If you had to choose one food that you would miss the most if it were to be removed from your diet, what would it be? Do you sometimes ask yourself this question? In my case, I often wonder. After looking at my daily food habits, a pattern became obvious. If there is no bread for breakfast, I get grumpy. I am not even interested in viennoiseries such as croissants , pain aux raisins or any of those. I can even do without cereals since I did not grow up with them, but certainly not without bread. If there is no bread, it simply means that I am starting my day on the wrong foot (je démarre la journée du mauvais pied). Simply because I love breakfast as a meal and to eat bread in the morning. I don’t know for sure whether I can blame this habit on my being French and I really should not care. But looking at it more closely, it surely is a cultural habit that I have travelled with. In France, you never go to a French table and have a typical French meal without bread. A long time ago, my dad had a little experience which became one of my favorite food stories about him. My dad is so typical! As he was eating in a Chinese restaurant on most likely one of his first times, he waited a short time after the meal was started but before not too long he called the waitress. Not even thinking that what he was going to ask could be something very unusual in a Chinese restaurant, he asked : “Dites-moi, vous n’auriez pas du pain ?” (Listen, would you have some bread?) Since then, this restaurant is known for allowing people to walk in with their baguette under the arm.
Baguette of course is the most common type of bread French people eat, without butter as it is not served on tables. There are tons of varities of bread and I certainly do not need to explain them as I know well that most of you are familiar with them, especially if you have already travelled to France or countries where bread occupies an important role in the staple diet.
It was fun to hear that the new theme for IMBB#25 hosted by Obsession With Food was going to feature bread. As a matter of fact, not any bread but stale bread that would be used in a dish. I did not need to think too long to choose what to make. My brain compiled the list that follows: rustic, country, chunky, soup, hearty and light, herbs, and croûtons . All of those are familiar foods that I grew up with and I love them all.
My dish is a Tarragon Tomato Soup and Its Olive Oil Croûtons.
I used a rye/country-style bread that we just never finished as I bought some more before the end of the first loaf. If this were to be a bad habit, at least it gave me a great reason to make dishes I wouldn’t cook otherwise. And in the end, everyone is happy.
PS: I spent the whole day of Friday in a real photography studio (versus my house!) working in binome with a photographer; I was styling the food. How much fun that was! I loved it and am so thankful to have had this opportunity. Of the two dishes I made, I had chosen to cook this particular soup. I willl be writing about it soon and you will be able to see the difference between pictures taken by a real photographer’s and mine. It will be fun to talk about the life of a studio during a food photo shooting, and what steps need to happen! In the meantime….
Vive la soupe et les croûtons! (Let’s celebrate soups and its croûtons!)
You need:
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 large onions
- 4 cups chicken broth
- Olive oil
- A pinch of brown sugar (I used evaporated cane sugar)
- A pinch of chilli (dried)
- 1 bunch of fresh tarragon
- 53 oz tomatoes
- 9 oz cherry tomatoes
- Stale bread (I used a pain de seigle/campagne – rye/country)
- Fleur de sel
- Salt and pepper
Steps:
- Chop the onion and garlic thinly.
- Chop the tomatoes in quarters.
- Cut the tarragon loosely.
- Heat the chicken stock.
- Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a pot and when warm, add the onion and garlic.
- Cook for 5mns on low heat until soft.
- Then add the tomatoes and cook for 5 mns on medium heat.
- Add the chicken stock, the tarragon, the pinch of sugar, the chilli and cover. Cook for 30 mns on low heat.
- Mix your soup keeping it chunky.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Marinate the bread croûtons in 4 Tbsp nice rich olive oil.
- Chop the cherry tomatoes.
- Take small bowls and add a ladleful of soup.
- Add the croûtons and the chopped cherry tomatoes.
- Add extra chopped tarragon.
- Sprinkle with fleur de sel.
Le coin français
Ingrédients :
- 4 gousses d’ail
- 2 gros oignons
- 1 l. de bouillon de volaille
- Huile d’olive
- Pincée de sucre roux
- Pincée de piment rouge seche
- 1 beau bouquet d’estragon frais
- 1,5 kg de tomates
- 250 g de tomates cerises
- 4 tranches de pain rassis (pain de seigle/campagne)
- Sel et poivre
- Fleur de sel
Étapes :
- Epluchez et émincez l’ail et les oignons.
- Lavez et coupez les tomates en quartiers.
- Lavez et effeuillez l’estragon.
- Faites chauffer le bouillon de volaille.
- Chauffez 2 càs d’huile d’olive et ajoutez l’ail et les oignons. Faites les revenir pendant 5 mns environ.
- Ajoutez les tomates et mélangez bien. Faites cuire pendant 5 mns.
- Ajoutez le bouillon, l’estragon effeuillé, la pincée de sucre et de piment et couvrez. Faites cuire sur feux doux pendant 30 mns.
- Mixez votre soupe.
- Salez et poivrez.
