My friend Laura dictated this recipe to me a few years back and I finally got around to trying it. The fire roasted tomatoes make a huge difference. I used butternut squash instead of acorn, and it came out terrific.
28 oz can of fire roasted chopped tomatoes
1/2 acorn squash, cut into pieces
32 oz container of Swanson low-sodium chicken broth
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 TBSP brown sugar
1 small can tomato paste
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 TBSP unsalted butter
Place the squash on a cookie sheet and toss with 2 TBSP olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 400 for 30 minutes or until squash is tender.
Saute the garlic in a large saucepan. Add tomoatoes and liquid, tomato paste, brown sugar, and 3 cups chicken broth. Simmer. Add squash and basil and use an immersion blender to combine. Add more chicken broth to thin. Simmer for 30 minutes, or overnight. Add butter.
Showing posts with label soup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label soup. Show all posts
Monday, April 5, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Cauliflower Soup with Pecorino Romano and Truffle Oil
I used orange cauliflower, which added a little color. It was plenty cheesy already, so I didn't think it needed shavings on top, but maybe my cube was too big. It's cool how the cube of cheese flavors the cooking cauliflower and only gets shredded at the end. For the first time I really appreciated the flavor of the truffle oil in something I made.
From Bon Appetit. Serves 6.
2 oz (2 1/2 strips) applewood-smoked bacon, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, chopped
6 cups 1-inch pieces cauliflower (cut from 1 large head)
3 1/2 cups (or more) low salt chicken broth
1 3/4-inch cube of pecorino romano cheese, plus more shavings for serving
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
white or black truffle oil (for drizzling)
Saute bacon in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat until golden brown and some fat renders. Add onion, celery, and garlic. Cover and cook until veggies are soft, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Add cauliflower, 3 1/2 cups broth, and cheese cube. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 20 minutes.
Puree soup in batches in blender. Return to the same pan. Add cream and bring soup to simmer. Thing with more broth by 1/4 cupfuls f desired. Season with salt and pepper.
Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly, cover, and chill. Rewarm before adding cheese shavings and drizzling with truffle oil.
From Bon Appetit. Serves 6.
2 oz (2 1/2 strips) applewood-smoked bacon, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, chopped
6 cups 1-inch pieces cauliflower (cut from 1 large head)
3 1/2 cups (or more) low salt chicken broth
1 3/4-inch cube of pecorino romano cheese, plus more shavings for serving
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
white or black truffle oil (for drizzling)
Saute bacon in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat until golden brown and some fat renders. Add onion, celery, and garlic. Cover and cook until veggies are soft, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Add cauliflower, 3 1/2 cups broth, and cheese cube. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 20 minutes.
Puree soup in batches in blender. Return to the same pan. Add cream and bring soup to simmer. Thing with more broth by 1/4 cupfuls f desired. Season with salt and pepper.
Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly, cover, and chill. Rewarm before adding cheese shavings and drizzling with truffle oil.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Silky butternut squash soup
I did a simplified version of this, where I bought the precut butt squash and steamed it over the sauteed shallots, to which I added less water than they called for. And added less cream. Saved the rest of the unused liquid (it doesn't need that much to get silky in the blender) to freeze, and made a even quicker batch a week later.
Makes 1 1/2 quarts, serving 4 to 6.
Published November 1, 2001. Cooks Illustrated
If you don’t own a folding steamer basket, a pasta pot with a removable pasta insert works well. Some nice garnishes for the soup are freshly grated nutmeg, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, a sprinkle of paprika, or Buttered Cinnamon-Sugar Croutons (see related recipe).
INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium shallots , minced (about 4 tablespoons)
3 pounds butternut squash (about 1 large), unpeeled, squash halved lengthwise, seeds and stringy fibers scraped with spoon and reserved (about 1/4 cup), and each half cut into quarters
Table salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat butter in large Dutch oven over medium-low heat until foaming; add shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add squash scrapings and seeds and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and butter turns saffron color, about 4 minutes. Add 6 cups water and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to Dutch oven and bring to boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low, place squash cut-side down in steamer basket, and lower basket into pot. Cover and steam until squash is completely tender, about 30 minutes. Off heat, use tongs to transfer squash to rimmed baking sheet; reserve steaming liquid. When cool enough to handle, use large spoon to scrape flesh from skin into medium bowl; discard skin.
2. Pour reserved steaming liquid through mesh strainer into second bowl; discard solids in strainer. Rinse and dry Dutch oven.
3. In blender, puree squash and reserved liquid in batches, pulsing on low until smooth. Transfer puree to Dutch oven; stir in cream and brown sugar and heat over medium-low heat until hot. Add salt to taste; serve immediately.
