Time: About an hour, not including the chicken stock

The tradition of corn porridge or polenta soup, a curious culinary bond shared by Native Americans, Southern frontier settlers, and 18th century Italian peasants, has survived only in the Italian countryside where it is sustained within a food collective known as Cucina di Grembiule, or cuisine of the apron.

In this recipe we draw inspiration from Italian peasants in their ‘days of want’ by cooking thin polenta in homemade chicken stock—just as if there weren’t enough polenta to go around—and creating from it a clean, simple soup with a silky texture. It has the comfort quotient of a light porridge, and the savory heft of a more substantial dish.

Alas, we couldn’t resist the urge to “chef” this soup up a bit. The custard timbale, infused with fresh leeks and a dash of curry, rests on a crisp garlic crouton, and is topped with a julienned poached leek salad. It is a light and soulful spring soup with flavors that provide comfort, a subtle surprise, and faint whispers of history.

Equipment Mise en Place
For the custard and croutons you will need a digital scale; a small skillet; a 2 ¼-inch biscuit cutter (or a biscuit cutter that corresponds in size to the top circumference of the ramekins you're using); 6 approximately 2-ounce metal ramekins or demitasse cups; a pastry brush; 2 medium, heavy-bottomed saucepans; a footed colander; a whisk; a fine conical strainer; a 2-cup glass measuring cup or a pitcher; a shallow glass baking dish or pie pan; an instant read thermometer; a pair of tongs; and a thin metal spatula.

For the soup you will need a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, a large saucepan, a whisk, and a ladle.

Ingredients
1 large leek (6 to 8 ounces)

For the crouton bolster:
1.5 ounces (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
6 slices white bread or brioche

For the custard:
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
Scant ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
⅛ teaspoon good quality, fresh curry powder
2 ounces sliced leeks, white and light green parts (see below)
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks

For the garnish:
blanched julienned leeks (see below)
¼ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Fresh lemon juice to taste (2 to 3 teaspoons)
Splash of mild, fruity olive oil
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the broth:
1 ½ quarts (6 cups or 1 ½ recipe) Rich Homemade Chicken Stock, strained and de-fatted
2 ounces (6 tablespoons) Anson Mills Artisan Fine Yellow Polenta
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 strips peel from one lemon

Directions
1. Prepare the leek: Trim away the root end and the tough or ragged green ends of the leek. Cut the leek in half where the light and dark green parts meet. Slice each piece in half lengthwise and wash well. Cut the white and light green parts into half moons and set them aside. Separate the dark green parts into 4 6 or 7-inch lengths and cut them into fine julienne (View Photo. Click on photo to close.) Set them aside.

2. Prepare the garlic butter and stamp out the croutons: Melt the butter in a small skillet over low heat until foamy. Add the sliced garlic and sauté until fragrant and golden, but not brown, 30 to 45 seconds, stirring frequently. Set aside. While the butter is melting and the garlic cooking, use a 2 ¼-inch cutter to stamp out 6 rounds from 6 slices of brioche or white bread (View Photo). Brush the rounds on both sides with garlic butter, and set them aside.

3. Start the royale (custard base): Brush 6 ramekins with garlic butter (above) and set them aside. Wipe out the skillet, discarding the sliced garlic, and set the skillet aside. Pour the cream and milk together into a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, and place it over low heat. Add the salt, peppercorns, curry powder, and 2 ounces of white and light green leek slices (about ¾ cup) to the liquid. Bring to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the leeks to steep in the cream as it cools (View Photo).

4. Blanch the julienned leeks and make the salad garnish: Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water boils, salt it generously. Add the dark green leek julienne and cook, stirring, until the leeks are tender, less than a minute (View Photo). Strain the leeks into a footed colander and refresh with cold water. Dry them on paper towels. Place the leeks in a small bowl and add the lemon peel and juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine. Taste for seasoning. Cover and set aside.

5. Bake the royale: Adjust a rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 300 degrees. Set a kettle of water on the stove to boil. Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them well. Whisk the warm cream mixture into the eggs a little at a time until well combined. Strain the royale through a fine conical strainer into a 2-cup glass measuring cup or a pitcher, pushing on the solids with a wooden spoon to extract all the liquid. Arrange the buttered ramekins in a shallow glass baking dish or pie pan. Pour the royale evenly among the 6 ramekins—there will be about 1½ ounces (by weight) (View Photo). Place the pan on the oven rack and pour boiling water halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the custard is just set, and registers 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer, about 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the ramekins from the water bath to a plate with a pair of tongs. Cover them with a clean towel to keep them warm. Turn off the oven and place 6 shallow soup plates inside to warm them.

6. Prepare the soup: While the timbales are baking, heat the chicken stock in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Turn the polenta into a large saucepan set over low heat. Toast the polenta lightly, stirring frequently, until it smells sweetly of corn but has not colored, about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and add hot stock to the polenta one ladle at a time, whisking to keep the polenta smooth (View Photo). Return the broth to the stove and cook over medium low heat, whisking frequently, until the polenta thickens the broth, and is soft but firm to the tooth, about 20 minutes (View Photo). Do not allow the soup to approach a full boil. Add the lemon peel during the final 10 minutes of cooking. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the lemon peel.

7. Brown the croutons: Heat the skillet in which the garlic butter was made over medium-low heat. Add the buttered bread rounds, and brown without turning, until golden, about 2 minutes. Turn and brown the other sides, 2 minutes more (View Photo). Remove the skillet from the heat, but leave the croutons in the skillet to stay warm.

8. Serve the soup: Run a thin metal spatula around the perimeter of the custard timbales. Working one at a time, place a garlic crouton against the bottom of a ramekin. Holding the mold with both hands and the crouton against the bottom, shake the custard out onto the crouton (View Photo). Place the crouton in the center of the warm bowl. Top with leek salad twirled into a wreath. Ladle 1 cup of hot soup into the bowl. Serve at once.

Makes 6 cups; serves 6