SOUPS ON
Editors share their favorite soup recipes.
Creamed Leek and Potato Soup
I first came across this type of "creamed" vegetable soup in Barcelona in 1972 and I couldn't get enough of what seemed to be sinfully rich cream based soups. Inquiries and poking my nose into kitchens uncovered the secret. No cream whatsoever, just a delightful, creamy puree. So eat and enjoy without guilt.
This first soup is a particular favorite because with a little tweaking, the same technique and ingredients can yield several variations. It is also delicious as a cold summer soup.
Prep and cook time just under an hour. Serves 6
Ingredients
1 TBS butter
2 TBP olive oil
3 large or 4 medium sized leeks
6 medium red potatoes (I classify 'medium' as between a golf ball and tennis ball in size)
1 large apple, variety you choose will influence flavor so if you don't want a hint of sweetness, avoid sweet apples.
1 clove garlic peeled
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup water
Maldon sea salt (I'm a salt snob and this is the only salt I use)
Fresh ground black pepper
Sprig of rosemary, 2-3 sage leaves.
1 cup shredded mild cheese
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
Tools
Hand held blender
Soup pot
Wax paper
Preparation
Cut off the dark green stalk of the leeks, peel back the tough outer layers. Split the base of the leek with a sharp kitchen knife and fan out the layers under cold running water. Shake dry . Slice the leek into 1/4 inch half moons. Place on a kitchen towel and dry.
If the potatoes are young, fresh and unblemished, don't bother to peel them. Slice into thin rounds.
Slice garlic clove into thin slices.
Peel and core apple, slice into thin slices
Melt butter with the olive oil in the soup pot. Use a low heat. Add leeks. Cover with a round of wax paper and tuck the paper in around the side of the leeks. Cover with the pan lid. Still on a low heat "sweat' the leeks for about 10 minutes or until tender. This is a technique that brings out full flavor. Do not let the leeks brown or fry.
Add the potatoes and liquids to the pan. Turn up the heat. bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes. Ad the apples, sage, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper. Return to the boil, cover and simmer about 10 more minutes. If thin enough, the potatoes will cook quickly.
Remove from heat, fish out the rosemary and sage. use a hand held blender to puree the soup to a creamy consistency. The consistency will depend on how waxy the potatoes are. You can thin out by adding a little more broth or water.
Check the seasoning adding more salt and pepper to taste.
Serve garnished with cheese and green onion. (Omit cheese if serving as a cold soup).
Variations
Small variations but they produce distinctive flavor changes.
Substitute organic chicken stock for vegetable stock. if you do this variations, use marjoram rather than the stronger rosemary and sage.
Substitute parsnip, carrots for the apple.
Substitute butternut squash for the potato
Add 1 Cup of full bodied white wine rather than water.
The Last of the bird. Foolproof stock
Prep time under 5 minutes. Cook time 8-10 hours.
I frequently will freeze a chicken carcass and wait until I have time to get this stock underway.
Ingredients
Cooked Turkey or chicken carcass
4 carrots
2 stalks of celery
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
sprig of rosemary
3 sage leaves
Maldon sea salt (you can substitute another sea salt but don't use the fine ground supermarket variety of salt)
fresh ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
water
Tools
Crock pot/slowcooker
large soup pot
large strainer
large bowl
8 oz. paper cups (optional see end note)
Preparation
Break up the carcass so that it fits in to the crock pot
Wash but do not peel carrots and celery. Cut into chunks
Peel onion and cut into quarters
peel garlic and leave whole
Add all of the above to the crock pot with the carcass along with the herbs and seasoning
Fill to the 3/4 mark with water.
Put the lid on and cook on high for 8 hours.
When cool enough to handle. strain the contents into a large bowl, discard all solids. Save the liquid.
At this stage you can chill until the fat solidifies and remove it or you can continue.
Pour the liquids into a soup pot. bring to a boil and simmer until reduced by 1/2.
At this stage you will have an intense soup stock. If you waited to remove the fat, chill the stock for several hours, scrape off the fat and proceed.
Pour the cooled stock into 8 oz. disposable cups, wrap tightly, label and freeze. Or just go ahead and use the stock! Will keep for several days unfrozen. Use as a base for any number of recipes calling for the addition of stock.
Ma Bodeen's Hearty Vegetable Soup
I aspire to be the cook that Gerry is. As a matter of fact one of my life list items is to take cooking classes. You can hold me to this. What I am is a quick and easy cook. This vegetable soup recipe is from my mom and has so many wonderful, nutritious things in it....and it tastes so good! Because this soup is usually made in winter, alot of the ingredients are found in the frozen section of the grocery store. When you can find fresh, use it.
Ingredients
1 lb stew meat
2 lg potatoes, cut into bite size pieces
1 lg onion, cut into bite size pieces
1 8oz bag fresh tiny carrots
1 8oz container of fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 8oz bag of frozen baby lima beans
1 8oz bag of frozen sweet corn
1 8oz bag of frozen green beans
1 8oz bag of frozen peas
2 16oz cans of tomato sauce
2 beef bouillon cubes
Enough water to pot to cover all vegetables
salt and pepper to taste
Now heres the fun part. Throw, with gay abandon, all the ingredients into a large crockpot or large soup pot. Stir. Now add water until sauce is close to the top of the pot. Cover and cook. A crockpot can cook the ingredients all day. A pot on the stove will take 3-4 hours on low.
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