Your favorite soups and stews

[SobaAddict70]

Gazpacho

Curried split pea

Spicy corn and beans

Asparagus leek

Tortellini veggie

Lemon pepper seafood

Chicken with wild rice

Thai chicken

Tomato pesto

Beer Cheese

Ranch beans with ham and sausage

Potato, tomato, and saffron

New England clam chowder

Lentil polenta

Hungarian mushroom

Veggie French onion

Jambalaya

Ox Tail

1. What is "Beer Cheese"?

2. Isn't the lentil polenta too starchy? I'm a little curious as to how it looks.

3. I'd be interested in recipes for the Hungarian mushroom and veggie French onion soups.

Danke.

[Brija]

mushroom

onion

cheese

tomato and blue cheese

fish (salmon, perch, or burbot with potatoes and onion in a clear broth, no milk but a good amount of salt)

[JennyUptown]

How about vegetable beef barley? Does anyone have a good recipe?

[Behemoth]

Some standards chez behemoth:

Two from Diana Kennedy: tortilla soup and tarsacan bean soup

Two from Marcella: pasta e fagioli and chickpea with pasta

Two from Madhur Jaffrey: mulligatawny and cream of tomato with indian spices

Harira, for when I have a bunch of lamb bones...

This winter I want to try my hand at a few Korean ones. Clams with hand-cut noodles especially...

Oh, and I love pureed beet soup, seasoned with a little vinegar and topped with sour cream whipped with dill

[Pan]

I'm surprised I didn't participate in this thread. I have a sneaking suspicion there's another "favorite soups" thread somewhere. Anyway, I'd have to put a nice, soothing Chicken Soup (Chicken-Noodle, Matzo Ball, etc.) up there, especially one made with a whole chicken, a variety of vegetables, some fresh green herbs, and some wine. I also love Gulyasleves, Tom Yom Gung, Tom Kha Gai, really good Laksa, various kinds of Borsht, Hungarian cold sour cherry soup (with sour cream), Nicoise Soupe de Poisson, Minestrone, Ribollita, and any number of Shanghainese soups. Can you tell I love soup?

[Susan in FL]

At first I didn't realize that this thread started over two years ago..... it's an oldie but goodie.

These days we eat more cold soups when it's warm than hot soups during our much briefer period of cool weather. I miss hot soup, and when it is cool or rainy, cram in lots of soups and stews. Russ's favorite is lamb and barley, or a bean soup of some kind. For lunch sometimes I make a bowl of stracciatella. Besides so good, it is easy to make one or two servings at a time. Another favorite of mine is Sara Moulton's Broccoli and Angel Hair Pasta in Chicken Broth.

Suddenly many favorite homemade hot soups are coming to mind. It must be time... creamy cauliflower soup, French onion, several versions of pasta e fagioli, clam chowder... mmm good.

And of course, when talking soups and stews, Gumbo!

[bloviatrix]

Cold soups: Sweet Corn and Potato Vichysoisse, Borscht - the usual w/potato and dill or my "new wave" with apple and ginger, Green Gazpacho, Chilled Curried Yellow Squash with Cilantro oil

Hot soups: my freezer currently has frozen quarts of Celeriac-Pear, curried coconut squash, split pea, plus cubes of chicken stock and veal stock. I also have several bags of mushroom stems waiting to be turned into mushroom stock for mushroom-barley soup.

I love soup. I make at least one pot a week from October - April. We eat some and freeze the rest so I can "go shopping" in my freezer.

[fifi]

I love this stuff. And I am too lazy to look upthread to see if I have already posted this.

15 (or whatever) bean soup. This is usually made after that Christmas spiral sliced ham thing has been reduced to a blob of meat on the shank. I like to use a good dark beer for the liquid.

I have to say that my favorite beef stew is an embarassment. You coat the beef cubes with Lipton Onion Soup and put in the bottom of the crock pot with a couple of bay leaves. Potatoes and carrots are added. Then a can of cream of mushroom soup is spread on top. Best tradtional beef stew on the planet.

This veal ragout has become a family favorite. We often substitute pork. Veal is impossible to find here with any regularity.

Emeril's beef fricassee from Louisiana Real and Rustic. You are basically dumping beef cubes into a scorching hot dark roux. It is fabulous. I use the technique as a basis for beef burgundy as well.

