Hearty Winter Broth

It’s snowing this morning and while it’s considerably warmer than the last days, one still needs some good winter comfort food…

This time I found the soup in Simply Soup, published in 2007 by Love Food in the UK. The following recipe appears on page 47:

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon  vegetable oil
• 1 lb lean neck of lamb
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 leeks, sliced
• 4 cups vegetable stock *
• 1 bay leaf
• sprigs of fresh parsley
• 2 oz pearl barley
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large, heavy-bottom saucepan and add the pieces of lamb, turning the seal and brown on both sides. Lift the lamb out of the pan and set aside until ready the use.
2. Add the onion, carrots, and leeks to the saucepan and cook gently for 3 minutes.
3. Return the lamb to the saucepan and add the vegetable stock, bay leaf, parsley and pearl barley to the saucepan. Bring the mixture in the pan to a boil, then reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 -2 hours.
4. Discard the parsley sprigs. Left the pieces of lamb from the broth and allow them to cool slightly. Remove the bones and any fat and chop the meat. Return the lamb to the broth and reheat gently. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

It is advisable to prepare this soup a day ahead, then let it cool, cover and refrigetrate overnight. When ready to serve, remove and discard the layer of fat from the surface and reheat the soup gently. Ladle into warmed bowls and serve immediately.

* Vegetable Stock

Yield: 8 1/2 cups

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons sunflower or corn oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped leek
• 2/3 cup finely chopped carrots
• 4 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup finely chopped fennel
• 1 small tomato, finely chopped
• 10 cups water
• 1 bouquet garni

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and leek and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the remaining vegetables, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add the water and bouquet garni, bring to a boil, and simmer for 20 minutes,
2. Strain the stock into a bowl, let cool, cover and store in the refrigerator. use immediately or freeze in portions for up to 3 months.

Enjoy, gentle reader, I tried it last evening and it was a perfect finish for a cold day!

CS

Beer Cheese Soup

With Shavuoth fast approaching what better than a delicious dairy soup? From Pam Reiss‘ Soup – A Kosher Collection:

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1/2 small yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 small carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cups beer
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 lb grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup, air popped popcorn for garnish

Directions

Use whatever beer you like to drink. Using a lighter beer will make the flavor of the soup subtler  than a dark beer. It’s a rich soup, so go easy!

Over medium low heat, sweat the vegetables in olive oilfor 12 to 15 minutes, until they are wilted but not brown.

Add the beer and bring it to a simmer. Allow the soup to simmer gently for 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, milk and half-and half. Whisk the this mixture, along with the salt and pepper, into the soup and bring the soup back to a simmer. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, allowing the flour to cook and the soup to thicken.

Using a whisk, add the cheese to the soup slowly, mixing well. Whisk until the cheese is completely incorporated

Serve the soup with popcorn for a garnish.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

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Soups as Comfort Food – Part 3 [Gratinee Lyonnaise (Lyon-style Onion Soup)]

A Roundup of Our Shavuos Recipes

Lemon Veal Soup with Mushrooms

It’s that cold time of the year, and what better way to warm up than with some hot and hearty soup?

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 12 oz boneless veal, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, halved
• 1 pared strip lemon rind
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp margarine
• 12 oz small button mushrooms, quartered
• 6 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 cup unflavored MimiCreme
• freshly grated nutmeg
• fresh lemon juice, to taste
• 1 – 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley salt and pepper

Directions

1. Put the veal in a large saucepan and add the stock. Bring just to a boil. and skim off any foam that rises to the surface.
2. Add the onion, carrots, garlic, lemon rind and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the veal is tender.
3. Remove the veal and carrots with a slotted spoon and reserve, covered. Strain the stock, into a clean saucepan. Discard the onion, garlic, lemon rind, and bay leaf.
4. Melt the margarine in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, season, and cook gently until golden. Reserve with the veal and carrots.
5. Mix together the cornstarch and MimiCreme. Bring the cooking liquid just to a boil and whisk in the cream mixture. Boil very gently for 2 – 3 minutes, (until it thickens, whisking almost constantly.
6. Add the reserved meat and vegetables to the soup and simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes, until heated through. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding nutmeg and a  squeeze  of lemon juice. Stir in the parsley, then ladle into warmed bowls and serve.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Caldo Verde

In this era when not only do we crave flavor, but value the health benefits of the various ingredients that make up that wonderful dish; in this wintertime when we look for foods that will warm us there is nothing better than a good hot soup.

