Category Archives: Soups

Carrot Soup (with a twist)

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This is a long overdue post but I need to get it on the site before I totally forget the recipe! I made this early October when I wanted to savor the flavors of late summer as long as possible. I thought it would be nice to make a carrot soup but wanted it to taste light and refreshing (like summer). Typically you find carrots paired with ginger in soup recipes which is great for winter and the holidays but I wanted to try out some other flavors. I found that lemon and lots of dill make a delicious version to have on hand (i.e. in my freezer).

What you’ll need:

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 pounds carrots (typically equals 10 large carrots), scrubbed clean and sliced into 1/2-inch chunks
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 6 cups homemade vegetable stock (chicken stock works too)
  • Juice from half of a lemon (probably 1-2 tablespoons depending on the juiciness of the lemon)
  • 3/4 cup chopped fresh dill (packed)
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • Optional toppings: toasted seeds, extra virgin olive oil, sour cream, etc…

Directions:

  • Melt butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add carrots and salt and toss to combine. Add the broth and bring to boil then reduce heat to low and simmer until carrots are tender (about 30 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool completely.
  • Pour soup into a blender and puree until smooth. You can also use an immersion blender if you don’t have time to let the soup cool.
  • Return the soup to the pot and reheat. Add the lemon juice, dill, and pepper to taste.
  • Ladle soup into bowls and top with whatever you like (or nothing at all). Enjoy!

Tips:

  • It may seem like a lot of dill but trust me, the flavor is so mild that you need that much or potentially more. The dill can be replaced with other fresh herbs but probably need to reduce the amount depending on how strong of a flavor your herb of choice has (like rosemary or tarragon…).
  • The lemon juice can be replaced with orange juice for a different flavor profile. Might have to try that next time….

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Butternut Squash + Black Bean Chili

Posted in American, Soups by

I got really busy with summer weekends away and then I just got lazy for a while… Now I’m back!

As soon as football season starts I crave chili but I’ve been trying really hard to limit my meat intake (probably too much cheeseburger pie…). Fall is also squash season so I wanted to try substituting butternut squash for the beef and it turned out so lovely! Think of this as a lightened up version of chili that doesn’t miss out on that beautiful, complex spice flavor. I’m not a vegetarian so there is still a bit of meat tucked in there but it’s very easy to leave out or replace. It may seem like there is a lot of chile in this recipe but it comes out surprisingly mild.

butternut squash chili

What you’ll need:

  • 4 strips of applewood smoked bacon, chopped into lardons
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 jalapeño, minced (keep the seeds)
  • 3 tablespoons ancho chile powder
  • 1 tablespoon New Mexico chile powder (can replace with half ancho/half cayenne)
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 2 tablespoons pureed chipotle in adobo
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 bottle of dark beer (I use porter)
  • 1 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • 1 large (or 2 small) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 2 15-oz cans of low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
  • Salt + pepper
  • Cilantro, green onions, grated cheddar cheese, and Mexican crema for garnish

Directions:

  • Add bacon lardons to a cold Dutch oven and place over medium heat. Cook until crispy then remove with a slotted spatula and place on a plate lined with paper towels. Reserve for garnish.
  • Saute the onions in the rendered bacon fat until translucent. Add bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeño and cook for another minute to soften. Add the chile powders and cumin and cook for 30 seconds then add the chipotle and tomato paste and cook an additional 30 seconds. The mix should be very potent!
  • Add the bottle of beer and deglaze, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to get all the good stuff. Once the liquid has almost completely cooked off and the mixture looks dark and pasty, add the crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, and squash. Return to a boil then lower heat to simmer. Let cook for 40-45 minutes uncovered or until the squash is fork-tender. Add black beans and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Check for seasonings and add salt/pepper to taste.
  • Let cool slightly then serve in individual bowls with toppings on the side. Enjoy!

Tips:

  • This could easily be vegetarian/vegan by omitting the bacon and using a couple tablespoons of olive oil to cook the veggies and replacing the chicken stock with vegetable or mushroom stock.
  • To get that complex chili flavor it’s necessary to have chiles, dark beer, and tomatoes. Besides that you can mess around with the rest of the ingredients. Try different types of chiles – powders or dried chiles (soaked in hot water and pureed)!

