Lettuce, cucumber and mint soup

The other day I was looking through a stack of old Gourmet magazines, and I found an intriguing recipe for Lettuce, Cucumber and Mint soup in the August 1990 issue, from a feature on the Ballymaloe Cookery School and their beautiful herb garden.

Following on from the delicate taste of my menthe a l'eau I thought this would be a perfect dish for the sweet summer weather we've been experiencing here in New York. And it tasted amazing; the flavors are delicate, unexpected and soothing.

The original recipe served 8, but I cut it down to 1 large serving; also, since I did not find the recipe either on the Ballymaloe Cookery School website or on Epicurious, I'm reproducing it here in its entirety, with my proportions for one serving.

Ballymaloe Cookery School Lettuce, Cucumber and Mint Soup
from Gourmet August 1990

1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup diced potato
1/4 cup diced cucumber
1 1/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup lettuce
1 tablespoon chopped mint
1 tablespoon cream or milk

In a heavy saucepan heat the butter over moderate heat until it begins to foam, add the onion, potatoes and salt and pepper to taste, and stir until the onion and potatoes are well coated with butter. Cook with the lid on over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until the onion is soft. Stir in the cucumber and the broth and simmer the mixture covered until the potatoes are tender, about ten minutes. Stir in the lettuce and simmer the mixture uncovered for 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 half the mint and the tablespoon of cream or milk and blend. Serve garnished with mint.

Menthe à l'eau

Menthe à l'eau is a drink mostly for French children, the thought of which can send people of a certain age into reveries. I discovered it the summer I was a high school exchange student in a small town in France. At the café or before lunch you might have un menthe à l'eau while the grownups had their apperitifs (although sometimes we did get to have the apperitif), or in the afternoon after bicycling around in the hot sun you could make it at home with store-bought syrup - maybe serving the role that lemonade served for American kids before Big Gulps ruled. But oh how sophisticated I felt ordering un menthe à l'eau at the café in the nearest big town!

All the pictures of menthe à l'eau that I could find are bright flourescent green, which was the color of the store-bought syrup; however I was given to understand by my "family" that the final drink was meant to be a very lightly tinged green, or else it was a sign you had put in too much syrup.

I have a mint plant growing as part of my "kitchen garden" outside my front windows, and I was thinking of what uses I might make of it for summer refreshment, and of course menthe à l'eau was on my mind. I found this recipe at Epicurious for mint simple syrup. I made a half batch using 3/4 cup of mint leaves (packed), 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water, enough for two or three large pitchers. The syrup makes an icy mint flavored water that is delicate and not overpowering, which as a grownup I appreciate more. Not to mention that it's practically gratuit.