Creamy tomato soup

I do realize that tomato season is now over, but you'll see from the last post date that I've been away from this blog for quite some time. And, fact is, tomatoes were still in season, and quite plentiful in gardens and at the market, when I made this soup. I had quite a few of them on my windowsill as it happens, and didn't think I'd get a chance to use them in sandwiches or salad before they turned, so I opted for soup.

This recipe comes from Chuck Hughes, from Chuck's Day Off on the Food Network. He's a bit scary to look at, with tattooed arms and a somewhat annoying English Montreal accent, but his enthusiasim for food is pretty infectious. And if the food as his restaurant in Old Montreal is as good as it looks on the show, or as good at this soup for that matter, then I'm sold.


The method's pretty simple. Soften some onions and garlic in a pan, then drop in some chopped tomatoes. And some brown sugar too, to reduce the acidity. I added a bit too much for my altered amount, and the result was a bit sweet, but some sugar is neccessary.

Next you add some water, some thyme and the rind from some parmesan cheese for a yummy flavour boost. The rind just softens as the soup cooks and imparts a salty richness that's hard to describe. You simply remove it at the end once it has done its job.

Simmer for a bit, then remove the rind and the thyme, and blend in the pot.

Then you strain the whole thing to remove the skins and seeds.

And in goes a bit of cream to finish. The result is like a kicked up version of Campbell's tomato soup -- only so much better tasting. It's like a comforting bowl of summer.

Creamy Tomato Soup
From Chuck's Day Off

2 tablespoons olive oil (30 ml)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 large tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons brown sugar (30 ml)
1/2 cup water (125 ml)
unit Parmesan rind (Optional)
4 sprigs of thyme
1/4 cup of 35% cream (60 ml)
2 tablespoons butter (30 ml)
unit Salt and pepper

1.Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and continue to cook for 5 minutes until translucent. Add tomatoes and sugar and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add water, Parmesan rind and thyme. Cook for about 25 minutes.
2.Remove the Parmesan rind and the thyme. Purée the soup in a food processor or with a hand blender. Pour purée through a strainer over a pot. Stir in the cream and butter. Season with salt and pepper.

Parsnip & lemon soup

It's been a pretty white week, what with all the snow we received on Wednesday. I think I'm done with shovelling for a while, Mother Nature!

Anyway, in honour of the white weather, I thought I would post a white-ish soup, made of that winter staple of root veg -- the lowly parsnip.

It comes together quite easily, and while I made this with water, next time I will opt for chicken stock for a bit more flavour.

Start with a pound of 'snips. Luckily, they come by the pound in the bag, so it makes for convenient shopping.

Chop 'em up after they're peeled.

And zest a couple of lemons for flavour.

You're left with this after it has been blended. Enjoy with some crusty bread after you're finished shovelling.

Parsnip & Lemon Soup

From the Toronto Star

1 tbsp (15 mL) butter

1/2 cup (125 mL) diced Spanish onion *I used shallots

2 cups (500 mL) peeled, diced parsnips (about 1 lb/450 g)

4 cups (1L) chicken stock, vegetable stock or water

1 tbsp (15 mL) finely grated lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)

3/4 tsp (4 mL) fine sea salt, or to taste

In large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter until it foams. Add onions. Cook, stirring, 3 minutes to soften. Add parsnips and stock or water. Raise heat to high; bring to boil. Stir in zest. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer 15 minutes or until parsnips are tender. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

In blender or food processor, purée soup, in batches if needed. If a silky, smooth texture is desired, pass through medium strainer; discard solids. Season with salt. Serve in warmed bowls.

Makes about 4 servings (4 cups/1L).

Lentil Vegetable Soup

So here we are in the middle of January. Ugh. Is there another month more trying than the first of the year, with its post-holiday letdown, cold temperatures, dark afternoons and never ending snow? I don't even have a winter holiday planned to keep me going.

But nevermind. I shouldn't complain, especially when a hot bowl of soup does wonders in the lift-the-spirits department. I made this veggie lentil soup a week or so ago, and with half a batch already down my hatch, and the other waiting for me in the freezer, I should have enough bowls to make it to at least February.

This soup comes together pretty quickly, and apart from a bit of chopping, it's easy. Plus, it's got lentils and veggies, which is a pretty healthy combination, which is much needed after the gluttony of Christmas.

(My pitures here are typically shit, but one of my resolutions is to improve them for 2011. Stay tuned to see how that goes.)


Chippity chop up your veggies to get started.
Then they get sauted in a bit of olive oil, along with some garlic.

And then in goes your lentils. These are the lentil du puy. Ohhh, fancy.

And here's the final product. I've made prettier soups for sure, but this is a pretty good, wholesome bowl that you can probably throw together from what's in your cupboard already.

