Last night's soup was a new one for us. I've made variations of tortilla soup before, adding this and that to a pot, then stirring in some tortillas or chips and calling it tortilla soup. I've never actually followed a recipe for tortilla soup, though. Until yesterday. I was looking through my soup recipes, really looking for one that used all on-hand ingredients, but also looking for something my kids would eat. I'd originally planned to make a homemade chicken and stars, but that just wasn't sounding great to me. I passed by the tortilla soups a few times, assuming they'd be spicy, but then I went back to them, and I was surprised to find I had everything on hand for one of the recipes.
This tortilla soup is fondly known to the folks at the CLBB as RebeccaT's Tortilla Soup. She was the one who first shared it, and ever since then, so many people have made it and added it to their soup repertoirs. It was about time I did the same. I made one major change to the soup, and that was that I didn't use the chicken called for. Instead, I slowly braised some pork I had in the freezer until it was fork tender, and added that to the soup. In addition, I added a can of corn to the pot to appeal to the kids, and then I added a squeeze of lime at the table.
Can I just say that this soup was a real wow for me! It was delicious and hearty without being overly so. It was perfect with some homemade bread and I can't believe I haven't made it sooner. I have to say though, that I cannot imagine this soup being as good with chicken as it was with pork. The pork melded with the cilantro and spices so beautifully, that I'll probably never try it with the chicken. On a side note, to make this a vegetarian soup you could use a vegetable broth, and instead of the meat, I think I would use navy beans- something white anyway. A leafy green like spinach could stand up to the soup as well, and I would consider that addition as well.
Tortilla Soup
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 corn tortillas -- chopped
6 garlic cloves -- minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 medium onion -- chopped
1 can diced tomatoes -- (28 oz) undrained
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 bay leaves
6 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cooked chicken breast halves -- shredded (about 2 cups) (Or cooked and shredded pork)
Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat.
Add tortillas, garlic, cilantro, and onion. Saute 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes. Bring to a boil and add cumin, chili powder, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Return to a boil. Reduce heat. Add salt and cayenne. Simmer 30 minutes.
Remove bay leaves and stir in chicken. Reheat.
Garnish with monterey jack, avocado, sour cream, tortilla strips and a squeeze of lime
Showing posts with label Soup of The Week. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soup of The Week. Show all posts
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Soup of The Week: Can't Win 'Em All
This week's soup was another one that I've had on my radar for forever. See, I use the computer program Mastercook to organize a lot of my recipes. I put a lot of them into the program, but mostly I use it to import recipes I see online that pique my interest. And then, of course, I tend to forget about them. Not so with my new soup revolution, slowly we're making our way through the pile, and this week's was something a little different for us.
Autumn Harvest Red Lentil Soup caught my eye initially because of the red lentils. I've never cooked with them, but I've wanted to. The combination of vegetables also intrigued me, and I couldn't recollect having a similar soup before. I picked up the red lentils on a recent shopping trip, and since I had everything else on hand, this was the soup of the week. As I started putting the soup together, I was faced with a few minor decisions, and also a wonderful aroma from the stove.
My first decision came with the second ingredient, 5 1/2 cups of water. Water? I wanted this soup to be full of flavor, and while I'm sure the creator knew what she was doing, I have a beautiful veggie stock in the freezer, and I decided to use that instead. I ended up using 4 cups of veggie stock and 2 cups of water, since the stock was a little concentrated. The soup began with cooking the lentils in water-or in my case, the stock. Oh how disappointed I was to check on the lentils later only to discover they'd lost their beautiful red color! Meanwhile, a second pot had been readied for simmering the vegetables to soften. When I added the cumin and coriander, a fabulous scent wafted up and totally permeated the entire house. I thought briefly of using whole seeds and toasting them, but then decided to just use the ground spices. In retrospect, I really wonder how that toasting would enhance the flavor of the soup.
