Cauliflower Soup

The other night we were watching America's Test Kitchen and they made this amazing cauliflower soup with pretty much just cauliflower.  It looked amazing.  And it is.  

ingredients:

1 head cauliflower
7 tablespoons unsalted butter (cut into 7 pieces)
1 leek, white and light green parts, halved and sliced thinly
1 small onion, thinly sliced
salt & pepper
4 ¹⁄₂ cups water
¹⁄₂ teaspoon sherry vinegar 
chives

Clean the cauliflower, pull off the leaves and cut out the core.  Trim and slice thinly.  Cut 1 ¹⁄₂ cups florets and reserve for later.  Trim the rest of the cauliflower into 1/2 length cross cuts and divide this portion in half.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter into a 5 quart pan.  Over medium low heat, sauté the onion and leek with 1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons of salt until softened, but not yet browned.  About 7-10 minutes.

Add 4 ¹⁄₂ cups of water and increase heat to high.  Add half of the cauliflower and the core, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Let simmer gently for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, add the rest of the sliced cauliflower and cook an additional 15-20 minutes.

While the soup is simmering for the final 15 minutes, melt the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter in a sauté pan and add the florets.  Sauté over medium heat until the florets and the butter are both browned, about 15 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the florets to a small bowl and toss with vinegar and coarse sea salt, set aside.  Pour browned butter into a small bowl.

Ladle soup into blender and pulse until smooth.  Wipe out your soup pot and return the soup to the pot over a low simmer.  To achieve your desired consistency, you may have to add up to a ¹⁄₂ cup more of water.  To serve, garnish with florets, chives and drizzle with browned butter.

Quick, Easy & Delicious Butternut Squash Soup

I came across this recipe a long time ago, I don't remember where or how, but a few weeks ago I finally decided to make it.  It has quickly become a favorite.  Soup with some grilled cheese "dunkers" and you can't go wrong.  

ingredients: Butternut squash (I buy the pre-cut kind) - 2 cups + 1 diced onion + spices (1 teaspoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon cumin & ¹⁄₂ teaspoon cinnamon) + 1 cup coconut milk + 5 cups water

Heat up some olive oil, add the squash, onions & spices and cook until soft.  (About 5 minutes) Add in the coconut milk & water.  Bring to a boil, turn the heat down and cook for 6-10 minutes until the squash is soft.  Purée with a hand blender.  Taste and add salt - you will need quite a bit (it won't taste good until you get some salt in there!).  Start with a teaspoon and then add as you taste.

Serve with cilantro and some grilled cheese sandwiches!

Serves 4

Recipe adapted from Mark Bittman

Red Lentil Soup with Lemon

The first time I had this soup I wasn't a huge fan, but it was easy and healthy so I made it again.  The second time around I really enjoyed it - it is delicious and very clean tasting.  We serve it with a big salad and some naan or pita bread.

ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil, more for drizzling
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch of ground chili powder or cayenne, more to taste
1 quart vegetable stock
1 cup red lentils
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
Juice of 1/2 lemon, more to taste
Chopped fresh cilantro.

In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over high heat until hot. Add the onion and garlic.  Sauté until golden - about 4 minutes.

Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt, black pepper and chili powder or cayenne, and sauté for 2 minutes longer.

Add stock, 2 cups water, lentils and carrot. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover pot and turn heat to medium-low. Simmer until lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary.

Using an immersion blender, purée half the soup then add it back to pot. Soup should be somewhat chunky.

Reheat soup if necessary, then stir in lemon juice and cilantro. Serve soup drizzled with good olive oil and dusted lightly with chili powder if desired.

Serves 4

From the New York Times , 01/09/2008

Salmon Chowder

We've eaten this chowder twice since Christmas Eve and every time I forget to take a picture.  On this occasion I remembered to take a picture the day after when we were eating the leftovers for lunch. It doesn't do the chowder justice

This is one of those soups that is 1. delicious 2. easy to make and can be mostly made ahead and 3. works for when you need a nice dinner, but don't have a lot of time to cook.  It's a lighter chowder so it won't leave you feeling super heavy and overloaded with milk and cream when you are finished. We've made it for Christmas Eve several years in a row now and everyone loves it! 

