Since selling The Greenporter Hotel and restaurant in 2023, Deborah Rivera-Pittorino, chef and author of the recipe blog Seasoned Fork, has been taking some well-deserved inspirational travel time off to countries like France and Morocco.
Rivera-Pittorino ran the boutique hotel and its renowned bistro, La Cuvée, for more than 22 years, and was a stickler for using locally sourced produce and herbs grown on the property for her various recipes, including parsley for this spring carrot Vichy-style bisque that celebrates nouvelle cuisine — a lightened-up approach to classic French fare with a more straightforward preparation.
“Vichy inspired a new culinary movement in France,” explains Rivera-Pittorino of the town located halfway between Paris and Montpellier, known for its thermal springs. “In the 18th and the 19th centuries, people began to use the water for healing purposes, and in turn, recipes began to move away from using butter and heavy sauces, and lighten up. This bisque is my take on that approach.”
The use of parsley brings a brightness to the flavor profile while avoiding the expected additions to most carrot soups, such as curry. “Parsley just makes everything fresh and spring-like, especially with carrots,” says Rivera-Pittorino, who prefers not to use dairy in this bisque. “Taking away the cream makes it a very clean soup,” she says. “I find it very restorative.”
With plans to continue working on her blog, private catering and a future cookbook of soup recipes, Rivera-Pittorino looks forward to a North Fork summer after returning from traveling abroad.
“I want to use this time to re-establish contact with a few farmers that I haven’t been in touch with since I closed the restaurant,” she says. “There is such an abundance of inspired produce out here, and I’m interested in how things are grown,” she says. “Last year, Ira Haspel of KK’s The Farm in Southold grew some beautiful celery root for me that I used for latkes.”
Keep an eye out for local carrots at farm stands this spring. Rivera-Pittorino recommends Sep’s Farm in East Marion and Country View Farm Stand as personal favorites to use in this European style bisque that pairs nicely with the ‘Jolie’ cabernet franc rosé from Croteaux Vineyards in Southold, which luckily is much closer than France.
Seasoned Fork’s Carrot Vichy Bisque
Ingredients
- 1 bunch organic carrots
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
- 4 shallots, roughly chopped and sautéed in olive oil until translucent
- sea salt
- pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/8 tsp thyme
- 1 cup whole milk or cream
Directions
- Trim and scrub carrots and rough chop, no need to peel them.
- Boil in salted water on high flame for 20 minutes.
- Strain but do not discard water (set aside).
- Add cooked carrots, sautéed shallots, parsley and stock into a pot and blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
- If too thick, use water from carrots until smooth then add milk or cream if desired.
- Garnish with more parsley. Serve hot or cold.
