Gorgeous Gazpacho

 

 

Nothing says summer more than an icy bowl of Gazpacho.

There seem to be two schools of preparation–pureed or not. I am declaring myself the third school–in between. I puree part and then leave some chunky.

If you want to try this recipe, then do read on.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2-3 lbs of good tomatoes (do try to get fresh ones from a farmer’s market or homegrown
• Approx 2 c of tomato juice
• 3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 six-inch long cucumbers, homegrown if possible (if regular store-bought, peel)
• 2-3 jalapeños, or other hot chiles (revise number depending on heat you want)
• Approx 1 c beef or chicken stock
• 1/2 c fresh basil
• 1/4 c good quality EVOO
• 1/3 c roasted red pepper
• 1/3 c chopped red onion
• 3 slices of bread (good sourdough if possible)
• 1 tsp cumin, salt, and pepperI
• 1/3 c sour cream or heavy cream
• 1/4 c red wine vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Scald the tomatoes and remove the skin, remove seeds and dice into small dice.
2. Add the garlic, one cucumber, the chiles and red onion to a food processor or blender and puree.
3. Add to the tomatoes.
4. Dice the other cucumber, removing the seeds if you wish first.
5. Chop the basil and add along with the roasted red pepper.
6. Place the bread in the blender with the tomato juice and puree. Add to the tomato mixture
7. Add the oil, vinegar and spices. Mix well.
8. Add as much of the stock as desired to get the consistency you wish. Taste and adjust seasonings.
9. Add the sour cream or cream and mix.
10. Refrigerate for several hours to chill well.

Serves: 8 at least

NOTE: you can puree it all if you wish, or none of it.

 

Related articles

• Bloody Mary Gazpacho (tastefoodblog.com)
• Gazpacho (twistingpinterest.wordpress.com)
• Gazpacho: The Perfect Summer Soup (theepochtimes.com)
• #SundaySupper #BeatTheHeat Gazpacho (thehandthatrockstheladle.wordpress.com)

 

Wickedly Wild Taco Soup

Creating a recipe is a bit of a crap shoot.

I kept seeing taco soup recipes on JustaPinch and when I looked at them, well I liked the concept, but most seemed rather boring. And so I didn’t try any, but I kept thinking about it.

After a while I figured I had the basics, and then started thinking of what I might like to add.

Which I did. (dried chiles)

Then I added a bit of stuff I just happened to have opened and on hand.

And I did that. (V-8 juice)

And when I had it all together, I was a bit worried, because it looked a lot like chili.

But, when we ate it, oh my, but it was simple mindblowingly wonderful. At least to us. This is kept soupy by having enough liquid and no thickeners such as tomato paste or masa. And we can’t wait to have more as left-overs!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 lb each, ground beef and chorizo sausage
• 1 lg onion, diced
• 1 c celery, diced
• 2 jalapeños, seeded (optional) and diced
• 2 dried chiles such as New Mexican or Anchos (seeded and placed in a bowl with 1 c hot water for 30 min)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 28 oz c of diced tomatoes
• 1 can black beans (or other you like), rinsed
• 1 c corn
• 1 tbsp adobo powder
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 qt V-8 juice
• 1/3 c chopped fresh cilantro
• 8 corn tortillas, cut into wedges
• salt as needed

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Brown the meat in a large soup pot. While it is cooking add the onion, celery, and jalapeño.
2. When the chiles have soaked for 30 minutes, remove and mince. Save the water.
3. When the meat is browned, add the garlic, chiles, and the chile soaking water.
4. Add the tomatoes, beans and corn and all the spices. Add the V-8 juice. (tomato juice would be fine)
5. Bring to a simmer and simmer on low for a good two hours or as long as you wish.
6. Just before bringing to final heating, add the cilantro and stir in.
7. Take the tortilla wedges and fry until crisp in canola oil, drain on paper towelling, and place in a basket at the table.
8. Add sour cream, chopped scallions, and grated cheese as condiments if you wish.

Serves: 8-10

Related articles

• What Do You Call It? (smalltownworld.wordpress.com)
• Taco Soup – A soup that you can sink your teeth into (foodsqueeze.wordpress.com)

Autumn’s Bounty Squash Soup

I have been wanting to make some winter squash soup for a good while.