Of course... gumbo is always on the menu.

I love this kind of cooking.

[lovebenton0]

Me, too, fifi! And I do the same as bloviatrix -- pot of soup every week, serve up one or two full meals for two or three people (we often have a third, mr's buddy half lives in my kitchen ). Then the rest goes into the freezer to enjoy later when I'm craving it again. Tortilla soup is in there right now, as well as gulyas (soup). It's about time for Hearty Bay Scallop Chowder, and of course the turkey soup of choice for tomorrow (cold front coming in!) will either be turkey and dumplings or coconut curry turkey with rice on the side of the bowl. Gumbo is always a favorite -- and some of the turkey will have to go for that too.

Creamed cauliflower soup with curry oil -- a la slkinsey's Thanksgiving is now a fav -- I made it early last week. So easy and just flat addictive! Broccoli cheese soup . Cream of potato soup with butter drizzled on top and and long cuts of fresh garlic chives. Just good stock and chicken with baby carrots, shallots and egg noodles.

[Chufi]

I like winter soups more than summer soups. I make pureed soups of all kinds of root vegetables: parsnip, celeriac, swede. Jerusalem artichoke if I can find them. Sooo comforting. I guess I need more comfort in the wintertime.

And pumpkin ofcourse.

And bean soups..

And the king of Dutch winter soups: erwtensoep, a very thick splitpea soup with lots of (smoked) pork.

[fifi]

Chufi... Do you have a recipe for the erwtensoep? That sounds interesting. What kind of smoked pork?

[Chufi]

I have to ask my mom. I don't make it very often (whenever she makes it, she gives me some of hers, and it's not something you want to eat very often). When I do make it, I always have to call her to tell me what to do. And then I loose the instructions and next time I have to ask her again!

Anyway, this might be a good opportunity to ask her, write it down, and make it. I'll report back!

[Susan in FL]

Thanks, All. I've gotten some good ideas for soup making. You all are almost making the cold weather sound appealing. Almost, but not.

Tonight we're making Chicken, Sausage, and Oyster Gumbo. I think Emeril's beef fricassee might be the next "new" soup/stew I make. That sounds so good. I'm going to have to close the windows and turn on the air conditioning and get it all cold in here.

[Basilgirl]

Someone gave us a huge cabbage, which I kept on the front steps for awhile because there was no room in the fridge with all that Thanksgiving stuff in there. I made minestrone from Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen on Sunday. I substituted pancetta for the smoked pork shoulder (I think) which I could not find. My boyfriend went nuts! Especially after we added some pesto to it. I'd never made a classic minestrone before. Next I want to try Lynne Rosetto Kasper's version, which calls for frying up some of the veggies with pancetta and salami and throwing that in the soup close to when you serve it.

I like to make lentil soup with lots of herbs and garlic, and melt some cheese in it.

I make a killer white cheddar-ale soup from Bon Appetit; I add crispy country ham chunklets on top. French onion soup will appear soon - the Cook's Illustrated version - the one my boyfriend said made me "finally get it right". I'm also really digging on Paula Deen's chicken chili I saw her son make on the Food Network. Easy and delicious.

[Susan in FL]

Someone gave us a huge cabbage, which I kept on the front steps for awhile because there was no room in the fridge with all that Thanksgiving stuff in there. I made minestrone from Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen on Sunday. I substituted pancetta for the smoked pork shoulder (I think) which I could not find. My boyfriend went nuts! Especially after we added some pesto to it. I'd never made a classic minestrone before. Next I want to try Lynne Rosetto Kasper's version, which calls for frying up some of the veggies with pancetta and salami and throwing that in the soup close to when you serve it.

I've been thinking about a classic minestrone to use the savoy cabbage I have (I love pesto on it, too), but then I saw Marcella Hazan's recipe for Savoy Cabbage Soup, Aosta Style. I'm still not sure what I'll do. Has anybody ever made an "Aosta Style" cabbage soup?

[jgm]

My new mainstay comfort food is Julia Child's potato and leek soup, except I back off on the water a bit to make it thicker. I'm getting a cold and it's what I'm going to have tonight, with creme fraiche in it. Every time I eat it, I marvel at how simple it is, and how good it is.

