soup

Spring Pea Soup

Spring is a great time for a light flavorful soup.  One that celebrates healthy eating: this is food code for fresh vegetables.  Pea soup sounded good but I couldn’t find a recipe for a creamy pea soup, looked at a few veggie soups and combined them into this recipe.  I used frozen peas; fresh ones are hard to find and pricy. peas

Tips: You need to blend this up – blender or food processor.  You might want to put a kitchen towel over the blender in case of flying hot soup! Don’t boil it once you add the half and half; will curdle.  I used homemade chicken broth – use a good quality broth if you can’t make your own.

The flavor is not just peas; you have the other veggies and the broth not to mention the butter and half/half.  It is not too thick or too rich.  As Goldilocks said “just right.”  It is a lovely springy shade of green and would make a perfect first course for a dinner party or just for your family.  My mom loves soup for supper and she adored this one. Healthy, quick to make and packed with flavor: that’s what I want these days in a soup. On a hot day it would be lovely cold. Chill the bowls before filling and serving.

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Spring Pea Soup

Ingredients

1 medium onion

1 celery stalk

2 cups frozen peas: ½ cup peas and rest (see below)

1.5 tbsp. butter

3 cups chicken broth

1 ½ cups peas (rest of 2 cups)

½ cup half and half

1.5 tbsp. butter

4 tsp. gluten free flour blend; I used my favorite brown rice/potato starch/tapioca mix (See my pie crust recipe for the blend or use King Arthur’s blend; same thing.)

Directions

Cut the onion into small dice, same for celery.  Heat a medium saucepan: 1/5-2 qt size, add 1.5 tbsp. butter. Add onion, celery and cook 3 minutes.  Add first measure of peas.  Stir and cook 1 minute.  Add broth.  Cook 15 minutes.  Add rest of peas.  Cook 3 minutes.  Let cool slightly, puree in blender in 2 batches, keep lid on tight, can cover with kitchen towel in case of liquid escapage.  Return to sauce pan while you make the rue.

Heat second amount of butter in a small sauce pan and add flour when it is melted.  Stir and cook a minute, add ½ tsp salt and a sprinkle of white pepper.  Add the half and half, stir well until lumps are gone.  Add a ladle of soup to it and stir until fully blended.  Add back to the rest of the soup. Heat stirring constantly until hot but not bubbling.  You can thin it with more broth or water if it is too thick. Serve hot and enjoy the flavor of spring in your soup spoon.

Originally posted by me in May 2015

Potato Leek Soup

What a chilly spring! Cold nights and days mean my tummy craves warm comforting soup.  This leek potato soup fits the bill and then some.   It is also known as vichyssoise: the fancy French name for pureed leek and soup. My mom used to make it when I was a kid, in the summer she served it chilled and in the winter it is perfect hot from the pot. Both versions are awesome.

I love to make this recipe as it gives me the opportunity to yank out my boat motor blender and let it go!  It is a small, hand held immersion blender that is fun and effective although it often leaves a few chunks of potato and leek in my soup which I kinda like.

I used half and half to make it creamy.  The original recipe uses heavy cream but I wanted to lighten the fat load, sometimes I use plain whole milk.  I have a friend who makes it with nonfat milk, in my mind that is going a tad too far in that austere direction.  Don’t use less than 2 percent if you want a rich creamy texture and great mouth feel. You could mix some cream and some milk.  Whatever works for you or is in the fridge!  Note: if your chicken broth is unseasoned you will  need to add salt for sure; taste and add as much as you desire; I have added salt as an ingredient for that reason.  If you use broth containing salt taste before adding any additional salt.

You can guild the lily by sprinkling this with chopped fresh chives, nice but not necessary.

 

Mom’s Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter

1 medium onion, diced small

3 leeks; white and pale green parts only, chopped into small rounds

3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced

3-4 cups chicken broth

¾ cup half and half

¼ tsp. mace or nutmeg

1-2 tsp. sea salt to taste: depends on salt level in chicken broth used

Directions

I use my heavy bottomed small soup pot.  Heat the butter, add the onion bits and leek slices. Cook 4 minutes.  Add 3 cups gluten free chicken broth.  I really prefer Kitchen Basics; says GF on box and tastes great.  Heat to boiling, add the diced up potatoes, cook 15 minutes or until potatoes are done.  Add more broth if it seems low in liquid.  I add up to 4 cups broth and then I add water to thin it further if needed.  I usually poke the potatoes with a fork to check for almost falling apart status.  Turn off and let stand 10 minutes.  Use an immersion blender to puree the mixture. Can also use a blender or a food processor for this action but in any case, be very careful not to burn yourself with a splash of hot soup. Add half and half, half the salt and the mace.  Blend them in until it is smooth. Add more salt if you desire.  White pepper is good as a seasoning too.  Great hot or well chilled once we reach that lovely season of summer heat that makes a chilled soup seem fabulous.  Right now, it is practically the last thing I want to eat.