Vegetable Lentil Soup

From Mad Hungry, by Lucinda Scala Quinn

Serves 6 to 8

2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped (3/4 cup)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped (3/4 cup)
2 celery stalks, peeled and chopped (2/3 cup)
3 garlic cloves, minced (1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 small tomato, chopped (1/3 cup)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups brown or green lentils
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 small bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
4 cups water, plus more if needed
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
Garlic Croutons, optional

Directions

1.Heat a large soup pot over high heat and swirl in the olive oil. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Reduce the heat to low and saute until the vegetables are lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another 2 minutes.

2.Add the lentils, thyme, bay leaf, pepper, and the remaining 2 teaspoons salt. Add the broth and water, and bring to a boil, skimming and discarding any foam as it rises to the surface. Reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. (The cooking time depends on the age of the dried lentils.) Stir in the vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If needed, thin the soup with additional water or broth for the desired consistency. Serve in a bowl topped with fresh croutons, if using.

Pumpkin and bacon soup

You may already know about my crazy allergic reaction to pumpkin. (I've written about it before, but in a nutshell, pumpkin flesh causes my skin to peel off. Gross, right? Needless to say, my house was jack-o-lantern-less this year). And you may be asking why would I attempt this recipe?

Well first, the title is a bit of a misnomer, because what's actually called for is squash, and not pumpkin. Second, it requires slab bacon, which is something I've never before bought, but have always been curious about. I was able to source some from a woman who sells organic and heritage pork products at the Ottawa Lansdowne Farmers Market. Slab bacon is not cured, meaning it won't keep like traditinal bacon. Apparently you can slice it thinly, sprinkle it with salt, and cook in a frying pan to make your own crispy bacon. I didn't try that technique, but I still have half my slab in the freezer, so a future experiment might be called for. Plus, when I was buying this, there were many other customers at the stand who said they have sworn off regular style bacon because this method is so much better.

Here's what the slad (or side) bacon looks like. As you can see, it's pretty fatty, as I suppose all bacon is. I froze it briefly so that it was pretty easy to slice thickly and cut into lardons. By the way, this bacon came from a heritage Tamworth piggy.

And this is what it looks like after it has been cooked with the veggies. I won't lie, it is basically just a bunch of fatty bits. You'll probably be pretty scared at this point -- I know I was -- but try to think of that bacon as flavour. And it all gets blended in the end anyway, so you won't actually end up chewing one of those nuggets.

So while the bacon's cooking away, you get started on the pumpkin/squash. This one's a hubbard, and it was a beast to chop. You need your biggest chef's knife and a lot of strength. I opted for the fantastically safe method of stabbing it with my knife, and then flinging it against the counter until it broke in half. Hey, I still have both eyes, and all my fingers, so it worked out okay.

See? All chopped up and nary a fingertip in sight. (That's because all my flesh had worn away by this point.)

And this is the soup avec stock and simmering squash. Those white bits are still bacon (yep, may look like gnocchi, but it's not).

And here's the final product, all blended up. I have to say that I was skeptical about the outcome, but it turned out all right. The soup has a pretty rich, creamy flavour, mostly from the bacon. Because the slab bacon wasn't smoked, you don't get that smoky, bacony flavour in the soup, but instead there's a kind of earthy layer that offsets the sweetness of the squash.

I'm not sure if I would heartily recommend this recipe, but if you're looking for a bit of a twist on a traditional squash soup concoction, you might give this a try. Plus, a pork farmer will thank you!

Pumpkin and Bacon Soup
(Published in the Ottawa Citizen, but orginally from Fat by Jennifer McLagan)

Makes 3L

8 ounces (225g) side (slab) bacon
1 large onion, sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 large sprig fresh sage
1 hubbard squash, or other firm, dry pumpkin or winter squash, about 3 1/3 pounds (1.5 kg)
8 cups water
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1.Remove rind and any hard, dry skin from the bacon. Cut the bacon into ¼ inch dice.
2.Place a large saucepan over low head. Add bacon pieces and cook gently so they render their fat. When most of the fat is rendered, add onion, celery, sage, stirring to coat with the fat. Cook until vegetables soften slightly, about 7 minutes.
3.Cut squash into quarters and remove seeds. Peel squash and coarsely chop into smaller, even-sized pieces. Set aside.
4.Pour 1 cup of the water into the pan with vegetables, increase heat to high and using a wooden spoon, deglaze the pan, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom. Add the remaining water, squash, 1 tbsp of salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered until squash is very soft, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove sage and let soup cool slightly.
5.Puree soup in batches, in a blender or food processor and pour into a clean saucepan. Taste and adjust seasoning, then reheat to serve.

Andalusian chicken-noodle soup with chickpeas

You wouldn't know it from the past couple of balmy days, but fall really is here, and that means soup weather!

