SIMPLE LUNCHEON

When entertaining, more often than not, I choose the dinner party as a common format. Rarely do I invite friends for a weekend lunch. Yet, a light midday meal is far easier to execute than an evening menu with several courses. I realized this several days ago as I began to plan the dishes for a simple luncheon for a good friend whom I have not seen in several months.

As a first course, I'm going to serve a warm vegetable salad of tender green beans, fresh peas and turnips napped with a vinaigrette dressing. The main course will be a rich pureed asparagus soup, garnished with dollops of cream fraiche and chopped chives. To go with the soup, there will be crusty baguettes. Fresh strawberries tossed with sugar and offered with a plate of good cookies bought at the bakery will end the meal.

The soup, which I have made several times this spring, is uncomplicated to prepare and tastes even better when assembled one to two days in advance. I saute chopped leeks in butter until softened, then add chopped asparagus and chicken stock. The vegetables are simmered in the stock for a little over quarter of an hour, then pureed. Then some creme fraiche is stirred into the soup at the last minute.

It is the creme fraiche, a thick fermented cream used throughout France, which gives this soup its special flavor. Available (but often quite expensive) in some gourmet markets, it can also be easily produced at home by using either sour cream or buttermilk to thicken (that is, to ferment) whipping cream.

Although I chose to prepare a mixed vegetable salad to precede this soup, a combination of mixed greens and wedges of ripe tomatoes tossed in a red or white wine vinaigrette dressing would be equally good, and even simpler.

ASPARAGUS SOUP WITH CREME FRAICHE AND CHIVES

This soup can also be served cold. You will probably need to add more salt and thin it slightly with a little milk.

1 cup whipping cream

1/3 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts only (about 2 large leeks)

2 to 2 1/4 pounds medium asparagus, tough ends broken off and discarded, and spears cut into 1-inch pieces

5 cups chicken stock

1 teaspoon salt or to taste

2 tablespoons chopped chives

To prepare creme fraiche, place whipping cream in small mixing bowl and whisk in sour cream. Cover and let stand in warm part of kitchen until thickened, 5 to 6 hours or overnight. Refrigerate, covered, when thickened. (Creme fraiche will keep 1 week in refrigerator.)

Heat butter in large, heavy, deep-sided nonreactive pot set over medium heat. When melted and hot, add leeks and saute, stirring, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add chopped asparagus and stir and cook 1 minute more. Add stock and salt. Bring mixture to simmer, then reduce heat and cook at simmer until vegetables are very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and puree mixture in small batches in food processor, blender or food mill. Return mixture to pan in which cooked. Stir in 3/4 cup creme fraiche. Taste and season with more salt if needed.

If serving immediately, reheat soup few minutes if necessary. (Soup can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cool, cover and refrigerate. Reheat, stirring, over medium heat.)

To serve, ladle soup into 6 shallow soup bowls. Garnish each with dollop (about 1 teaspoonful) of additional creme fraiche. (You will have some creme fraiche left over, which can be saved for another use.) Sprinkle each serving with chives. Makes 6 servings.

Note: I generally prefer to use sour cream in place of buttermilk when preparing creme fraiche, because I like the way it thickens whipping cream. If you want to use buttermilk, use 2 tablespoons for every cup of cream and let stand at room temperature same amount of time.

(Betty Rosbottom is a cooking school director and author of ``American Favorites,'' Chapters.)

(c) 2000, Betty Rosbottom. Distributed by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate.

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Author: Betty Rosbottom