Showing posts with label soup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label soup. Show all posts

Sunday, September 24, 2017

Roasted Pumpkin Apple Bacon Soup

Nothing beats roasted pumpkin soup on a chilly fall day. Add some bacon, ginger and green apple for a warm, bright bowl of goodness your whole family will love.

Food Lust People Love: Roasted Pumpkin Apple Bacon Soup. Nothing beats roasted pumpkin soup on a chilly fall day. Add some bacon, ginger and green apple for a warm, bright bowl of goodness your whole family will love.

It’s never really winter here in Dubai so when we get a day that is grey and looks like it is threatening to rain (although honestly, it hardly ever does) that is what I call a soup day. Today it’s pumpkin soup since I am trying hard to channel autumn.

Roasted Pumpkin Apple Bacon Soup


This makes two large, very, very thick bowls of soup. This recipe is easily multiplied to serve more.

Ingredients
600g or 1 1/3 pounds fresh pumpkin
2 slices or rashers of bacon (streaky) (optional)
2 cups or 480ml stock (chicken or vegetable)
1/2 small onion
1 medium carrot
1 green apple
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Small knob young ginger
4 cloves garlic
20g or 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter
Olive oil
Sea salt
Black pepper

Optional, to serve: Drizzle of cream

Method
Preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C. Clean the seeds and fibers out of your pumpkin.

Cut it in pieces so it will roast faster. Trim the bottom a little, if necessary, to make it stand up properly. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.


Roast the pumpkin for 40-50 minutes or until a fork goes in easily. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle.


Meanwhile, if using, chop your bacon into little strips. Fry with a little olive oil over a medium fire.


Peel the vegetables then chop your onion, carrot and garlic and ginger.


Add to the bacon and sauté until softened, adding another couple of glugs of olive oil. Put the lid on and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little water if it starts to dry out.

Put one teaspoon of lemon juice in a small bowl. Peel, core and chop the apple and mix it around in the lemon juice.


Add the apple to the pot. Stir everything around and pop the lid back. Cook on medium, adding water occasionally if it starts to catch.


Once you are able to hold your pumpkin, scrape the flesh out of the skin.

Add the butter to the pot and then add the pumpkin.


Add the stock and give the pot a whisk.


Carefully ladle and then pour everything in to a blender. Make sure not to overfill the blender. You may have to do this in batches. Blend until smooth.  Return to the pot and check the seasoning. Add salt, if necessary, and a couple of good grinds of black pepper.


Serve with a drizzle of cream and hot buttered toast.

Enjoy!

Check out all the great easy pumpkin recipes my Sunday Supper group are sharing today!

Meals, Sides, and Snacks

Delectable Desserts


 Pin it!

Food Lust People Love: Roasted Pumpkin Apple Bacon Soup. Nothing beats roasted pumpkin soup on a chilly fall day. Add some bacon, ginger and green apple for a warm, bright bowl of goodness your whole family will love.
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Sunday, May 1, 2016

Jean's Best Vegetable Soup

A rich beef broth is flavored with crushed tomatoes and a selection of vegetables. Jean’s Best Vegetable Soup will sustain you through good times and bad. It’s nutritious and filling in the best possible way. 

At the first sign of a cold front in the fall, my mom would say, “Ooooh, vegetable soup weather!” and the big soup pot would be extracted from its home right at the back of the cupboard. Some beefy bones would be put in, well covered with water, to simmer for several hours. Vegetables were chopped and diced, ready for adding in later. The steamy kitchen was a warm place to gather, waiting for that first bowl of savory, strengthening soup. I would have to put it up near the top of the list of my mom’s favorite things to eat, along with potatoes (which are in the soup too) and smothered pork chops.

While I looked forward to the vegetable soup too, I had reservations. If you’ve read my recipe post for browned butter braised baby turnips, you’ll understand. In a nutshell, it was hard to get too enthusiastic about soup that also had bitter turnips, which I detested, masquerading as innocent potatoes.

Since our Sunday Supper family is sharing Mom’s Favorite Recipes today, and I’m over my turnip phobia, I thought it was time to make the soup and make it right, turnips and all.

A while back, my mom sent me her recipe. Here is the ingredient list, in her own words. I’ve added the weights and measures as a guide. That said, know that you can vary the vegetables and amounts to your taste so don’t get too hung up on what each ingredient weighs.

Mom starts by saying, throw in some beef bones if you can find some and let them boil away before you add your ribs. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my hands on any beef bones so my method starts with browning the short ribs for more flavor.