This soup is the very definition of a meal in a bowl, and it would be the perfect thing to warm you up after a few hours of leaf raking, which is what I forsee in my future this weekend. I've made this soup twice now, and neither time did I have the required sherry. I think the first time I tried to cheat a bit with some red wine vinegar, but it was a poor substitute I'm sure. So go on and splurge for some sherry if you give this a try.

Start by poaching your chicken in the stock and herbs. I used bone on chicken breasts both time, because I think they have more flavour. I did remove the skin prior to poaching though.

Then cook your sausage and add in the veggies. One time I used a fresh chiorizo sausgage, which I removed from the casing and cooked just like ground meat. The second attempt at this soup used some of the chopped chured sausage. Can't say I had a preference, as both were pretty good.

While the vegetables are softening, you shred your chicken. This recipe yields a lot of meat, which helps to make it hearty.

Then add the broth back to the pot, cook your noodles, and toss in the meat, chickpeas and parsley. Almost ready to serve!

Serve in a warm bowl alongside some homemade biscuits and you've got yourself a pretty satisfying dinner.

Andalusian chicken-noodle soup with chickpeas (From Food & Drink Autumn 2010)

8 cups homemade or low sodium chicken stock
2 bone in chicken breasts, skin removed
2 bay leaves
1 leafy spring of flat leaf parsley
2 tbsp olive oil
4 oz (125g) cooked sweet or hot chorizo sausage, diced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, diced
1 medium potato, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
½ c dry sherry
2 oz spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces
½ tsp each salt and freshly ground pepper
1 can (540 ml) chickpeas drained and rinsed
½ c finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. In large saucepan, combine stock, chicken breasts, bay leaves and parsley sprig. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes or until chicken breasts are no longer pink inside. With a slotted spoon, remove chicken breasts from stock and set aside to cool slightly.

2. When chicken breasts are cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones and shred meat finely. Set aside.

3. In large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add chorizo and cook stirring for 3 to 5 minutes or until chorizo starts to brown and renders some of its fat. Add onion, carrot and potato. Cook, stirring for 5 to 7 minutes or until onion is softened but not brown. Add garlic and paprika. Cook stirring for one minute or until fragrant.

4. Add sherry. Bring to a boil, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from bottom of pot. Boil for 2 minutes or until sherry has almost evaporated.

5. Strain stock into Dutch oven, bring to a boil over high heat. Add spaghetti, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low, simmer partially covered for 8 to 10 minutes or until potato and spaghetti are tender.

6. Stir in reserved chicken meat and chickpeas. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-high heat for 2 minutes for flavours to blend; stir in parsley. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Ladle into warm soup bowls.

Serves 6 to 8

Weekend cooking bonanza!

I was a very busy bee in the kitchen this weekend. You'd think I didn't have anything to do to prepare to move house in under two weeks. Yikes! But actually, I worked my kitchen time around cleaning out my closets and organizing papers etc. How have I managed to accumulate so much stuff in my life? Ugh. So far I've made two trips to Value Village (to their Diabetes Association drop off box anyway) with six massive garbage bags full of clothes, shoes and purses, and have empited my shredder twice working through the myriad of paper on my desk. The poor thing is in danger of overheating, so now I'm resorting to fill up grocery bags with shreddables and taking them into work, where a nice man will come and shred my six-year-old pay stubs for me (I don't know why I kept them either).

Anyhoo, back to the food. Yesterday I cooked a chicken to make broth, and managed to get two big soup recipes from it. I plan to freeze a bunch of it, based on the thinking that I'll be quite busy in the next little while, and it will be good to have some meals at the ready.

One of the soups I made was this sausage, lentil and kale concoction. It's from the latest Everyday Food and I'll definitely be making it again. (The other soup was plain ol' chicken noodle.)

Stat off by browning the sausage meat. I used some pork/garlic ones from Aubreys.

Then stiir in the celery and onion to soften.

Next go the stock and lentils. Cook until everthing's cooked.

Meanwhile, chop and de-stalk the kale. Healthy or what?

And here's the finished bowl. Yum, yum!

Sausage and Kale Soup (from Everyday Food)

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
2 celery stalks (with leafy tops), thinly sliced
1 medium yellow onion, diced medium
1/2 cup dried lentils
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or homemade)
1 bunch (about 1/2 pound) kale, preferably Tuscan, stems removed, torn into bite-size pieces
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar

1.In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add sausage and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add celery and onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add lentils, broth, and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a rapid simmer, partially cover, and cook until lentils and vegetables are tender, 25 minutes.

2.Add kale and season with salt. Return soup to a rapid simmer, cover, and cook until kale wilts, about 5 minutes. Remove soup from heat, stir in vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.

