soup

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Blast this like-winter weather.  It’s no fun unless you like to slog through cold rain or sloppy snow.  Soup is often my remedy for winter chillies.  This is a simple soup made of roasted produce thinned with chicken broth and a touch of milk.  It will warm your tummy and fill you up without too many calories.  The leek adds a slightly different flavor and the apple a touch of sweetness which I find refreshing.  This mellow winter treat is great with a salad for lunch or a sandwich.  No fuss, very little muss.  Just a short list of ingredients and a fairly simple recipe.  Enjoy!

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Roasted Butternut squash Soup

1 decent sized butternut squash

1 medium onion

1 leek

2 fat carrots

1 Rome or Gala apple (any baking apple except Granny Smith will do)

1 garlic clove, unpeeled

3-4 cups of chicken broth, preferably homemade

½-3/4 cup of half and half or whole milk, even 1 percent will work!

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Directions:

First, cut the butternut squash down the length and scoop out the seeds. No need to peel. Place cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.  Cut the onion in half and likewise the apple, the leek and carrots; cut off the leek above the light green portion and core the apple halves.  Put apples cut side up.  Roast them all in a 375 degree oven until the squash is tender when poked with a fork.  About 35 to 45 minutes depending on the size of your squash.  If the other fruits and veggies are browned and done early slide them off to a plate to cool.  Caramelized is fantastic but no burnt leeks in my soup thank you!

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When the squash is cool enough to handle, use a big spoon to scoop out all the meat of it into your blender.  Add the scooped out contents of the apple halves, the garlic you have squeezed out of its skin, the carrots and leek halves.  Pour in 2-3 cups of chicken broth, blend until smooth, and add more broth until you reach a consistency you like.  Mine was kinda thick and porridgey.  If you prefer to use a food processor that will work or put the scooped out veggies into a large sauce pan and blend with your immersion (boat motor) blender.  This will not be as smooth as the blender makes it but it is more fun and less cleaning as no blender container to wash!

After the blending is done pour it into a large sauce pan and add up to ¾ of a cup of half and half or whole milk.  I used a half cup but you may like it creamier.

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Originally posted in 2014, no recipe changes made to this version.

Escarole and White Bean Soup

My sister Elaine was talking about making this soup and bought escarole for it at a farm stand, so I copied her and got a big head. I looked at recipes as I don’t think I ever made this soup…and made a few changes for my own version of this classic fall soup. It is not a complicated recipe, but it has a lot of ingredients. Get the freshest veggies possible and don’t skip anything; it melds together into this incredibly balanced and hearty meal in a big soup dish. Mostly you chop, dump and stir. The delicious lemony taste is quite addictive. It has some pancetta fried to a crisp and sprinkled on top, but you could make it vegetarian by omitting that. I had it with buttered sourdough toast and a lovely beet salad. It’s naturally gf, just check the pancetta for gf labeling. I didn’t miss having a big hunk of protein; the beans and toast were full of plant protein. Great for a meatless supper and you won’t feel cheated or deprived. I think this is my new favorite soup!

Notes: you can use a couple of cans of white beans but honestly it isn’t difficult to cook them yourself and the flavor is much better and so your soup will be much tastier. The red pepper flakes are fully blended in; if you want it spicy add another half or whole teaspoon of it. I think bacon could be a decent substitute for the pancetta. I used some garlic stuffed olives from Aldi’s; they worked perfectly. One medium lemon gave me the zest and enough lemon juice.

I let mine stand 15 minutes before serving and you should definitely do that to allow the flavors to blend and the soup to cool to a reasonable temperature; boiling hot soup is never a good taste!

Escarole and White Bean Soup

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of dry white beans; I used medium size white ones; soak overnight, drain, rinse and cook 1.5-2 hours until soft.

4 oz pancetta

4 Tbsp mild olive oil, divided

1 cup diced carrots

3/4 cup diced carrots

3/4 cup diced celery

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. lemon zest

1/2-1 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 tsp. fresh rosemary minced

1 fresh bay leaf

4 cups vegetable stock; you may need another 1/2-1 cups

1 lg head endive, washed and chopped into 1 inch lengths; I set the thicker bottom stems aside to add first.

1 cup large green olives cut in half (pitted)

3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1/2-1 tsp sea salt, black pepper fresh ground to taste

Finish: EVOL and fresh grated parmesan cheese to top soup

Directions: Pour a half Tbsp. olive oil in a large soup pot; heat, add pancetta and cook until crisp. Fish out with a slotted spoon and set aside for serving with the soup. Then add rest of olive oil to the pot and diced onions. Cook 2 minutes. Add the carrots and celery, cook 4 minutes stirring often, add garlic, stir and cook a minute. Add bay leaf, red pepper flakes and rosemary; cook 1-2 minutes stirring frequently. Add the stock and beans including all bean liquid, let heat a couple of minutes, stir and then add the endive stems, cook a minute. Add rest of endive and heat until almost boiling. Add olives and turn heat down, simmer 6-10 minutes until endive is tender. Add lemon juice, salt and black pepper, stir well and taste. Remove bay leaf. Adjust salt/pepper. Let stand 15-20 minutes for flavors to blend and soup to cool a bit.

Serve in a wide bowl topped with fresh parmesan, a good sprinkle of pancetta and a drizzle of EVOL. Enjoy!

Refreshing Gazpacho Soup: Liquid Veggies!

