Sunday, February 15, 2009

Wasabi Leaf Vichyssoise

Our host for Weekend Herb Blogging is Cheryl from Gluten Free Goodness and this week I've found something different - it's a member of the mustard family...

wasabi leaf© by Haalo


fresh Wasabi Leaves!

wasabi leaf© by Haalo

These deep green, heart shaped leaves are rather thick and quite robust in nature. Eaten raw, they have a mild wasabi flavour, which makes them very approachable to even the most delicate palate.

It's the first time I've seen for sale here so if you are interested, head to Mow's at Prahran Market, he might just have some left, if I haven't bought them all.

From what I gather, the leaves and stems are used to produce Ashgrove Wasabi Cheese. This cheese has a bigger wasabi hit then you can get from the leaves.

To extract the most flavour from the leaf you would need to crush it but you can also use it as is, as a wrap. You can shred it and add to salads, pickle it, even deep fry it but I will be using it to add a new flavour to a french classic - Vichyssoise.


Wasabi Leaf Vichyssoise© by Haalo

Wasabi Leaf Vichyssoise

1 leek, quartered & sliced finely
2 potatoes, peeled diced finely
wasabi leaves, shredded
milk


On a low heat, place a good knob of butter in a saucepan and when melted add the leek. Let them slowly soften but not colour before adding the diced potatoes and shredded wasabi leaves. Stir well and then cover with milk.

Simmer until the potatoes have softened and have started to collapse.

Blend the mixture until smooth - you may need to add extra milk to achieve your preferred consistency.

Serve it hot or cold.

Wasabi Leaf Vichyssoise© by Haalo


As a bonus, here's a really quick way to use Wasabi Leaf -

wasabi leaf mashed potato© by Haalo

regular mashed potatoes get some extra bite with the addition of shredded wasabi leaf.

6 comments

  1. That soup looks lovely with the addition of the wasabi - leaves. I think that I can buy dried wasabi leaves in the Chinese & Indiab food stores, but no fresh leaves. What is your thought on the dried variety? Do you know how much to add? Thanks!

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  2. Wow, never seen this before! I think your idea for mashed potatoes with wasabi is quite brilliant. I love wasabi but have never seen anything but the powder here.

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  3. Wow, it never actually occured to me that wasabi surely came from an actual plant! What a find.

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  4. I planted a horseradish earlier this year and I believe these two are from the same family....I am not sure when the roots are ready though...will have to read up some more. I love the mashed potatoes!!!

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  5. Wow - I've never seen these before! In fact, I've never really spent much time contemplating where wasabi comes from other than,ummm, a tube ;-) Facsinated by the idea of mildly-wasabi-flavoured leaves in mashed potato - inspired!

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  6. Thanks Sophie - I have no idea about the potency of dried wasabi leaf, the best idea would be to just taste it and see how strong or mild it is.

    Thanks Kalyn!

    Thanks Alisa!

    Thanks Nina - hard to beat fresh horseradish especially when you've grown it yourself.

    Thanks Jeanne - if you every find some fresh wasabi do try it, it will be a revelation.

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