Jerusalem artichoke soup

A week ago, I went to the Carp Christmas market on Friday night. It's a lovely spot in the daytime, but at night, it's a different experience altogether to walk around with snow falling softly overhead. There are few outdoor stands at this time of year, but those who brave the cold offer up a feast for the senses: piles of evergreen wreaths decorated with bows and bells, sturdy pine Christmas trees begging for ornaments, sizzling elk sausages plumping on the grill, crispy bacon piled high on squishy buns, spicy chili bubbling away in pots, and cups of sweet, cinnamony apple cider looking to warm both hands and bellies.

There were lots of Christmas crafts for sale, along with jars of jams and preserves, and some very good looking pies and other baked goods. There are also are a few farmers who come out to get rid of the last of their apples, turnips or root veggies. I came across one farmer selling Jerusalem artichokes and I decided to buy some.

If you've never had the pleasure of eating Jerusalem artichokes (sometimes called sunchokes) before, you should seek them out. They're almost a cross between water chesnuts and potatoes, and they have a slight nutty flavour. They're nice to roast, in the same manner you would with potatoes, and they're great in soups too. That's what I decided to do with mine.

Here they are. You can see they look like fingerling potatoes, or giner root. They're a real pain to peel, so I just cleaned them and chopped them up.

Here they are in the pot, browning with a potato.

And here's the final result, all blended and topped with some toasted walnuts. Yum!

Jerusalem artichoke soup

1 lb. (approx.) Jerusalem artichokes, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

1 large yellow-fleshed potato, peeled and chopped

4 large shallots, chopped (or use an onion and garlic, neither of which I happened to have)

4 c. or so of chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp. olive oil (approx.)

splash of cream (optional)

1. Start by adding the oil to a large soup pot. Once it shimmers, add the shallot, artichokes and potato and cook for about five minutes until the shallots have softened and become transluscent.

2. Add enough stock to cover the veggies. Cover and simmer until everything is soft -- about 20 minutes or so.

3. Remove soup from pot and place in blender to purify, or use an immersion blender to do the same. I found some of the skins remained and didn't get blended, but I didn't mind that. They tend to lend a grayish colour to the finished soup, but don't affect the taste at all.

4. Add some cream if you like, or leave as is. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with nuts of your choosing.

Sweet Potato Soup

So, when I went away on holiday it was summer. No jackets, sandals -- the whole bit. Then I go away for two weeks, and suddenly it's fall! Long sleeves and sweaters and seeing your breath in the morning. Yuck!

Anyway, the change in season does mean I start thinking about cooking stews and soups and roasted veggies. I started this weekend with this. It has a really complex flavour, and the recipe makes tons, which means lots of frozen soup to take in my lunches over the next few weeks.

Like any good soup, it start off with softening some onions in butter. Hard to beat that smell!

The only really taxing part of the whole recipe is chopping the six cups of sweet potato. But they're actually pretty easy to peel, because they're relatively hard. I used about four smallish potatoes to get the required amount, but if you get the enormous ones (that are almost as big as your forearm) you may well only need two.

Check out my new knife. I bought it a while ago at Ikea and it's my new favourite. It's well balanced, has a good weight and is super sharp. I think it was $16, or something quite reasonable. It's joined on my knife rack by my second favourite knife, also from Ikea, which I've had since university.

Fresh lime juice makes a real difference in this soup. I always add more than the recipe calls for, because when Farm Boy has them at five for 99 cents, you have to use them up!

And here's the finished product. The coconut milk makes this really creamy, without tasting too rich. And you get a nice kick and heat from the ginger and hot sauce, and the lime balances it all out. Very tasty, and a pretty colour as well!

Sweet Potato Soup (from Anna Olson's Fresh)

2 tbsp (30 mL) butter
1 1/3 cups (325 mL) diced onion
6 cups (1.5 L) peeled and diced sweet potato
2 tbsp (30 mL) grated fresh ginger
1 can (14-ounce/398 mL) coconut milk
3 to 4 cups (750 ml –1L) chicken stock
2 tbsp (30 mL) fresh lime juice
salt and pepper
dash cayenne pepper or hot sauce (optional)
1/4 cup (60 mL) fresh coriander leaves
1/2 cup (125 mL) plain yogurt

Directions:

Melt butter in a large saucepot over medium heat and cook onion 3-4 minutes to soften, but not browned.

Add sweet potato, ginger, coconut milk and 3 cups of stock. Simmer 25 minutes, until sweet potatoes are tender. Purée until smooth with a hand blender, add remaining stock if soup is too thick. Stir in lime juice and strain (straining is optional). Return to heat and season to taste.

Ladle into bowls and top with coriander leaves and a swirl of yogurt. Soup can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature.

Stay tuned for pictures from my trip. Just have to get all the photos sorted!