flipSaffron Bread Soup with Garden Herbs
Saffron Bread Soup with Garden Herbs
Why this dish? At the Priory of Saint-Cosme as at the Collège de Coqueret, the day began with a potage: broth poured over slices of bread, enriched with vegetables and herbs from the garden. This was the everyday, fortifying food of the cleric and the studious poet.
A chicken and vegetable broth perfumed with saffron, poured piping hot over stale bread slices that soak up and thicken the soup. Simple, comforting, the foundation of the ordinary meal.
Before bending over Horace and my papers, I would take this steaming potage that the maid poured over yesterday's bread. You see, nothing beats a broth well gilded with saffron to wake the mind in the morning: you dip your bread, add a handful of herbs gathered from the kitchen garden, and you are satisfied without weighing down the brain. At Coqueret, we young fellows made it our daily fare between Greek lessons.
- •Chicken and vegetable broth — a good potful (base)
- •Stale brown bread — several slices (thickener)
- •Saffron — a few threads (color and fragrance)
- •Leeks, chard, and parsley from the garden — a handful (garnish)
- •Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Saffron Bread Soup with Garden Herbs
A chicken and vegetable broth perfumed with saffron, poured piping hot over stale bread slices that soak up and thicken the soup. Simple, comforting, the foundation of the ordinary meal.
Why this dish? At the Priory of Saint-Cosme as at the Collège de Coqueret, the day began with a potage: broth poured over slices of bread, enriched with vegetables and herbs from the garden. This was the everyday, fortifying food of the cleric and the studious poet.
Before bending over Horace and my papers, I would take this steaming potage that the maid poured over yesterday's bread. You see, nothing beats a broth well gilded with saffron to wake the mind in the morning: you dip your bread, add a handful of herbs gathered from the kitchen garden, and you are satisfied without weighing down the brain. At Coqueret, we young fellows made it our daily fare between Greek lessons.
Ingredients (period version)
- Chicken and vegetable broth — a good potful (base)
- Stale brown bread — several slices (thickener)
- Saffron — a few threads (color and fragrance)
- Leeks, chard, and parsley from the garden — a handful (garnish)
- Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Chicken broth — 1.2 L (base)
- Stale country bread — 6 slices (thickener)
- Saffron — 1 generous pinch (15-20 threads) (color and fragrance)
- Leeks — 2 (garnish)
- Chard or spinach — 1 handful (garnish)
- Flat-leaf parsley — 1 small bunch (garnish)
- Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Slice the leeks and chard, sweat them a few minutes in a little broth.
- Pour in the remaining broth, add the saffron, and let infuse at a simmer for 15 minutes.
- Arrange the bread slices in the bottom of bowls, sprinkle with chopped parsley.
- Pour the hot broth with vegetables over the bread and let swell for 2-3 minutes before serving.
How it was made : The medieval and Renaissance potage is not a smooth soup but broth poured over bread (the word 'soupe' originally meant the bread slice itself). Saffron, imported at great cost, signaled a wealthy table and colored the broth a beautiful gold.
The contemporary twist : For a refined presentation, lightly toast the bread and rub it with garlic before pouring the saffron broth, then finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a few parsley sprigs.
Sources : Le Viandier (tradition Taillevent) · Platine, De honesta voluptate et valetudine, B. Platina
Pierre de Ronsard · Charactorium
