Light, chic potato-garlic soup

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So quick, so easy, so chic. That's how I would describe the first course I am planning to serve for a special dinner in a few weeks. This opener -- spring new potato and garlic soup -- is made with a mere handful of ingredients, takes about 30 minutes from start to finish to prepare and definitely has a sophisticated taste and look. It's the answer for discerning but harried cooks.

The garlic flavoring comes from Boursin, a creamy garlic- and herb- scented French cheese easily found in most supermarkets. It is broken into bits and melted in warm half-and-half to form the base of the soup.

Parboiled, thinly sliced new potatoes are stirred into the silken smooth cheese mixture, and fresh snipped chives and parsley are added as a garnish. Because no flour or other thickener is used, the texture is light, and amazingly, the heaviness one would expect from a potatoes-and-cheese combo is not present.

I am planning to ladle this delectable potage into individual soup bowls for my party. However, a novel and increasingly popular way to serve soups is to use espresso or demi-tasse cups and offer the petit servings as appetizers. This particular potage would lend itself beautifully to such a presentation. A single recipe yields 4 servings (about a cup each), but if you opt for miniature portions, you can double that to 8.

The soup would make a fine prelude to a roast leg of lamb, a baked ham or grilled salmon fillets. Or accompany it with an omelet or a frittata and a mixed-greens salad for a stylish springtime lunch or supper

Spring new potato and garlic soup

3/4 pound small new red-skinned potatoes (1 to 1½ inches in diameter), scrubbed but not peeled

Water

Kosher salt

2 cups half-and-half