Salmon Chowder
Serves: 6

ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₄ pounds salmon
kosher salt
brown sugar
wood chips
16 oz frozen corn
4 slices good quality bacon
1 medium onion, diced
³⁄₄ cup dry white wine
2 cups fish stock
2 teaspoons fresh thyme or ¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried
tabasco sauce
5 medium red potatoes, washed and diced
1 cup whipping cream
2 cups milk (2%)
¹⁄₄ cup fresh chives, minced

For the salmon: Rub the salmon with some kosher salt and brown sugar (there is no magic amount, but you want the salmon to be covered with brown sugar and salt).  Soak the wood chips in water and start the BBQ.  Once the BBQ is nice and hot add the wood chips (we wrap ours in a tin foil pack and place it on the coals).  Cook the salmon until just barely finished (or a little under done) - it will finish cooking in the soup.  When the salmon is cool enough to handle break it into small pieces.  Place the salmon in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the chowder: In a dutch oven or large stock pot cook the bacon, over medium heat, until cooked all the way through.  Remove the bacon and set aside on a plate lined with paper towels.  Pour off some of the grease until you have a thin layer left in the pan. Add the onion and cook until soft, but not browning, about 5-7 minutes. Add the wine and boil over medium heat-high heat until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.  Add the fish stock, thyme and a dash of tabasco.  Bring to a simmer.  Add the potatoes, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender when pierced with a fork, about 8 minutes. Add the corn, salmon, cream and milk (Be careful not to boil the chowder once you've added the milk or it might curdle) .  Cook until the corn is almost tender, but still crunchy, about 3-5 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately, garnished with bacon and chives.

Note: smoking the salmon on the BBQ is preferred, but if you are pressed for time or don't have a BBQ baking the salmon in the oven is fine.

To make ahead: Prepare the salmon per directions above.  You can make the chowder several hours ahead up to the point of adding the corn, salmon, cream and milk.  Do this last step right before you are ready to serve.

Vegetable Stock

In an effort to eat less meat and more vegetables we purchased a cookbook from this vegetarian restaurant, in Madison Park, called Cafe Flora.  Included in the book is this recipe, which is more like a guide, to making vegetable stock.  And it is nothing like the vegetable stock you purchase at the store.  It has lots of flavor.  And the best part is....it's basically free.  You just freeze all of your vegetable scraps until you have enough to make about 16 cups of stock.

Before I get to the ingredients there are some general guidelines:

1.  If you're using organic vegetables you don't need to peel them
2.  If you can't find fresh herbs, just leave them out
3.  Use all of the scraps, the mushroom stems, the onion peel, etc....
4.  Don't use any strong flavored vegetables (such as peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage or cilantro) or anything with a distinct color (such as beets) - I tend to stick with carrots, celery, mushrooms & onions
5.  Mushrooms are a must, the more, the better. They give the stock a really good flavor.
6.  Freeze the stock in the amounts you want to use i.e. I freeze mine in 2 cup containers

Ingredients:

1 gallon bag of frozen vegetables
6 garlic cloves, slightly smashed
Sprigs of rosemary
Sprigs of thyme
Sprigs of oregano
2 bay leaves
2 potatoes
Little bit of salt

Put all of the ingredients into a large pot.  Cover with 4¹⁄₂ quarts of water and add a bit of salt.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat and then simmer uncovered for 1 hour.

Makes about 16 cups.

Adapted from Catherine Geier's, CAFE FLORA COOKBOOK

Udon Chicken Noodle Soup

With L being in preschool our family has not gone longer than 4 weeks without someone having a cold.  With preschool ending soon I am hopeful that this will be our last round of colds until September.  However, I had this same thought a month ago and here we again eating our favorite "cure for the common cold" soup!  Go ahead and double the soup as you'll want to have leftovers!