Spicy Corn and Sweet Potato Chowder

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So, seasons in San Francisco are totally whack. We have summer temps in the winter and now that June is here it’s COLD. One thing I can count on is summer produce and that means fresh, delicious, sweet corn. Mmmmmm sweet corn. I love making corn and black bean salsa or some type of succotash… Basically dishes that use spice to balance out the corn’s sweetness. I wanted to try something new and because soups are my jam, I decided to try my hand at a chowder. Since it’s bathing suit season I wanted to lighten it up and replace the heavy fatness with summer freshness. By finely chopping the mirepoix and letting the sweet potatoes break down during the cooking you create a natural thickness to the soup that eliminates the need of a full cup of heavy cream (I like to add a little at the end to bring it all together still).

What you’ll need:

  • 5 cups chicken stock
  • 4 ears of corn, kernels cut off and cobs reserved
  • 4 pieces of applewood smoked bacon, cut into lardons
  • 1 sweet onion, finely chopped
  • 2 carrots, finely chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 jalapenos, chopped (leave the seeds/stems for extra spice)
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 tsps cayenne pepper
  • Salt + freshly ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1/4 chopped parsley

Directions:

  • Place stock and corn cobs in a pot over medium-low heat. Simmer to infuse the stock with the corn flavor.
  • In a large pot or dutch oven saute the bacon lardons over medium heat until crispy. Remove with a slotted spatula and place on paper towels to drain. There should be about 3-4 tablespoons bacon fat left in the pot (add butter if you feel there’s not enough fat).
  • Saute onion, carrots, and celery over medium heat for 4 minutes or until translucent and tender. Add the bell pepper, jalapenos, garlic, and cayenne and saute for another minute. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Add the flour and stir to make a roux. Cook until the color turns to blond, about two minutes.
  • Remove cobs from the stock and add to the veggie mixture. Stir to combine. Add remaining ingredients including corn kernels and cook for another 20 minutes.
  • Just before serving add parsley to the soup. Ladle into bowls and top with the crispy bacon. Enjoy!

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Roasted Chicken Bone Stock

Posted in Basics, Soups by

Okay so I recently switched doing stock from the basic “throw it all in a pot” method to taking a few extra steps prior and the result is phenomenal. I took a knife skills class a few months ago and they taught us how to break down a whole chicken. You can usually find whole chickens for a cheaper price per pound than chicken breasts so why not buy the whole bird and use all the parts in the stock? Genius! I go to a snobby meat market because I love to know exactly where my meat lived it’s precious life and what it ate during that time. Anyway, they had these beautiful chickens from a farm in Sebastapol and I had to indulge. I broke down the chicken so I had the breast meat separated from the rest of the bones and cooked those for dinner (separate recipe). With the rest of the chicken (bones plus dark meat) I roasted them with some veggies before throwing them in the stock pot. The result is a deep, rich stock that is a great base to any soup or dish.

What you’ll need:

  • Bones + dark meat from a whole chicken
  • 3 carrots, roughly chopped
  • 4 celery stalks, roughly chopped
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 4 garlic cloves (left whole)
  • Olive oil, salt + pepper
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns
  • Stalks from 1 bunch of parsley
  • 6 thyme sprigs
  • 1 bay leaf

Directions:

  • Combine chicken, carrots, celery, onions, and garlic on a rimmed baking sheet and coat with olive oil. Season with salt + pepper and roast in a 400 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. The veggies should be starting to caramelize and the bones should release some of their juice.
  • Add the remaining ingredients to a large stock pot. Top with the roasted ingredients and cover with cold water.
  • Bring stock to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 3.5 to 4 hours.
  • Strain, let cool, then remove the layer of fat on the top.
  • Enjoy!

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Super Soup!