Finally, I found a recipe that rather intrigued me with its interesting ingredients.

The beauty of this one, is that you can leave out any offending ones like jalapeños, or cinnamon as you wish, and still come out with a great tasting soup.

Be warned, this recipe makes a ton of soup, literally, a ton! I’ll be putting it up in freezer bags for use throughout the remainder of the winter.

So when you think winter squash, start with a smaller one, and adjust the rest of the ingredients down a bit and you won’t have soup to feed an army.

And this is a chopping recipe. But the good news is that once you are done chopping, the soup carries on by itself. So start it early and then ignore it.

And I also found no need to thicken it at all, and I don’t like flour slurries so I switched it to a raw roux if you need to thicken. This recipe comes mostly intact from Rachel Weyerman, at JustaPinch.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 med, or smaller, butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
• 6 c chicken stock (if you want all veggies, then do a vegetable broth)
• 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 apple of your choice, peeled, seeded, cubed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 ribs of celery, chopped
• 2 jalapeños, seeded, and chopped, (I left some seeds in and it was quite warm, but nice)
• 1/8 c brown sugar (she used 1/4 and white) It provides a nice sweetness to set off the heat
• 1 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp oregano and basil (fresh if you can)
• 1 tsp each garlic powder, thyme, cinnamon
• 1 med. tomato diced
• 1 c heavy cream

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Add everything except the tomato and cream to a large soup pot and simmer until everything is nice and soft. (I left it on for a couple of hours, though this is beyond what is needed). Use a potato masher to mush everything up nicely, and then use an immersion blender to puree it to the desired smoothness. I left it a bit chunky.
2. Add the tomato and simmer a bit longer (low simmer) about 20 minutes.
3. If you want to thicken this further, make a raw roux by blending with a fork equal amounts of soft butter and flour until combined. Add pieces and bring the soup to a boil and continue adding until it is as thick as you wish.
4. Add the cream, and just blend.

Serves: 10

Related articles

• Easy Banana Butternut Squash Soup Recipe (chiquitabananas.com)
• Butternut Squash, Apple and Sage Soup (pinecountryfeed.wordpress.com)
• Fall Harvest Soup (homeectech.wordpress.com)
• Butternut Squash Soup (battlingthebulgeonabudget.wordpress.com)
• A Reader Recipe: Buttercup Squash and Apple Soup (fitsugar.com)

Salute the US Navy Bean Soup

This is about as basic as it gets.

The original US Senate Navy Bean soup. It’s not got a lot of stuff in it. It thrives on beans.

And so ham.

This is a perfect soup to go to after the holidays when ham has been the featured guest. The ham bone makes this great, and make sure it’s got a fair amount of ham still clinging to it. If you have no ham, then one or two smoked ham hocks will do.

There are three ways to deal with your beans. Soak over night. Pour boiling water over and let sit until about doubled in size, or use cold water and bring to a boil, cook two minutes and let set until beans have swelled up. In all cases cover the beans to two inches over the top.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 regular bag of navy beans (1 1/2 c)
• 1 ham bone, or 1-2 smoked ham hocks
• 1 lg onion, diced
• 3 ribs celery, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, micro-planed
• 1 lg potato, diced
• 1/2 salt and pepper each

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Soak your beans by your preferred method. (I tend to let them soak overnight on the counter)
2. Drain, and refill with 7 c of water and the ham.
3. Simmer until beans are tender (about 1-1/4 – 1-1/2 hours)
4. Add the rest of the vegetables, and simmer until they are done, about 20-30 minutes
5. Mash some of the beans with a potato masher if you wish a creamier soup.

Serves: 6

 

The Pretentious Vichyssoise

You’d be shocked to know that a man born and raised in the corn fields of Iowa would love this soup.

It’s true.

And so do I.

And it’s one of the simplest soups to make.

So do yourself a big favor.

You can eat it hot in the winter, and cold in the summer. It tastes wonderful either way.

Get in the kitchen!

