Tag Archives: Soups

Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on by Laurie

Thinking of you, as I get ready for Thanksgiving …

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One of my favorite recipes for Thanksgiving: Orange Carrot Soup.

OrangeCarrotSoup

… and another Bordeaux Cranberry Compote.

 

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Don’t forget festive libations, including for designated drivers. This is my Black Tea Sangria, served over ice, with apple slices, mandarin orange slices, and frozen raspberries, then topped off with tonic water. I’m still looking for a good name for this mocktail. Have any suggestions?

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Don’t forget to spend a little time in nature to get away from the hustle and bustle for preparing for the holdiays…

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May everyone travel safely…

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Warmest wishes to you for a most lovely holiday season!

Hmm! White Chili

Posted on by Laurie

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it is a rainy Memorial Day Weekend here in Manhattan, Kansas. So I thought that a White Chili would be a good dish to serve – fun & casual, flavorful & warming, but not too heavy. I hope that you are having a great weekend!

White Chili

This flavorful dish is what is traditionally referred to as a white chili (because no tomatoes are used in the base). This vegetarian version, though, is more of a light golden color.

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 T. crushed garlic

1 sweet yellow onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 c.)

2 stalks celery, chopped (about 1/2 c.)

1 Anaheim pepper, chopped (about 1/2 c.)

5 sweet mini yellow peppers, chopped (about 1/2 c.)

1 jalapeño, minced (about 2 T.)

1 (15 oz) can chick peas, rinsed and drained

1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 c. frozen yellow corn, semi-thawed

1 t. ground cumin

1/2 t. white pepper

3 c. boiling water

2 “Not-Chick’n” bouillon cubes

4 oz. low-fat cream cheese

1 ripe avocado, diced (for garnish)

juice of 1 lemon

1 c. chopped ripe tomato (for garnish)

2  – 3 T. cilantro leaves, stemmed and chopped (for garnish)

cheddar cheese, shredded (for garnish, optional)

  1. Place olive oil in a large deep skillet or stock pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, celery, and peppers. Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are crisp-tender.
  2. Stir in chick peas, beans, corn, cumin and white pepper.
  3. Meanwhile, dissolve bouillon cubes in boiling water. Add cream cheese to bouillon and stir until mostly dissolved. Stir bouillon mixture into pot. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook just below a simmer for 20 – 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
  4. Just before serving, toss together avocado, lemon juice tomato and cilantro leaves. Ladle chili into bowls. If desired, top with cheese. Garnish with avocado-tomato mixture.

Enjoy! Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Orange Carrot Soup

Posted on by Laurie

A light, but flavorful and warming soup to start your new year!

OrangeCarrotSoup

Orange Carrot Soup

4-6 Servings

Ingredients

3 T. extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 c. diced yellow onion

salt

fresh ground pepper

2 T. semi-dry white wine, divided

4 c. diced, peeled carrots

2 t. smoked paprika

1 t. ground cinnamon

4 c. vegetable (or chicken) broth or bouillon*, divided

3 T. honey, divided

1 – 1 1/4 c. fresh-squeezed orange juice, to taste

zest from one of the oranges (use a course-textured zester)

croutons or Greek yogurt, optional

*I use 2 “Not-Chick’n” bouillon cubes dissolved in 4 c. boiling water. “Not-Chick’n” can be found in the organic foods section of many grocery stores.

Directions

  1. Place 1 T. of the olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion, a dash of salt, a twist of fresh ground pepper, and about 1 T. of the wine. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is crisp-tender and translucent. Transfer to a stock pot.
  2. Place remaining 2 T. of the olive oil in the large skillet. Add carrots, paprika and cinnamon. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Transfer to the stock pot containing the onions.
  3. Add enough of the broth to the stock pot to almost cover carrots. Stir. Cover and cook over medium heat until carrots are tender enough to purée but are not mushy, about 15 minutes. Stir in 2 T. of the honey.
  4. Purée mixture with a stick blender – or transfer mixture to a food processor or blender to purée until almost perfectly smooth, then transfer mixture back to stock pot.
  5. Stir orange juice and remaining 1 T. of wine into carrot mixture, then thin soup to desired consistency with the remaining broth. Stir in orange zest. Taste. If necessary adjust flavor using honey, wine, orange juice, or salt and pepper. Cook over low heat for about 10 more minutes before serving to blend flavors.
  6. Stir soup before serving. Serve in small cups as a starter or light lunch – or in soup bowls for a heavier meal. If desired, garnish with croutons or a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Enjoy! Happy New Year!