We’ve adapted the following recipe from various sources to come up with our own kosher, nutritious, delicious version:

Photo from: http://www.slowtrav.com/blog/deborah/2009/01/sss_week_8_portuguese_caldo_ve_1.html

Caldo Verde is a traditional Portuguese soup, made mainly from kale and potatoes.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 medium russet potatoes or other floury baking potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks.
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound kale, leaves trimmed from the thick stems, rinsed and finely sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. Put the potatoes in a saucepan with 8 cups water and add a little salt. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for about 15 minutes, or until tender. Mash the potatoes lightly with a fork, leaving them in the water.
2. Cook the kale in a pan of boiling water for 3 – 4 minutes. Drain and stir into the potato broth with the olive oil. Simmer for 1 – 2 minutes. Season to taste and serve hot.

–XoX–

Variation

Photo from: http://flavorsofbrazil.blogspot.com/2011/07/recipe-caldo-verde-take-one-caldo-verde.html

Ingredients

• 2 Jack’s Gourmet Mexican Style Chorizos, sliced

Directions

1. Heat up a small amount of olive oil over medium heat. Add chorizo slices and brown. Once browned remove and set aside.
2. Follow step 1 in the vegetarian version above.
3. Add the Jack’s Gourmet chorizo slices and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the kale and let cook until desired level of doneness.
4. Serve immediately.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Chicken Gumbo Soup

In our everlasting quest to find great products, great recipes and more – for our faithful readers – we scour the store shelves, the net, the cookbooks and SYR and I will even even experiment quite a bit. It’s winter, it’s cold outside and we need food that will warm and make us feel good as we come in from the chill. In such cases, soups all hit the spot.

From Pam Reiss” Soup – A Kosher Collection:

Photo by: Michelle Furbacher, page 144

Serves 12

• 1 small yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 small green pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 whole jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
• 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 2 cups okra, washed, trimmed and cut into 3-4 pieces
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp chilli powder
• 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup olive oil.
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 8 cups stock
•  1 cup rice
• 1/2 lb cooked chicken, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

I use fresh okra  in this recipe, but if you can’t find it, you can use frozen. Don’t be alarmed about the somewhat slimy juices okra gives off. All the sliminess will disappear as it cooks.

1. Over medium heat, sauté the onion, pepper, jalapeño, celery, okra, salt pepper, chilli powder and garlic in olive oil for 5 to 7 minutes. The vegetables should wilt but not brown.
2. Add the flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Add the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, and stock. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for another 15 minutes.
4. Add the cooked chicken, and simmer until the chicken is heated through and the rice is tender.

I just had two bowls of this soup and found it absolutely delicious and warming. So… enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

 

Dairy Beet Borsht

Growing up in Uruguay, I always used to look forward to Borsht Soup. Whether hot or cold, it was always a treat! I never got my mother’s recipe, but I made this one last night and it brought back some sweet memories of my childhood. With Shavous almost here, I thought I’d try a dairy version (parve, also given)

Beet Borsht

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 lb 8 oz small tender beets
• 1 large chopped onion
• 15 cups of water *
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pepper
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• chopped fresh dill to garnish
• sour cream (optional, do not use if you prefer a parve soup)

Directions

1. Cut tops from beets leaving a bit of the stems attached, wash thoroughly to remove any sand or grit. Peel the betts and grate them. Transfer to a heavy pan. You might want to wear rubber gloves to prevent your hands being stained.
2. Add the onion to the pan and cover with the water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer partially covered for about 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Take off from heat and allow the vegetables to cool slightly.
3. Ladle the liquid into a food processor and process until smooth. Rinse off the pan and put the soup back in it.
4. Bring to a boil over medium heat and add salt, pepper (to taste), lemon juice and sugar. Simmer for 3 minutes and taste, it should have a sweet and sour taste. If necessary add a little more sugar or lemon juice, if it’s a bit thick, thin out by adding a little bit more water.
5. Serve hot with a swirl of sour cream. Sprinkle with dill. You may also serve it cold if you refrigerate it covered, but you thin out the soup as it will thicken when chilled.

(Sometimes you may find a similar recipe using vegetable stock instead of water, I’ll have to do that next time.)

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy. I did! I tied hot, I can’t wait to try it cold.

CS

Red Grape Soup

There’s more to it than just vegetables, and/or noodles. Not only is soup good comfort food in the winter, not only can it warm a cold bodyon a freezing winter day, it can also cool us on a hot summer day. Pamela Reiss, in her Soup -A Kosher Collection gives us many delicious recipes of every kind, ranging from winter comfort types to refreshing summer ones.

