Simple Soup

Brief relief from holiday gluttony.
A simple soup. Stracciatella. Italian egg drop soup this time with poached chicken, spinach and egg noodles.
It couldn't be easier or more comforting. First I brought lightened turkey stock (I usually would use chicken but I had some nice rich turkey stock made from our Thanksgiving leftovers waiting in the freezer) up to a boil and added in thinly sliced chicken and a package or pappardelle (Italian egg noodles). After about 7 minutes I added in a couple handfuls of fresh spinach and a combination of 4 eggs and about 1/3 cup parmesan cheese. I gave the broth a little swirl with a fork, poured in the egg and cheese mixture and let every thing simmer about 3 minutes more.
Done.

One More Dinner Before I Go

Chicken soup with thick egg noodles.
Impossible not to like.
Great for a fall. Great for the freezer. Great for James to heat up for dinner while I am gone.
I always start the same way, with a whole chicken and chicken parts, one onion (not peeled, sliced in half), 2 carrots, 2 stalks celery, a whole head of garlic sliced through the middle, 2 bay leaves, about 10 peppercorns and a handful of fresh thyme (or parsley if that's all I have) all covered in water. Sometimes if I am feeling adventurous or cleaning the fridge I might add in a turnip or asparagus stalks other trims but carrots, celery, onion and garlic are the basic go to list. I bring everything up to a boil and then simmer for about 90 minutes. That's great chicken stock with plenty of flavor.
I strain the stock and let the cooked chicken cool and start on the soup. Later I'll shred the chicken to add to the pot.
Today I decided on an old fashioned slightly thickened Southern style soup. I started with around 3 TB of butter and added in chopped celery, peeled and sliced carrots (about 2 cups each), and 1 chopped onion and let the vegetables cook until just soft. Then I tossed in two cloves of chopped garlic. After 30 seconds or so I added about 4 TB of flour and let it cook in the butter and coat the vegetables for about 2 minutes so it was just golden colored and the vegetables were coated. Then in goes the strained stock, a dash of hot sauce, a splash of worchestershire sauce, a bay leaf and S&P and everything comes up to a simmer for about 15 minutes. Sometimes I'll add chopped potatoes and let them simmer along with the stock.
If I am ready to serve James his soup I'll keep going and add in the chicken I deboned and shredded, plenty of chopped parsley and a package of egg noodles. I always add too many noodles and the soup become more of a stew but James never complains. After another 10 minutes I add in frozen peas (when I have them) or corn kernels because James loves them and a handful of chopped fresh dill. Though I am not usually a big dill fan it does something wonderful to perk up the flavor of chicken soup. 5-8 minutes later our soup is ready to ladle into bowls. Sometimes just before serving I'll squeeze in half a lemon for an extra note of brightness.
Homey supper for an early fall night.

Spicy Sausage and Mustard Green Soup

The garden has gone mad. It got off to a very slow start this season but now we have more mustard greens (and chard and kale) than any normal family could use.
And . . . it's spicy, super spicy.
With polish sausage carried home from Ostrowski's in Baltimore and mustard greens in the kitchen I started on soup. First I sautéed celery, carrots, chopped garlic and leek tops I had stored away in the freezer. I hate to waste anything so when I am leaving town I chop and tuck away any vegetable that won't be used while I am gone. The leek tops I was tucking away for a future vegetable stock but since I hadn't been to the store and we had no onions for the soup I tied the leek tops into little bundles and let them simmer as the soup cooked for a little onion flavor.
When the vegetables had softened a bit I added in slices of black pepper polish sausage and let it crisp just a bit. Then I poured in chicken stock and a jar of tomatoes canned from last year's garden. When the liquid came up to a boil I added in handfuls of mustard greens and let the whole pot simmer until the greens were tender and had lost a bit of their assertive flavor. After about 25 minutes I added in cooked white rice (I had that in the freezer too) and some beautiful scarlet runner beans I cooked of all places in the rice cooker.
Soup from the freezer. A warm dinner and then leftovers tucked back in the freezer for James while I am gone again.

