[Sca-cooks] Soupe Crottee (Vivendier) - any experience?

[Johnna Holloway]

I could see this as made up for 4-6 servings, but I am wondering about  
the practicalities of it when made
up for a feast for 40 or 60 or 100 people. How's it going to work when  
it's gallons of soup, pounds of bread,
and pounds of cheese?
Will it hold up well if feast is delayed?

Johnnae

On Sep 25, 2009, at 6:35 AM, Volker Bach wrote:
>>>  One piece that looked
>> interesting is the Vivendier's recipe #26 for soupe
>> crottee.  Basically, it's cheese and white bread boiled
>> in water and wine. I can think of several interpretations
>> here, from a cheese-flavoured (but otherwise fairly insipid)
>> bread porridge to a mass of goo with soggy bread lumps in
>> it. Has anyone here tried this recipe or a similar one, and
>> if so, with what results? I was thinking along the lines of
>> trying a relatively small amount of water and a long cooking
>> period to cause the bread to fall apart, giving me a rich
>> porridgelike dish that could be glooped over sops.
>>>
> Well, I'm not terribly conversant with the ways of cheese cookery,  
> so I'm going from my experience with bread porridge. When i say  
> 'long', I mean in terms of a few minutes. The recipe says nothing  
> about stirring, but I assume that that will be required to keep the  
> cheese from sticking and burning.
> Scully writes of speculation that 'crottee' is derived from the  
> lumpy or curdled appearance of the dish, so I don't expect a smooth  
> soup. I'm also a bit surprised that it uses water rather than broth.
> What kind of cheese would you think would work? I'm starting out  
> with the cheap stuff until I get my technique down, but I'm thinking  
> a more intense flavour would be good. The recipe says 'fat' cheese.
>
> Cheers Giano