The Soup Topic (2005–2006)

[Basilgirl]

I made Biba Caggiano's white bean soup yesterday - improvising of course - isn't that the fun of making soup? I added fresh rosemary, thyme & sage and instead of the potato called for I used the extra potato-y chicken broth from a potato gratin from the night before. Also added a splash of balsamic and much more garlic than was called for. Substitute Nueske's ham chunks for the prosciutto rinds. It is delicious.

[NulloModo]

it's called scotch broth because of the lamb and the barley and the carrots and i grew up on the sucker.  course i grew up on pepper pot but haven't tried to cook with tripe - yet.

scotch would be way too heavy.  the heaviest i have gone is with sherry or incorporating wine into a soup

←

I'm not sure if there wouldn't be a soup that Scotch could enhance though... After all, a good mushroom soup, or beer and cheese soup, is enhanced by a shot of bourbon in the end, and scotch isn't really that much heavier than bourbon is.

Actually, I find a lot of Scotches to have lighter and more delicated flavors than some Sherries I have had...

[NulloModo]

Ah, so soup tonight for me.

I felt like something light and warm, and didn't really have the ingredients on hand for any recipes that looked interesting, so I improvised:

Browned about a quarter of a large onion in some sesame oil, then to the pot added a couple tablespoons of crushed red pepper, a tablespoon or so of fresh grated ginger, some pepper, a tin of anchovies, and can of chicken stock. I let it come to a boil and then swirled in a couple eggs ala egg-drop soup.

Overall it was actually very tasty, the soup didn't have a fishy taste, but the anchovies rounded everything else out, and the ginger gave it a great fresh kick.

[Jaymes]

How about Sauerkraut Soup.... I don't believe anyone else has mentioned it. Am I the only one that likes it?

[fifi]

How about Sauerkraut Soup....  I don't believe anyone else has mentioned it.  Am I the only one that likes it?

←

Probably.

I just remembered that I have about two cups of turkey/onion/paprika juice in the fridge from the paprika turkey thighs that I did. I have just about eaten all of the turkey but might have enough to add to the soup. (Damn, that was a good way to do turkey thighs.) Now I am thinking of how to turn that into a small pot of soup over the weekend. Any ideas? For some stupid reason, potato cubes and peas popped into my head. I'm not sure about that.

[Marlene]

maggie, I have all this chicken and beef stock now. I can make soup!

[Jensen]

How about Sauerkraut Soup....  I don't believe anyone else has mentioned it.  Am I the only one that likes it?

←

I've never had it but I love sauerkraut. Can you share a recipe?

(and, while I'm waiting, I'm off to ask Mr. Google!)

[maggiethecat]

Pepin's Pumpkin and Roasted Walnut Soup., from Fast Food My Way We have a winner.

This soup is deeply, deeply pumpkin, because he calls for the same canned pumpkin you buy in November for Thanksgiving pies. The canned food folks have pureed and concentrated this stuff, so it's more powerful than the result of steaming and pureeing the real thing, to say nothing of the savings in time and aggro to the cook. The garnish I messed with, because I didn't have walnuts, I had pistachios. I caramelized them with some sugar and cayenne. But this garnish is Pepin's genious: the nuts add bite, texture and contrast with the dab of sour cream. I skipped the chives, because I grow my own, and they're nestling under a mini-snowbank.

Methode? A snap. Sweat a cup apiece of chopped onions and celery with a couple of garlic cloves. Add four cups chicken broth and simmer for about ten minutes. (This smells great.) Throw in the can of pumpkin and simmer for about the same amount of time. Puree. Garnish with the sour cream and nuts. Serve it forth.

It serves four, so I have another supper's worth without stressing the capacity of my freezer. This soup is really fast, really good, and Jacques all the way. Two spoons up.

[bloviatrix]

Maggie, that sounds great. I love canned pumpkin. I buy several cans every Thanksgiving and work my way through it during the winter.

What size can does the recipe call for? 14 oz or 28 oz? I want to try it.

[maggiethecat]

Blovie: The standard 15 oz. can. You have them in your pantry. (As I do!)

[Rachel Perlow]

You guys inspired me. Why not make more soup? Jason loves it too. So, even though it's not the proscribed soup of the week, I made some pasta e fagiole today, one of his favorites.

I used the quick oven method for the dried white beans in my pantry (reminder: preheat oven to 250 F. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil, add 1 tsp salt, and one pound of dried beans. Return to boil, cover put in oven for 1-1.5 hours). I also added some garlic and a tied up bunch of thyme to my bean cooking water.

After the beans cooked for 1 hour, I added a cup of dilitini to the pot, allowed to par cook for 5 mintues, then added a can of crushed tomato and a can of water and simmered for 30 minutes. Adjusted seasoning (another tsp salt, some ground pepper, 1 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika (I had forgotten to fry up some bacon to add, using the paprika also keeps it vegetarian, not that we really care), hmm, I also added a spoonful of onion confit ) and allowed to sit with the heat off for another 30 minutes (some of the solids stuck to the bottom of the pan, and allowing it to rest with the heat off, they became unstuck w/out burning or scraping to mush).

