cabbage to the boiling water and blanch for five minutes, then drain and rinse with cold water again
Heat 3 T of butter in a large skillet over low heat, add the cabbage and stir to coat with the butter. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until the cabbage is soft, but not colored, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the leeks. Cut off the stringy roots at the base of each leek. Cut off the upper two thirds of the green tops. Starting about 1 inch down from the root end, insert a knife through the white part of a leek and cut through to the top of the green. Rotate the leek and repeat the process so that the leek has been quartered lengthwise but is still connected at the root end. Repeat with remaining leeks. Rinse the leeks well in cold water. Drain and slice thin. Melt the remaining 3 T of butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the leeks, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft but not colored. Add the cooked cabbage and stock. I veered away from the recipe here and added a sprig of fresh thyme
Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 40 minutes. Add the vermicilli
Season with salt and pepper and serve with the parsley garnish and some crusty bread!
If you’d like to see what others thought of this quirky, sweet book, please click here
http://foodforthoughtediblebooks.blogspot.com/
http://homeiswheretheboatis.wordpress.com/
food for thought says
March 9, 2012 at 8:26 amhi i am so happy you read the book, isn’t it great fun! i love your review, your shots are gorgeous and the soup looks warm and wonderful, i am at the beach on a cool 30 degree morn so this has even extra appeal!
i went ahead and linked in your name at food for thought, if you want to link back to food for thought so others can find more reviews feel free, there is also sarah, mary and maggie that enjoyed this little freench feast~
thank you so much for joining in, i hope to see you on our next book the violets of march~
Mary says
March 9, 2012 at 8:50 amHi RMW~ Didn’t you love this quirky read? I got so many chuckles & calories from this book! Your soup looks delicious~ the cabbage and leeks combined with the vermicelli looks like a tasty combination! Aren’t you glad you didn’t feel the need to grow the leeks, farm the cabbage & roll out the pasta by hand 🙂 Thanks for joining in the fun with FFT~
Dana @ Bungalow'56 says
March 9, 2012 at 8:50 amWhat a wonderful intro to a recipe. I will be checking the library for this one. And the soup pictures? So deliciously perfect.
Dana
Arkansas Patti says
March 9, 2012 at 10:24 amThat book sounds like just what I could use about now. Sounds delightful. The soup looks great and the crusty bread would make it perfect.
Thank you so much for stopping by with your sweet words and a hug. It helped the healing.
EG Wow, Canada says
March 9, 2012 at 10:35 amThis looks and sounds wonderful to me. Now I wish I had picked up some leeks this morning at the supermarket!
Sarah says
March 9, 2012 at 12:34 pmOh, this looks delicious and perfect for the day we are having here. It’s cold and wet and I’m snuggled in by the fire. Glad you joined in the fun. I’m going to add your link to my post. ~ Sarah
Vicki says
March 9, 2012 at 1:50 pmThanks for the comment on my post RMW…isn’t it amazing how we change with the changes….I learned that a long time ago, one day at a time.
Now if I could only find someone who likes to cook, this looks amazingly yummy:)
I’ll be by to catch up on posts soon. I’ve missed you…
Julie Harward says
March 9, 2012 at 10:40 pmThis looks so good, I love cabbage cooked any way! 😀
Barbara says
March 10, 2012 at 3:41 amI’m reading it now…and loving it.
Great soup to accompany the book!
Jenny Matlock says
March 14, 2012 at 5:46 amWhat an unusual soup recipe! I like the sound of it AND we’re supposed to have cold weather next week!
This book does sound different! I’ll have to see if the library has it!