Chive talking

For many years, I thought the word 'chive' described the tops of spring onions, because at lesser (read: cheaper) restaurants in the United States, spring onion tops were often substituted for the more expensive herb, even when the menu clearly stated 'chive'.

Talk about false advertising - the two look vaguely similar, but spring onion tops are much larger and tougher than the slender, delicate chive, and the flavour is much stronger than that of the herb.

Chives and spring onions are related, though - they both belong to the allium family, which includes other types of onion, as well as garlic and leek. While the other types of allium are used as a main ingredient and cooked (or 'sweated') to provide a base note for soups and stews, the delicately textured and subtly flavoured chive is frequently used as a garnish, and cooked only briefly, if at all. Chives used in European cuisine should not be confused with the chives that are commonly available at Chinese markets, which are much stronger in flavour.

Although chives don't add a strong flavour to dishes, they do provide colour and textural contrast. They're an essential part of vichyssoise because the chilled leek and potato soup would look unpleasantly bland and colourless without a bright garnish of some type. To make this classic French soup, sweat chopped leeks in butter, add diced potato and enough home-made chicken stock to cover the vegetables, and season with salt. Bring to a simmer then cook until the potato is tender. Puree the ingredients then strain through a fine-meshed sieve into a clean pan. Whisk in milk and/or cream, then refrigerate until very cold. Taste the soup for seasonings - it might need more salt, because chilling mutes the flavours; and if the consistency is too thick, whisk in more chilled milk. Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped chives before serving.