Ingredients

  • Olive oil – my addition, for browning the short ribs
  • beef short ribs - 2 lbs 5 1/2 oz or 1.065kg
  • a little tomato sauce for color (not too much)
    (this is a vegetable soup, not an Italian soup, ha!) - 2 tablespoons
  • small can of crushed tomatoes - 14oz or 400g 
  • small onion – 3 oz or 85g
  • small bell pepper  - 4 oz or 115g
  • small stem of celery - 1 3/4 oz or 50g
  • potatoes – 5 medium or about 1+lbs or 500g
  • turnips (just enough to frighten the poor soul who doesn't like turnips) – 3 medium - I totally forgot to weigh these.
  • carrots  - 2 large - 9 1/2 oz or 270g
  • mixed frozen veggies - 1 3/4 cups or 225g
  • small amount of cabbage – 5 1/3 oz or 150g
  • SOMETIMES I will put in zucchini  -  6 small - 9 1/2 oz or 270g
  • SOMETIMES I will put in cauliflower if I have some on hand.        
  • SOMETIMES I will put in yellow squash - I didn't have either

Note: Fresh or frozen veggies are better than canned.



Method
Brown short ribs on all sides in a little olive oil over a high heat in your largest soup pot.



Remove the browned meat from the pot and set aside.



Finely chop your onion, bell pepper and celery.  Sauté them in the oil left behind from the fatty short ribs, till softened. Scrape up all the sticky goodness from the meat into the vegetables.



Add meat back in, along with the crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce. Add water to cover more than twice the depth of the beef.



Bring to the boil then put a tight fitting lid on the pot and simmer for three or four hours.

Peel and chop the carrots and potatoes. Peel turnips but leave them whole so you can find them again. It’s all very well to eat them, but I still don’t like to be surprised. If you love turnips, you can cut them, of course.

Add in the potatoes, carrots and turnips, along with the frozen vegetables.

Oddly, the turnips are the only things that float initially. They probably aren't witches though. Probably.


Bring to a slow boil, cover and simmer again for an hour or so.

If a lot of fat from the short ribs has risen to the top, you might want to skim some off with a spoon.

About half an hour before you are serving, thinly slice cabbage and cut zucchini into chunks. Add them to the soup.



When the zucchini is cooked to your liking, Jean's best vegetable soup is done. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.


Enjoy! In our family, we'd also add a shake or two of some Louisiana hot sauce to each bowl at the table.



Has your mother passed down a special recipe to you or is there something special you always make for her? These are Mom's Favorite Recipes from my Sunday Supper family.

Many thanks to Christie of A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures and Wendy of Wholistic Woman for hosting!

Starters (Appetizers, Beverages, Breakfast)
Salads, Side Dishes, and Sauces
Main Dishes
Desserts


And it wasn't half bad. 


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Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Okie Peasant Potato Soup #BloggerCLUE


This creamy thick potato soup, seasoned with shallot, garlic and bacon, is sure to warm body and soul on a cold winter’s day. 

One of my favorite days of the month is here – it’s Blogger C.L.U.E. Society reveal day when I get to tell you the clue we were assigned this month – soups and stews - and which blog I’ve been poking around in – the wonderful Eliot’s Eats! I’ve been getting Debra’s recipe posts in my inbox for a very long time, although I am terrible about commenting, so she may not even know that. I just checked the “read” emails in my inbox and this is the weirdest thing but the very first one was from the day I signed up - a message to confirm my subscription – on February 10, 2013! Isn’t that a wild coincidence! It’s our anniversary! Three years of delicious recipes from Eliot's Eats in my inbox!

Proof! Not that you didn't believe me but only because I hardly believe it myself! February 10th! 


I have to tell you that I didn’t even get around to a search for stews because I was bookmarking so many soups to make that I knew the choice was going to be hard enough. Check out the Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup that may have won Debra’s husband’s heart or this spicy Furious Five-Spice Noodle Soup with an Asian flair.  I was also loving the way Debra has turned favorite non-soup dishes into soup like these pizza and enchiladas ones. I mean, sometimes you want pizza or enchiladas but sometimes a body just needs soup.  Can I get an amen?

Those of you in the cold areas of the world right now are going to laugh in my face when I tell you that Dubai is cold when we are only talking the late 40s°F (<10°C) at night but remember that we have no heating whatsoever. These tile floors, thick walls and reflective windows are designed to keep us cool during the extraordinary heat of summer but they make it really chilly indoors during the wintertime. Plus I don't seem to own the right clothes. What I needed was a thick, comforting soup so I finally settled on Debra’s mom’s Okie Peasant Potato Soup because it starts with bacon and ends with cheese, and what could be more perfect than that?

Ingredients - Makes about 6 servings.
6 slices bacon
1 1/2 lbs or 680g red potatoes
1 large carrot
1 small shallot (Debra used dried shallots but I don't have any of those.)
3 cups or 710ml chicken broth
3 tablespoons bacon fat
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups or 710ml low fat (but not skim) milk
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Grated cheddar to serve

Method
Cook your bacon until crispy and drain on some paper towels. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat. Chop the bacon with a sharp knife and set aside. I also set aside just a little for use as garnish when serving. I left it pretty chunky.



