White Bean & Escarole Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbl Olive Oil
• 1 small onion
• 3 cloves garlic – minced
• 4 cups veg or chicken stock
• 1 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes with juice
• 1/2 cup orzo
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 15oz can white kidney beans – rinsed
• 4 cups chopped escarole

Method:

In a soup pot saute onions and garlic until onions are translucent.  Add broth,  tomatoes, crushed red pepper, orzo, black pepper and bring to a simmer until pasta is cooked (aprox. 5 minutes.) Add beans and escarole.  Simmer additional five minutes until beans are warm.  Serve.

Makes four servings.

Posted in Italian, Soup | 1 Comment »

Soup Sunday

There is so much coming and going around the house today that I thought I might just make a pot of soup to leave on the stove so people could eat when the might. Since I was at it I decided to make Rebecca’s (really, really) wonderful Blue Onion Soup (for those that might be looking for Kosher I think the soup could be made with a vegetable stock and it would be just as good.)

My wife, however, had in mind for today a soup that a co-worker had brought to work that likely will appeal to more of our kids. It, too, is delicious.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 10 6″ corn tortillas cut into 1/2″ strips
• 1 10 oz can green chili enchilada sauce
• 1 10 oz can red enchilada sauce
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 4 cups cooked & shredded chicken (no skin)
• 1 cup half & half
• 1 lg tomato
• 1 jalapeno pepper – seeded and minced (or more depending on taste)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Method

Combine chicken stock and tortilla strips in a large pot. Cook over medium heat till strips soften and broth thickens somewhat. Stir in enchilada sauces, cumin, jalapeno. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add chicken, half & half. Bring back to simmer (not boiling) and add cheese and tomato.

Remember that whenever you use cheese in soups and sauces you should not bring it to a boil or it will “break” leaving a greasy mess.

Garnish with perhaps scallions or cubed avocado.

Thanks to Kim Garding for this recipe.  A great cook and a good friend.

Posted in Chicken, Ethnic, Mexican, Soup | No Comments »

Blue Onion Soup

Dave successfully pestered me to contribute recipes to The Spoon and announced my capitulation on the site some weeks ago. I’m finally getting around to posting. Rather than admit to being a lazy so-and-so, I’ll just say that I’ve been allowing the anticipation to build on your part. I hope it worked.

What follows is one of my favorite easy meals. Now that the leaves are turning, the weather’s growing colder, and there’s snow on Lolo Peak, it’s time for soup. This particular one, Blue Onion Soup, will appeal to both French onion and blue cheese lovers. I’ve been making it for years, and know the recipe by heart. Be sure to have lots of good crusty French bread on hand, and perhaps a little extra blue cheese to sprinkle on top.

5 to 6 large yellow onions, thinly sliced

3 T butter

salt and pepper to taste

1 t dried thyme, or 1 T fresh

6 cups chicken stock

1 bottle of your favorite beer (a local brew is the best)

8 to 12 oz crumbled good strong blue cheese, like Stilton

Caramelize the onions in the butter in a stockpot or Dutch oven. Be sure to let them get nice and brown–not burned. That means letting them cook on low heat for 45 minutes to a hour, stirring infrequently. Season the onions first with the salt and pepper. The salt will help caramelize the onions by drawing their moisture out and allowing them to cook in their own sugars. Once they have reached the right color (basically that of French onion soup), add the thyme, the stock and the beer. Turn the heat up and let the soup simmer, covered, for thirty minutes. Remove the lid, and crumble in the cheese. The amount depends on how much you love blue cheese. Me? I go for the full twelve ounces and then some. Turn the heat back down, and let the cheese melt and the soup barely simmer for another thirty minutes. Serve it piping hot with a hunk of bread to soak up every drop left in the bowl.

Posted in Soup | 4 Comments »

Taking advantage of the fall vegetables

The color is in the trees and that familiar chill is reminding us the end of summer has arrived and snowfall is around the corner. With that in mind, I start to get the yearning for a nice big pot of homemade soup.

I do enjoy experimenting with recipes and trying new things. Luckily, my wife (The Divine Miss M) talked me into getting over my irrational fear and loathing of squash. Some of it was out of necessity, as we were at a fancy restaurant having Thanksgiving dinner. Yeah, it’s a long story – some other time perhaps. Anyways, it’s Thanksgiving, and I’m naturally ready to gorge myself on football and food. One of the courses included a squash soup – and thankfully I tried it.

Once we got home, I decided to attempt to replicate the recipe, and through trial and error I came up with the following. I’ve tried it with both butternut and acorn squash, and found that butternut is richer and more savory, while acorn makes a sweeter soup. I’ve paired them with stout breads (but asiago cheese bread was a little off-putting in my opinion) and I think a Pinot Grigiot goes well with it.

As with any recipe, change things up, add a little or subtract a little – make it your own and enjoy it to its fullest. It doubles nicely if you have a decent sized pot and I’ll bet it would slowcook very well too.

2 large butternut squash, seeded and chunked into 2″ cubes
Olive oil, for brushing
Kosher salt for seasoning
Freshly ground white pepper
1 Qt chicken or vegetable stock
4 Tbsp honey
1 Tsp minced ginger
1 Pt heavy cream
5 or 6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
Half a sweet onion, finely minced
2 or 3 cloves of garlic minced
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, maybe a bit more to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Brush the flesh of the squash with a little olive oil and season with salt. On a sheet pan lay the squash flesh side up. Roast for at least an hour until the flesh is nice and soft.

In a stock pot, add 2 tbsp butter, the onions and garlic finely chopped and sweat until tender. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes, peeled and cubed and boil until tender.

Once the squash is roasted, scoop the flesh from the skin into the pot and add honey, ginger, white pepper, and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer and puree using a stick blender. Stir in the heavy cream and return to a low simmer. Season with additional salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Serve anywhere from warm to hot. (I wasn’t too fond of it cold, might just be me though.)

Mangiare!

Posted in Slow Cooker, Soup, Veggies | No Comments »

Winter Borscht

Now that the days are growing a little shorter and the evenings are a bit chilly, I am thinking about winter borscht. In addition, I am seeing a lot of fresh beets at the farmer’s market here in Great Falls. So, borscht.

Now, this isn’t a traditional borscht. However, I think it is very tasty. Don’t wear a white shirt.

Ingredients:

Flanken (cross cut beef ribs cut into 1″ sections)
Beets, diced
Miripoix, diced
Cabbage, shredded
Tomatoes, diced
Potatoes, diced
Salt and pepper
Chiffinade of Basil, Oregano and Parsley

Method

In a large dutch oven, sear the flanken in a very small amount of oil. After the meat is seared, add a few quarts of water and boil for 45 minutes, tenderizing the meat and adding flavor to the water. The amount of water should be a little more than the total amount of soup you want to make.

Once the meat is tender, reserve it and shred the meat. Remove and toss the bones. They aren’t good for making stock, as their flavor has already gone into your soup pot.

Add the miripoix, potatoes, cabbage, beets and meat to the pot. Season to taste and simmer for about two hours.

About 30 minutes before removing from heat, add the diced tomatoes. Right before serving, add the herbs.

Enjoy!

Posted in Beef, Ethnic, Jewish, Kosher, Russian, Soup | No Comments »