A couple of first courses to start things off

I couldn't decide between a couple of first course recipes I hadn't tried yet and made them both for our dinner yesterday evening. We had a soup and salad combo meal but either recipe would make an impressive first course and both came together relatively quickly, other than having to remember to soak my dried beans. Both recipes are from Jaques Pepin's Cooking with Claudine cookbook and both recipes I halved.

Cream of Turnip and Sweet Potato Soup with Leek Julienne - 4 servings

For the Soup:
3/4 lb. purple topped turnips, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 sweet potato (8 oz) , peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
6 oz. white potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
3 1/2 c. light chicken, beef, or pork stock - unsalted (I used veggie bouillion and skipped the salt below)
1 t. salt, or to taste

For the Leek Garnish:
1 small leek
1 T. unsalted butter
1/2 c. water

1/4 t. freshly ground pepper
1/2 c. light cream

Place the turnip, sweet potato, and white potato in a pot with the stock and salt (if you are not using bouillion). Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and cook gently for 45 minutes or until veggies are very tender when pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile prepare the leek garnish. Slice the leek in half (discard the fibrous green tops) and clean thoroughly (leeks hold a lot of dirt so you have to clean in between the layers). Slice into very think strips (julienne). Place the leek strips in a saucepan with the butter and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 10-12 min, until tender. Set aside in any remaining cooking liquid.

When the veggies in the soup are tender, process it in a food processor or with a handheld immersion blender until emulsified into a smooth texture. Add the black pepper, cream, and julienned leek mixture. Reheat the soup if needed and add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed.

Cranberry Bean and Tuna Salad - 4 servings

1 lb. dried cranberry beans, soaked for 8 hours
1 bay leaf
1 med. onion, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 t. salt
1 t. herbs de provence
1 1/2 c. cool water
2 cans, tuna in water (6 oz each)
2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1/4 c. minced parsley ( I would maybe use a little less next time ... had a strong parsley flavor)
3/4 t. fresh ground pepper
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 T. dijon mustard
8-10 lettuce leaves, preferably from a Boston leaf lettuce head

Place the beans, bay leaf, onion, salt, and herbs de provence and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the head to very low and cook gently for 45-60 minutes, until the beans are tender ... I had to use a little more water halfway through the cooking time. Cool the mixture to lukewarm. At this point most of the liquid will have been absorbed by the beans.

Place the tuna, including its water in a salad bowl. Add the garlic, parsley, pepper, oil and mustard and mix well, breaking tuna into small pieces. Add the beans, discarding some of the liquid if it is excessive and toss gently to mix all the ingredients together. The mixture should be moist but not liquid.

Divide lettuce leaves among 4 plates and spoon bean mixture onto the leaves. Serve at room temp as a first course.