The lentils were then pureed with my immersion blender. As I continued adding vegetables to the simmering pot, I found that I did not have the parsnip called for. So instead I added an extra carrot, and then, when digging for that carrot, I found a few lonely radishes, and decided they would match that turnip texture wise, and flavor wise since they were on the sweet side. So those went in as well. Once the vegetables were softened, I added them to the pureed lentils and gave them a few minutes to combine flavors. A little seasoning went in, as well as a splash of lemon juice and a few handfuls of baby spinach leaves.
The soup was lovely, the color was fantastic, and I thought it tasted great- like no soup we'd had before, and I loved that. I portioned out about half of the soup to send to my parents for dinner- they'd been travelling home in less that stellar conditions, and thought they'd appreciate a pot of warm soup when they arrived home. (They certainly did.) I was excited for dinner that night, and as my family gazed into their bowls, I knew this was going to tank. The kids took a bite or two, and then spent the rest of the meal dunking crackers in and nibbling on their muffins. Andy didn't finish his bowl either- he thought the soup was much too sweet for his tastes. And it was sweet- that butternut squash I'd used was so sweet! But I loved the soup! Sadly, I will probably not be making it again, unless Andy goes out of town sometime and I have a hankering.
One note on the ingredients. Don't skimp on the coriander. Leave things in and out according to your tastes, but the coriander really was the essential ingredient. It added a floral-citrusy note that even the lemon juice could not match. In fact, my parents called later on to ask what the dominant spice was, because it really made the soup what it was.
Autumn Harvest Red Lentil Soup
Recipe By The Healthy Hedonist, Myra Kornfeld
1 cup red lentils -- sorted and rinsed
5 1/2 cups water
1 bay leaf
Salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 onions -- cut into small dice (2 cups)
4 garlic cloves -- minced
One 2-inch piece fresh ginger -- minced
2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 pound butternut squash -- cut into 1/2-inch dice (2 cups)
1 parsnip -- cut into 1/2-inch dice (1/2 cup)
2 carrots -- cut into 1/2-inch dice (1 cup)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 pound spinach -- stemmed, washed, and torn into bite-size pieces or one 5-ounce bag baby spinach, rinsed
Cayenne pepper
Combine the lentils, 4 cups of the water, the bay leaf, and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.
Discard the bay leaf, and purée the lentils with an immersion blender or in a standing blender. (If you want a little texture, you can simply whisk the lentils until creamy.) Set the lentils aside.
Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions and sauté until they are softened, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, cumin, and coriander, and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the squash, parsnips, carrots, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the remaining 1 1/2 cups water. Cover and simmer until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.
Stir the lemon juice and spinach into the lentils. The heat will immediately wilt the spinach. Add the vegetables and simmer for 5 minutes to marry the flavors. Season with a generous pinch of cayenne. Taste and add salt if necessary. Serve hot.
Makes 4 generous servings.
Autumn Harvest Red Lentil Soup caught my eye initially because of the red lentils. I've never cooked with them, but I've wanted to. The combination of vegetables also intrigued me, and I couldn't recollect having a similar soup before. I picked up the red lentils on a recent shopping trip, and since I had everything else on hand, this was the soup of the week. As I started putting the soup together, I was faced with a few minor decisions, and also a wonderful aroma from the stove.
My first decision came with the second ingredient, 5 1/2 cups of water. Water? I wanted this soup to be full of flavor, and while I'm sure the creator knew what she was doing, I have a beautiful veggie stock in the freezer, and I decided to use that instead. I ended up using 4 cups of veggie stock and 2 cups of water, since the stock was a little concentrated. The soup began with cooking the lentils in water-or in my case, the stock. Oh how disappointed I was to check on the lentils later only to discover they'd lost their beautiful red color! Meanwhile, a second pot had been readied for simmering the vegetables to soften. When I added the cumin and coriander, a fabulous scent wafted up and totally permeated the entire house. I thought briefly of using whole seeds and toasting them, but then decided to just use the ground spices. In retrospect, I really wonder how that toasting would enhance the flavor of the soup.