- Faites mariner vos croûtons dans 4 càs d’huile d’olive.
- Découpez les tomates cerises en petits quartiers.
- Prenez de petits bols et versez-y une bonne louche de soupe.
- Ajoutez les croûtons et les tomates cerises.
- Servez avec des feuilles d’estragon.
- Saupoudrez de fleur de sel.
décidemment tu nous mets encore en appétit 😉
lol on dirait des croûtons à la soupe …. Tu dois vraiment les aimer ! 😉
Très belle photo comme toujours.
Tu dois avoir un appareil fabuleux, non ?
I have to laugh because I relate so much to your dependence on good bread, especially in the morning. Where do you get good, fresh bread? I have a few places here in Los Angeles but it’s never like the bread in Europe. It’s so depressing! Can’t wait to see your photos from the studio! How exciting!!
~Dianka
http://na-zdravi.blogspot.com/
i can’t WAIT to hear about your studio experience! how exciting to be a part of that!!
i am not at all familiar with tarragon, so i am looking forward to trying your amazing soup!
Bea,
Wow, that looks and sounds delicious. Thanks for participating.
your pictures are so beautiful already, i can’t imagine that a professional photo shot could much improve the display of your creations! but i look forward to seeing the comparison, i’m sure you had lots of fun.
Hi Bea
I’m looking forward to hear how you got on shooting in a studio and any tips or hints you might have picked up.
I personally have a love/hate relationship with bread, as you are probably aware espcially living in the states and it is an attitude held by many Brits too that bread is the enemy in fact this covers all wheat products.
Personally i believe anything in moderation is fine for you afterall a life without bread would certainly be dull
The strawberry tart, the scallops, the tomato soup! All of it looking very delicious Bea… I would hate to ever be on a diet when I come over here.
Je ne peux pas attendre pour ton histoire en studio de photographie. Tu fais déjà de belles photos et tu nous mets en appétit.
Just waiting for the Bea’s blogs cookbook! Peut-tu signé pour moi quand ça sorte .. he he.. J’attend bea…
Cette soup doit être copiouse (Not sure of the spelling).
Ciao Bea,
I have been in bed for the last two days with the flu … but this soup is making me feel so much better!
Merci!
After a week in Marsa Alam ( Egypt) i need food like this, bea!!!
I love spice, but for me it’s too much!!!
This soup sound great…
Happy 1 may day!!
🙂
Merci Lilo
Ahah, oui ces croutons sont plutot bons Thalie! Appareil pas mal, mais j’espere que pour les photos, j’y suis aussi pour quelque chose! 😉
Thanks Dianka, yes good bakeries in Boston too, like Hi Rise. Will put the post about photography soon!
iamchanelle, merci! You should definitely try tarragon, it is a fabulously fragrant herb!
Thanks Derrick!
Krysten, thanks for your note. You would be surprised about the difference. Of couse a real photographer has a camera that major $$$. If I told you how much, I am not sure you would believe me, I was very surprised!
Gastrochick, Yes I have to write the post and it was an eye-opener and I look forward to sharing. As to bread, I agree, everything is just a question of balance! A life with no bread would def. be dull for me!
Rowena, I cannot imagine that you would go on a diet anyway, 😉
Helene, merci bien pour ton gentil mot!
Relly, ahah, j’espere! I need a publisher! 😉 La soupe est en fait tres legere!
Ivonne, poor you! Hope you feel much better soon! Take care!
Hi Sandra, nice. I am sure egypt must have been fabulous! Happy May 1st to you too!
Bea, your soup is very impressive. As you may have guessed, I too have a serious fixation with bread, so we often have stale pieces lying around. Thanks for another idea of what to do with it.
Magnifique, Béa, je vais très certainement l’essayer cette soupe estivale. Mon estragon commence à pousser, son goût est encore très léger, mais je m’en souviendrai à la saison des tomates. Merci.
looks delicious and something my boys would eat up in a minute.
Very good, it seems a little the toscany panzanella, don’t you think?, do you know it?
well, i love your blog! complimenti!
Pingback: La tartine gourmande » Blog Archive » Session de photographie culinaire - Food Photography Session
Pingback: La Tartine Gourmande » Blog Archive » Favorites 2006 — Favoris 2006
DEAR SIR/MADAM: CAN YOU TELL ME WHERE I CAN PURCHASE TOP GRADE FRENCH ESTRAGON SPICE? THANK YOU. CAN’T FIND ANY GOOD PRODUCT IN THE U.S.A.
Ce n’est pas vraiment encore la saison des tomates mais j’ai du bel estragon dans le jardin.
Une excellente soupe. Vraiment. Et chic, il en reste pour demain soir.
Ah, serendipity. I have the garden full of tomatoes, a just-stale loaf of bread, and yesterday, in the market, brushed by the tarragon and thought, “Hmmmm, I’ll find something to do with that,” and grabbed a bunch, and voila!, here you are, after searching “tarragon, tomato soup.” Thank you. Cook on.