I've enjoyed reading about other favorites, and now I have new ideas to try. One of my other mainstays is a soup served at Olive Garden; I think it's just called Tuscan soup or something like that. It starts out with chicken broth; Italian sausage is browned separately and then simmered in the broth, along with a pinch of dried red pepper flakes, for about half an hour, if I remember correctly; then sliced potatoes are added. Just before the potatoes are done, add kale that's been torn into roughly bite sized pieces. Finish with a little cream. Very simple, substantial, and good enough to make me forget it came from a chain.

[Basilgirl]

Someone gave us a huge cabbage, which I kept on the front steps for awhile because there was no room in the fridge with all that Thanksgiving stuff in there. I made minestrone from Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen on Sunday. I substituted pancetta for the smoked pork shoulder (I think) which I could not find. My boyfriend went nuts! Especially after we added some pesto to it. I'd never made a classic minestrone before. Next I want to try Lynne Rosetto Kasper's version, which calls for frying up some of the veggies with pancetta and salami and throwing that in the soup close to when you serve it.

I've been thinking about a classic minestrone to use the savoy cabbage I have (I love pesto on it, too), but then I saw Marcella Hazan's recipe for Savoy Cabbage Soup, Aosta Style. I'm still not sure what I'll do. Has anybody ever made an "Aosta Style" cabbage soup?

←

I almost made that instead! Anything with Fontina in it has to be good.

[RETREVR]

Gazpacho

Curried split pea

Spicy corn and beans

Asparagus leek

Tortellini veggie

Lemon pepper seafood

Chicken with wild rice

Thai chicken

Tomato pesto

Beer Cheese

Ranch beans with ham and sausage

Potato, tomato, and saffron

New England clam chowder

Lentil polenta

Hungarian mushroom

Veggie French onion

Jambalaya

Ox Tail

1. What is "Beer Cheese"?

2. Isn't the lentil polenta too starchy? I'm a little curious as to how it looks.

3. I'd be interested in recipes for the Hungarian mushroom and veggie French onion soups.

Danke.

←

Beer cheese...

I used to make a Stilton Ale soup at a brewery. It was so long ago that I forget how I made it. I will have to check my notes. It was very rich and stinky.

This is off subject, but....we would also melt stilton on top of a grilled ribeye. Call the cardiologist.

[BarbaraD]

My mother's split pea barley soup.

short ribs

2 carrots

2 celery ribs

soup greens

1 package mbt chicken broth

2 packages split peas

1 package barley mix

Salt and pepper to taste

Cover short ribs with water. Add soup greens, carrots, celery. Cook 1 hour covered. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove greens and discard. Mash vegetables--carrots, celery, turnip, and root vegetables that came with the soup greens. Add 1 package mbt broth, split peas, and barley. Cook covered 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add water if necessary.

Easy and really good for cold winter nights. A good chaleh bread makes it even better.

[polack]

I like the vegetable chuck soup with either the veggies diced or halved. After eating a good bowl of it, with my homemade sourdough bread of course, I like to take a chunk of meat, and some halved veggies and load it up with muster and go to town. Another alternative is hamburger vegetable soup made with good ground chuck.

Polack

[binkyboots]

broth, my recipe

soak as much broth mix as you think you'll need (I use 250g for six peaople with leftovers!) overnight

drain, set aside.

fry an onion in butter, add in peeled, chunked potatos and carrots, swede, parsnips, any root veg that take your fancy. you could also chuck in a ham bone, or the heel of a chunk of parmesan cheese, if you wrap it in muslin it's easier to fish out at the end. I usually throw in a herb teabag at this point too, I bought the bags when the store was out of fresh herbs (hmmph, I can buy lemongrass but not bay leaves or thyme?)

pour over water to cover and add back the broth mix, throw in four tablespoons of chicken stock (ok, I use bottled touch of taste)

salt, pepper, simmer tilll done.

[Susan in FL]

Someone gave us a huge cabbage, which I kept on the front steps for awhile because there was no room in the fridge with all that Thanksgiving stuff in there. I made minestrone from Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen on Sunday. I substituted pancetta for the smoked pork shoulder (I think) which I could not find. My boyfriend went nuts! Especially after we added some pesto to it. I'd never made a classic minestrone before. Next I want to try Lynne Rosetto Kasper's version, which calls for frying up some of the veggies with pancetta and salami and throwing that in the soup close to when you serve it.

