Year of the Soup: Week 15

Everyone in my building either loathed me or wanted to come over for dinner.  It highly depends on their opinion of garlic and onions.  I love both, so this soup was a no-brainer when I found it on Smitten Kitchen.  As for my neighbors, they should have come over for dinner.  ‘Cause it was gooood.

Make this soup for fancy company.  It’s velvety and smooth, tastes rich but feels light.  Serve it with a glass of wine.  People will be impressed.

On a side note, I noticed halfway through making this soup that we had a fraction of the butter required.  As I contemplated out loud whether I should sub oil for butter, John yelled “No phoning it in!” into the kitchen.  It appears he’s holding me true to my pledge of using the correct ingredients.  He’s a good man for keeping me honest, and for biking to the store to pick up the extra butter.  :)

44 Garlic Clove Soup

Ingredients

• 26 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 2 1/4 cups sliced onions
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 18 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
• 4 lemon wedges

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place 26 garlic cloves in small glass baking dish. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake until garlic is golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes. Cool. Squeeze garlic between fingertips to release cloves. Transfer cloves to small bowl.
2. Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and thyme and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add roasted garlic and 18 raw garlic cloves and cook 3 minutes. Add chicken stock; cover and simmer until garlic is very tender, about 20 minutes. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to saucepan; add cream and bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Divide grated cheese among 4 bowls and ladle soup over. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon wedge into each bowl and serve.

Year of the Soup: Week 14

A giant, meaty ham bone accompanied us home from Easter dinner.

“What on earth are you going to do with this?” I asked on the drive home, staring at the foil wrapped package on my lap.

“You can use it to make Split Pea soup for your soup this week!”  John proclaimed proudly.

“Uh, but I don’t eat ham.”

“Well, then we’ll make two kinds of Split Pea Soup.”

So we did.  As any vegetarian knows, you usually can’t take the meat out of a meat-based recipe and hope for the best.  It just won’t taste the same.  So we made two completely different variations of Split Pea Soup, one vegetarian, and one carnetarian (as John likes to call himself.)  Only John knows which soup actually tastes better.  He claimed to prefer mine, but I think that’s just because it was finished faster :)  Both recipes are listed here, but only mine is photographed.  Advantage vegetarian.

Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 3/4 cup sliced carrots
• 3/4 cup sliced celery
• 3/4 cup sliced onion
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 quarts vegetable broth (or water)
• 1 1/2 cups dried split peas (yellow, green, or a mix)
• salt to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper (optional, but adds a nice smoky kick)

Directions

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over low heat.  Add the carrot, celery, onion and thyme, season lightly with pepper and cook for 10 minutes.
2. Add the broth and split peas, and bring to a boil over high heat.
3. Lower the heat and simmer until the peas are tender, about 1 hour.
4. Puree 2/3 of the soup in a blender or food processor, then stir back into the remaining 1/3.
5. Add chipotle if desired, and salt and pepper to taste.  Add more broth if soup is too thick.  Serve hot.

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Year of the Soup: Week 13

I really phoned this one in.  I bought dried mushrooms and fresh mushrooms, and thought everything would be great.  But I forgot about the shallot (had to use onion), sherry (made an odd concoction of vinegar, sugar and vanilla extract that I saw online), and the cream (butter and skim milk had to work.)  Grocery shopping fail.  I can’t imagine my version did the original recipe justice.  It was recommended by a friend who has good taste in food, so I trust it normally tastes delicious.  But mine was a bit pathetic, and not very good.  Bummer.  New rule for The Year of the Soup: always buy the correct ingredients.

Creamy Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

• 1 oz. mixed dried mushrooms, such as oysters, porcini, or chanterelles, plus more for garnish (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 8 oz. fresh  mushrooms, such as cremini, white button, or baby bella, chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped shallot
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup sherry
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 cup cream

Directions

1. Place dried mushrooms in a medium bowl and cover with 2 cups of water.  Let stand 30 min.
2. Drain mushrooms, reserving soaking liquid.  Bring soaking liquid and broth to simmer in saucepan over medium heat.  Cover and keep warm.
3. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil in saucepan over medium heat.  Add rehydrated mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Saute 2 minutes or until tender.  Transfer mushrooms to plate and set aside.
4. Heat remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil in same pan over medium heat.  Add fresh mushrooms, shallot, pepper and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add garlic and cook 30 seconds, or until fragrant.  Increase heat to medium-high and stir in sherry.  Simmer 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half.
5. Whisk flour into broth mixture.  Add mushrooms and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.
6. Transfer soup to food processor or blender and puree until smooth.  Return to bot and stir in cream.  Serve hot.

Year of the Soup: Week 12

They expand.  I thought I had rolled them into petite, bite-sized morsels that would float perfectly in my brothy soup.  But no one warned me that matzo balls grow to over twice their original size.  So after my soup had simmered to perfection, I peered into the pot to discover that the matzo balls had nearly taken over, pushing aside the thinly sliced veggies and absorbing all the yummy liquid.  I added more broth to accommodate, but there’s only so much you can do at a certain point.  So be warned.  They expand.

Despite their unexpected size, the matzo balls and this entire soup were very tasty.  I don’t celebrate Passover, but I’ll use any holiday this year as an excuse for soup ideas.  To show I’m not partial to any religion or holiday, I followed this soup with some Cadbury’s candy coated chocolate Easter eggs.  I’m so festive :)

Matzo Ball Soup

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 8 oz matzo meal
• 3/2 cup water
• pinch of salt
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
• 1 turnip, thinly sliced
• 2 parsnips, thinly sliced
• 2 Tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
• 2 quarts water or vegetable broth

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, beat eggs.  Add matzo meal, water and salt.  Mix well.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.  (I used matzo ball mix instead because it was less expensive.  You add 2 eggs and 3/4 cup vegetable oil to the mix I used.)
2. Bring water or broth to a boil in large pot.  Add all vegetables and bring to a boil once more.
3. Shape matzo dough into balls approx 1″ in diameter.  Drop into boiling water.
4. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for one hour.  Serve hot.

Year of the Soup: Week 11

Fresh ginger smells awesome.  Grating the ginger for this soup had my whole kitchen smelling like it – so heavenly!  They should make more things that smell like fresh ginger.  You’ll know what I’m talking about when you make this soup.  And you should make this soup.  Very yummy.  It’s also pretty rich, so its best as a side dish with another item.  If you like a little more heat, add more red curry paste (I probably will next time.)

I can’t wait for the farmer’s markets to start so that I can begin making soup with fresh veggies again – I’m getting tired of root vegetables!  Eating seasonally is great, but it’s time for spring :)

Ginger Thai Sweet Potato Bisque

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 4 cups cooked sweet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger root
• 1 can (15 ounces) coconut milk
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon red curry paste
• 4 tablespoons minced cilantro
• 4 tablespoons shredded coconut

Directions

1. Heat oil in a 3-quart saucepan or stockpot on medium setting. Add onion and garlic, and sauté until tender.
2. Remove mixture to a food processor or blender. Add sweet potatoes and ginger, then puree until mixture is smooth.
3. Return mixture to saucepan. Add coconut milk, chicken stock, salt, soy sauce, lime juice and curry paste. Bring to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes.
4. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the cilantro. Simmer for 2 minutes more.
5. Ladle soup into serving bowls, and garnish with shredded coconut and remaining cilantro.

Source: Sally Sibthorpe