Sunday Feast № 15 | Leek and Potato Soup and Steak with Béarnaise Sauce, my first two-course French dinner revisited

It is fair to say these are not the first savory French dishes I have ever made. Skipping around the French onion soup, which to me is only French in name - no disrespect, it's just the context in which I learnt it - bœuf à la Bourguignonne is the most likely first. However, unlike the formidable stew, these two are coolly sophisticated in their utter simplicity. And the simplicity is why I revisit. There is room to play despite it.    Whenever I buy celery, it is not consumed quickly enough before it wilts. Quite ironic considering that celery is a pheromone missile to be used by men, yet this misfortune is fully attributable to celery's stringiness and watery taste. It languishes some for those reasons. And lack of dip. Hence, I double up on it when possible, before cutting the stalks into finger long pieces, standing them up in a water filled container and refrigerating to prolong their crispness, then crossing my fingers hoping this time they will be eaten before any decay. Freezing just does not work. Also this time around one medium potato was not enough, and the soup can handle another one. Clearing out some vegetable acumen? You bet! As for the heavy whipping cream, it's what I had on hand. Its consistency suits the purée.    With a steady supply of butter, I could have clarified the butter myself for the sauce. Previously I have, yet this time around a jar of ghee had just the right volume. Clarified butter and ghee are similar concepts that differ in production methods and resultant nuances in flavor and color. Liquid gold either way. Having a jar of the stuff ready, slightly warmed up so it's melted, is a good off-the-shelf stand by as the constant whisking of the eggs with the tarragon infusion over very low heat will give you a reborn respect for any saucier, and anything that feels like a shortcut is welcome. I bide my time fearing I scramble the eggs and then whisk some more to steadily incorporate the melted ghee. By the way, the ever slightly more golden ghee resulted in a brighter yellow sauce rather than the classic light yellow when clarified butter is used. All in the eyes of the beholder, I suppose. The Béarnaise spirit is still there, courtesy of the shallot and tarragon, with a slight cosmopolitan twist. Mine often turns out thicker than velveteen, so I do not strain it, although I can see how straining would make it more refined and I have some more try-and-error in my future. Do your time.    Now the fun speedy time. Cooking the steaks. Whether in a pan or on the grill, heat the pan or the grill to a steady medium-high. Rub the steaks with oil and season with salt and pepper. Throw into that pan or onto that grill and don't move them! Let the sear work for you till the crust develops and it's time to repeat on the other side. No muss, no fuss. No sticking. Depending how you like your steak, it is 2-4 min each side. Now how about reheating that steak? Did you just gasp? How dare I?! If you live where beef is abundant, meaning either you can buy a sizable pack of steaks but don't want to freeze them and "smoking out the place" is not an everyday option, or you have returned from a restaurant with beef leftovers after ordering half a cow on a plate and would rather have it warm, reheating is an option. No microwave and no slow anything. Just high oven heat for a short time. If you can do the sear daily, awesome. Which brings me back to that sauce. Any leftovers go into the refrigerator, so they solidify. Remember all that butter? Just cut what you need and let it melt over your hot steak, freshly cooked or reheated, or spread on some bread or mix with some warm pasta.    All this I keep on revisiting. Preferably together.

Fun with the leftovers Steak To reheat any cooked steak with any left over steak juices (not the sauce), preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F and place the dish covered with aluminium foil (shiny side sown) in the oven for 5-10 min. Sauce Reheat on very low heat stirring to bring it back to emulsified sauce consistency. Or put straight onto the hot steak and let it melt with the heat coming of the steak. Do not microwave - it is likely to split.

Leek and Potato Soup
50 g butter 1 medium onion finely chopped 3 leaks either white parts only or include a bit of those pale green parts sliced 2 celery stalks finely chopped 1 garlic clove minced 2 medium potatoes chopped 750 ml chicken stock 185 ml heavy whipping cream	Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat then add the onion, leeks, celery and garlic. Stir to mix and cover all in butter. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 min or until vegetables are softened but not browned, stirring occasionally. Add the potatoes and chicken stock and bring to boil. Reduce the heat again and leave to simmer, covered, for 20 min. Allow to cool and purée - I find handheld blender the best, otherwise do it in batches using a food processor before returning each batch into a clean saucepan. Bring the soup gently to the boil over medium heat and stir in the cream. Season with salt and white/black pepper and reheat without boiling. Serve hot garnished with chives.
Béarnaise Sauce
1 shallot minced 2 tbsp white wine vinegar 2 tbsp white wine 3 tarragon sprigs 1 tsp dried tarragon 3 egg yolks 213 g ghee melted 1 tbsp chopped tarragon leaves	Put the shallot, vinegar, wine, tarragon sprigs and dried tarragon in a saucepan and cook until reduced to about a tablespoon. Remove from the heat and cool slightly (you can fish out the tarragon sprigs here, or bit later). Whisk the egg yolks and 1½ tbsp water, and add to the saucepan. Place the saucepan over very low heat and continue to whisk until the sauce is thick. Keep the heat very low and do not bring to the boil or the eggs will scramble. Remove the sauce from the heat, and continue to whisk while slowly adding the melted ghee in a thin steady stream. If the sauce has liquid like consistency, you can pass it through a fine strainer, or let it be and if you haven't done so already, fish out the tarragon sprigs and discard. Stir in the chopped tarragon and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm while cooking the steaks.
Serves 4-6 Both recipes adapted from “The Food of France: A Journey for Food Lovers”.