Garlicky Winter Veg Soup

Confession time:  Last night, I ate two big bowls of this soup in one sitting.  Partly because it tastes soooo darned silky and yummy, and partly because it reminds me of my grandma.

See, my heritage is Italian – Northern Italian in the Piedmont region, to be specific.  So, while everyone else immediately thinks of tomatoes and mozzarella when they think of Italian food, I think of lighter fare – and, particularly the way my grandma cooked, spinach in everything. (Side note:  her version of ravioli was chicken and spinach served in a chicken broth.  The first time I ever saw ravioli made with beef in a tomato sauce, I was revolted.)

My second confession – I keep this soup very simple – I don’t throw in a lot of potatoes or butternut squash, nor do I add any herbs.  I just wanted the simple flavors of the root vegetables to come through.  You can add layers of flavor by adding some dried thyme when you’re cooking the vegetables, or finish with chopped dill just before serving.  Or you could chop up some waxy potatoes or butternut squash for additional filler, extending the soup even farther.  But, that’s the nice thing about soups, isn’t it?  It’s so easy to adapt and change, depending on what you have in your fridge or pantry.

One other thing – this could easily be turned vegan by substituting vegetable stock – or, if you’d like to make it a little heavier, you could add some chicken or pork, so feel free to tinker with you as needed.

But, if you just want to keep it at it’s basic foundation, you’ll be just as happy – the final result is gorgeous and hearty, filling you and warming you on a cold winter night!

Garlicky Winter Vegetable Soup

• Good couple of glugs of garlic-infused olive oil (about 4 Tbsp)
• 3 large leeks, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2″ discs
• 3 medium carrots, trimmed, peeled and diced
• 2 celery stalks, trimmed and diced
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups chicken stock
• About 4-6 oz frozen spinach (don’t worry about thawing and draining)
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot over medium heat, add the leeks, carrots and celery, cooking until the leeks are very wilted and the carrots are soft.  Add the garlic and cook a minute, then add the chickpeas and stock.  Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 5-10 minutes.  Add the spinach, then cook another 5-10 minutes until everything is thoroughly heated.  Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed.

Serve with big honkin’ pieces of garlic toast.

White Bean Soup with Chorizo

I’m feeling a bit housebound.  It’s been a snowy weekend, starting on Friday, then a fresh batch of the white stuff on Sunday, so I’ve been working from home.  And while I do love being able to pack up my laptop and papers and work from the comfort of my sofa, I miss my coworkers.  I miss adult conversation (I love my Wondermutt, but she’s not much of a talker).

But, the nice thing about working from home is that you can make a decent lunch.  I don’t mean putting together a sandwich, I mean, actually cutting up some vegetables and cooking a lunch.  In this particular case, it was soup.  A delicious, warming white bean soup.  And the thing about beans and lentils and legumes in general is that they make you feel full for quite a while.  As much as I love tomato soup (and I so do!), it doesn’t really stay with you, does it?  Not without a good grilled cheese sammich to go with it.

But, this one does – the beans make it good and hearty and filling.  Just what you want for a healthy lunch that won’t make you craving cookies later in the day.

As for the chorizo, I did a bit of a cheat – I bought really thinly sliced chorizo, as thinly sliced as parma ham.  If you can’t find that, just cut up the sausage into a small dice.  The fact is, that it has so much flavor, you don’t need a lot of it – you’re just trying to render out some of the paprika-spiced fat to use as a little extra flavoring and the sausage as a garnish.

If you don’t want to use chorizo, then try a little bit of regular bacon.  If you want to keep this a vegetarian dish, then heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil with about a quarter of a teaspoon of sweet or hot paprika to infuse it, then drizzle over the soup when finished.  This recipe serves four.

White Bean Soup with Chorizo

• Olive oil
• 1 large onion (bigger than your fist), trimmed, peeled and diced
• 2 medium carrots, trimmed peeled and diced
• 2 stalks celery, trimmed and diced
• 4 fat cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
• 2 cans cannelini beans, drained and rinsed thoroughly
• 4-5″ sprig of rosemary, chopped finely
• 5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• Salt and pepper
• 3 slices thinly sliced chorizo or, if you can’t find that, cut it into matchsticks

In a large pot over medium heat, pour a few good glugs of olive oil and add the onion, carrots and celery, cooking until the onions are translucent (about seven to ten minutes).  Add the garlic and rosemary and cook another two to three minutes.  Add the drained beans and stock, bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes.  While that’s cooking, heat a little olive oil in the pan and cook the chorizo over medium high heat – what you’re trying to do is render the yummy paprika flavor out into the oil and cook it until it’s crispy to make a nice garnish.