Freezer Cleaning Soup

When I make chicken I almost always start from the whole bird. It's much cheaper and our meat CSA includes a chicken so I'm getting a lot of practice breaking a bird down into parts. James generally doesn't think much of wings, or legs. I've gotten in the habit of cutting off the parts I need and tucking the rest away in the freezer for chicken stock one day down the road.
I'm a saver. We don't have the shelf room we once did to store vegetable trimmings for soup stocks (now they hit the compost pile) inspired by one of my favorite food writers MFK Fisher's, genius tome How To Cook A Wolf. But even a quick search will still turn up shrimp shells, gravy or crab fat reserved for future risottos and quick soups.
When our too small freezer gets a little full I dig out the chicken parts for a pot of homemade chicken soup. Today's version combined celery, onions, carrots, parsnips (thanks to our generous gardening neighbor), a lone kohlrabi left in the drawer, cherry tomatoes, and brown rice into chicken stock generously laced with flavorful harissa. Everything simmered, covered, for an hour until the rice was tender and then I stirred in the shredded chicken (left from making the stock) and half a bag of corn that turned up on my freezer cleaning jaunt.

It Started With Sauce

I spent Friday bubbling a deep red meaty sauce. Served it again over spaghetti last night and tucked the rest in the freezer for a future dinner. Then I was left with the braised meat that had flavored the sauce. Thick meaty pork ribs and sauce poached sausage.
Those tender ribs would be perfect as accents in a hearty bowl of bean soup.
First I sautéed 2 chopped onions in a pot of olive oil. After about 5 minutes I added in 4 minced cloves of garlic and let everything sauté. Next I poured in a pound of quick soaked beans (beans covered in 2 inches of water brought just to a boil and allowed to soak in the hot water for an hour), 1 bay leaf, 2 quarts of water, 5 cups of chicken broth, several crushed chiles, a good sized piece of parmesan cheese rind I had tucked away in the freezer for a day like today, S&P, and about 1 TB chopped rosemary. After simmering for 50 minutes the beans were tender. I tossed in a pile of potatoes cut into large cubes and 6 carrots peeled and sliced into thick disks. After 5 more minutes simmering I added in cubes of the cooked meat, sausage slices (the little bits of sauce still clinging on added a reddish tint and a savory boost to the stock) and chopped kale.
An unexpectedly big pot of soup (some times things just get out of hand). Dinner tonight, lunch tomorrow and plenty in the freezer for busy days to come from the sauce that keeps on giving.

Flavor Secret

The layering of interesting flavors is what takes a dish from regular home cooking -- great though it may be -- to unexpected and exciting and well, chefly. That sort of precision requires skill and patience. But there are short cuts,
One of my favorites is the North African Chili pepper paste harissa. Commonly used as a flavoring for stew or couscous, the precise mixture varies by country and brand.  Harissa is the basis for flavorful dips and makes a wonderful rub for grilled meats. Migrating across continents with travelers and immigrants in Europe harissa can be a breakfast spread for rolls, in Israel these days it is often served on top of falafel.
In my kitchen I make a green version as topping for grilled fish and use pre-made (I've tried many brands) harissa as a flavor boost in eggs, stews, and on steaks. Tonight when James was hoping for chicken soup with the thick egg noodles he loves I saw an opportunity to add a bit of spice to a familiar dish.
As always I started with a mix of onions, carrots, celery, garlic and bay leaf sautéing in olive oil. Just as the vegetables started to soften I added in a heaping tablespoon of tasty harissa. The chili paste melted into the oil and tinted the dish a lovely red. I added in the stock and brought it to a boil and simmered cubed potatoes in the stock. James particularly wanted corn and peas in his soup and so slightly thawed frozen veggies went in next. With chopped chicken warmed through I poured James' soup over a bowl of eggy noodles.
He had two bowls.

Monday Night Lentil Soup

The air is turning crisp up in these parts and that calls for soup. Quick cooking lentils are just the thing for busy Mondays.
I started with a recipe by Melissa Clark, writer of The New York Time's " A Good Appetite" column. It seemed simple enough, I had a few other chores going and I was just going to follow a simple recipe and make sure dinner was on the table relatively early. I'm not sure where it is I go astray. Dutifully following along suddenly my mind started to wander to the tube of harissa, a North African chili sauce of which I am absurdly fond, in the fridge. Once I'd gone in that direction the simple pot of soup called out for warm spices -- saffron, cinnamon, ginger, coriander. My adapted version was just the right dish for an evening turned cold. Try it at home.

Monday Night Lentil Soup

4 TB olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 large shallots, chopped (I could have used two onions but I didn't have another)
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 TB tomato paste
1 1/2 TB (or to taste) harissa
salt (about 3/4 tsp kosher salt) and pepper to taste
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp saffron threads
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 quarts chicken broth
2 cups red lentils
3 carrots, peeled and diced
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

In a large pot heat the oil over medium heat until hot and just shimmering.  Add the onions and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, harissa, and all of the spices (except the saffron threads). Let cook about 2 minutes longer. Add the broth, 2 cups of water, lentils, carrots and saffron threads. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for about 30 minutes until lentils are soft. Taste and add salt if needed. If desired, purée half the soup with an immersion or countertop blender for a slightly thicker soup with smoother texture (don't go too smooth). Return the soup to the pot, reheat slowly and stir in the lemon juice and 12 of the chopped cilantro, reserve the rest or garnish.