Photo by Michelle Furbacher, page 190 Soup - A Kosher Collection

Here’s one I tried last evening, it was easy to make and absolutely delicious:

Serves 5

This lovely, elegant chilled soup is wonderful as a starter. Taste one of the grapes before you cook them; if they are exceptionally sweet, you may want to hold off on adding the granulated sugar.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb red grapes
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup dry red wine

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a soup pot, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer on low for 5 minutes, or until grape skins start to split.
2. Purée the soup. (Use a blender, a hand blender, or a food processor to purée a soup. Do it in small and be very careful. Put a towel over the top of the food processor or blender to prevent any hot soup from spaying. If you are concerned about processing the hot liquid, allow the soup to cool beforehand.
3. Pour the soup through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any seeds and skin, and transfer to a clean bowl. Chill the soup for for a minimum of 4 hours, or until it is completely cold.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable Soup

This hearty soup was so good, I had three bowls of it last evening (and still have leftovers in the fridge). It was just the perfect dish for capping a winter evening, even if the weather was unusually warm for this time of year.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1 lb 9 oz ripe tomatoes, skinned, cored and halved
• 3 large yellow bell peppers. seeded and halved
• 3 zucchini, halved lengthwise
• 4 garlic cloves, halved
• 2 onion cloves, cut into eights
• pinch of thyme
• 4 cups chicken vegetable, or beef stock
• 1/2 cup MimicCreme
• salt and pepper
• shredded basil leaves for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Brush a large shallow baking dish with olive oil. Laying them cut-sized down, arrange the tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini and eggplant in one layer (use two dishes if necessary). Tuck the garlic cloves and onion pieces into the gaps and drizzle the vegetables with the remaining olive oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper and sprinkle with thyme.
3. Place in preheated oven and bake uncovered, for 30-35 minutes, or until soft and browned around the edges. Let cool, then scrape out the eggplant flesh and remove the skin from the bell peppers.
4. Working in batches, put the eggplant and bell pepper flesh, together with the tomatoes, zucchini, garlic and onion place into a bowl and chop together using a knife.
5. Combine the stock and chopped vegetable mixture in a saucepan and simmer over medium heat for 20-30 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender and the flavors have completely blended.
6. Stir in the MimicCreme and simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until hot. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Ladle the soup into warm bowls, garnish with basil and serve.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Soup – A Kosher Collection

Soup is the perfect winter comfort food, warming us after a cold walk or simply enjoyed… because. In all its myriad incarnations, and ingredient variations a good soup warms the heart and soul as it satisfies the palate.

As Ms. Reiss puts it in her Introduction to Soup – A Kosher Collection

I'll be coming back to it again and again

Nothing beats a hot bowl of aromatic homemade soup on a cold winter day. It’s a great starter to a meal. It can be elegant or rustic, simple or extravagant, a light beginning or a filling main course. Most often it’s even better reheated the day after you make it…

[..]A simmering soup can fill a house with wonderful, inviting aromas. It can invoke memories of childhood dinners, surrounded by family, which none of us seem to have time for anymore.

From Parve/Vegetarian Soups like Everything But the Kitchen Sink, or Beet Borsht to Dairy Soups like Baba’s Break the Fast Soup, or Beer Cheese Soup; from Fish Soups like Saffron & Garlic Fish Soup, Soupe de Poisson au Provence to Meat Soups like Za’atar Chicken Soup, or Lamb & Fruit Soup, from Fruit and Dessert Soups like Pear Soup with Feta, Pecans & Balsamic Reduction or Chocolate Soup to Accompaniments like Matzo Balls with Fresh Herbs, or Parmesan Croutons this cookbook has it all. Every recipe shows its nutritional values which is great for any weight conscious foodie. With over 150 soup recipes and 6 accompaniments, this is the perfect book for the perfect comfort food! First published in 2004, it is now in its second edition with over 20 new recipes. Pam Reiss is constantly improving her work making it bigger and better.

It was hard to choose which recipe to feature here, but I settled on a dessert soup. I will make it this Shabbat:

Just looking at the photo makes my mouth water. Photo, from the book, by: Chris Freeland

Chocolate Soup

This creamy soup makes a great dessert. Serve it with a little fresh-whipped cream and some sliced strawberries, or use it as a cold chocolate fondue. Guests will be surprised when you serve this one!