Fire Roasted Tomato Minestrone

Posted on by Laurie

The combination of chopped onions, celery and carrots, sautéed in olive oil (to make what Italians call soffritto) or in butter (to make what the French call mirepoix) is wonderful for adding flavor to sauces, soups, stews and stuffings. Around the holidays, I keep soffrito or mirepoix in the refrigerator so that I have the aromatic vegetables already prepared to make holiday cooking easier.

I generally use about 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of butter or extra virgin olive oil per cup of raw vegetables, adding a dash of salt and pepper. To the onions, I also add a splash of dry white wine. For this minestrone, I prefer olive oil to butter, but either will work. If you have soffritto already made, you can substitute 3 cups of it for the vegetables in this soup and reduce the olive oil to 1 to 2 tablespoons.

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Fire Roasted Tomato Minestrone

This is a delicious, stew-like minestrone … flavorful and filling for the winter months. If you prefer a more brothy soup, you can thin this with a little vegetable or chicken stock.

Ingredients

• about 1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil, divided

• 1 c. diced onions

• 1 c. diced celery

• 1 c. diced carrots

• 1/3 c. dry white or red wine

• 2 28-oz. cans diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes – or 1 can diced, 1 can crushed (do not drain)

• 1 15-oz. can cannellini beans (white kidney beans) or great northern beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 15-oz. can red kidney beans or black beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 T. dried oregano, crushed

• 1 T. paprika or smoked paprika

• 1 t. dried thyme, crushed

• 1/2 t. sea salt

• fresh grated Romano or Parmesan cheese, optional garnish

Directions

(1) If you do not have soffritto already prepared, start by sautéing vegetables in olive oil, one type at a time, using about 1  – 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil, and a dash of salt and pepper, per cup of vegetables. I like to add a splash of dry white wine to the onions. Cook briefly until crisp-tender.

(2) Add prepared vegetables, wine, about 1 T. of the remaining olive oil, tomatoes, beans, and spices to a large pot (6-8 qt). Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the minestrone comes to a simmer. Reduce heat and cook at a low simmer, continuing to stir occasionally, for about 15 minutes. (So that the vegetables remain crisp-tender, don’t overcook.) Taste.  Add more olive oil, wine, or seasonings if desired. Ladle into warm bowls to serve.

Serving suggestion: At the table, grate a little cheese over each bowl of minestrone – but not for vegans. Serve with warm bread and a glass of wine.

Tortilla Soup

Posted on by Laurie

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Tortilla Soup

(4 servings)

8 corn tortillas

salt

3 white bulb onions (or other mild onion), thinly sliced (about 3/4 c.)

1 t. olive oil

4 c. vegetable or chicken stock

4 c. chopped fresh tomatoes (or Muir Glen canned fire roasted tomatoes)

1 – 2 dried Guajillo chili peppers

1 T. lime juice

3 T. minced cilantro, plus cilantro for garnish

1 avocado, diced

lime wedges for garnish

Crema Agria (or other sour cream)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice tortillas into 3/4-inch strips. Cut strips in half. Spread out on a baking sheet. Lightly salt strips, then bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until crisp and lightly brown. Toss strips every 10 minutes while baking. When done, set strips aside until ready to serve.

2. Saute onion in olive oil until crisp-tender. Add tomatoes and cook for about 8 minutes or until tomatoes are cooked down and some of the liquid has cooked off. Transfer to a blender or food processor and puree.

3. Pass tomato mixture through a sieve (to remove seeds and skins) into a 4 to 6 quart pot. Cook at a low simmer for about 30 minutes.

4. Add Guajillo pepper(s) to soup about 5 minutes before serving. Add lime juice and cilantro about 1 minute before serving. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Remove pepper(s) before serving.