INGREDIENTS:

• 3-6 leeks, mostly white but some green is okay, thoroughly washed and cut up roughly.
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 medium potatoes, diced
• 5 c chicken stock
• 1 c cream
• salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Melt butter in a soup pot, and dump in the leeks. Saute on medium until they are softened and tender but not browned.
2. Add the potatoes and stock and simmer for about 30 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender.
3. Remove to a blender in batches, or use an immersion blender and puree.
4. Return to pot and season to taste.
5. Add the cream and stir in.
6. Decorate it with some fresh herbs, chives or parsley are nice, dill would be great in a cold version in the summer.

Serves: 4-6

Eat It and Weep Pasta E Fagioli

One of the only things that I like about winter is it gives me a chance to make and enjoy hearty soups.

This is one of my favorites. I’m a sucker for tomatoes and pasta. This Italian classic found it’s highest calling in a recipe I found in Cook’s Illustrated.

Other than using a bit less water than called for (since I like this soup really thick), it is substantially unchanged.

A can of anchovies is seldom used all at once. Place the unused ones in plastic wrap and a plastic bag and place in the freezer.

Also, parmesan rinds can often be found in grocery stores now (or ask the cheese seller). Get a container of them, use what you need, wrap the rest in plastic and a plastic bag and save in the freezer for use as you need it.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 TBSP olive oil (if using panchetta–if using bacon omit this)
• 4-5 slices panchetta or bacon
• 1 med onion, diced
• 1 rib celery, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, micro-planed
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 anchovy fillets, rinsed and minced
• 1 28-oz can diced tomato
• 1 Parmesan cheese rind
• 2 15-oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed
• 4 c chicken stock
• 1 c water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 c orzo or other small pasta
• 1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped
• grated Parmesan for topping

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Mince the panchetta or bacon and fry up about half way. If there is more than 2 tbsp of oil, pour off.
2. Add the onions and celery and cook for 5-7 minutes or until softened.
3. Add the garlic, oregano, pepper flakes and anchovies, stir for a minute.
4. Add the tomatoes, rind, and beans. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add the stock and water. Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. (You can stop here, if you are like me and love to cook in the morning. Turn it off and let it set until dinner time)
7. Bring back to a boil and add the pasta. Cook at a simmer for 10 minutes.
8. Add the parsley, stir in.
9. Serve it up. Top with fresh grated Parmesan.

Serves: 4

Extravagant? Drizzle some fine olive oil over the bowl!

Related articles

• Pasta e fagioli recipe (telegraph.co.uk)
• Recipe: Pasta e Fagioli – Recipe (nytimes.com)

Hallelujah Tomato Soup

I always get the most creative when it comes to soup.

I guess it’s because soup is forgiving. It takes a lot to screw up soup.

Anyway, I’ve made a lot of tomato soups, and frankly, just kind of did it by what I had, and so forth.

But this one turned out so good, that I figured I better write it down so I would remember the ingredients for the next time.

This is just a perfect meal on a chilly late-fall to winter day. Make it with a toasted cheese sandwich to which you’ve given proper attention (not American cheese on Wonder bread), and you have  a fine satisfying and comforting meal.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 leeks, cleaned and chopped to a small dice
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 2 ribs celery
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 cloves garlic, micro-planed
• 4 cups tomatoes (from cans or fresh)
• 1 tsp salt, more or less depending on whether you are using salted canned tomatoes
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2/3 c dry red wine
• 2 Tbsp fresh flat-leafed parsley
• 1 pt cream

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Saute in your soup pot the veggies, until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and continue until fragrant.
2. Add the tomatoes, seasonings, and wine
3. Cover and simmer on low for an hour.
4. Cool, and then ladle the solids to the blender or food processor and puree.
5. Return to pot and stir in the parsley.
6. Reheat, and take off the heat and add the cream. Warm if necessary.

Serves: 6

NOTE: you can substitute onions for the leeks. I just had them and needed to use them up. I would say a small one. Also, nix the wine if you wish. Or add some chicken stock, if you need more juice. And you may wish to eat it chunky and not puree it at all. As I said, soup is pretty forgiving.

 

Related articles

• Tomato Soup (hortophile.wordpress.com)
• Comfort Soups to Warm Up the Soul (inspiredbyfamilymag.com)