Ingredients:

2-¹⁄₂ Tbs. canola oil
2 small boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about ³⁄₄ lb.), butterflied (cut horizontally almost all the way through and then opened like a book)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 medium shallots (about 4 oz.), peeled and thinly sliced into rings
2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed, outer layers discarded, halved lengthwise, and smashed with the side of a chef’s knife
1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
2 tsp. packed light brown sugar
5-¹⁄₂ cups lower-salt chicken broth
3-¹⁄₂ oz. crimini mushrooms, stemmed and quartered (1-¹⁄₂ cups)
9 oz. fresh, or dried, udon noodles
1 Thai bird chile (or 1 small serrano pepper), sliced into thin rings
8 large fresh torn basil leaves; plus sprigs for garnish
1 medium lime, half juiced and half cut into wedges
1 Tbs. soy sauce; more to taste
Garnish:
2 medium scallions, trimmed and sliced
1 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks
¹⁄₂ cup fresh cilantro leaves

Heat 1-¹⁄₂ Tbs. of the oil in a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering hot. Season the chicken with ¹⁄₂ tsp. each salt and pepper, and cook without disturbing until it’s browned and releases easily from the bottom of the pot, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until the second side is browned and almost firm to the touch (just short of cooked through), 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board to cool.  If short on time you can make the soup while the chicken is cooking in the oven.

Add the remaining 1 Tbs. oil and the shallots to the pot. Sprinkle with ¹⁄₄ tsp. salt, reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring, until the shallots start soften, about 2 minutes. Add the lemongrass, ginger, and brown sugar and cook, stirring, until the ginger and lemongrass sizzle and become fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, and raise the heat to medium high. Bring the broth to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Add the mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 5 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook the noodles according to the package directions.

Use your fingers or the tines of a fork to shred the chicken. Add the chicken to the broth and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Discard the lemongrass. Stir in the torn basil, lime juice, and soy sauce. Divide the noodles among 4 large, deep bowls. Ladle the soup over the noodles, and garnish with the basil sprigs and scallions, chile, carrot, and cilantro, if using. Serve with the lime wedges for squeezing and more soy sauce to taste.

*This soup is also a great for shredded, leftover roast chicken in place of the chicken breast. Just add it to the soup along with the chiles, basil, lime juice, and soy sauce.

Serves 4

Adapted from Fine Cooking 

Issue 104

Multi-Bean Chili

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ¹⁄₂ cups chopped onion
1 green bell pepper - cored, seeded and chopped
1 red or yellow bell pepper - cored, seeded and chopped
¹⁄₂ lb lean, ground beef (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried oregano
¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried basil
Dash cayenne
2 cans (14 ounces each) chicken or vegetable broth
3 Roma tomatoes - seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cans (15 ounces each) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans (15 ounces each) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 ounces) white cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
Garnish:
chopped Cilantro
grated Cheddar cheese
1 avocado
sour cream
tortilla chips

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven, or other large pot, over medium heat.  Add the onion, bell peppers and garlic. Sauté until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, oregano, basil and cayenne and cook 2 minutes longer - stirring constantly to evenly coat the vegetables with the spices.  *Add the ground beef and cook for several minutes until no longer pink - stirring to mix it with all of the vegetables and spices.  Stir in the broth, tomatoes, mustard and Worcestershire and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add the beans and cook until heated through - about 10 minutes longer.  Add garnish and serve.

The chili can be made up to 2 days in advance and slowly reheated before serving.

*The beef we use is lean (16%), grass fed and renders very little fat.  If you need to - cook the beef first, remove the meat, spoon off most of the fat,  cook the vegetables and then add the meat back in.

Recipe adapted from The Junior League of Seattle's Celebrate the Rain.