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I prepared a rather fine peasant soup for two this afternoon, though I say it myself. Four flavor-packed small local carrots and a local onion all diced Julienne, fried gently for five minutes with a crushed garlic clove; then three sweet peppers, one Cumberland sausage and four slices of smoked back bacon sliced in with no piece more than an inch long. Add severe splashes of Worcester sauce and a balsamic vinegar of tolerable quality, keep it gently boiling and stirred for an hour, serve with bread to cope with the juices.

Was it French peasant soup ?

Julienne......indeed.

Bruv;1463664 wrote: Was it French peasant soup ?

Julienne......indeed.


I'm sure the French justifiably turn their collective nose up at the ad hoc deployment of whatever is in the fridge, given their vast superiority when it comes to main course recipes.

There's a purpose to Julienne - it releases the greatest degree of flavor from vegetables so prepared (by maximizing the surface area), without destroying the texture. That's my theory anyhow.

spot;1463679 wrote: ...

There's a purpose to Julienne - it releases the greatest degree of flavor from vegetables so prepared (by maximizing the surface area), without destroying the texture. That's my theory anyhow.


That's what they taught us at the Culinary Academy.

As an apprentice, I julienne'd my share of veggie's.

The word still makes me shudder.

LarsMac;1463685 wrote:

As an apprentice, I julienne'd my share of veggie's.




Me too, but......to julienne anything then "keep it gently boiling and stirred for an hour" should render the process pointless ?

And Spot it is flavour.

Bruv;1463703 wrote: Me too, but......to julienne anything then "keep it gently boiling and stirred for an hour" should render the process pointless ?

And Spot it is flavour.


It's one of those subtle aspects of written English that when I'm addressing Brits and colonials it's flavour and when I'm aimed at Americans it's flavor. There are times when it's the nub of the entire post.

The hour is just what happens when I throw smoked back bacon into anything, it's probably related to the emulsification of every last gobby drop of fat from the streaky bits, it just works.

spot;1463706 wrote: It's one of those subtle aspects of written English that when I'm addressing Brits and colonials it's flavour and when I'm aimed at Americans it's flavor. There are times when it's the nub of the entire post.

The hour is just what happens when I throw smoked back bacon into anything, it's probably related to the emulsification of every last gobby drop of fat from the streaky bits, it just works.


So hush my mouth, you wasn't talking to us real English speakers.

Emulsified smoked back bacon sounds very French peasant to me so perhaps hache to replace the more refined julienne ?

Not to be too pendantic......of course.

I'm probably working variations around a theme at the moment, slowly getting used to this kitchen and taking in a bit more each time. Today I've prepared a two-clove chicken with mushrooms in white wine. When I hit my stride I tend to cook sufficient for six and freeze what's not served, after a while I can then do without fallback packaged meals.

Zut alors..........in white ?

Bruv;1463748 wrote: Zut alors..........in white ?


I have a couple of bottles in the fridge from - excuse my Italian - Veneto, and having tasted it I wondered what it would be like with the juices.

I have, more than once, boiled down a peasant or two, 'till the meat falls off the bone. The surrounding farms provide both meat and veg for the pot. The pickers and the picked.

We are very fortunate and very well fed