When I finished my Elementary School we had a mass and a party with a banquet and even mariachis. I remember quite vividly the celebration, but food-wise, the only thing that I recall to this date is the first course: A Pecan Velouté. And as it is well known that one robin doesn’t make a spring, after being outside in the garden and feel like the summer was here already, the temperatures came down again and it seems like Spring is just beginning and we are only at 10 or 15 degrees Celsius (in the 50s if you think Fahrenheit). Evidently, since we are now in continuous search for making the most of our ingredients and stepping out of home as little as possible during this quarantine, I decided it was time to give it a try and imitate that velouté, but I would skip the flour that is normally added.
Here’s what I did:
Ingredients
- 185 g (1 ½ cups) pecans
- 30 g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter
- ½ (½) onion, finely diced
- 2 stalks (2 stalks) celery, finely diced
- 1 cloves (1 cloves) garlic, finely diced
- 45 g (3 tbsp) cream cheese
- 500 ml (2 cups) 2% cow's milk
- 500 ml (2 cups) chicken stock
- Salt and Pepper (white pepper preferably)
To Prepare
- Toast the pecans. I normally use a skillet or put them in the oven if I have it on. This should take just a few minutes.
- Melt the butter in a small pot and sweat the onion and the celery. Don’t forget to add a pinch of salt.
- When the onion is almost transparent, add the garlic and almost immediately add the cream cheese and the milk. Let it come to a boil and add the chicken stock.
- Mix the lot and put it in the blender together with the toasted pecans.
- Be careful when you turn your blender on. It’s hot.
- Put everything back in the pot and let it come to a simmer. Season with salt and white pepper.
