From the Land of Milk and Butter: Brussels Sprouts Soup

I would like to start today's entry with Once upon a time... but I won't because there is no conflict in this story, nor a witch, nor a step mother to come, to meddle and ruin this culinary relish that is relatively easy to make and will definitely bring a smile to your face.

When I say "relatively easy", I mean you will have to cook slowly and be patient.  You'll see why.

Type of cuisine: French w Indian spices/Fusion

Time: 40 minutes

Availability of ingredients: it is recommended that you use fresh brussels sprouts, though, if you are stuck, you can use frozen sprouts :(

this soup is great accompanied by Dijon mustard on fresh baguette 

What you need to tick before starting 

400 gr of brussels sprouts (approximately 20 heads)

4 small potatoes

750 ml of milk

250 ml of water

butter (just a knob)

4 cloves of garlic

1 small onion

cumin

turmeric/saffron

1 cube of chicken stock

onion seeds (for decoration)

Preparation

Melt the butter, dice the onion and crush the garlic. Fry them lightly in the butter. Add the cumin seeds.

Pour the milk and mix slowly. Set aside. 

Boil the brussels sprouts for 5 minutes in a cup of water (250 ml).

Boil the potatoes for 20 minutes. Drain. 

Method

Pour the water you used to boil the brussels sprouts into the milk and butter soup. Dissolve the chicken stock and add the brussels sprouts.  Use the vertical blender to bring the sprouts to a silky consistency.

Mash the potatoes very finely and carefully. DO NOT USE THE FOOD PROCESSOR to puree them. It will break the molecules and it will make the mash gluey (arghhh...)

Add the potato mash to the soup. Add the saffron or the turmeric and another pinch of cumin seeds (if you like). Stir over heat until hot. 

To decorate, before serving, sprinkle some onion seeds. I also used some leaves which I had peeled and boiled for a couple of minutes, then placed them in iced water (to stop the cooking process and help them retain the colour).  

My opinion

This soup is absolutely wonderful when it's cold and you are snowed under. The potatoes will make the soup smooth, the milk and the butter will give it the tenderness of silk, while the brussels sprouts will colour it in the delicate hue of raw pistachios.