Veloute sounds elaborate, but velvety soup is simple

The word itself is delicious — veloute, veh-loo-TAY.

If you were in Paris, you’d see them on the menus in bistro after brasserie after restaurant.

Velvety, creamy soups; sometimes classic, sometimes more inventive.

Veloute sounds fancy, but it’s easy enough to make. The point is to get the right consistency — a not-too-thick, creamy-velvety texture — as well as concentrated flavor.

Knowing the basic construction of veloute lets you improvise with whatever vegetables you happen to have on hand. Try a veloute made with cremini and oyster mushrooms, punctuated with a little garlic and rosemary, or a soulful white-bean soup finished with cream and a little Gruyere cheese.

Go elegant with kabocha soup dressed with a dollop of sour cream; slender, buttery croutons; and a light sprinkling of dried red chili.

Sauce veloute is a light stock that has been thickened with white roux — flour cooked in butter. Veloute soup traditionally is a pureed vegetable soup made with broth, thickened with a little flour and finished with cream and egg yolks. (Cream soups are made with milk as the liquid instead of broth.)

But it’s a flexible formula. Flour often helps thicken the soup and gives it a smooth texture, but you don’t always need it. A tablespoon of flour goes into the mushroom veloute to add body, but for a kabocha squash or white-bean soup, the vegetables (or legumes) themselves make a thick enough puree.

Be careful not to overprocess the vegetables in your blender or food processor; it’ll make the puree too viscous.

The mushroom soup is finished classically with cream and a little egg. But butter swirled into the kabocha veloute a little bit at a time at the end of cooking gives it extra smoothness and adds another dimension of flavor, bringing out the butteriness of the squash.

Gruyere and cream enrich the white-bean soup — the cheese stirred in just until it melts and then finished with the cream.

So veloute.

Mushroom veloute with buttermilk blini

Buttermilk “blini”

1/2cup flour

3/4teaspoon sugar

1/2teaspoon baking powder

1/4teaspoon salt

1/8teaspoon baking soda

6tablespoons buttermilk

1egg, lightly beaten, divided

1tablespoon melted butter

Oil for the griddle

Soup:

4tablespoons butter, divided

1cup diced leeks

1/2cup diced celery

1teaspoon minced garlic

1pound cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced

1/2pound oyster mushrooms, trimmed and sliced

6cups chicken broth

1small bay leaf

12-inch sprig fresh rosemary

1tablespoon flour

1/4cup heavy cream

2tablespoons beaten egg (reserved from blini recipe)

Salt

White pepper

Scant 2 tablespoons creme fraiche

1teaspoon thinly sliced chives

8sprigs parsley

To make blini: Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Combine the buttermilk, 2 tablespoons beaten egg and the butter in a small bowl. (Set aside the remaining egg for use in the soup). Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; add the liquid ingredients. Stir just until blended.

Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat with just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Spoon 1 teaspoon of batter onto the griddle or skillet for each “blini.” Cook 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side until both sides are dark golden brown. Repeat until all the batter is used, adding oil to the pan as necessary. Makes about 30 “blini.” Reserve in a warm place until ready to use.

To make soup: Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large sauce pot over low heat. Add the leeks and celery and saute about 5 minutes, stirring often, until tender. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute, or until the garlic is fragrant.

Add the mushrooms and sauté until all the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the chicken broth, bay leaf and rosemary and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, loosely covered, for 45 minutes. Remove bay leaf and rosemary.

Puree the soup in a blender until velvety smooth; this may need to be done in 2 or 3 batches.

Rinse out the pot and pour the soup back into the pot. Bring the soup to a simmer.

Blend the remaining tablespoon butter with the flour in a small bowl. Whisk this into the soup and simmer about 1 minute until the soup is slightly thickened.

In another small bowl, beat together the cream and the egg until blended. Whisk this into the soup until it is combined and the soup is slightly thickened; do not bring to a simmer or the egg will scramble. Season with 1/8 teaspoon each of salt and white pepper, or to taste.

Combine the creme fraiche, chives, salt and white pepper to taste in a small bowl.

To serve, have the “blini,” seasoned creme fraiche and soup on hand. Ladle about three-fourths cup soup into each of 8 shallow bowls.

Use a sharp knife to cut a pocket in one of the blini. Spoon about one-fourth teaspoon creme fraiche onto each blini half, then put together to make a sandwich. Place 2 or 3 filled blini and a parsley sprig on top of each soup serving.

Makes 8 servings. Each serving: 191 calories; 7 grams protein; 14 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 13 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 59 mg. cholesterol; 490 mg. sodium.

Note: Creme fraiche is available at well-stocked markets.

White bean veloute soup

1pound cannellini beans

2tablespoons butter

1/2cup finely chopped carrots

1cup finely chopped leeks

1/2cup finely chopped celery

1teaspoon finely chopped thyme leaves, divided

8cups chicken broth

1teaspoon salt

1/4teaspoon white pepper, or to taste

1/2cup grated Gruyere cheese

2tablespoons whipping cream

Soak the beans in water overnight. Drain.

Heat the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed stockpot until melted. Add the carrots, leeks and celery and saute over medium-low heat 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned.

Stir in one-half teaspoon thyme. Add the beans to the pot along with the chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer, partially covered, until the beans are tender, about 2 hours.

Add more water while cooking, if necessary, to keep beans covered. Season with salt and pepper.

Puree the soup in a food processor in batches until smooth, then return it to the pot and add the cheese. Heat the soup over low heat, stirring, until the cheese is just melted. Stir in the whipping cream, then remove from heat.

Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Spoon into bowls to serve. Garnish each serving with a sprinkle of the remaining thyme.

Makes 6 servings. Each serving: 376 calories; 24 grams protein; 50 grams carbohydrates; 13 grams fiber; 10 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 27 mg. cholesterol; 965 mg. sodium.

Kabocha veloute soup

2cloves garlic, 1 crushed and 1 minced, divided

1/4cup olive oil

2tablespoons butter, plus 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, divided

1/2cup finely diced celery

1/2cup finely diced carrots

1/2cup finely chopped onion

1/2large kabocha squash, peeled, seeded, diced (about 3 pounds cleaned)

6cups chicken broth or water

3-41/2-inch slices French country white bread

1teaspoon salt

1/8teaspoon white pepper

3/8cup sour cream

3/4teaspoon ground piment d’espelette for garnish

3teaspoons chopped parsley for garnish

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the garlic in a small bowl with the olive oil and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large sauce pot until melted. Add the celery, carrots and onion and saute over medium-low heat until tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the minced garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the squash to the pot. Stir in the chicken broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the squash is tender.

While the soup simmers, make croutons by cutting the bread slices into 121/2-by-4-inch strips. Brush the cut sides of the bread with the garlic-infused oil. Place on a baking sheet and bake 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Set aside.

When the squash is tender, puree the soup in a blender or food processor, in batches if necessary. Return the soup to the pot. Add the remaining butter, bit by bit, to the soup, swirling until each piece is incorporated and the soup is slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, spoon about three-fourths cup soup into each of 6 soup bowls. Top each with a dollop of sour cream and a pinch of piment d’espelette.

Sprinkle parsley over the croutons, then place 2 croutons on top. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings. Each serving: 397 calories; 8 grams protein; 39 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams fiber; 25 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 36 mg. cholesterol; 982 mg. sodium.