Yesterday we posted the first part of our soup posts, but there so many great soups that it certainly merits a multi part series.
On 101 Cookbooks I found this great recipe adapted from The Essential New York Times Cookbook:
Carrot and Fennel Soup
…it’s easy to make a meal of this by serving it topped with a poached egg. Alternately, you can make this soup vegan by omitting the Parmesan.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed fronds reserved, thinly sliced
- 2 1/4 pounds / 36 ounces farmer market carrots, thickly sliced
- 2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 10 cups good-tasting vegetable broth or water
- salt to taste
- 3 cups / 12 oz cooked wild rice
- 2 tablespoonsblood orange olive oil or 5 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese (OPTIONAL)
Directions
- Heat the olive oil in your largest soup pot over medium-high heat.
- Add the fennel and cook for 3-4 minutes, until softened a bit.
- Stir in the carrots and cook another 10 minutes, just long enough for them to soften a touch and start taking on a bit of color.
- Stir in the garlic and cook another 30 seconds.
- Stir in the broth. Bring to a simmer and simmer, covered, until the carrots are very tender, another 15-20 minutes or so.
- Stir in the wild rice, bring back to a simmer, taste and add more salt if needed
- Remove from heat and stir in the blood orange olive oil or orange juice. Taste and add more if needed.
- (OPTIONAL) Serve dusted, generously, with freshly grated Parmesan, and a sprinkling of the reserved fennel fronds.
Serves about 6.
Inspired by the Carrot & Fennel Soup in The Essential New York Times Cookbook by Amanda Hesser.
Just remember, if you do use Parmesan Cheese YOU MUST wait 6 hours before you can eat any meat!
I like cream soups, especially if they include mushrooms, I found this delectable soup on the Better Recipes site and changed the butter to margarine and took out the whipping cream.
Creamy Leek Mushroom and Risotto Soup
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons margarine
- 2 cups sliced leeks
- 16 oz whole mushrooms, washed and cut into quarters, but not sliced
- 1 package shiitake mushroom risotto mix
- 30 oz chicken broth
- 1 cup finely chopped tender roasted chicken
- 1 sprig sage
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 2 cups whipped cream (Rich’s is what I use, but it needs to be whipped)
- 3 tablespoon flour
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flake
- Salt and cracked pepper to taste
Directions
- In a large soup pan or Dutch oven, saute leeks for 4 minutes over medium high heat.
- Add mushrooms and risotto rice, without the flavoring packet, then saute until leeks are almost tender, about 6 minutes.
- Pour in broth and add chicken and seasoning flavor packet.
- Reduce heat to medium. Tie together herbs and add to broth. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.
- Check occasionally and stir to make sure rice does not stick. Test the rice for tenderness. If not tender, cook another 3-4 minutes.
- Add the whipped cream and red pepper flakes, then heat through.
- Ladle 1 cup of broth into a medium bowl and whisk in flour until well blended.
- Gradually add mixture back to soup. Heat through, stirring frequently, until broth is creamy and thickened.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!
CS
RELATED POSTS
2 Responses to “Soups as Comfort Food – Part 2”