When the soup has finished simmering, you’re going to use your trusty hand blender to puree the soup.  The way I like to season is to half-puree, then taste and adjust as needed, then finish pureeing (because, let’s face it, nothing is going to stir in the salt and pepper better than a blender!).

Finish by topping with the cooked chorizo and drizzle with some of the oil from the pan you cooked the chorizo in.

 

Curried Celeriac and Parsnip Soup

So, I just finished my first workout in the C25K program – essentially, it’s a workout program to help you go from the couch to running a 5K in two months.  While I’m in fairly decent shape because of the walking I need to do for work – not to mention, the full commuter combat that goes on everyday on the Tube – getting on that treadmill was a rude awakening.  But, I got through it and am now set up to feel nice and smug the rest of the afternoon.

You know the feeling.

That great, self-satisfied, “I just worked out and, boy, can’t you already tell how good I’m going to look” feeling.  I love that.  I just need to make sure that I don’t reward it with a half-dozen chocolate cookies!

So, along those lines, here is a fantastic hearty soup that is low in fat but high in flavor and is incredibly filling!  This makes about four servings and is perfect with some nice crusty bread on a damp Saturday afternoon.

Curried Celeriac and Parsnip Soup

• Good glug of olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp medium Madras curry powder (I like Barts)
• 3 parsnips, peeled and diced
• 1 celeriac peeled and diced
• salt and pepper
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• small handful cilantro

In a large pot over medium heat, add the oil, onion, celery and garlic and sweat until onion is translucent.  Add the curry powder and cook another minute or two, then add the parsnips and celeriac and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add the vegetable stock, then bring to the boil before reducing to a simmer and cooking for another 20 minutes, until the parsnips and celeriac are tender.  Use a stick blender to puree, then taste for seasoning.

In a small bowl, use the blender to puree the yogurt and cilantro, then swirl a bit into the soup to serve.

Curried Tomato Soup

February is such a weird month.  You have days – sometimes an entire week – where the weather turns mild, making you think that, hey!  it’s spring!!  The crocuses start to come up one day, then you’re out scraping frost off your car the next.

This week is Mardi Gras and I have a special treat planned for Pancake Day, so check in later in the week!  In the meantime, since it’s still a little cold, I thought I’d post some spicy tomato soup to warm you up a bit! 

I’ve really only become a convert to the flavor combo of tomatoes and sweet smoked paprika in the last couple of years – but, now, I can’t get enough. And, that’s what really makes this a killer soup – the curry powder brings on the spice, but the smoky base note is what really makes this a great soup.  Give it a try!

Curried Tomato Soup

• Olive oil
• 1 onion, trimmed, peeled and diced
• 1 carrot, peeled, trimmed and diced
• 1 red pepper, cored and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or microplaned
• 3 Tbsp curry powder (I used a madras curry powder)
• 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• salt and pepper

In a large pot over medium heat, pour in a good glug or two of olive oil and, when it’s hot, add the onions, carrots and peppers and cook 10-15 minutes until softened.  Add the curry powder and paprika and cook for another 2 minutes before adding the garlic and cooking another minute.  Then, pour in the tomatoes and stock and bring to the boil before reducing to a simmer and cooking for another 20 minutes.  Taste for seasoning, then use a blender or stick blender to puree.

Steak and Guinness Stew (or pie)

When the weather looks like this (which it has for the last week):

Then, you need something hearty that “sticks to your ribs.”  Something that warms you and fills you and makes you feel all cozy again.  I know I’ve been cooking a lot of vegetarian food lately, so I thought I’d splurge and go full-metal carnivore with red meat!  The nice thing about this recipe is that it makes a gorgeous, thick, velvety stew that you can either serve with toasted sourdough bread or mashed potatoes or you can use it as a filling in a pie. 