The lentils were then pureed with my immersion blender. As I continued adding vegetables to the simmering pot, I found that I did not have the parsnip called for. So instead I added an extra carrot, and then, when digging for that carrot, I found a few lonely radishes, and decided they would match that turnip texture wise, and flavor wise since they were on the sweet side. So those went in as well. Once the vegetables were softened, I added them to the pureed lentils and gave them a few minutes to combine flavors. A little seasoning went in, as well as a splash of lemon juice and a few handfuls of baby spinach leaves.
The soup was lovely, the color was fantastic, and I thought it tasted great- like no soup we'd had before, and I loved that. I portioned out about half of the soup to send to my parents for dinner- they'd been travelling home in less that stellar conditions, and thought they'd appreciate a pot of warm soup when they arrived home. (They certainly did.) I was excited for dinner that night, and as my family gazed into their bowls, I knew this was going to tank. The kids took a bite or two, and then spent the rest of the meal dunking crackers in and nibbling on their muffins. Andy didn't finish his bowl either- he thought the soup was much too sweet for his tastes. And it was sweet- that butternut squash I'd used was so sweet! But I loved the soup! Sadly, I will probably not be making it again, unless Andy goes out of town sometime and I have a hankering.
One note on the ingredients. Don't skimp on the coriander. Leave things in and out according to your tastes, but the coriander really was the essential ingredient. It added a floral-citrusy note that even the lemon juice could not match. In fact, my parents called later on to ask what the dominant spice was, because it really made the soup what it was.
Autumn Harvest Red Lentil Soup
Recipe By The Healthy Hedonist, Myra Kornfeld
1 cup red lentils -- sorted and rinsed
5 1/2 cups water
1 bay leaf
Salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 onions -- cut into small dice (2 cups)
4 garlic cloves -- minced
One 2-inch piece fresh ginger -- minced
2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 pound butternut squash -- cut into 1/2-inch dice (2 cups)
1 parsnip -- cut into 1/2-inch dice (1/2 cup)
2 carrots -- cut into 1/2-inch dice (1 cup)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 pound spinach -- stemmed, washed, and torn into bite-size pieces or one 5-ounce bag baby spinach, rinsed
Cayenne pepper
Combine the lentils, 4 cups of the water, the bay leaf, and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.
Discard the bay leaf, and purée the lentils with an immersion blender or in a standing blender. (If you want a little texture, you can simply whisk the lentils until creamy.) Set the lentils aside.
Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions and sauté until they are softened, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, cumin, and coriander, and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the squash, parsnips, carrots, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the remaining 1 1/2 cups water. Cover and simmer until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.
Stir the lemon juice and spinach into the lentils. The heat will immediately wilt the spinach. Add the vegetables and simmer for 5 minutes to marry the flavors. Season with a generous pinch of cayenne. Taste and add salt if necessary. Serve hot.
Makes 4 generous servings.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Soup of The Week Times Two
This past Sunday for Sunday Company Dinner we had a soup night. It was really fun to do, each person brought a pot of soup, and I made some homemade bread to accompany. I, of course, had to make two pots of soup because I like to overdo it. Overall though we ended up with five pots of very different soup. We had a ham and bean soup, a beer-cheese soup, tomato and white bean, cheeseburger, and a chicken and rice with apples in it. Each one was very good, and I made sure I sampled each and every one, as I am always looking for a new variation on soup.
I went back and forth on what I was going to make. I knew I was going to make a tomato soup of some kind. One of our guests has food allergies, so number one I needed to make something they could eat, and the tomato fit the bill perfectly. Then I also needed a soup that I thought the kids would go for, so I decided on a cheeseburger soup.
For the tomato soup I ended up choosing a Cooking Light recipe for Tomato and White Bean soup, and found a surprising new favorite for the kids. They actually chose the tomato soup over the cheeseburger, so that's definitely going in the tried and true files. It is a very nice, clean tomato soup. It also reheated wonderfully and we enjoyed it just as much last night with some quesadillas on the side.