Makes 1 1/2 quarts, serving 4 to 6.
Published November 1, 2001. Cooks Illustrated
If you don’t own a folding steamer basket, a pasta pot with a removable pasta insert works well. Some nice garnishes for the soup are freshly grated nutmeg, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, a sprinkle of paprika, or Buttered Cinnamon-Sugar Croutons (see related recipe).
INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium shallots , minced (about 4 tablespoons)
3 pounds butternut squash (about 1 large), unpeeled, squash halved lengthwise, seeds and stringy fibers scraped with spoon and reserved (about 1/4 cup), and each half cut into quarters
Table salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat butter in large Dutch oven over medium-low heat until foaming; add shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add squash scrapings and seeds and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and butter turns saffron color, about 4 minutes. Add 6 cups water and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to Dutch oven and bring to boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low, place squash cut-side down in steamer basket, and lower basket into pot. Cover and steam until squash is completely tender, about 30 minutes. Off heat, use tongs to transfer squash to rimmed baking sheet; reserve steaming liquid. When cool enough to handle, use large spoon to scrape flesh from skin into medium bowl; discard skin.
2. Pour reserved steaming liquid through mesh strainer into second bowl; discard solids in strainer. Rinse and dry Dutch oven.
3. In blender, puree squash and reserved liquid in batches, pulsing on low until smooth. Transfer puree to Dutch oven; stir in cream and brown sugar and heat over medium-low heat until hot. Add salt to taste; serve immediately.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Cauliflower Soup
From Marisa's Food in Jars blog: http://www.foodinjars.com
2 heads cauliflower, roughly chopped
1 large carrot, diced
2 leeks, well-washed and sliced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup white wine
2 quarts chicken (or vegetable) stock
7-8 grinds of black pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons butter
3 heaping tablespoons flour
3 cups milk
1 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese
1 8-ounce block of cream cheese
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3-4 grinds black pepper
In a large soup pot (I used my 7 1/2 quart Le Creuset), saute the chopped cauliflower, carrots and leeks in the butter and olive oil. Allow them to soften and brown for 7-8 minutes over fairly high heat. When the bottom of the pan begins to brown, deglaze the pan with the white wine (if you don’t want to use white wine, feel free to skip it and head straight to the stock). Use a flat wooden spatula to scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the chicken stock, reduce the heat to medium, apply a lid and allow the veggies to simmer for approximately ten minutes (the larger your veggie chunks were, the longer you’ll want them to simmer).
In a medium saucepan, begin the white sauce by melting the butter over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the flour over the butter and use a whisk to work it together. Let it brown up a bit. When it begins to develop a nice toasted color, pour in a couple of tablespoons of milk and whisk it in to incorporate. Add the milk bit by bit, whisking to incorporate after each pour, until all the milk is worked in (if you pour in all the milk at once, you’ll get lumps).
You should have a white sauce that is of moderate thickness. Add your grated cheese and stir until it’s melted in. Now add the cubed cream cheese (I realize that this is sort of a trashy addition, but believe me, it makes it really yummy). Finally, add the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Once the sauce is smooth, turn the heat down to it’s lowest setting and return your attention to your pot of veggies.
By now, your cauliflower, carrots and leeks should be pretty soft. Now it’s time to puree. I like to use an immersion blender, because you don’t have to dirty another vessel and it doesn’t make the soup too smooth (I like my soup to have some texture). If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a blender, food processor or food mill. Take care when using a blender or food processor though. Work in small batches and use a folded kitchen towel to cover the lid to prevent splatter.
Once the soup is smooth-ish, pour in the cheesy sauce. Carefully stir to incorporate it. Taste and adjust seasonings. Unless you used a salty cheese, it will probably want a bit more salt.
All that’s left to do is have a nice, warming dinner (with plenty of leftovers that you can store in jars and stash in the fridge).
2 heads cauliflower, roughly chopped
1 large carrot, diced
2 leeks, well-washed and sliced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup white wine
2 quarts chicken (or vegetable) stock
7-8 grinds of black pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons butter
3 heaping tablespoons flour
3 cups milk
1 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese
1 8-ounce block of cream cheese
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3-4 grinds black pepper
In a large soup pot (I used my 7 1/2 quart Le Creuset), saute the chopped cauliflower, carrots and leeks in the butter and olive oil. Allow them to soften and brown for 7-8 minutes over fairly high heat. When the bottom of the pan begins to brown, deglaze the pan with the white wine (if you don’t want to use white wine, feel free to skip it and head straight to the stock). Use a flat wooden spatula to scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the chicken stock, reduce the heat to medium, apply a lid and allow the veggies to simmer for approximately ten minutes (the larger your veggie chunks were, the longer you’ll want them to simmer).