If we weren't in the midst of "clean eating" challenge at home I might have drizzled the top of the soup with olive oil or better yet fried up some garlicky croutons but even on it's own this simple soup got no complaints.

Another Thanksgiving Eve

Another year gone by and already we are deep into the fall. Tomorrow, pretty much my favorite holiday,  is sure to be a big eating day -- even though we are boycotting turkey and the usual sides this year. Preparing for our Thanksgiving eat-a-thon I thought a light soup with fresh, crisp flavors was just the thing for stomachs in training. I made a quick stock with shrimp shells and flavored the broth with minced lemon grass, chiles, garlic and ginger. The shrimp and some nice small mussels I found at the store poached in the broth which I then flavored in the traditional Thai sweet tangy sour way with fish sauce, soy, and lime juice. Fortified with brown rice and topped with a shower of fresh cilantro this soup was an unusual welcome flavor for our table. A little something from far away before the most American of American days.

Two Weeks Away, Looking At Two More

I just made it home -- long enough to wash clothes, snuggle with the dogs and gather an armful of kale for a quick soup. Loosely based on Portugal's Caldo verde I sauté smoked sausage (usually linguica) along with onions, peppers, and loads of garlic in olive oil. After the veggies are soft I toss in loads of cubed potatoes, give them a turn in the flavorful oil and pour in chicken broth, along with the flesh of a few grated tomatoes. I usually open a can of beans but our garden offered some oversized Romanos that I can chop up and add into the stew. I bring it all to a boil and let the soup simmer for about 15 minutes. Then I add plenty of shredded kale. After another 15 minutes soup is ready.
Because the girls have been busy while I was away I poach a fresh egg in the bubbling broth and serve everything with a sprinkled of parmesan cheese. Everything is better with cheese.

After Turkey Soup

I always make soup after thanksgiving and our recent turkey dinner in August was no exception, and a great excuse to clean up a variety of leftovers in the fridge.
I started with the turkey carcass, two roughly chopped onions, bay leaves and two stalks of celery in a pot of water  along with my soup secret -- about 1/2 cup of left over gravy -- to make a tasty stock. I left that pot simmer for about an hour and then strained the stock reserving the meat from the turkey bones.
In a clean stock pot I sautéed diced carrots, onions, bell peppers (I don't usually use bell peppers in my soup but I had a drawer full), chopped garlic, a couple chili peppers, and chopped celery in olive oil. After a couple minutes when the vegetables were starting to soften I poured in the reserved stock and let the soup simmer for 30 minutes. Then I piled in a good quantity of chopped kale, fresh from our garden. I gave the kale 20 minutes or so to get tender and then made use of quite a few leftovers -- cooked potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, cooked rice, and the turkey meat I pulled off the bones from the stock.
James had no idea he had seen any of the ingredients earlier in the week. He just knew he was so happy with his savory soup supper he went back for seconds.

Greens From The Garden

There is no excuse. Every year I plant a garden and every year I forget how happily robust good kale can grow. This year I think I put in even more than usual and we are over grown with leafy greens to eat, share with the birds, and offer as a treat to the neighboring cattle.
For James on a somewhat chilly August evening I started on a thick kale filled stew. First I sautéed onions and garlic in olive oil. Then I added in a container of flavorful white beans I'd pulled from our freezer. Next I poured in rounds of chicken Italian sausage (browned in a skillet), mountains of chopped kale from our garden, bay leaves, chopped rosemary, chili flakes, S&P, peeled chopped carrots and about 1 quart of water. Everything simmered together for around 30 minutes until the fresh kale was sweet and tender.
To make our evening stew extra hearty, and to use up the odds and ends of pasta in our pantry I added in some cooked noodles and topped our stew with a dollop of pesto (a lettuce and basil combo made from out garden and stored in the freezer) and shredded cheese.
Garden fresh Italian style.