For the cheeseburger soup, I normally just throw things into the pot I'm afraid. I do have one version in the Recipe Trove that I make when I have leftover Cheddar Meat Loaves. I really like that one, but was missing many of the ingredients. So I went searching through my Mastercook cookbooks and found one that I'd pasted in some time ago. I had all the ingredients, and it looked easy enough to double- which I needed to do. As it turns out, this recipe was from fellow blogger Sweetnicks, and boy, does she make a mean cheeseburger soup! It was excellent, creamy and cheesy and full of flavor. This was a huge hit and is also going into the files as Another Cheeseburger Soup. Definitely a repeater here, this soup was perfect with a chunk of nice crusty bread to scrape the bottom of the bowl. Yum!
I'll post both soups below, because they are both just so good! On tap for tomorrow is a post I've been thinking of doing for some time. It's a post from the heart about the pleasures of cooking, and why I do it, so come back for that, and maybe another recipe or two.
Another Cheeseburger Soup
recipe shared by Sweetnicks
1/2 lb browned ground beef
4 cups diced potatoes
3/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup shredded carrots
8 oz Velveeta
3/4 cup diced celery
1 1/2 cup milk
1 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup sour cream
Saute onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 T butter for about 10 minutes. Add broth, potatoes and hamburger. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10-12 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt about 3 T butter. Add flour and cook, stirring, for about 3-5 minutes or until bubbly. Add to soup. Bring to boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.
Tomato And White Bean Soup
from Cooking Light Magazine, October, 1997
Serving Size : 4
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves -- crushed
2 cans no-salt-added whole tomatoes -- (14.5-ounce) undrained and chopped
2 cans white beans -- (16-ounce) drained
1 can fat-free chicken broth -- (14 1/2-ounce)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add tomatoes and next 5 ingredients (tomatoes through pepper), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls, and sprinkle with cheese.
I went back and forth on what I was going to make. I knew I was going to make a tomato soup of some kind. One of our guests has food allergies, so number one I needed to make something they could eat, and the tomato fit the bill perfectly. Then I also needed a soup that I thought the kids would go for, so I decided on a cheeseburger soup.
For the tomato soup I ended up choosing a Cooking Light recipe for Tomato and White Bean soup, and found a surprising new favorite for the kids. They actually chose the tomato soup over the cheeseburger, so that's definitely going in the tried and true files. It is a very nice, clean tomato soup. It also reheated wonderfully and we enjoyed it just as much last night with some quesadillas on the side.
For the cheeseburger soup, I normally just throw things into the pot I'm afraid. I do have one version in the Recipe Trove that I make when I have leftover Cheddar Meat Loaves. I really like that one, but was missing many of the ingredients. So I went searching through my Mastercook cookbooks and found one that I'd pasted in some time ago. I had all the ingredients, and it looked easy enough to double- which I needed to do. As it turns out, this recipe was from fellow blogger Sweetnicks, and boy, does she make a mean cheeseburger soup! It was excellent, creamy and cheesy and full of flavor. This was a huge hit and is also going into the files as Another Cheeseburger Soup. Definitely a repeater here, this soup was perfect with a chunk of nice crusty bread to scrape the bottom of the bowl. Yum!
I'll post both soups below, because they are both just so good! On tap for tomorrow is a post I've been thinking of doing for some time. It's a post from the heart about the pleasures of cooking, and why I do it, so come back for that, and maybe another recipe or two.
Another Cheeseburger Soup
recipe shared by Sweetnicks
1/2 lb browned ground beef
4 cups diced potatoes
3/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup shredded carrots
8 oz Velveeta
3/4 cup diced celery
1 1/2 cup milk
1 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup sour cream
Saute onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 T butter for about 10 minutes. Add broth, potatoes and hamburger. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10-12 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt about 3 T butter. Add flour and cook, stirring, for about 3-5 minutes or until bubbly. Add to soup. Bring to boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.