Anyway, enjoy it hot or cold.  This recipe is an adaption from The Joy of Cooking, a handy resource volume for classic recipes like this one.  Great taste never goes out of style.

Originally posted March 2015.  Slightly revised.

Spring Italian Wedding Soup

My dear friend Cathy’s kids used to call this grass soup when they were little because it is chock full of fresh spinach that melts into this healthy and tasty soup.  I make mine with ground chicken for the tiny meatballs.  You could use ground turkey, veal or beef.  You can make this soup with canned broth; be sure it is gluten free if you have celiac disease like I do, for some odd reason many manufacturers add some (wheat) flour to their broth.  My favorite broth choice is Kitchen Basic, and they also have a low salt broth.  Homemade chicken broth is going to make it more flavorful if you have some around but sometimes we just don’t have time to make fresh broth.  The recipe is my modifications of a soup by Ina Garten, which can be found on foodnetwork.com.

I discovered a new bread crumb by Alieas Love of Artisan Food; gluten free Italian bread crumbs; and it worked perfectly for this recipe. I found them in my local Giant grocery store. They do have dairy and egg in them if you want to know. The store also had panko bread crumbs by this same company; next time I need panko I know what I am getting.

Don’t freak out if you only have one carrot or don’t want as much of any ingredient; relax and make it your way.  Some versions have fresh dill chopped up and added at the end 2-3 tbsp. of it. Next time! stir fry, pan dowdey and crocus 007

Angie’s Italian Wedding Soup

Meatballs

1 lb ground chicken

1 large egg

About ½-2/3 cup gf bread crumbs

¼ cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

½ tsp. sea salt

Soup

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium to large yellow onion, diced

2 carrots, unpeeled, sliced into quarter rounds

2 celery stalks diced including the leaves

1 or 2 garlic cloves

½ cup white wine

1 1/2 quarts of gluten free chicken broth

½ cup tiny gf pasta; I found some tiny ring shaped pasta

1 package fresh baby spinach, standard size

½ to 1 tsp. sea salt and some fresh black pepper

Directions: Crack the egg and mix it up well before you dump the rest of your meatball ingredients into a large mixing bowl, stir up with your hands and form into 1 1/4 inch diameter meatballs, 1 and ½ inches maximum.  Place them 1-2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, bigger ones will need a few more minutes. If you feel perfectionistic, turn them half way though the baking, not really that necessary though.

While they bake, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan; I used a two quart one.  Add the diced onion, celery and carrots.  Cook them about 6-8 minutes until soft, add the garlic and cook another minute.  Add the broth and white wine to the soup, stirring frequently; bring to a boil and add the meatballs, reheat, add the pasta, cook until nearly done, add the spinach, cook 1-2 minutes; taste and adjust the salt. Add fresh ground black pepper to taste.

Pour in a bowl.  I topped mine with some more fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Perfect meal when you want to sooth a still slightly iffy tummy.

15 Bean Storm Soup

Another stormy day!  It’s time for another hearty one pot meal.  This one is my multi-bean soup with Italian sausage.  I started with a 1.3 lb bag of 4 bean mix and added two kinds of lentil and a bit of a few others.  The thing is, if you have celiac most 16 or 15 bean mixtures for soups contain barley which we are hugely allergic to.  I found a four bean mix out at Echo Hill country store (Berks County) and added some French lentils; maybe ¼ a cup and some red lentils; another ¼ cup plus a ¼ cup of dried garbanzo beans and a sprinkling of dried limas.  You can use what ever blend you like but I like a good mix for a rich thick stew.  (NOTE: this most recent version used a 15 bean blend I found at Giant grocery store that was marked gf.  I did not use the seasoning packet that came with it.)

My soup has Italian sausage but you can leave that out if you want a vegetarian version. I personally love sausage in a bean stew. Gives you lots of meaty flavor and a healthy dose of protein. I am guessing you could use other things like smoky ham chunks or maybe a ham hock? In this latest version I used smoked bratwurst instead of Italian sausage,  good but I really love it with Italian Sausage.

I enjoyed a hot bowl of this pottage with a slice of toasted multigrain gf bread.  It made a full meal without anything else being necessary.   A fresh crunchy salad would go well if you want to round your dining experience out with some greens!

Ten or Fifteen Bean Soup with Sausage

Soak 1 pound 4 oz (typical bag size) of dried mixed beans in filtered water to cover.  Soak it for an hour or try the overnight treatment.  If you use separate types of beans, follow these directions as lentils don’t need a soak.  I set the lentils aside and added them after the soaking as they don’t need the same treatment the other beans need.  Either bring to a boil and let stand an hour or just let stand in the cold water overnight.  I did the quick version.  Be sure to drain them well and rinse before returning the swollen legumes to the rinsed pot.  Cover with fresh filtered water and add a bay leaf.  Cook 1 hour, pour in more water as needed and stir so it doesn’t stick or burn.  Then, add the lentils and cook another hour until the beans are nearly tender.  It is hard to say when beans get done, depends on a number of factors, taste often to check for tenderness. And stir that pot! As they approach that almost done spot start the rest of the dish, get everything chopped up and ready to toss in when the beans have reached the two hour mark.

