SC - Re: sca-cooks V1 #423

[Philip & Susan Troy]

L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt wrote:

> >I respectfully submit that if cream of leek soup, slightly thickened
> >with oatmeal, has anything in common with mortrews, I suggest that the
> >redaction of either or both needs to be re-evaluated. Or are oats being
> >classified as a legume, thereby invoking the Ancient Prejudice of Aoife?
> >
> 
> Well, I suppose we must have done something wrong then. The recipe used 2
> ozs. oatmeal, 1 pint of milk, and 1 lb. leeks. It stood like cold gelled
> oatmeal and was very bitter. Do you have a recipe that's period? 

Not as such. Documentation for the dish's existence in period doesn't
appear to include a recipe with ingredient quantities or proportons. It
sounds as if what you've made is fairly close to what Colmcille would
have eaten, but it should be possible to improve on what you had without
getting too far from the spirit of the thing.

This is pretty much my standard recipe, based loosely on Malachai
McCormick's "Irish Country Cooking":

3 or 4 medium-size leeks, about 1 1/2 pounds
1/4 to 1/2 stick butter (1 - 2 ounces)
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup raw, steel-cut porridge oats, like McAnn's
Parsley (flat Italian, chopped) for garnishing
salt and white pepper to taste


Wash the leeks well. They are usually muddy and sandy. Remove any
visible dirt or grit. Trim off the root ends and discard. Starting at
the white, root ends, slice the leeks thinly. Place in a deep bowl of
cold water, and rub the leeks between your hands, gently, to separate
the rings and encourage the last of the grit to sink to the bottom. Lift
the leek slices off the surface till the bowl has nothing left in it but
water and mud. Drain the leeks in a strainer and set aside.

In a large, deep saucepan, bring the stock and milk to a simmer. Stir in
the oats, bring almost to a boil, and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until
the oats are done.

While the oats are simmering, melt the butter in a deep saute pan, over
low heat. Sweat the leeks for five or ten minutes, until they begin to
soften. When the oats are about half done, add the leeks and their
butter to the pan of soup. The leeks and the oatmeal should be done at
the same time.

Take the pot off the heat, stir in the cream, and season with salt and
white pepper to taste. Garnish with the parsley.

Now, back to the real world (sort of). Possible reasons for bitterness
might include the most obvious cause, which is that too much of the dark
green of the leek was used. Slightly less likely, but still possible, is
that your oats had gone rancid. Whole porridge oats aren't always
defatted, and oats contain enzymes that can break down fats (hence the
oat bran craze of a few years back). Anyway, real oatmeal, as opposed to
the nasty flaky stuff, can become rancid quickly, which might result in
bitterness. Salt will cover this if it's not serious, but if it's really
bad, nothing will mask it, and you shouldn't be eating them anyway.

Now, if the oats and leeks have no trace of bitterness, you may find
that some might enjoy a slight zing to the soup. I find a dash of
Jameson's (preferably the 15-year old) is just the thing.

One more thing: this dish seems, when cooked in quantity, to be really
prone to burning. Adding the milk (heated) and cream at the end might
help with that...

Adamantius 
______________________________________
Phil & Susan Troy
troy at asan.com
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