Tomato And White Bean Soup
from Cooking Light Magazine, October, 1997
Serving Size : 4
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves -- crushed
2 cans no-salt-added whole tomatoes -- (14.5-ounce) undrained and chopped
2 cans white beans -- (16-ounce) drained
1 can fat-free chicken broth -- (14 1/2-ounce)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add tomatoes and next 5 ingredients (tomatoes through pepper), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls, and sprinkle with cheese.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Soup of The Week: Simple Clam Chowder
Last week after grocery shopping by myself, I arrived home to find two children who were very willing to help me unpack groceries. They were very willing helpers, scrutinizing everything and putting things where they belonged. It was very comical though when they removed the cans of clams and the bottles of clam juice from the bag. Instantly the kids were horrified. Clam juice? Ew! Canned Clams? Yucky! I hope you're not going to make us eat those! So I tucked them into the pantry, waiting for another soup day to come into being.
Yesterday was the day. I got Zander busy with a computer game and headed to the kitchen myself to make a pot of Simple Clam Chowder. I was trying to do it covertly so that he didn't see the clam products on the counter. I'd had a head start from the day before. We had bacon with our waffles, and I saved a few strips of bacon, plus some of the grease for using for the chowder. Even if I'd had to brown the bacon though, this would have been a very quick chowder to put together. There were a few minutes of inactive time, and all I could do was hope that this chowder turned out. I'd only ever made clam chowder once, and that one was a crock-pot recipe, and used cans of cream of potato soup. I wasted no time in tasting it the second I thought it was done.
It was very good! I admit that a part of me was surprised at that. This was a Cooking Light recipe, and while Cooking Light is a source that I can usually count on, I really didn't expect this chowder to be that good. I expected it was going to need a few pinches of something to perk up the flavor. It didn't it was excellent on it's own, and was going to make a fantastic dinner. I dumped it into my crock pot to keep it warm until we got back from dance class, and when we got home, a fabulous aroma greeted us. Andy and I were very careful to call this just chowder to the kids. Any mention of the word clam, and they would have gone running, scared. Abigail dropped a few oyster crackers into her chowder, took a tentative taste, and then went to town. This girl inhaled her clam chowder! Zander, on the other hand, couldn't be swayed to take more than one bite. I was okay with that. Clam chowder is very distinctive, and if he didn't like it, no amount of persuading was going to get him to change his mind.
I'm thrilled with this recipe. Andy and I found last night that it really didn't need the crumbled bacon on top, it really stood on it's own two feet nicely. My only problem was that I had inadvertently picked up minced clams instead of chopped clams, and as a result, I missed some real bites of clam. The minced worked okay, but next time I think I'd like to use chopped. I'm looking forward to leftover Simple Clam Chowder for lunch, and I can gladly add another soup to my repertoire.
Simple Clam Chowder
from Cooking Light magazine.
2 bacon slices
2 cups chopped onion
1 1/4 cups chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 garlic cloves -- minced
6 cans chopped clams -- (6 1/2-ounce) undrained
5 cups diced peeled baking potato (about 1 pound)
4 bottles clam juice -- (8-ounce)
1 bay leaf
3 cups fat-free milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 teaspoon drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add onion, celery, salt, thyme, and garlic to drippings in pan; cook 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Drain clams, reserving liquid. Add clam liquid, potato, clam juice, and bay leaf to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until potato is tender. Discard bay leaf.
Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 12 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Add clams; cook 2 minutes. Sprinkle with bacon.
Serves 12
Yesterday was the day. I got Zander busy with a computer game and headed to the kitchen myself to make a pot of Simple Clam Chowder. I was trying to do it covertly so that he didn't see the clam products on the counter. I'd had a head start from the day before. We had bacon with our waffles, and I saved a few strips of bacon, plus some of the grease for using for the chowder. Even if I'd had to brown the bacon though, this would have been a very quick chowder to put together. There were a few minutes of inactive time, and all I could do was hope that this chowder turned out. I'd only ever made clam chowder once, and that one was a crock-pot recipe, and used cans of cream of potato soup. I wasted no time in tasting it the second I thought it was done.