•  6 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 2 cups 2% milk
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

In a mixing bowl, wisk together the granulated sugar and the egg yolks until frothy and butter colored.

Using a double-boiler (or place about 2 inches of water in a saucepan, bring to a light simmer and place a metal bowl over it), heat the half-and-half, milk, salt, chocolate and cocoa powder until all of the chocolate is melted and the mixture has warmed through.

Slowly add some of the hot chocolate mixture, about 1/2 cup, into the egg/granulated sugar mixture, whisking as you pour it, so that the hot liquid is incorporated right away and the eggs don’t scramble. Slowly poutr this mixture back into the hot chocolate, whisking as you pour. Continue to heat the soup until it has thickened slightly, 3 to 5 minutes, whisking continuously. When you dip a wooden spoon into the soup, then drag a a fingertip through the coating on the spoon, the line should remain clean.

Transfer the soup to a bowl or container, cover with waxed paper and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or until the soup is completely chilled.

We’ve reviewed Pam Reiss‘ Passover – A Kosher Collection on these pages before, at the time I wrote, the lady can cook!!! The current book strongly reinforces that notion.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Soups as Comfort Food – Part 3

There are myriad types of soups, while I never intended an exhaustive listing when we started this series, while I realize there are far more types than I’m ever likely to try, this series only deals with some of my favorites from among those I’ve tasted. In this, the final installment of the series we will again feature two soups.

We chose all these recipes both because of their taste and the ease of preparation.

Last evening, at a cooking demo by Chef Lévana Kirschenbaum, I tasted her incredibly flavorful and very simple to prepare…

Aduki Bean Burdock Soup

Ingredients

• 12 cups water
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 6 bay leaves, or 1 teaspoon ground bay leaf
• 2 cups aduki beans
• Salt to taste
• 4 large cloves garlic
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut in large chunks
• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut in large chunks
• 1 celery root, peeled and cut in large chunks
• 1 large parsnip, peeled and cut in large chunks
• 1 large zucchini, cut in large chunks
• 1 large red onion, quartered
• 1 large piece burdock, peeled and cut in large chunks

Directions

1. Bring all ingredients to boil in a wide heavy pot.
2. Reduce to medium and cook covered for 1 hour.
3. Cream the soup with an immersion blender.
4. Adjust texture and seasonings.

If you do not have, if you cannot find burdock, you can substitute almost anything else. In spite of her recipe calling for burdock, Lévana – just to demonstrate the versatility of her recipe – used kale stalk instead

If you are like me you probably never heard of burdock before…What is burdock? For its culinary and medicinal properties look it up in the Wikipedia. Meanwhile, as the article says:

the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy wrote in his journal, in 1896, about a tiny shoot of burdock he saw in a ploughed field, “black from dust but still alive and red in the center … It makes me want to write. It asserts life to the end, and alone in the midst of the whole field, somehow or other had asserted it.”

For another of Chef Lévana’s superb soup recipes check out Quick Black Bean Chocolate Soup

To end this series I chose to adapt an Emeril Lagasse variation of the classic French Onion Soup on the Food Network :

Gratinee Lyonnaise (Lyon-style Onion Soup)

[adapted to conform with kashrus]

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 pounds yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup cognac
• 8 cupspareve soup stock
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme, tied into a bundle with kitchen string
• 1/2 loaf French bread, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
• 1 pound Gruyere cheese, coarsely grated
• 2 egg yolks (optional)
• 1/2 cup Port wine (optional)
• Finely chopped parsley, garnish

Directions

In a Dutch oven or other large, heavy pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the cognac. Return the pan to the heat and cook until the alcohol has evaporated. Be careful as the cognac may ignite.

Add the soup stock and thyme sprigs and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the soup for 45 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, toast the bread slices until light golden brown. Remove from the oven.

Preheat the broiler.

When the soup is ready, divide 1/2 of the toasted bread slices between 6 individual ovenproof serving bowls or crocks and top with 1/2 of the grated cheese. Ladle some of the soup among the bowls and top with the remaining toasts. Ladle the remaining soup among the bowls and top with the remaining cheese. Place the bowls on a baking sheet and place under the broiler until the cheese is melted, golden brown and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven.

Optional topping:

In a small bowl combine the egg yolks and Port and whisk to thoroughly combine. Pour some of the mixture evenly among the soup bowls, stirring in around the edges so that it is incorporated into the soup. (The heat of the soup will cook the egg yolk and this will thicken and enrich the soup.)

Garnish the top with chopped parsley and serve hot.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

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