A Soup I'm Kinda Proud Of

No I suppose it's not particularly festive or particularly Americana but towards the end of the week I like to use up what's left in the fridge before I hit the farmer's market and fill up the crisper bins again. This week I seemed to have a lot of lettuce. At the market it just looked so fresh and green and beautiful I couldn't resist. Then I wasn't here to eat it. So, I returned home to a collection of once beautiful lettuces maybe a bit past their prime.
I could do a quick lettuce pesto for the freezer. But I decided on soup. A smooth green puree of lettuce and in this case peas -- I had a handful or so of those left too.
I started a pot with olive oil and butter. When the oil was hot I added in one chopped onion and a couple cloves of minced garlic. I cooked the onion until soft but not colored and added in two russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes, the shelled peas -- probably about 1 cup -- and two heads of lettuce torn into pieces. Normally I would use soft butter lettuces for this type of soup but I only had one butter and a crisp romaine. Because my butter lettuce was a red leaf I worried about the eventual color of my soup so I tossed in a handful of flat leaf parsley for a bit of bright flavor and color. Along with the lettuces I poured in about 4 cups of chicken broth -- for a lighter soup I could have used water. I brought the liquid up to a simmer and allowed the pot to bubble until the potatoes were tender -- about 15 minutes.
While puréeing the soup in the blender I seasoned the mixture with S&P and added in a small handful of basil leaves for more bright color and flavor.
I served this creamy, mildly flavored soup with an assertive arugula pesto (arugula, olive oil, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, almonds, garlic, S&P) -- more salad leaf leftovers -- and garlic flavored cornbread croutons.
Soup for dinner and a cleaner fridge.

Lentil Soup

We've had a couple days of lovely spring rain. Everything looks so green and bright and the new plants could not be happier. The days are crisp but not too cold, birds are everywhere, the sun takes it's time hiding in the west. The fresh wet days seemed like a perfect time for a soup and salad dinner -- especially with leftover Easter ham ready to be used. I started out as I do with most soups by sautéing carrots, onions and celery in olive oil. I tossed in fresh thyme, chopped garlic, crushed red peppers and S&P. After pouring in 1 cup of lentils, about 6 cups of chicken broth, 1 small can of tomatoes (canned from last year's garden) I left the soup to simmer (after coming to  a boil) for 20 minutes and then added in diced, peeled potatoes, cubed ham and mounds of chopped kale. After another 15 minutes simmering I was ready to bring soup to the table topped with piquant pecorino cheese and zesty garlic flavored olive oil. A wintery dish for a blustery spring day.

Ina and Me

There are several TV shows James and I watch together but we each have a DVR list we watch while the other is away. I tend to fall asleep early while James stays up late. Most nights (or early early mornings) I lay in bed watching those saved shows while the rest of he world sleeps.
The other night I happened to watch an episode of Barefoot Contessa I had recorded by accident. Ins was making a hearty "winter minestrone." Given the rainy days and storehouse of last season's squash that seemed like a recipe worth keeping. She started with pancetta -- can't go wrong there. I added in Italian sausage I had in the freezer and browned everything together. Next BC sautes her vegetables in the same pot -- cubed butternuts squash, onions, carrots, celery, along with fresh garlic and thyme. Next goes in a large can of tomatoes, chicken stock, S&P, and a bay leaf (which I added earlier). The liquid is brought to a boil and left to simmer for 30 minutes. In Ina's recipe she uses spinach tossed into the hot liquid just a bit before serving. James and I prefer hearty kale so I added that with the liquid and let it simmer. Just like Ina I added beans and cooked pasta and to this point honestly it was like any other minestrone I ever made. Nothing too special. But then at the very end comes the lively touch that separates this recipe from everyday (and probably from any authentic Italian recipe). Just before ladling out bowls of the thick soup BC's recipe stirs in a couple TB of ready made (mine was homemade in the freezer) pesto sauce and about 1/2 cup of white wine.
I've never really thought too much about BC's recipes before. She has a fondness for mayonnaise I always found a bit overboard and most of her dishes seemed just a bit pedestrian. But his little touch not only enlivened this easy soup but is a trick I may steal for years of soups to come.

Greek Style Soup

I love homemade soup. It's a great place to hide leftovers or a collection of remnants in the freezer and still feels comforting and somehow special. I reached into our too small freezer and pulled out the bag of chicken parts (I save backs and necks and wings to make stock) and duck bones from a long ago sinner and started them in the stockpot with 12 cups of water, 2 stalks of celery, 2 halved onions, 2 carrots, 1 clove garlic, 2 bay leaves, and a sprinkling of peppercorns. I brought to stock pot up to a boil and let everything simmer for about 90 minutes.
This Greek style lemon and chicken soup, avgolemono, is traditionally clear broth thickened with lemon juice and egg yolks. I saved some of the meat from the stock to mix into the soup. After straining the stock I brought the soup to a simmer and added in a few cups of leftover rice (and the reserved chicken meat). Avgolemono is generally made with orzo pasta but rice is sometimes substituted and we had rice on hand. In a separate bowl I whisked 3 eggs until frothy and then mixed in the juice of two lemons. I slowly mixed in a couple ladles of hot broth to temper the eggs and then added the now warm egg mixture back into the stockpot. After 10 minutes on low -- you don't want to boil the soup after the eggs are added so they don't curdle -- we had tangy, lemony, homemade soup.