It was very good! I admit that a part of me was surprised at that. This was a Cooking Light recipe, and while Cooking Light is a source that I can usually count on, I really didn't expect this chowder to be that good. I expected it was going to need a few pinches of something to perk up the flavor. It didn't it was excellent on it's own, and was going to make a fantastic dinner. I dumped it into my crock pot to keep it warm until we got back from dance class, and when we got home, a fabulous aroma greeted us. Andy and I were very careful to call this just chowder to the kids. Any mention of the word clam, and they would have gone running, scared. Abigail dropped a few oyster crackers into her chowder, took a tentative taste, and then went to town. This girl inhaled her clam chowder! Zander, on the other hand, couldn't be swayed to take more than one bite. I was okay with that. Clam chowder is very distinctive, and if he didn't like it, no amount of persuading was going to get him to change his mind.
I'm thrilled with this recipe. Andy and I found last night that it really didn't need the crumbled bacon on top, it really stood on it's own two feet nicely. My only problem was that I had inadvertently picked up minced clams instead of chopped clams, and as a result, I missed some real bites of clam. The minced worked okay, but next time I think I'd like to use chopped. I'm looking forward to leftover Simple Clam Chowder for lunch, and I can gladly add another soup to my repertoire.
Simple Clam Chowder
from Cooking Light magazine.
2 bacon slices
2 cups chopped onion
1 1/4 cups chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 garlic cloves -- minced
6 cans chopped clams -- (6 1/2-ounce) undrained
5 cups diced peeled baking potato (about 1 pound)
4 bottles clam juice -- (8-ounce)
1 bay leaf
3 cups fat-free milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 teaspoon drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add onion, celery, salt, thyme, and garlic to drippings in pan; cook 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Drain clams, reserving liquid. Add clam liquid, potato, clam juice, and bay leaf to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until potato is tender. Discard bay leaf.
Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 12 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Add clams; cook 2 minutes. Sprinkle with bacon.
Serves 12
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Soup of The Week: French Lentil and Vegetable
I have had this recipe from Ina Garten in my "to try" pile for...hmm, well, at least two years. When I first printed it out it was getting raves on a bulletin board I spend time visiting. What kept me from making it was having all the ingredients on hand, and every time I would pull it out, I would find something missing. This week, I managed to remember it and look it over before I went and did my shopping.
The only thing I had problems with was the lentils themselves. The recipe specifically states that "small French green lentils are preferred over the brown ones. To my knowledge, I've never seen green lentils. But I spent a good 20 minutes going through each and every aisle last weekend looking for those green lentils. At the store where I do the bulk of my grocery shopping, there are at least four places in the store where a dried legume could be hiding, so I had to hit each and every one. I even had a standoff with am elderly chap at one of the bean displays. Apparently I was taking too long for his taste, and since it was a busy Sunday
afternoon, my extra-wide cart was taking up precious real estate.
Anyway, I could not find these green lentils! I checked the regular dried beans, the cereal aisle, the Hispanic and Asian sections to no avail. Then I remembered the natural foods section, and there, in a tiny package on the top row was a bag with the label "French green lentils", I grabbed it, despite the very hefty price tag, and gave it a look-over. It didn't take long for me to make my way back to the bean aisle, pick up a bag of plain "lentils" and compare the two. They were identical, and brown, with a bit of a pinkish-greenish-orangish tinge to them. I wasn't going to pay "box-of-premium-cereal-price" simply because the label told me these were special lentils. I don't know if there really is such a thing as green lentils, because I made this soup with regular old brown lentils, and found myself immersed in a bowl of gorgeous soupy-goodness.
It was Andy who looked at me and asked if the soup would be considered flexitarian. When I informed him that there was no meat in this soup, he was surprised. I was surprised, actually, because there was this fruity smokiness within the soup that is usually reserved for soups with a bit of sausage or bacon in it. In short, we were hooked. We each had two bowls of this beautiful lentil soup, it was that good. It was delicious and full of depth, and definitely worth the trouble to make sure I had all the ingredients on hand. My only deviations were to use double concentrate tomato paste, and I completely left off the splash of red wine and Parmesan at the end. It totally didn't need it- it was wonderful just as it was with a wedge of soft whole-wheat bread. This French Lentil and Vegetable Soup is a star, and will most certainly be repeated- and it's most definitely company worthy. The picture above is of Zander helping me weigh the right amount of lentils, and I also should mention that I think you could use a roasted vegetable or mushroom broth to good effect as well.
