Red Pepper Gazpacho

1 med. onion, chopped

1 - 2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper, or one jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 tsp olive oil

2 red bell peppers, roasted & peeled

1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 cups veggie broth

1/4 cup dry white wine

Saute onion, garlic and crushed red pepper (or jalapeno) in oil until onion is very soft.  While they are cooking, roast the bell peppers in the toaster oven by slicing in 1/2, removing tops and seeds, and broiling until skin is very black and blistered.  Using a tongs, place the peppers in a paper bag and let sit for about 5 minutes to loosen skin.  When cool enough to handle, remove skins and chop peppers.  Put onion mix and peppers in to the blender and process until smooth - the smoother the better.  Add a little broth to aid the pureeing, but not too much or you will overflow the blender!

Pour into a saucepan, add the broth, tomato paste, and wine and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook 15 minutes.  Add plenty of salt and just a little fresh black pepper.  Serve hot or chilled with a dollop of sour cream.

Spicy Chicken Soup

This recipe is an update on my previous chicken soup recipe, and I think it's better. It involves most of the same ingredients, but has a lot more flavor. It gets a rich herbal flavor from oregano, some sweet earthiness from shiitake mushrooms, and a little kick of heat from some cayenne pepper.

2 stalks celery
2 cups chopped baby carrots
1/2 large turnip
1 bulb fennel
1 pkg sliced shiitake mushrooms (about 8 oz)
6-7 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, or more to taste
1 split chicken breast, on bone, with skin

Chop celery, carrots, turnip, and fennel into a 1/4 inch dice. Mince the garlic or push through a press. Put all of this into a large stockpot, and add the salt, pepper, cayenne, and oregano. Place the chicken on top, and add enough water to cover everything.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a slow simmer. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Remove chick breasts from pot and set aside to cool. Turn heat off the soup and let that cool as well.

When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and discard it. Cut chicken off the bone and into small pieces. Return to pot, and add the shiitake mushrooms as well.

Bring back to a boil and reduce immediately. Simmer about 5-10 minutes, and taste. Adjust seasoning as needed.

Serve with a large spoonful of white rice cooked according to package directions.

Pumpkin-Carrot Soup

I began chopping an onion this afternoon with the intention of making a completely different dish, but then I started musing on my daughter's recent, ahem, tummy troubles. Not to put too fine a point on it, she's in need of more fiber in her diet. It's hard to get her to eat fruits and vegetables lately because her palate is so temperamental, and all she really wants is cheese and crackers. The blueberries she gobbled down yesterday are spurned today. But I know she likes carrots, and I know she likes pumpkin pie (for now). Also, these two items contain loads of fiber, so instead of trying to force kale down her throat (haha!), I decided to create a soup just for her. I tend to think of onion as merely a flavor component, but maybe it's got some fiber too. But the nice thing about this soup is it's so easy to make, you can even do laundry and walk the dogs while it's cooking.

vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 cups baby carrots, chopped
1/2 cup applesauce
1 quart veggie or chicken stock (low-sodium)
1 large can (29 oz) pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp yellow curry powder
1/3 cup sherry or dry white wine
salt and black pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 c pepitas, toasted

In a large stockpot, saute the onion and garlic in oil until soft and translucent. Salt a bit to sweat the onion. Add the carrots and applesauce; saute another 5 minutes. I had half an apple that wasn't going to be eaten, so I chopped it up and threw that in as well (you can see the red peel in the photo below). Add stock, pumpkin, and spices.


Stir well, and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat immediately and add bay leaf and cream. Simmer uncovered for about 25 minutes, until carrots are quite soft. While this simmers, toast pepitas lightly, stirring to turn. Salt them lightly when still hot.


Remove bay leaf from stockpot. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Taste, and adjust salt and pepper. Add some water if you want a thinner soup.

Serve sprinkled with toasted pepitas and a dollop of sour cream.

Creamy Mushroom Soup

Dark, hearty portobello mushrooms enrich this soup and give it a slightly mysterious, smoky flavor. It's perfect on a cold day like today (only 14 degrees!), especially with some toasted baguette and a glass of cider.

1 small onion
3 whole cloves
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
1 cup milk
2 large portobello mushroom caps, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup sherry
2 cups vegetable stock
4 strands thyme
1/2 tsp celery seed

First make a bechamel: melt the butter in an oven-safe saucepan. Sprinkle in the flour, whisking until incorporated and golden brown (this is a basic roux). Add the milk. Insert the cloves into the whole onion, and place into the milk mixture. Place saucepan into a 350 oven for 20 minutes to thicken.

Meanwhile, chop the mushroom and saute in a little olive oil. Add the thyme leaves, the celery seed and cook down until mushrooms are quite soft and have reduced in size. Add the sherry to deglaze the pan, and then add veggie stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cook about 10 minutes.