Freezer Cleaning Soup

I've been nursing a cold. And I'm nearly on my way out of town again. I like to leave James easy to find and easy to reheat meals in the freezer when I am away from home so I needed to make a little room. I took out the bag of chicken backs and bones and various parts not cooked for dinner and a collection of turkey bones and some meat from a roasted bird. I dumped the meats into a stock pot, added celery, carrot, onion, bay leaf and peppercorns and let the liquid simmer until I had a rich stock.
I strained the sock and started a clean pot with chopped onion, clever, leek, garlic, and carrot sautéing in olive oil. After about 8 minutes I added in the strained stock and brought the liquid briefly to a boil. At this point I thickened the soup with leftover gravy (also cleaned out of the freezer). Handfuls of cubed potatoes and chopped cabbage went in and the pot was allowed to simmer for about 15 minutes until the potatoes were tender. I finished the soup with cooked noodles and chopped meat (reserved from the stock pot).
Hearty, warm dinner and a clean freezer. The perfect way to get over a cold.

Yesterday's Gravy Tonight's Soup

I don't know why I've never thought of it before. Gravy -- especially the cream gravy I make for fried chicken -- is basically a roux. Sometimes I thicken soup with a roux. Today I thickened our soup with gravy.
First I sautéed carrots, onions, celery and after a couple minutes a bit of chopped garlic in olive oil. When those vegetables softened up I added in sliced mushrooms, about 3 quarts of chicken broth, chopped turkey (I had that in the freezer) and some of the leftover chicken (without the skin) and a heavy half cup gravy. The soup came up to a boil and then simmered for about 10 minutes, One disappointment -- no egg noodles in the house. Cooked in the creamy savory broth they would have been delicious. Instead I grabbed the last of a bag of penne and tossed them in (pre-cooked) for a creamy noodle soup dinner.

A Garden Patch Of Celery

For some reason in the excitement of my new garden this past spring, I planted a big bed of celery. True, I like to add the cleanly flavorful leaves to sauces and herb salads but rarely do I make a side dish of braised celery as the Italians do. Most recipes I whip up use just a couple stalks. So now with a patch brimming with bright green stalks I needed recipes featuring this oft maligned vegetable.
Today I stared with this creamy celery soup based on one I found at marthastewart.com.
I sautéed one chopped onion, one peeled, cubed potato, and about 15 stalks of celery with the leaves in a good sized knob of butter. After 10 minutes or so I added in 6 cups of water and S&P to season and brought the liquid up to a boil. After simmering for 20 minutes the potato and celery were tender and the broth delicately flavored. In two batches, I puréed the soup in the blender along with a good sized dollop of creme fraiche.
Even creamier might have been better (or with a "little garlic and onion" as James generally suggests) but all in all not bad for a quick, garden fresh, homemade soup. Just right for dipping a gooey grilled cheese.

Just Like A Roman Grandmother

Hot soup for a scratchy throat. I came home with a bit of a cough. James still isn't feeling 100 percent. Seemed like a good night for soup -- especially since I had three bottles of homemade, rich, delicious sock in the freezer.
Stracciatella from the Italian stracciato meaning ragged or torn apart is used to describe not only this comforting Roman-style soup, but also (remember this one it comes in handy) chocolate chip ice cream. In Italy chocolate chip gelato is, instead of our chips, more like threads of melted chocolate frozen into the cream base. In stracciatella the soup, eggs take on that shredded look. Though more traditional versions are nothing more than stock, eggs, parmesan cheese (sometimes semolina) and parsley, I added a handful of spinach and a scoop of rice for a more filling (less convalescent) supper.
To make your own version bring broth to a boil and add in several handfuls of spinach. Let the soup with the greens simmer for just a minute and then stir in eggs beaten with grated parmesan cheese and S&P. Some people, like Italian super chef Mario Batali, add 1 TB of semolina per egg (2 cups of broth per egg overall) and some cold stock to the beaten eggs before adding to boiling broth and finish by whisking for 3 to 4 minutes). I just stirred in the eggs and let the shreds form where they may for a light supper soup topped with grated cheese.

Just What The Doctor Ordered

James has been a bit under the weather lately. His doctor actually prescribed -- along with some pharmaceutical and I'm sure less effective treatments -- chicken soup. Who am I to argue with medical science?