Chop into dice:

3 sizable carrots

1 large onion

Mince: 2 big garlic cloves

Add the veggies to the pot, stir and cook 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add water if needed.  I like the soup thick but it can’t be solid so add water.

As that cooks, start the sausage.  Sauté one lb Italian sausage: brown in a Teflon pan with a touch of olive oil until top and bottom are browned and sausage is mostly done. Let cool a bit and slice into rounds or chunks, set aside.  In my latest version I used fully cooked smoked bratwurst and so I skipped this step; just cut it into rounds and added it in the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Add the following to the soup:

½ a 14 ounce can of spicy diced tomatoes

½ tsp. dried oregano

Sprinkle dried basil

¼ tsp smoked paprika

1 beef bullion cube

½ bunch of kale leaves cut into big shreds; I cut off the bigger stems as they can be tough.

1-2 tsp sea salt

Some fresh ground black pepper

Cook ten minutes, add more water if it gets too thick. Stir occasionally.  Taste and add more spice if you think the soup needs more. Add the sliced sausage or bratwurst and cook five – ten minutes more.  A total cooking time could be from 2.5-3 hours, depending on your beans.  If they have been sitting in the pantry for many months they take longer to cook to a tender texture.

Taste and add more salt/pepper as you see necessary.  Let stand 5-10 minutes before ladling out.  Now that is comfort food that is good for you too!

Originally posted February 2015

 

 

Pasta Fagioli Soup Will Warm You

The soup I love to serve in the dead of winter is pasta fagioli meaning pasta and bean soup, Neapolitan style.  It is full of veggies and flavor.  Not to mention beans and pasta.  Yes, I make it now with gluten free pasta, same recipe as always.  I use elbow pasta by Barilla; great flavor and held its shape well.  elbowsTry not to overcook it though as gf pasta goes from done to mush easily if you are not paying attention!  This rib sticking soup will be a meal if you add a salad and a slice of gf bread.  I made it for my family the other week with a lovely new bread recipe which I will have to share sometime soon.  It was a big hit.  Warm, flavorful, satisfying and sure fills the tummy.  I made it with dried beans I soaked overnight and cooked until pretty soft.  White beans work too, navy beans come to mind as suitable. You can even use a couple of cans of beans; I did it recently with cannelloni beans and a can of fava beans; very Italian…

My version has lots of veggies; if you don’t want them all; leave some out! My secret vegetable: I often use small cubes of turnip as they hold their shape well and add a subtle tasty flavor to the soup. turnips No one ever guesses they are in there; looks like cubes of potato.   Or add more veggies, what is in your fridge?  I have used green beans, summer squash cubes or peas.

Secret weapon: I always add a cheese rind or two saved from a chunk of Parmesan cheese. It really ups the flavor of the soup.  And if you get a bit of it in your soup bowl the oozy cheesy goodness will be your prize!

Pasta Fagioli Soup

2 cups of dried cranberry, navy or kidney beans, soaked overnight in lots of filtered water.  Be sure to pick over them for foreign objects.

1 bay leaf

1 quarter inch thick slice of prosciutto (leave out for vegetarian version)

¼ cup EVOL (extra virgin olive oil)

1 cup chopped yellow onions

1 cup chopped carrots

½ cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped turnip

3 minced garlic cloves

2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1 can plum tomatoes chopped (or 1 lb fresh ones chopped in the summer when they have decent tomatoes available)

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

1 to 1 ½ tsp sea salt

1 cup elbow macaroni, gf

Directions: Drain the soaked beans, rinse well, return to cleaned pot and cover with fresh filtered water, add bay leaf and cook 1-2 hours until soft. Add water if it gets low.  Turn off and let rest while you make soup.  Skip step if you use canned beans; do drain them and rinse. Just add them where you would add the beans you soaked and cooked yourself.

Heat EVOL in big sturdy soup pan, I like a thick bottom to keep the soup from burning easily. Add onion and cook 5-6 minutes, add garlic, stir and cook a minute, add prosciutto which you have diced up into small squares and the parsley. Cook for a couple minutes, add the tomatoes, carrots, celery, turnip, hot pepper and stir well.  Add a tsp. of salt.  Cook uncovered about 12-14 minutes.  Add any bean water in the pan. I often end up adding 1-4 cups of water during this point if there is no bean liquid. Mush up half the beans in a food processor or with a potato masher. Add to soup. Reheat and cook 5 minutes, add rest of beans, reheat and then add the pasta.  Cook just the length of time the box says, stirring it every 2-3 minutes. Taste and add more salt if needed and some fresh black pepper.  Turn off and let stand 10 minutes before serving.  I sometimes drizzle some best quality EVOL on the top of each bowl before digging in. A big bowl of that will warm you up for sure!

Originally posted by me in January 2015.