Tag Archives: soup night

Potato and Leek Bisque

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So we’re getting ready for the polar vortex take two or the arctic blast or Mr. Freeze or Jack Frost or whatever it is that the weathermen are saying.

Which means I’m in soup mode.

I love soup. I could eat soup every night. I can even eat it when it’s hot out. But I especially love it on those chilly nights, ladled out in a coffee mug so you can curl your hand around the warmth as you eat and the liquid warms you from the inside.

This is one of those warming recipes.

It’s super simple too. Added Bonus

You will need

  • 3 leeks
  • 2 potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
  • 1 cup milk (I used 2% but use whatever you have)
  • olive oil
  • Salt
  • pepper
  • water

Start by cleaning your leeks really well. We fill a big bowl with water, split the leeks in half, cut them into chunks and then plop the chunks into the water. The sand and sediment will fall to the bottom while your clean leeks float to the top.

Drizzle olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot and add the leeks. Cook over medium until the leeks are soft. About 10-15 minutes.

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When the leeks are soft, add the milk and the potatoes to the pot, then add enough water to cover the potatoes and the leeks. The milk gives the soup a nice richness and creamyness, but thinning it out with the water keeps it from becoming too heavy.

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Let this cook over medium, stirring, and checking that the milk does not boil. You want to keep it at a simmer until the potatoes are easily pierced with a knife.

Once the potatoes are tender, remove the mixture from the heat, season with salt and pepper and blend.

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Spoon into bowls. To cut the richness, top with some sharp cheddar.

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Broccoli Cheddar Soup

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I’m not one for diets and deprivation, but I’m going to be trying on a wedding dress in a few weeks, I don’t want to have a break down on the pedestal.

I want to be crying because I’m going to marry the man of my dreams in my dream dress, not because I’m a fluffy cake-topper and need to order a size up.

But still, deprived is not a word in my dictionary.

I always try to eat healthy – eating the rainbow, lots of yogurt and veggies and fruits, limiting foods from a package – but if I want a Buttercup Cupcake, I will get it.

So it’s not about giving up. It’s about eating a little smarter.

With dishes like this. A slimmed down broccoli cheddar soup.

The killer in traditional broccoli cheddar soup is the heavy cream and the cheese that’s piled on.

So when I saw this lightened up version in Cooking Light Magazine, I was stoked. Heavier on the veggies, with just a swirl of half and half to keep things creamy. I can’t do low fat cheese, so I stuck with full fat cheddar. And as always, I made a few tweaks to make it mine.

You will need

  • 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
  • 3 ribs of celery with leaves, chopped
  • 1/2 a white onion, chopped
  • 1 large bunch of broccoli, cut into florets
  • 1 carton vegetable stock
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper
  • half and half
  • grated cheddar

Drizzle a heavy bottomed pot with olive oil and toss in the carrot, celery and onion. Simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the veggies start to soften a little. Season with salt and pepper.

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Add in the broccoli.

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Give the pot a big stir then add the vegetable stock. You can use chicken stock, but I wanted to keep this vegetarian.

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Put a lid on the pot and let the vegetables and the stock cook for about 10-15 minutes, until the broccoli is soft.

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Use an immersion blender, blender or food processor to puree the soup. Stir in a few tablespoons of half and half to give the soup a bit of a creamy hint.

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Ladle big bowls and top with shredded cheddar cheese.

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There are so many vegetables in this light and healthy soup that you won’t feel the least bit guilty having a brownie later.

 

Escarole and Cannelini Bean Soup

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It’s kind of gray and drizzly outside today.

There’s 85% humidity.

But that doesn’t matter. Sitting on the couch in the apartment and looking outside at the clouds and the raindrops on the window, I feel a little chilly.

It’s totally in my head. Well aware of that. But still, I feel that chill that rainy days can bring.

And I feel like the only answer is a bowl of soup. And let’s be honest, what’s easier or more itty bitty city kitchen friendly than a one pot meal like soup?

One of the easiest soups I know how to make is the classic escarole and cannelini bean.

I’m a huge fan of escarole. I love it sauteed in olive oil and garlic as a side dish, so I played with that idea and turned the side of greens into the main attraction in this soup.

In a large pot drizzle some olive oil. Toss in half a white onion, diced and two cloves of garlic, diced. To that, throw in a head of escarole that you’ve washed and cut up into manageable pieces. The escarole will take over the pot, but it’s like spinach – it will wilt down a lot.

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Cook the escarole, onions and garlic over medium heat, stirring occasionally to rotate the escarole in the pot. Add a mess of black pepper and some salt.

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When the escarole is wilted, add a can of cannelini beans, rinsed and drained, and stir.

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Add enough water to the pot to cover the escarole and the beans. You can use chicken broth or vegetable broth, too, but I like to keep it simple and use water so that the flavors in the soup really come through. That’s why I used a mess of black pepper. The onions, garlic and the pepper are seasoning the soup.

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Let the soup simmer, covered, for fifteen minutes. Dish up in bowls and top with parmesan cheese.

It may not be cold out, but this will chase away the rainy day blues.

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Paprika, Sweet Potato, Chickpea Stew

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It was great to escape the hustle and bustle of the city this weekend and trade it in for the flash and glitz of the casino.

There’s this sensation in a casino, or state of being maybe is the better phrase, that doesn’t happen anywhere else. There are no clocks, so time doesn’t exist. There are no windows, so day, night, sunny, cloudy, doesn’t matter. And everyone is in the same place for the same reasons – booze, gambling and fun.

It was great to spend time with his family and even better to put a rough week behind us. And I like the occasional night off from cooking.

But all day at work I couldn’t help but be antsy to get back to my kitchen.

It may be teeny, but it’s mine.

After a few overindulgent nights, we needed something light, healthy and vegetarian for Meatless Monday. I wanted fresh, crisp vegetables after so many vodka tonics and greasy fries. I saw quite a few people posting about sweet potatoes on Twitter today. I love sweet potatoes. That got the wheels turning.

I started googling recipes. I came across a sweet potato and chickpea curry. Close. But not quite. That led me to a Moroccan chickpea stew. Again, close, but not ….

Wait a minute!

Why not take the parts from each I like and do a mashup?

This is really the first recipe I’ve completely made up and winged it on.

You will need

  • 1 clove garlic, diced
  • 2 tablespoons shallot, diced
  • 2 sweet potatoes, cubed
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1 can chickpeas
  • a few handfuls baby spinach
  • paprika
  • salt
  • pepper
  • vegetable oil

Drizzle the bottom of the pot with vegetable oil and add in the garlic and shallots, cooking until brown.

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Meanwhile, peel the sweet potatoes. Look at that color! So much good stuff packed in there – potassium, Vitamin C. Okay. I’m not all health and nutrition knowledgeable. So I’ll stick to the cooking. IMG_0756

Dice up the sweet potatoes into bite-size cubes and toss them into the pot, seasoning with salt, pepper and paprika ( a lot of paprika).

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From this point on, it’s just about layering flavors into the pot. Once the potatoes, shallot and garlic are chopped, there’s very little counter space required. This, like most soups, is a great itty bitty city kitchen friendly dish. Okay, let the potatoes cook for about 10 minutes, stirring once or twice so they don’t stick.

Add the can of tomatoes, juice included, and stir.

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Add the can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained.

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Add enough water to the pot to cover the veggies. For me, this was two fills of the chickpea can.

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Cover and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are soft. Just before serving, tear up some baby spinach, stir in, and let it wilt a bit.

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Serve up in bowls with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

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This may be a soup with some hints of Thanksgiving, but it’s still light and refreshing enough for a healthy summer dinner.