In a medium saucepan, begin the white sauce by melting the butter over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the flour over the butter and use a whisk to work it together. Let it brown up a bit. When it begins to develop a nice toasted color, pour in a couple of tablespoons of milk and whisk it in to incorporate. Add the milk bit by bit, whisking to incorporate after each pour, until all the milk is worked in (if you pour in all the milk at once, you’ll get lumps).
You should have a white sauce that is of moderate thickness. Add your grated cheese and stir until it’s melted in. Now add the cubed cream cheese (I realize that this is sort of a trashy addition, but believe me, it makes it really yummy). Finally, add the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Once the sauce is smooth, turn the heat down to it’s lowest setting and return your attention to your pot of veggies.
By now, your cauliflower, carrots and leeks should be pretty soft. Now it’s time to puree. I like to use an immersion blender, because you don’t have to dirty another vessel and it doesn’t make the soup too smooth (I like my soup to have some texture). If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a blender, food processor or food mill. Take care when using a blender or food processor though. Work in small batches and use a folded kitchen towel to cover the lid to prevent splatter.
Once the soup is smooth-ish, pour in the cheesy sauce. Carefully stir to incorporate it. Taste and adjust seasonings. Unless you used a salty cheese, it will probably want a bit more salt.
All that’s left to do is have a nice, warming dinner (with plenty of leftovers that you can store in jars and stash in the fridge).
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Corn chowder
I used bacon instead of salt pork, and frozen corn instead of fresh. It was creamy and incredibly delish--a hit with everyone at the superbowl party I made it for.
Makes about 2 quarts, serving 6. Published Cooks Illustrated, September 1, 2000.
Be sure to use salt pork, not fatback, for the chowder. Streaks of lean meat distinguish salt pork from fatback; fatback is pure fat. We prefer Spanish onions for their sweet, mild flavor, but all-purpose yellow onions will work fine too.
INGREDIENTS
10 ears corn (medium), husks and silks removed
3 ounces salt pork , trimmed of rind and cut into two 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 large onion , preferably Spanish, chopped fine
2 medium cloves garlic , minced (about 2 teaspoons)
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
2 medium red potatoes (about 12 ounces), scrubbed and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
Ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Stand corn on end. Using chef's knife, cut kernels from 4 ears corn (you should have about 3 cups); transfer to medium bowl and set aside. Following illustrations below, grate kernels from remaining 6 ears on large holes of box grater, then firmly scrape any pulp remaining on cobs with back of knife (you should have 2 generous cups kernels and pulp). Transfer to separate bowl and set aside.
2. Sauté salt pork in Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, turning with tongs and pressing down on pieces to render fat, until cubes are crisp and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low, stir in butter and onions, cover pot, and cook until softened, about 12 minutes. Remove salt pork and reserve. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, gradually add stock. Add potatoes, bay leaf, thyme, milk, grated corn and pulp, and reserved salt pork; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add reserved corn kernels and heavy cream and return to simmer; simmer until corn kernels are tender yet still slightly crunchy, about 5 minutes longer. Discard bay leaf and salt pork. Stir in parsley, salt, and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
Makes about 2 quarts, serving 6. Published Cooks Illustrated, September 1, 2000.
Be sure to use salt pork, not fatback, for the chowder. Streaks of lean meat distinguish salt pork from fatback; fatback is pure fat. We prefer Spanish onions for their sweet, mild flavor, but all-purpose yellow onions will work fine too.
INGREDIENTS
10 ears corn (medium), husks and silks removed
3 ounces salt pork , trimmed of rind and cut into two 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 large onion , preferably Spanish, chopped fine
2 medium cloves garlic , minced (about 2 teaspoons)
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
2 medium red potatoes (about 12 ounces), scrubbed and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
Ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Stand corn on end. Using chef's knife, cut kernels from 4 ears corn (you should have about 3 cups); transfer to medium bowl and set aside. Following illustrations below, grate kernels from remaining 6 ears on large holes of box grater, then firmly scrape any pulp remaining on cobs with back of knife (you should have 2 generous cups kernels and pulp). Transfer to separate bowl and set aside.
2. Sauté salt pork in Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, turning with tongs and pressing down on pieces to render fat, until cubes are crisp and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low, stir in butter and onions, cover pot, and cook until softened, about 12 minutes. Remove salt pork and reserve. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, gradually add stock. Add potatoes, bay leaf, thyme, milk, grated corn and pulp, and reserved salt pork; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add reserved corn kernels and heavy cream and return to simmer; simmer until corn kernels are tender yet still slightly crunchy, about 5 minutes longer. Discard bay leaf and salt pork. Stir in parsley, salt, and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
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