5. To serve: divide tortilla strips between four bowls. Ladle soup base over tortilla strips. Top with avocado, crema agria and cilantro. Serve with a lime wedge.

Buen provecho!

2LC: Mushrooms

Posted on by Laurie

After a short hiatus, Two Little Chefettes have returned with their monthly cooking challenge. The ingredient for November is mushrooms. Thank you Ridha and Bebe!

I tend to have rather strong opinions about mushrooms. I think that most people cook them on too low a heat, for too long a time, with too much fat and without enough seasoning – the result being a rubbery, unappealing ingredient. I always cook mushrooms on a high heat, with just a little fat, with plenty of salt and pepper, and almost always with some sherry. That is how the Portobellos are prepared for this recipe. They are then stirred into the soup at the last minute. The result is a silky soup with slightly caramelized mushrooms.

Creamy Portobello Mushroom Soup

4 T. unsalted butter, divided

2 T. potato starch

2 c. flavorful vegetable broth (mine is a golden-orange because it has lots of carrots and some tomatoes)

2 c. whole milk*

1/2 c. chopped yellow onion

4 c. very thinly sliced fresh Portobello mushrooms

splash of dry pale sherry

salt and fresh ground pepper

1/4 t. ground paprika

1. Melt 2 T. of the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Whisk in the potato starch. Once the mixture is completely smooth, slowly whisk in the vegetable stock. Continue cooking, whisking occasionally, until perfectly smooth and slightly thickened. Whisk in the milk; and again, continue cooking, whisking occasionally, until perfectly smooth and slightly thickened.

2. Using about 1/2 T. of the remaining butter, saute onions in another pan until starting to turn translucent and lightly golden, but still slightly crisp. Stir into the soup base. The soup base will continue to thicken and will need to be whisked every few minutes.

3. Melt the remaining butter in the pan from the onions, stir in the mushrooms, and saute until almost cooked. Add the sherry and then salt and pepper the mushrooms. The sherry should be absorbed fairly quickly at which time the mushrooms should be done cooking. Stir mushrooms into soup base.

4. Stir in paprika and then adjust seasonings. Serve right away. Enjoy!

* Once time when I made this soup, I substituted soy milk. I thought that the soup turned out too sweet. So I would recommend sticking to regular milk.

Improvised Tomato Pumpkin Soup

Posted on by Laurie

After making Bumpkins  yesterday, I found myself with leftover pumpkin that I wanted to use for dinner in some way. Being a great believer in the art of culinary improvisation, I decided to make something using only ingredients that I already had in the house; and besides, it was 7 pm before I started cooking dinner, I was still waiting for one room to check in, and there was no way that I was going to the grocery store. So here is what I came up with along with some suggested variations. The point of this post isn’t “Oh, this is the best soup ever … you’ve got to try it.”  (It is really good, though; otherwise, I wouldn’t have posted the recipe!) Rather, the point of this post is an exhortation to be creative. Go ahead, have fun and improvise … you might come up with something you like!

Improvised Tomato Pumpkin Soup

4 oz. dry quinoa pasta shells

1/4 c. diced red bell pepper, sautéed in olive oil

3 c. chopped tomatoes (I used Pomi brand from Italy)

1 1/4 c. packed pumpkin

2 c. vegetable stock

1 c. frozen corn

1 T. Italian Seasonings

1/2 t. hot red pepper flakes

dry white wine

fresh grated Romano cheese.

1. Put the pasta on to cook.  Meanwhile, saute peppers.

2. While the pasta is cooking and the peppers are sauteing, add the following to a 4-qt. stockpan: tomatoes, pumpkin, vegetable stock, corn, Italian Seasonings and red pepper flakes.  Cook over medium heat. Add peppers when they are crisp-tender.

3. When pasta is done cooking, drain and then stir into soup. Add white wine to taste, about 2 T. Cook for 5 more minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

4. Serve topped with grated cheese. (Some crusty French bread would go really well with this soup.)

Suggested Variations

– substitute beans for corn (or use in addition to corn)

– substitute yellow onions for red peppers

– use another pasta, or use rice

– top with cheddar cheese

– use red wine instead of white

– add fresh herbs

– add croutons when serving

Have fun! Enjoy! I’d love to hear your ideas …