Cube your potatoes, leaving the peels on. Peel and dice your carrot.



Peel and mince your shallot and garlic clove.

Put one tablespoon of bacon fat in a large pot with the minced shallot and sauté until translucent. Add in the potatoes, carrots and chicken broth and bring to a boil.

Cook until carrots and potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.

In another saucepan, heat the rest of the bacon fat and lightly sauté your garlic. You don’t want it to brown and turn bitter, but just to soften. Add the flour and whisk until mixture bubbles to cook the flour.



Carefully whisk in milk to make a sauce.


Cook for a few more minutes until the white sauce thickens a little and then remove from the heat.



Use a firm whisk to add the sauce into the potato pot.  Some of the potatoes should break up a bit, thickening the soup even more but make sure to leave some chunks too.



Add in the crispy bacon bits. Cook for a few more minutes and then taste your soup. Add salt if it needs any and few generous grinds of fresh black pepper.



Ladle into warm bowls. Sprinkle on some cheddar cheese (and bacon if you saved some) to serve. And, yes, that's just a little more black pepper. I love that stuff.


Enjoy!


The Blogger C.L.U.E. Society - February 2016 participants



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Sunday, August 23, 2015

Pork Prawn Wonton Soup


Well-seasoned pork and prawn parcels are boiled in rich pork broth for a deliciously warming wonton soup, a favorite of locals and visitors alike in Singapore. The added green vegetables make this a full meal.

I’ve been traveling to Singapore rather regularly since 1981 when my father moved to Jakarta and it was a convenient stopover on a very long trip from the United States. (And if you've read my About me, you know I've had my own homes there as well.) One of my favorite childhood friends lived there with her parents and, if they were in residence when I was coming through, I was welcomed into their home like a second daughter. During our teenage years, her mother was at a loss to connect with her obstreperous daughter so I think my visits came as a relief, finally, a young person who would actually converse with her without raised voices and animosity. I’m pleased to say that my friend came around when she gave birth to her first daughter and her mother was once again raised to oracle status - Woman Who Knows All. Singapore was safe, even back then, and we were allowed to roam free, taking taxis and buses into all the seedy corners of the little city-state, eating at scruffy outdoor stalls, enjoying the spectacle on Bugis Street and drinking chilled Tiger beer.

One of my favorite breakfasts – yes, breakfasts, as folks in Southeast Asia tend to eat noodle soups for their morning meal as well as lunch or dinner – was wonton soup. The tender wonton skins are filled with a mixture of pork and prawns (or sometimes just pork) with seasonings and boiled in a rich pork stock, then topped with shredded vegetables. Sprinkle in some chili peppers and another dash of soy sauce and you’ve got yourself a filling bowl of savory goodness. To make the dish even more filling, often extra fresh egg noodles are added in addition to the wontons. This is a dish that turns up on our family table fairly often. Try it and you’ll see why.

This week, my Sunday Supper family are taking a virtual Asian foodie holiday and sharing Asian dishes.  This great event is hosted by Amy of kimchi MOM, whose photos cause me to drool every time I read her blog. Make sure you scroll down past my recipe to see all the great Asian-inspired dishes we have for you today.

Ingredients
For the wontons:
12 1/2 oz or 355g ground or minced pork (not too lean)
4 3/4 oz or 135g, peeled and clean, prawns or shrimp 
1 medium bunch green onions (Some will go in the soup.)
Generous 2 in or 5 cm piece fresh ginger (Some will go in the soup.)
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1 egg white
1 teaspoon salt
1 red chili pepper (optional)
50 fresh wonton skins (These are sold in most Asian markets. If you can’t find them fresh in the refrigerated section, ask for help. If turnover isn’t great, they are often put in the freezer to extend their shelf life. Just thaw in the package and use as fresh.)

For the soup:
2 1/2 quarts or 2.4 liters pork broth or stock
Fresh ginger
Green onions
1 red chili pepper (optional)
Assorted green vegetables, thinly sliced or shredded – cabbage, lettuce, asparagus, snow peas, etc.
Soy sauce to taste

Method
Peel your ginger and slice half into thin sticks for the soup and mince the other half finely for the wonton filling. Chop your red chili peppers, if using, and divide the pile in three. Two bigger ones for the pork and broth, a little one for garnish. Cut half of the green onions into 1 inch or 2cm pieces for the soup and chop the rest finely for the wonton filling and set a couple of teaspoons aside for garnish.




Finely shred or thinly slice your extra vegetables for serving with the soup.



Put the stock on the stove and simmer slowly with the sticks of ginger, the long pieces of green onion and one of the bigger piles of chopped red chili pepper, if using.

