Velouté means “velvety” in French – and in that country’s culinary parlance refers to a cream sauce or cream soup. It’s an apt descriptor for this smooth dish from Chef Jean Pierre Novi of La Reine Jeanne in Les Baux, featuring the fresh grassy flavour of cold-pressed extra virgin oil from early harvest green olives.
Ingredients
- Whipping Cream 250 ml
- Green Tea Leaves 1 cup
- Parsnips 500 g, peeled and finely minced
- Milk 250 ml
- Water 500 ml
- Juice from 1/2 a lemon
- Extra Virgin Green Olive Oil
- Carrot 1, finely diced
- Zucchini 1, finely diced
- Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Cook It
- Bring the cream to a boil. Add the green tea leaves and steep for about 15 minutes. Strain and chill.
- In a covered pan, cook the parsnips in a little olive oil for 10 minutes. Add the milk and water. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 15 minutes, until the parsnips are tender.
- Blanch the carrot and zucchini in salted boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain, reserving the cooking water. Rinse the vegetables with cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Pour the parsnip mixture into a blender jar and blend until smooth, adding the reserved cooking water as needed for a pleasant consistency. Add the lemon juice. Strain into a bowl and refrigerate until chilled.
- Season the green tea-infused cream with salt and pepper to taste and whip until stiff.
- Toss the carrot and zucchini with a little olive oil and salt.
- To serve, pour the chilled parsnip puree into 4 small soup bowls. Sprinkle with the carrot-zucchini mixture. Top with several dollops of the green tea whipped cream and finish with a trickle of olive oil.