I've been thinking about a classic minestrone to use the savoy cabbage I have (I love pesto on it, too), but then I saw Marcella Hazan's recipe for Savoy Cabbage Soup, Aosta Style. I'm still not sure what I'll do. Has anybody ever made an "Aosta Style" cabbage soup?

←

I almost made that instead! Anything with Fontina in it has to be good.

←

I'm cooking the cabbage now, in preparation for the soup tonight. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[Chufi]

My mother's split pea barley soup.

short ribs

2 carrots

2 celery ribs

soup greens

1 package mbt chicken broth

2 packages split peas

1 package barley mix

Salt and pepper to taste

Cover short ribs with water.  Add soup greens, carrots, celery.  Cook 1 hour covered.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Remove greens and discard.  Mash vegetables--carrots, celery, turnip, and root vegetables that came with the soup greens.  Add 1 package mbt broth, split peas, and barley.  Cook covered 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Add water if necessary.

←

that IS very similar to traditional dutch splitpea soup. Anyway, thanks to this thread, I had a fun day making my mom's erwtensoep:

this is what goes into it.

500 gr. split peas

a couple of carrots

a small celeriac

3 fat leeks

a couple of potatoes

2 large onions

about 1 kilo pork ribs

a piece of salted pork

4 bayleaves

4 litres of water

smoked pork sausages

All the vegetables (diced and sliced into fairly small pieces) go into the pot together with the washed peas, water and the pork (exept the sausages). Simmer for 4 hours.. or so. Add some salt and pepper. Take the meat of the bones and leave the soup till the next day for the flavors to develop.

Next day, heat the sliced sausage in the soup, sprinkle with a little bit of celery leaf and serve..

with black ryebread, spread with mustard, with some katenspek (a kind of bacon that has been salted, boiled, smoked AND grilled).

edited to add water to list of ingredients and recipe. For soup, you need water!

Edited December 2, 2004 by Chufi (log)

[Susan in FL]

Reporting back on Marcella Hazan's Savoy Cabbage Soup, Aosta Style... It was good, but I was disappointed. It didn't have the flavor I was hoping for. I guess I shouldn't have expected cabbage of any kind that boils for that long -- however gently it bubbled -- to be full of flavor. The best part was the Fontina melted on the crouton.

But Russ and our dinner guest liked it much more than I, so that made it worth making this once.

Edited December 4, 2004 by Susan in FL (log)

[snowangel]

I had two kids home sick this past week, one with an upset tummy, the other with a nasty cold. They both asked that I make "your" chicken soup.

A caveat. This is a modification of a soup I learned from my mom's friend Dotty. Dotty died a few years ago, but she remains near and dear to my heart. She is the one who taught me to scuba dive when I was 10. Took my on my first Andaman sea dive when I was 12. I lived with them in Chieng Mai for a spell, and she introduced me to my first Kao Soi. When I came down with a nasty head cold, she introduced me to this. Come to think of it, Dottie was the one to first introduce me to Larb.

Put a chicken (cut it up; I always take a cleaver to it and really wack it up, not the traditional Western cut) in a pot. Add all of those chicken neck, carcases, bones, whatever, you have in the freezer. Cover it with water. Sliver a walnut (or bigger) hunk of ginger (that may be the magic) and a couple of star anise, and a couple of peppers (jalapeno or birds; do not chop these up, just add ones with the stem on). Bring to a simmer and skim, skim, skim that foam off. When the chicken seems done, remove. Remove meat, returning bones to pot. Boil down.

Skim fat off. Add the chicken back in. Some fish sauce. A bit of soy. A healthy dollop of sesame oil. Whack up a head of bok choy or napa. Add it. You could use Chinese broccoli. Add a small packet of bean thread noodles.

Serve. As a condiment, a dish of bird chilies, thinly sliced, in a bowl of nam pla (make this a bit ahead of time, or use that which has been sitting in that little Tupperware container with a lid for longer than you care to think about).

My kids realize that chix soup is good; they prefer this to that with egg noodles. It seems cleaner and less mucusy (sp?). The bean threads are wonderful. If it is a head cold, a healty splash of birds and nam pla will get "things running" and clear out the head.

Thanks, Dottie.