Use a sharp knife to finely mince your peeled and cleaned prawns or shrimp. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine your ground pork and minced prawns with the minced green onions, ginger and minced red pepper, if using, along with the Chinese wine, sesame oil, sugar, egg white and salt.

Mix very thoroughly to combine.



Line a clean plate with cling film and set aside.

Take six wonton skins out of the pack at a time, keeping the rest covered with a damp cloth to keep them from drying out. Lay them out on a clean work surface and brush each a pastry brush dipped in cold water.

Add a scant teaspoon of the meat mixture and start folding the wonton skins in, first from the bottom corner to the top, then the sides and finally fold the top down, to create a little package.



Place your wontons on the lined plate and repeat the process until all the pork/prawn mixture is finished or you run out of wonton skins. If you need a second layer on your plate, cover the first with cling film.


(If you have extra wonton skins, you can cut them into pieces and boil with the wontons and serve. If you have a little extra filling mixture, it can be added to the simmering broth and whisked to break it up into little flavorful bits.)

If you are serving everyone at the same time and won’t have any leftovers, you can now put all the wontons in your broth and turn the heat up to a gentle boil. Add the vegetables just before serving so that they are just cooked but still crunchy.

If you know that you will have leftovers, you don’t want to add the wontons to the broth because they will continued to suck up your broth as they sit overnight in the refrigerator, getting mushy in the process. So, use a metal strainer submerged in the broth to cook several at a time.

Add a few shredded vegetables when the wontons are cooked through and you are almost ready to serve up that bowl. Cook them for just a couple of minutes.



Pour the contents of the strainer into a bowl and top with more broth. Garnish the soup with some green onions, sticks of ginger and red chili peppers. Serve with soy sauce, allowing each person to add a drizzle to suit his or her taste.



Enjoy!



Here's the whole round up of Sunday Supper's Asian recipes!

Small Bites
Soupy Goodness
Big Plates
On the Lighter Side
Cheers!
Oodles of Noodles


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Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Egg Drop Soup #FoodieExtravaganza


This simple nutrition-packed soup is full of the goodness of chicken stock and fragrant ginger with the added flavor and protein of eggs. It’s great as both a starter and a main meal and will cure what ails you.

This month my Foodie Extravaganza group is celebrating the humble egg, a great source of protein in a little self-contained package. Eggs may well be one of the most versatile of all ingredients, working well in savory as well as sweet dishes, adding rise to baked goods, richness to sauces and cohesiveness to mixtures like meatloaves, quiches and nut pies. Many thanks to our host this month, Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm, where hens roam free and the eggs are always fresh!

Eggs, unwashed, can be stored at room temperature because nature protects them with a natural film that keeps out bacteria. Washed eggs, like most of the ones we buy in a grocery store, should be kept in a refrigerator.

Ingredients - Serves four as an appetizer or two for a light dinner
For the soup base
4 cups or 945ml chicken stock (Substitute vegetable stock for a vegetarian soup.)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger
3-4 spring onions, white bulb ends only

For the egg drop:
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Optional add-ons:
Cooked rice
Corn niblets

To serve:
Soy sauce to taste
Drizzle sesame oil
3-4 spring onions, green tops only
Sprinkle fresh ground black pepper

Method
Slice your ginger into five or six thick pieces. Cut your green onions and separate the mostly green bits from the mostly white bits.



Heat your chicken broth with the ginger over medium heat so it comes to a boil slowly, allowing the ginger time to steep. Once it comes to a boil, turn it down a little, add in the white onion tops and let it gently cook for about 10 minutes.



Fish out the ginger pieces. Make a slurry out of a little cold water and the cornstarch and add it in slowly, while whisking quickly. Cook for a few minutes until the soup starts to thicken.

Meanwhile, whisk your eggs with the teaspoon of cornstarch. Add in the sesame oil and whisk again.



Stir the hot soup to get it moving in a circle and then slowly, slowly add the egg in the smallest stream you can manage, so it starts cooking as soon as it hits the hot broth, making ribbons of egg.

Stop and start the pouring, stirring gently in a circular fashion between pourings and allowing the soup to heat up again, until all the egg is in the pot.



Serve the soup in bowls with soy sauce, sesame oil, a sprinkle of the green onion tops and some freshly ground black pepper.


Additional note:
It’s not traditional at all, but I added in a small can of steamed (not creamed!) corn at the end and served the soup over a little hot cooked rice for an even more filling meal. The photos do not reflect this last minute decision but I can tell you that it was a good one.

Enjoy!



Are you a fan of the incredible edible egg? Check out the great egg-centric dishes we have for you today!



Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays or cook and bake together with the same ingredient or theme each month. This month we celebrate National Egg Day on June 3rd by serving up egg dishes of all kinds.

Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to participate in the next Foodie Extravaganza, just go to our Facebook page to join. We would love to have you!

Follow our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest board for past events and more deliciousness!



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