SOUPE DE CHALET

SOURCE: PATRICE DARD. CULINARY ART AND TRADITIONS OF SWITZERLAND.

Gruyère-born Benedictine priest Joseph Bovet composed Le Vieux Chalet (or The Old Chalet), eternally attaching the picturesque high-altitude wooden cottages that overlook the meadows and valleys to the canton of Fribourg. In the old days, the chalets were dairy farms inhabited by armaillis, a local term assigned to herdsmen living in the west Swiss Alps. Unless they had the time and financial need to sell their Gruyère cheese in the towns and villages at the mountain foot, the armaillis must attentively escort their grazing herds on an ascending pasteur trail known as poyas, thus hindering them of any opportunity to source fresh meat and vegetables from the market. The only ingredients available were foraged root tubers and wild greens, freshly squeezed milk, and excess stocks of cheese, all of which are still found in the Soupe de Chalet of today.

Ingredients

2 ounces/57 grams butter

1 cup/120 grams coarsely chopped onions

1 cup/110 grams coarsely chopped carrots

1 cup/90 grams coarsely chopped leeks, preferably taken from the white part and 2 inches/5 cm of the light green tops

2/3 cup/80 grams coarsely chopped turnips

2 1/2 cups/400 grams diced potatoes

2 ounces/57 grams spinach leaves

2 quarts/2 L full-bodied beef stock, preferably homemade

1/3 cup/60 grams dried lima beans OR navy beans, soaked overnight the day before and drained

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/3 cup/60 grams dried macaroni noodles

2 cups/500 mL milk, preferably full cream

3/4 cup/200 mL heavy cream

1 cup/100 grams Gruyère cheese, grated

Nutmeg, preferably freshly grated to taste

Chopped chives for garnish

Specific Equipment

Stockpot

Grater

Serves 10 to 12

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a stockpot over medium heat. Sauté the onions, carrots, leeks, turnips, and potatoes for 5 minutes or until tender but not browned. Add the spinach and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until wilted.

2. Pour the beef stock into the stockpot and add the beans. Season the soup lightly with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to moderate and simmer the soup for 50 minutes.

3. Add the macaroni and pour the milk to the stockpot. Raise the heat to medium and let the soup boil for 10 minutes. Remove the stockpot from heat.

4. Stir in the heavy cream and cheese until the latter completely melts. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the soup with a dash of nutmeg.

5. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and garnish with chopped chives.