Hot late summer days make me crave a cool soup. One with minimal cooking: that is easy and tasty.  Plus, I want to use some of my garden produce.  This classic Spanish soup called gazpacho is perfect for all of that and my family loves it. It absolutely must be made with ripe summer tomatoes, never ever attempt it with any less than the best vine ripened fruit.  You can get great tomatoes at farm stands, farmer’s markets and even the grocery store; look for the grown local label for the best flavored tomatoes. Please do not use greenhouse tomatoes grown far away and shipped while not really ripe. Your soup will not be full of tomato flavor and it will taste disappointing.  These ripe locally grown tomatoes are vital to the flavor of gazpacho.

I make my gazpacho in the blender but I believe a food processor works okay too.  No heat,  minimal fuss.

My version allows you to add chopped raw veggies in the amount you prefer just before you slurp it down. I prefer its fresh pure flavors to those soulless restaurant versions that are gelatinous and crammed full of a wide assortment of chunked veggies…uggh.

I had a version of gazpacho similar to mine in a Philadelphia restaurant made with golden yellow tomatoes which was beautiful looking and quite tasty too, the jar of gazpacho in my fridge right now is yellow as I had 6 big yellow ones to use for this purpose.

Warning: you do need to peel the tomatoes but that goes pretty fast.  I heat about a wide sauce pan filled 3 inches deep with water to a boil and pop the ripe tomatoes in for 3 minutes. I put in 4 at a time; done in a couple batches.  Let them cool a bit and then peel off the skin and cut out the blossom end (top) and they are ready to use. You can easily halve this recipe; just one blender-full of tomatoes for that and half the rest of the ingredients.

One more important instruction: gazpacho HAS to chill really good; make it early in the morning to serve as a late lunch or better yet; for supper. The colder the better, I actually put my soup bowls in the freezer for 15 or 20 minutes and yank them out just before filling and serving this cold summer delight.

It is a flexible recipe; depends on the size of your tomatoes. This should make close to 60 ounces or just shy of 2 quarts; cut in half if you don’t want too much. But you will wish you had made more…I promise!  It will keep 3-5 days in the refrigerator.

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tomato juice for thinning the soup

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skinned tomatoes ready for soup making

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I am about to press the puree button!

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Still in blender, just pureed soup.

Summer Chill Gazpacho (makes like 8 servings; I often halve this recipe)

Soup ingredients:

8 to 10 ripe fat tomatoes (large ones)

About ¼ cup EVOL; best you can afford

2 slices white bread (GF if you have celiac)

1 lemon

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 to 1 ½ tsp. sea salt

Toppings:

2 large tomatoes diced, heirloom if possible

1 cup diced burpless cucumber

2 scallions, sliced thin, green and white parts or 

Directions: peel the tomatoes as described above.  When I peel them I do it over a bowl to capture the juices and seeds. I save them, strain off the seeds and I add back the juice as needed to thin the finished soup.    Put 4-5 tomatoes in the blender; add a slice of bread broken up, 2 tbsp. olive oil, the juice of half a lemon and one garlic clove.  Put the lid on and blend well.  Note: do not fill the blender more then ¾ full. Taste; add salt; ½ to ¾ tsp.

Repeat entire process with the rest of the ingredients and thin with reserved tomato juice – it should be thick but not porridge thick. Just know that it will thicken as it rests and chills in your refrigerator.  Mix the two batches together in a big glass bowl; never metal because of the acidity of tomatoes and cover tightly with plastic wrap.  Then chill it at least 3 to 4 hours.

Serve with bowls of toppings to sprinkle on top of the thick soup; diced ripe tomatoes, scallion slices and cucumber ( preferably burpless) cut in small dice.  If you want to guild the lily, top with croutons (gf ones if you have celiac), I don’t bother. This most recent batch has been topped with Crispy Onions by Golden Farms.

Note: gluten free bread often gives a slightly different texture to the soup; somewhat less smooth in the look of it and the taste.  It’s okay as it doesn’t affect the flavor: it still is delicious and a bowl of it is so very refreshing on a hot day.  Serve with a sandwich and you have a perfect summer lunch.

Note: This recipe has not been changed but some additional information is in this repeat posting of this most delicious soup!

I used some chunks of gf sourdough as my croutons in this bowl. Used zucchini not cucumber in topping.

Borscht, A Great Summer Soup!

When the day is hot and I want a refreshing start to my meal that is quick to make I think of borscht. I just do it very fast; use canned whole beets and add some bullion paste, lemon juice, salt and red wine vinegar. Blender does a quick puree and the liquid in the cans makes it the right thickness. It just needs a good chill in the fridge and you are ready to enjoy a cup of summer chill! It doesn’t get easier than this soup!

Beets, lemon juice and chicken broth concentrate in my blender.
Not super appealing but this is it after the puree process. I use a spatula to scrape all I can get out of the blender canister.

This soup is filling, refreshing and even my sometimes-picky guy has taken to it and happily spoons it up as a first course! It keeps in my fridge for about a week although it generally gets eaten by the third day.

Notes: you can use fresh cooked and peeled beets. Fresh lemon juice is best. In a pinch you could use white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. I pour mine into a quart yogurt container and snap on the lid and in the fridge it goes for a minimum of 6 hours; better to do 8-10 hours. I like to chill the cups/bowl I serve it in. And, of course you need sour cream to top it with!

Angie’s Borscht

Ingredients

2 14-ounce cans whole beets

1/2 Tsp chicken broth bullion paste or half a cube of chicken broth

1/2 a lemon

1/2-1 Tsp sea salt

1-2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Directions:

Pour the beets in the blender, juice and all. Add the remaining ingredients. Blend 20-30 seconds. Pour into a lidded container and chill 6-12 hours. Serve in chilled cups with lots of sour cream to spoon on top. Enjoy!