Using a stick blender, puree the mushrooms into the stock until smooth. Retrieve the bechamel from the oven, discard the onion, and fold the sauce into your soup. Whisk to incorporate. Serve hot with several pieces of crusty bread.

Baconssoise

I wanted to make a potato soup that would not be heavy or overwhelming, and I had a couple of leeks calling to me from the crisper, so I decided that a cold-weather version of vichyssoise would be yummy. And what better way to achieve the darker, more robust version than to add some bacon?! And of course, serve it hot.

5 strips unsmoked bacon
2 leeks, cleaned and chopped
2 shallots, chopped
1/2 cup fino sherry
4 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 quart chicken or veggie stock
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp thyme
splash heavy cream (about 1/4 cup)

First, render the bacon in a large saute pan. When it is very crispy, remove from pan with tongs and drain on paper towels. Set aside. In same pan, saute the shallots and leeks until very soft, about 7 minutes. Add sherry to deglaze the pan, and saute another 2 minutes.


Move leek mixture to a large soup pot. Add potatoes, stock, water, salt, pepper, thyme and celery seed. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cover and cook about 40 minutes, or until potatoes are quite soft. While it's cooking, break up the crispy bacon into small crumbles, called lardons.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until it is very smooth. Add the cream and whisk in. Taste, and adjust seasonings (typically plenty of salt).

To plate, ladle hot soup into a bowl and garnish with lardons. You can also add snipped chive, but it's not really necessary.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

As usual, I have lots of random veggies in the fridge and no plan of how to prepare them, or for what part of the meal. Since we are going away for about a week, I wanted to use them up before they rot, and a veggie-rich spaghetti sauce is the best way to do that. However, cauliflower does not go well in red sauce, so I had to come up with something else. I was reading the New York Times and saw a recipe for cabbage soup that looked good, so I adapted it for cauliflower. It came out very well, and is very comforting without being too heavy.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, grated
1 head cauliflower, chopped
1 russet potato, grated
about 1/4 cup water
1 quart veggie broth
2 cups low-fat or skim milk
3/4 cup grated Manchego
1/2 tsp celery seed
salt and pepper


First, in a small dutch oven, saute the onion in the oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the potato, and drizzle enough water to prevent the potato from sticking to the bottom. Cook about 3 minutes. Add the chopped cauliflower and the veggie broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, and cook covered about 30 minutes. You want to make sure that the cauliflower is thoroughly cooked so that it is soft.

Remove cover, add milk, cheese, celery seed, and salt and pepper to taste. Using an immersion blender, process thoroughly until there are no chunks and the texture is smooth. This should not take longer than about 3 minutes.

Taste again, and add more salt & pepper as needed. If you like the slightly smoky, dark vegetal flavor of celery seed, by all means add a bit more. It is one of my favorite spices (if a seed can really be considered a "spice"), and I am trying to incorporate it into more recipes lately...

Tomato Bread Soup

My husband just made this recipe for dinner this evening in an attempt to use up some stale baguette we had left over from last night. It was delicious and I want him to make it again! It's adapted from a meal we had in a restaurant several weeks ago.

3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
1 large can crushed tomatoes
salt & pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp sugar
about 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1 andouille sausage, cut into 1/3 inch coins
1/2 baguette cut into 1/2 inch slices
shredded parmesan cheese to garnish

Saute chopped onions in oil in a small dutch oven until translucent. Add garlic and saute about a minute. Add sausage and cook about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add water and bring back to a boil. Add bread slices. Cover and simmer approximately 10 minutes. Add chopped basil and cook until basil is wilted. Add sugar, and salt & pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish generously with parmesan cheese.

Note: in the summertime, you can get fresh, ripe tomatoes in season, and I bet this recipe would be even better by using about 3 pounds of roasted tomatoes. Just halve the tomatoes, place in a roasting pan (with sides, so the juice doesn't drip!) brush with a little olive oil, and roast until skins start to peel off and tomatoes are very soft. Remove skins, and use an immersion blender to get the consistency you want. I think that little chunks of tomato would be lovely for this rustic soup, so don't overblend. You might need to add less water too.

A wine that is delicious with this soup is an Argentinian torrontes. This is a white grape varietal exclusive to Argentina and is sturdy enough to stand up to the spicy meat and acidic tomatoes in this recipe. It is slightly reminiscent of a viognier with some peach scents, so it is also nice with any spicy or garlicky foods and intense cheeses.

Roasted White Vegetable Soup

I would love to include pictures of this soup, but it seems that I have packed up my card reader, so I have no way of transferring photos from my camera to the computer at the moment. Sorry!

