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.

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.

Moroccan Roasted Carrot Soup

Hi!!  Remember me?  I know, I’ve been a bit unavailable lately – work has had me going long hours and the weekends have been full of life maintenance and other claims on my time.  The result?  While I’ve been able to do a little cooking on the weekends, I haven’t had any time to sit and WRITE about it.

I think it’s time I won the lottery, if for no other reason than I’d have time to do the stuff I really like to do.  Who’s with me?!

So, Sundays have become a cooking marathon as I make the dishes for the week.  Then, for our Sunday night dinner, the mister and I usually do something simple like a baked potato and some salad.  Now that the weather is colder and it’s dark at 4:30  (4:30!!  this time of year just kills me), I’ve also been adding a little soup to the mix.  A nice hot mug of soup just seems to round out a wintery dinner.

This last week, I needed a carrot for some slaw I threw together and dropped by the farm stand at the Hammersmith market and there they were – a gorgeous bag of fat orange carrots fresh from a local farm.  So, it made me think that I needed to do something a little different with them this weekend.  AND, I thought I’d post a recipe for one of my closest friends who is a vegetarian that hates tomatoes – this is a totally easy, yummy dish that doesn’t have a single tomato anywhere near it.

Moroccan Roasted Carrot Soup

• 1 lb carrots (plus one or two extra) – trimmed, peeled and halved lengthwise
• 1 Tbsp honey
• good drizzle chilli oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 large onion, trimmed, peeled and diced
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• pinch ground allspice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or microplaned
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt or creme fraiche

Preheat oven to 400 F, and toss carrots with chilli oil and honey, then season with salt and pepper and roast for 20-30 minutes until fork-tender.  While the carrots are roasting, heat some of the chilli oil in a medium pot and add the onions, cumin, coriander and allspice and cook until onions are translucent.  When the carrots are done, roughly chop them and add them and the garlic to the onions and spice mixture, heating for a moment or two.  Add the broth and bring to a boil before reducing to a simmer.  Cook for 15 minutes then use a blender (or stick blender) to puree until smooth then taste for seasoning.  Just before serving, add the lemon juice and yogurt and stir in well. 

Red Lentil Soup

Every other week or so, I like to bake something to take to work.  It lets me practice new recipes and it seems to make my coworkers rather happy, so I enjoy doing it.  The two women I work with, however, have been accusing me of being a “feeder” – particularly since they’re  both beach bound for the Christmas holidays. 

So, I thought I’d change things up this week and take in some nice, healthy soup to share with my girls.  And it doesn’t get much healthier than lentils.  Loaded with fiber, lentils help lower cholesterol, stabilize blood sugars and are loaded with iron and B vitamins.  And this soup take practically no time to put together – a couple of minutes of chopping followed by time to simmer – that’s it!  Now that the temps have dropped, lentil soup makes a great lunch so you can make a big pot of it and throw it in a tupperware to pop in the microwave at work.  Or sectioned into individual servings and throw them in the freezer for a quick dinner one night.

Red Lentil Soup

• Olive oil
• 2 carrots, trimmed, peeled and small diced
• 2 stalks celery, trimmed and small diced
• 1 medium onion, trimmed, peeled and small dice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or microplaned
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1-2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 2 cups dried red lentils
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 -2 cup water (optional)

In a large pot, heat the carrots, celery and onions over medium heat until soft, then add the thyme and lentils and stir to coat.  Pour in the canned tomatoes and stock and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook 30-45 minutes.  If the soup gets too thick, thin with water to the desired consistency. Serve with crusty bread.

(btw – if you don’t like your soup “with bits,” then use a hand blender to puree it)