Steak and Guinness Stew

• 1 1/2 -2 lbs stewing beef, cut into bite-sized cubes
• flour
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled, trimmed and diced
• 4 ribs celery, trimmed and diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 parsnips, peeled and diced
• 1 bouquet garni
• 1 can Guinness
• 2 cans chopped tomatoes

Put a couple of handfuls of flour on a plate and season with the salt and pepper.  In a large, wide pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Dredge the meat in the flour and brown in batches, then set each batch aside.  When the meat is finished, add the onions, celery, carrots and partsnips to the pot and reduce the heat to medium.  Cook for 10 minutes or so until tender, then add the meat and juices back to the pot.  Pour in the tomatoes and Guinness and add the bouquet garni, then raise the heat and bring to a boil.  Reduce and simmer for an 90 minutes to 2 hours and the meat will be spoon-tender.

If you want to make this into a pie, line a deep pie or shallow casserole dish with puff pastry and blind bake according to directions.  Fill with the stew, then top with a layer of puff pastry that well-overlaps the sides (that’s what makes a pie so great – lots of yummy, yummy crust!)

Spicy Roasted Pepper Soup

It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m sitting here watching “Independence Day” with the mister and the Wondermutt.  (The mister has never seen “Independence Day” – can you believe that?!)  We’ve had a quiet day after the excitement of a busy week at work and then friends over for dinner last night.  Sometimes you just need a lazy day to recover from the week that was and prepare for the week that’s about to be – and that’s exactly what we’ve done today.  (We also watched “The Guard”, with Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle – very good flick).

So, on a day like this, it’s nice to have a dish that’s not labor-intensive, but tastes like it is.  I love those dishes – you know the ones I mean – they take a tiny investment in time but taste like you’ve been slaving away for hours.  This is one of them.  AND it’s a soup, so it’s perfect for when you want to make something to eat on during the rest of the week (which is exactly what I did this last week).

Oh – please note – in this recipe, I don’t specify red peppers.  I like to throw in a yellow or orange pepper to make a mixture of the three – just know that it’s going to affect the color of the soup. 

Spicy Roasted Pepper Soup

• 8 peppers, cored, halved and seeded
• Olive oil (you can use chilli- or garlic-infused oil, if you like)
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 chilli , seeded and minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 5 cups vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup creme fraiche

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Place the peppers cut side down on a large rimmed baking sheet or lasagna pan and drizzle with olive oil, then sling them on the top shelf of the oven and roast for 30 minutes, until the skins are charred.  Place in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap to let them cool and sweat.  While they’re cooling, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pot and sweat the onions over medium heat until translucent.  Add the chilli pepper, spices and garlic and cook another minute.  Add the stock and stir to combine.  When the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove the skins (they should easily pull right off) – don’t rinse them – and drop them into the pot.  When all the peppers are in, raise the heat to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Use a blender to puree until smooth and put back into the pot.  Taste for seasoning, then add the creme fraiche.

Roasted Beet Soup

Today is the birthday of one of my closest friends, Deni.  We’ve known each other since university and even had our first “real jobs” near each other (I was working for the State House while she was working for the Governor).  She’s driven, she’s incredibly smart and she’s one of the most sincere people I’ve ever known.  She gets involved in causes and really does try to make the world a better place.  Best of all, she’s an amazing, caring friend.

Unfortunately, now an ocean separates us so we don’t have the great chats we used to have where you talk about everything and nothing at all.  Thanks to Facebook, we’re able to keep up on an almost daily basis, which is great – particularly now that she’s a dog-owner and we can compare stories.  It is almost as good as when we shared a house in Washington, DC – but without the squabbling that comes from being housemates!  If we were in the same city, I’d have her around for a special tomato-free birthday dinner.

Yes.  You heard me right – one of my oldest and dearest friends hates tomatoes.  And what’s more – she’s a vegetarian!  I mean!!  At any rate, this is for her – a tomato-free vegetarian recipe for her birthday.  So, happy birthday, Deni – love ya, sweetie!!  Hope you have a wonderful year!!

Roasted Beet Soup

• 8-10 beets (about the size of a plum), trimmed and quartered
• Olive oil
• Salt and papper
• 1 large yellow onion, trimmed, peeled and diced
• good pinch dried thyme
• 5 cups vegetable stock
• creme fraiche

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Take the beets that have been trimmed and quartered, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cover with foil and roast for 30-40 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool, still covered, for another 20 minutes or so.  While the beets are cooling, heat a little olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat then saute the onions until translucent.  When the beets are cool enough to handle, use a paper towel to rub off the skins, then pop them into the pot.  Add the vegetable stock and thyme, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer until the beets are soft.  Use a blender to puree until smooth and return to the pot.  Adjust for salt and pepper, then serve with a dollop of creme fraiche.