4 parsnips
2 large potatoes
3/4 head cauliflower
5 cloves garlic
spray olive oil
1 pkg thawed winter squash
1-1/2 tsp celery seed
4 strands saffron

1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese
3 tbsp butter
1 cup milk
3 cups chicken or veggie stock

1/3 c. dry white wine or vermouth
1/2 tsp sage
handful fresh parsley, chopped
sea salt and black pepper

Chop raw veggies into bite sized pieces. Arrange on a roasting pan with garlic and spray with olive oil, and toss to coat. Roast in oven on broil, turning occasionally, until veggies are golden brown and soft.

Working in batches, transfer veggies to food processor and add milk and stock to liquefy. Add the thawed squash (this will turn the soup more yellowish, but whatever.) Process till smooth. When all veggies, milk and stock have been blended, pour into a large pot to heat. Stir in wine, parmesan, herbs, butter, and saffron, and allow to simmer 10 minutes. Taste, and season with salt and pepper.

Classic Chicken Soup

I love this soup at any time of year, and now that the temperature is finally starting to decline a tad, I just couldn't resist the urge. The picture shows the bed of veggies in the pot before adding chicken and water.

1 split chicken breast, on bone, with skin
5 stalks celery, halved lengthwise and chopped
2 cups baby carrots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, pushed thru press
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 bay leaf
1 heaping tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
water

Possible starches:
1/2 box penne or other bite-size pasta
1 cup white rice
1/2 bag egg noodles

In large stockpot, make a bed of herbs & veggies: onion, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaf and oregano. Place the chicken breasts on top. Pour in enough water to just cover the chicken.

Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for at least 45 minutes. Take pot off heat, and with a tongs, remove chicken breasts. Place chicken on a plate and allow to cool enough so that you can touch it without burning yourself. Once cooled, remove and discard skin. Slice chicken off the bones, and discard bones. Chop chicken into very small pieces and return to pot.

Some people like to refrigerate the soup to allow the fats to solidify on top, so you can scoop them off and get rid of them, but I don't. There is so little fat in chicken breast already that I feel you really shouldn't sacrifice the flavor this way.

Finally, cook the starch of your choice according to package directions. I like noodles, my husband likes rice, and my daughter is a pasta fanatic, and since all three work very well, I use them interchangeably.

When ready to serve, scoop a generous spoonful of your starch into a bowl. Ladle soup, including plenty of broth, on top. Voila!

Note: you can also make this with potatoes instead of a pasta or rice. Simply add about 1 1/2 to 2 cups peeled and chopped red potatoes to the pot just AFTER it has boiled (otherwise they get overcooked and mushy).

Pea-Potato Soup

This soup is actually quite light, due to the absence of dairy, but still feels rich and comforting because of the potato. It's very very simple to make and very tasty.

2/3 bag frozen peas, thawed
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
2 cups chicken or veggie stock
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 medium red potatoes, peeled
1/4 tsp salt
fresh ground black pepper
3 strands fresh thyme
1 tbsp olive oil

First, peel and chop the potatoes and boil until tender/soft, but not mushy. Then saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil 5 minutes, then add thyme. Saute another 3 minutes.

By this time the potatoes should be ready. Drain, and place in food processor. Add the thawed peas, onion mixture, wine, salt, pepper, and stock. Process until smooth, but not too long or the potato will get gluey. If you want it really smooth, you'll have to push it through a fine sieve by hand, but I don't have the patience for that.

Taste and add more salt & pepper as needed. Return to saucepan and heat through.

You might want to finish this with a splash of cream, or toss in a double handful of tiny cubes of Canadian bacon, but you might not. It's good as is.

Mmmmm, soup!

This recipe may be better suited for a fall or winter's evening, but I happened to make it tonight and it was so good I just had to share it. I had a bunch of things sitting around that I wanted to use up, and just kind of threw them all together to see how it would turn out. It's an absolutely delicious, soothing, rich soup. I love it.

1 13-oz pkg defrosted winter squash
1/2 onion, diced
2 or 3 cloves garlic, chopped
thyme (about 3 strands if using fresh)
1 pkg white mushrooms, chopped
1 tsp butter
olive oil
salt & pepper
3 tbsp heavy cream (plus a bit more)
about 1 cup chicken stock

First, saute the onion and garlic in butter, and a little oil to raise the smoke point. Salt to soften the onion faster. When onion is very soft and slightly golden, remove from heat and set aside. In the same pan, saute the mushrooms with a tiny bit more olive oil and the thyme. Salt and pepper liberally.

When the mushrooms have cooked down and are quite soft, transfer to food processor, add the onion mixture, the squash, about 1/2 cup chicken stock, and about 3 tbsp cream. Puree for about a minute, then add more stock and cream to get a thick, creamy soup. It should not take more than another 1/2 cup of stock, and perhaps another 2 tbsp cream.

When pureed to your liking, pour soup into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Immediately turn down the heat and simmer about 5 minutes.

I would serve this with roast chicken and an endive/fennel/blue cheese salad.