I had some for lunch, the rest is all packaged up in 1 or 2 portion containers, so I can have them in the freezer for him to bring to work for lunch or reheat for a future dinner.

[bloviatrix]

For whatever reason I pulled John Ash's From the Earth to the Table off the shelf this afternoon and flipped through. Found a recipe for Spicy Black Bean Chowder with Pineapple-Banana Salsa. He suggests making it a day in adavance so the flavors have a chance develop so guess what tonight's activity will be?

[Jensen]

I had a very simple squash soup for lunch:

1 cup Kuri squash, pureed

1 cup low-Na chicken broth

1/4 onion, sweated just a wee bit

1/8 tsp. garam masala

a sprinkle of cayenne

It was very tasty.

[helenjp]

White bean soups....mmmm....

I don't normally find much use for soup recipes, but Georges Lang's "The Cuisine of Hungary" is an exception. My copy falls open at the recipe for Serbian Bean Soup...just a hint of tomato and garlic, with plenty of paprika, and finished with yogurt and vinegar.

[Jensen]

Soup for lunch and soup for dinner...ramen!

[bloviatrix]

The Spicy Black Bean Chowder with Pineapple-Banana Salsa was delicious. I got a bit hung up on the issue of the acid from the orange juice, but once I got it figured out (with the help of eG) the soup was really easy to make.

I posted the recipe here. If anyone wants the recipe for the pineapple-banana salsa, just holler.

[NulloModo]

I started off the day with ambitions of making beef bourguignon, unfortunately, it was not to be. First, I decided that I would toss a cut up onion and some mushrooms that had taken up residence in my freezer into the smoker for a couple hours, figuring a smokey taste would do wonders for anything. Next, I discovered I had no beef, but did have a venison roast still laying around that I could dice up... Finally, I realized I just don't like beef stew or red-wine that much, and thus beef Bourguignon might just be a waste of time... so, I decided I would sub a couple bottles of beer for the wine.

So, I figure I can't really call the dish beef Bourguignon anymore, but, I don't really know what to call it. I also have some collard greens and/or sauerkraut I might add. Anyone have ideas for the evolution of this soup?

[ruthcooks]

I started off the day with ambitions of making beef bourguignon, unfortunately, it was not to be.  First, I decided that I would toss a cut up onion and some mushrooms that had taken up residence in my freezer into the smoker for a couple hours, figuring a smokey taste would do wonders for anything.  Next, I discovered I had no beef, but did have a venison roast still laying around that I could dice up...  Finally, I realized I just don't like beef stew or red-wine that much, and thus beef Bourguignon might just be a waste of time... so, I decided I would sub a couple bottles of beer for the wine.

So, I figure I can't really call the dish beef Bourguignon anymore, but, I don't really know what to call it.  I also have some collard greens and/or sauerkraut I might add.  Anyone have ideas for the evolution of this soup?

←

No, but you might call the end result "Stag and Suds"

[Jaymes]

I decided I would sub a couple bottles of beer for the wine.

So, I figure I can't really call the dish beef Bourguignon anymore, but, I don't really know what to call it.

Sounds to me like

Flemish Deer Stew.

Edited January 16, 2005 by Jaymes (log)

[ScorchedPalate]

I'm planning groceries and menus for next week -- What will the next soup be, Maggie?

~Anita

[NulloModo]

OK, so my concoction is on slow simmer on the stove at the moment, with the addition of some fresh cracked black pepper, cayenne, cloves, bay leaf, carraway seed, and sauerkraut. Wow, it smells exactly like barbecue sauce... how bizarre. I am going to simmer it down for a bit tonight, then let it rest overnight in the fridge and taste tomorrow. I hope it is tasty.

[Anna N]

My soup of the week? Everything But the Kitchen Sink! Had bits and bobs left in the fridge and freezer and decided to do a clean out, so - into a home-made mix of beef and chicken broth went sauteed carrots, onion, and celery which simmered until vegetables were tender. I then added leftover sausage meat stuffing, leftover turkey bits gleaned from a gift carcass, some thyme and oregano, a few frozen peas and voila - a very tasty and filling soup which we ate with some parmesan muffins. And there's enough left for lunch tomorrow. I LOVE soup.

[maggiethecat]

I'm planning groceries and menus for next week -- What will the next soup be, Maggie?

~Anita

←

Bourdain's Mushroom Soup from the Les Halles Cookbook. He says it's easy, and it is. And I just happen to every ingredient. And I want mushroom soup!

[Marlene]

Chef Bourdian's Mushroom Soup from Les Halles. He says ot's ridiculously simle, I have all

I'm planning groceries and menus for next week -- What will the next soup be, Maggie?

~Anita

←

Bourdain's Mushroom Soup from the Les Hlles Cookbook. He says it's easy, and it is. And I just happen to every ingredient. And I want mushroom soup!

←

Sure Maggie, pick something that will kill me.

[maggiethecat]

Er, Marlene, are you allerigic to shrooms? Otherwise this recipe is pretty benign. And I get to use sherry.