French Lentil and Vegetable Soup
by Ina Garten
Serving Size : 12
16 ounces lentils -- Small French green lentils are preferred over the larger brown ones.
boiling water
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 large onions -- chopped
3 cloves garlic -- minced
2 large leeks -- white and tender green parts only, chopped
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon ground cumin
8 whole celery ribs -- chopped
6 medium carrots -- diced into 1/2" pieces
3 quarts chicken broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons dry red wine -- or red wine vinegar
In a large heatproof bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pot (at least 5 quart size). Add onions, garlic, leeks, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes.
Add the carrots and celery and cook until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock, lentils, and tomato paste to the pot. Increase the heat to high, cover, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, uncover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are very tender (about 1 hour).
Stir in red wine and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil if desired, and a sprinkling of grated Parmesan.
The only thing I had problems with was the lentils themselves. The recipe specifically states that "small French green lentils are preferred over the brown ones. To my knowledge, I've never seen green lentils. But I spent a good 20 minutes going through each and every aisle last weekend looking for those green lentils. At the store where I do the bulk of my grocery shopping, there are at least four places in the store where a dried legume could be hiding, so I had to hit each and every one. I even had a standoff with am elderly chap at one of the bean displays. Apparently I was taking too long for his taste, and since it was a busy Sunday
afternoon, my extra-wide cart was taking up precious real estate.Anyway, I could not find these green lentils! I checked the regular dried beans, the cereal aisle, the Hispanic and Asian sections to no avail. Then I remembered the natural foods section, and there, in a tiny package on the top row was a bag with the label "French green lentils", I grabbed it, despite the very hefty price tag, and gave it a look-over. It didn't take long for me to make my way back to the bean aisle, pick up a bag of plain "lentils" and compare the two. They were identical, and brown, with a bit of a pinkish-greenish-orangish tinge to them. I wasn't going to pay "box-of-premium-cereal-price" simply because the label told me these were special lentils. I don't know if there really is such a thing as green lentils, because I made this soup with regular old brown lentils, and found myself immersed in a bowl of gorgeous soupy-goodness.
It was Andy who looked at me and asked if the soup would be considered flexitarian. When I informed him that there was no meat in this soup, he was surprised. I was surprised, actually, because there was this fruity smokiness within the soup that is usually reserved for soups with a bit of sausage or bacon in it. In short, we were hooked. We each had two bowls of this beautiful lentil soup, it was that good. It was delicious and full of depth, and definitely worth the trouble to make sure I had all the ingredients on hand. My only deviations were to use double concentrate tomato paste, and I completely left off the splash of red wine and Parmesan at the end. It totally didn't need it- it was wonderful just as it was with a wedge of soft whole-wheat bread. This French Lentil and Vegetable Soup is a star, and will most certainly be repeated- and it's most definitely company worthy. The picture above is of Zander helping me weigh the right amount of lentils, and I also should mention that I think you could use a roasted vegetable or mushroom broth to good effect as well.
French Lentil and Vegetable Soup
by Ina Garten
Serving Size : 12
16 ounces lentils -- Small French green lentils are preferred over the larger brown ones.
boiling water
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 large onions -- chopped
3 cloves garlic -- minced
2 large leeks -- white and tender green parts only, chopped
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon ground cumin
8 whole celery ribs -- chopped
6 medium carrots -- diced into 1/2" pieces
3 quarts chicken broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons dry red wine -- or red wine vinegar
In a large heatproof bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pot (at least 5 quart size). Add onions, garlic, leeks, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes.
Add the carrots and celery and cook until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock, lentils, and tomato paste to the pot. Increase the heat to high, cover, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, uncover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are very tender (about 1 hour).
Stir in red wine and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil if desired, and a sprinkling of grated Parmesan.
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