Posted in Soups by

I make it a point to have some version of healthy soup in my freezer at all times. I try to pack it full of various vegetables and legumes and always use my own homemade chicken stock as the base. You never know when you’re going to wake up with a terrible cold (or hangover….) and you can barely muster up the energy to walk to the kitchen. The nutrients in this soup are guaranteed to make you feel better, whatever your ailment, and studies show that it might even work to prevent hangovers if consumed under the influence the night before 🙂

As with pretty much all of these recipes you can mix it up as you please. A standard soup starts with a mirepoix (onion, celery, carrots) so I suggest you start there and add what you like on top of that. I love chunks of carrots so I always keep those larger than the celery and onion. I had half of a red bell pepper in my fridge that I wanted to use up so it’s included in this recipe but I hadn’t added peppers before. It was good! The green veggies should be added in later to keep them green and al dente (soggy broccoli is not yummy). Blanching the broccoli first will keep the color the best but if you don’t have time you can add them straight into the pot. The spices in this recipe are similar to what you would use for a chili recipe so it produces a deep, rich, spicy flavor. The addition of tomato paste and dark beer also adds to the likeness to chili. You won’t even miss the ground beef!

What you’ll need:

  • 1 cup dried beans (I buy Rancho Gordo and mix it up with different shapes, sizes, and colors. Have fun!), soaked for 10 hours or overnight
  • 1 vegetable bouillon cube (if you don’t have this on hand just omit and make sure to salt the water liberally and throw in some veggies with the beans) FullSizeRender 40
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • 3 stalks celery, diced
  • 3 medium carrots, roughly chopped
  • Half of a red bell pepper, diced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp ancho chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp red chili flake
  • 1 tsp paprika (hot or sweet)FullSizeRender 41
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 2 T tomato paste
  • 1 cup of dark beer (I like porter or brown ale)
  • 1 bunch of red chard or any dark leafy green, roughly chopped
  • 1 crown of broccoli, chopped into florets and blanched
  • 6-8 cups of chicken stock (homemade!!!)

Directions:

  • Drain beans from soaking water and place in large pot (I use a pasta pot for easy draining later). Cover completely with water and add bouillon cube or fresh veggies. Bring water to a boil and simmer until tender. The time will vary depending on the size of the beans so just read the package and check on them a few times. They’ll cook more later in the soup but they should be at al dente.
  • In a large heavy pot or dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add celery and carrots and continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes. Add bell pepper and garlic and cook for an additional minute.
  • Add spices and tomato paste and cook for a minute (this takes the rawness out of the ingredients). Add the beer and deglaze the pot by scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon. Simmer until the alcohol is cooked out and the beer and spices glaze the veggies.
  • Add the chard and cook until it starts to wilt. Add in the broccoli, cooked beans, and chicken stock and stir to combine. Simmer on low for an hour to let the flavors meld together. Check for seasonings at the end, you’ll most likely need to add some more salt depending on how you like it.
  • Serve with some grated parmesan on top or chopped herbs. Freeze leftovers in single serving tupperware for an instant remedy 🙂FullSizeRender 43

TIPS:

  • Blanching broccoli: add florets to a pot of boiling, salted water and cook for a minute. Remove from pot with a slotted spoon or mesh strainer and immediately plunge into an ice bath. The broccoli will remain a vibrant green and the nutrients are locked in.
  • When choosing leafy greens for the soup avoid spinach or anything that quickly wilts/breaks down. You’ll end up with spinach mush. I like to use a green with a fibrous, firm stem so that it holds together throughout the cooking.

Asian Hot & Sour Soup

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I’m calling this soup “Asian Hot & Sour” because the flavors were inspired by Thai, Vietnamese, and Chinese soups I love. I’d say it most resembles Tom Yum… Essentially I decided to totally wing it and try to make a tasty soup and it actually turned out pretty good!! I’m sure there are many ways to do this better but for a first attempt I’m pretty proud. I’m fortunate to have access to some exotic ingredients at my local grocery store although I couldn’t find kaffir lime leaves or galangal which would have really made this soup sing I’m sure! Luckily ginger can be substituted for galangal but kaffir is a unique flavor that can’t be replaced. Oh well!FullSizeRender 35

Here’s what you’ll need for all components:

  • 1 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined (reserve shells)
  • Five stalks of lemongrass, outer layers removed (four roughly chopped and the last thinly sliced)
  • 2 x 1-inch knobs of ginger, peeled (one kept whole, one finely chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh turmeric
  • I bunch of cilantro (leaves chopped, stems reserved)
  • 2 yellow onions (one quartered, peel kept intact, and the other peeled and sliced thick)
  • 6 cloves garlic (4 kept whole, two finely chopped)
  • 5 stalks green onion (2 roughly chopped, 3 sliced)
  • 1 pound mixed wild mushrooms (whatever looks good – oyster is my fave)
  • 12 thai chilis, stems removed (can substitute with 2-3 jalapeños if you can’t find the little thai ones)
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • Olive oil

For the broth:

  • Combine the shrimp shells, the four stalks of roughly chopped lemongrass, one knob of ginger, one tablespoon turmeric, stems from cilantro bunch, one yellow onion (quartered), 4 garlic cloves (left whole), 2 stalks of green onion (roughly chopped), mushroom stems, and chilis in a large stock pot. Fill pot with water to the top.
  • Simmer stock until water is reduced in half. BE CAREFUL – this happens faster than with other stocks! I accidentally over reduced the mixture (twice!). Makesure that your heat setting is on low as you want the mixture to cook as long as possible without losing too much water so that maximum flavor is created.
  • Strain mixture and reserve stock (can be made a day or two in advance).

For the soup:

  • Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy duty pot or dutch oven.
  • Sauté the onions for a couple minutes until they start to get translucent.
  • Add the mushrooms and sauté, stirring continuously until they release their moisture.
  • Add the remaining lemongrass, ginger, turmeric, and garlic and cook for a couple minutes until the flavors start to develop.
  • Add the cleaned shrimp and cooked until they just START to turn pink (they’re going to keep cooking once you add the broth in!).
  • Add the reserved broth and simmer for another couple minutes to let the flavors combine.
  • Turn the heat off and add the lime juice, fish sauce, soy sauce, green onion, and 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro leaves. Add more/less of any of these ingredients to suit your palette.

TIPS:

  • This is a completely off-the-cuffrecipe that I messed around with one night. I definitely encourage playing around with it and adding more or less of any ingredient. I looked up a lot of recipes to get some inspiration and then played around with whatever ingredients looked good at the store.
  • I like things spicy and this definitely is HOT! Tone down the number of chilis if you like it milder but remember that the heat dissipates after the stock settles and the other flavors balance the heat out.
  • Try out various mushrooms! I found enoki at the store which give it a noodle-like texture. I also love maitake and shitake. The Thai restaurant I fell in love with Tom Yum at always used straw mushrooms but I haven’t found them as easily.
  • Want a heartier meal? Add udon noodles!! The first night I made this as a first course to a big Sunday dinner and then I warmed up the leftovers the next day and served with udon noodles for a complete meal. YUM!

Roasted Veggie Soup

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I always make sure to have soup of some sort frozen in single portions in my freezer as they are super easy to defrost for a quick dinner aaaaand they’re healthy! This soup is particular easy to make and adapt based off of what’s in season. Since it’s winter this recipe includes a lot of root vegetables however it’s easy to switch it up and do different types of squash or potatoes.FullSizeRender 34

Here’s what you need:

  • 2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 parsnips, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 turnips, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 fennel bulbs, thickly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and kept whole
  • Olive oil
  • 4 Tbs curry powder
  • Salt + pepper
  • 3-4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees
  • Coat veggies in olive oil and toss with curry powder and salt and pepper to taste
  • Place ingredients in a roasting pan and bake until tender (45 – 60 minutes)
  • Let veggies cool completely before moving to the next step
  • Place cooled veggies in a blender with 3 cups of the chicken stock and puree to a smooth consistency. Add additional chicken stock until the soup is at preferred thickness.
  • Transfer soup to a pot and reheat, letting the flavors come together again. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve hot.

TIPS:

  • I like to make the veggies the night before I want to make the soup so that they are already cooled and ready to puree the next night. Also this is a perfect way to transform leftover roasted vegetables from a dinner party!
  • If you want to make the soup silkier feel free to add a couple tablespoons of heavy cream at the very end. I personally don’t think this step is necessary but everyone has their own opinions.
  • Toppings! I like to top with toasted pumpkin seeds or croutons (whatever is on hand). Also a dollop of crème fraîche or sour cream would be lovely!