harvest moon soup

come a little bit closer, here's a soup you'll want to try...on this harvest moon.

Kale, Cannellini Bean & Sausage Soup
(Adapted from Frances Mayes from Everyday in Tuscany: Zuppa di Cavolo Nero, Cannellini e Salsicce)

Ingredients

(Serves 8-10)

2 Italian sausages, skins removed and meat crumbled
4 tbsps olive oil
1 onion, chopped
12 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 cups dry white wine (or white cooking wine)
6 cups chicken stock
6 thyme sprigs
1 bunch of dinosaur kale or bagged, chopped kale
2 cups butternut squash, cubed (optional)
2 zucchini squash, cubed (optional)
4 cups cooked cannellini beans (dried beans or 2 cans of beans)
1 cup shredded parmigiano-reggiano

1. Saute the onions and garlic, add in crumbled sausage in the olive oil and cook until browned.
2. In the same pan, add in the thyme and the white wine to deglaze the pan.
3. Add the chicken stock to the pot. Bring to a boil and add the kale (and other veggies) and cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Add the cooked sausage, parmesan and beans and simmer for another 15 minutes.

2,012 garlic clove soup

well, not quite, but about 40-60 cloves of garlic when all is said and done.  i made this soup on New Year's day -- it's easy, very flavorful, healthy and who doesn't love max quantities of garlic??

60 Garlic Clove Soup
Recipe from Martha's Whole Living 
4 heads garlic, halved crosswise (TIP: roast an extra bulb for spreading on bread with your soup)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

8 cups chicken stock

16 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and chopped

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle garlic heads with oil. Wrap tightly in foil and roast until tender, about 40 minutes. Let cool, then squeeze garlic from papery skin and set aside. Bring stock, potatoes, and roasted garlic to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan. For additional texture, pull out 1-2 cups of cooked potatoes, and blend everything remaining in the pot with an immersion blender. Add potatoes back into blended soup. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with more Parmesan and serve with rustic bread.

mmm noodle soup

My mom makes this every year, on the day after Thanksgiving.  The same recipe can be used for leftover chicken as well. 

 

TURKEY NOODLE SOUP
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1/2-1 lb. turkey (or chicken), chopped or shredded
10 cups turkey or chicken broth
1 tsp dried or fresh thyme
3-4 sage leaves, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 package Reames Egg Noodles (in the frozen section of the grocery store)

Saute onion and garlic. Add carrots and celery and saute for another 5-10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.  Add meat, herbs, salt and pepper and stir. After cooking for a few minutes, add broth.  Bring to a boil at medium heat and cook for 10-15 minutes.  Add egg noodles and cook another ten minutes.  Reduce heat and simmer until ready to serve.

Muy Picante Chile Verde!

When my cousin Tanna was in town she made a deliciously spicy pork green chile, that she was kind enough to share the recipe for and photograph.  She works for an Oregon winery, Van Duzer, and loves cooking tasty meals and finding great wine pairings.  My mom, sister and I had the opportunity to visit her this summer and attend one of the wine dinners that Van Duzer hosts. She was in charge of the entire event for over 150 people and brought in her favorite chefs from Denver to cook the meal. It was great to see her talents at work and how much she loves her job, it's really a perfect fit and we are very proud of her. 

Mom and Tanna loving life at Van Duzer winery this past summer.

The cool thing about Tanna is that she is as talented at home as she is at work. Although, we won't tell her boss that she recommends serving her chile verde with cerveza, specifically BUD LIGHT, not Van Duzer wines. 

This is one of my cool and calm Uncle Tommy Max's favorites, he eats it with a side of flour tortillas. Here it is, the much awaited Pork Green Chile recipe.

the ingredients.  ready for cooking.  shameless Van Duzer product placement.

chile verde, finished. 

CHILE VERDE
1-2 lbs. pork (whatever's cheapest), fat removed and cubed

1 onion, chopped
2 anaheim peppers, chopped
1 jalapeno, fresh, chopped
3 cans of Rotel tomatoes (this is key, Rotel's are unparalleled by any other brand)
1 small can diced green chiles
additional roasted poblano peppers if available
salt and pepper to taste
5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin
Olive oil
Beer (bud light or yellow beer if you choose to use)
Flour or corn starch
 
Brown the pork in a couple tablespoons of olive oil with chopped onion, jalapeno, anaheim chiles, garlic, salt, pepper and cumin. After this is browned and tender, add the cans of Rotel. Add one small can of diced green chiles, any brand. Then fill the Rotel cans with water and put about 2-3 cans of water or chicken broth in the pot. You can also throw in a can of beer. Make a slurry with flour or corn starch. Keep cooking down, say all afternoon, adding spices and liquid until you have the consistency and flavor you want.
 
This is typically eaten in our family as a “smother” for a good homemade burrito. But cool and calm Uncle Tom likes to eat as a soup with a flour tortilla on the side for dipping! This can be made as hot as you want. This can also be made with chicken.

Serve with cerveza! Muy picante!

Sunday SUNCHOKE Soup

As the story goes, I was doing a little Sunday shopping with Kelly at the Ballard market a year or so ago and came across a vendor selling some spindly little roots called Jerusalem artichokes.  I asked the farmer why they had this name, he explained that their flavor was exactly that of an artichoke heart and if I'd never tried one before I was surely missing out.  During this conversation with the farmer, a stranger appeared and proceeded to explain how these little roots would blow my [expletive] mind.  Strangers feeling the need to express how something will "blow your mind" can either be an indicator of sheer crazy or an indicator of how spectacular something is.  I chose to believe that, although both factors were likely at play, this was mostly an expression of the latter, and bought a few pounds to roast for dinner that night.  Much credit to the stranger, as they really did blow my mind.  They were simple to prepare and tasted exactly like artichoke hearts only bigger and meatier, all I did was roast them in olive oil with a little sea salt and and served them with lemon butter.

All that to say, when I came upon this recipe for Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Bacon, I began preparing to have my mind blown yet again.  I made it last Sunday and served it alongside sautéed orange chard with garlic that Allison made (recipe for the Orange Chard to follow). 

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE SOUP WITH BACON

2 1/2 pounds Jerusalem artichokes
3 1/2 ounces bacon, diced or cut into matchsticks
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
4 cups chicken stock
freshly ground black pepper and salt, to taste
1/2 tsp. rosemary, fresh or dried
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
sour cream for serving


Serves 4 to 6.
Peel the Jerusalem artichokes with a vegetable peeler, to the best of your abilities. I wasn't able to peel mine, so I boiled with peels still on and it worked fine.

Rinse the Jerusalem artichokes in one or two changes of water, cut them into 1 inch chunks and place them in a medium saucepan. Cover with cold water, add salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until vegetables are soft, but not falling apart. 

In a separate soup pot add the bacon and cook until browned. A minute before the bacon is entirely browned, add the garlic and cook for a minute until softened, stirring frequently to avoid coloring.

Drain the vegetables and place in a bowl, blending with either an immersion blender or hand mixer. Add blended vegetable to the soup pot with hot stock and bacon, stir, and bring to a simmer on medium heat.

If soup still has large chunks, blend again.  Strain through a large-holed strainer and place drained soup liquid back into soup pot, bring to a boil again. Divide among soup bowls, top with a dallop of sour cream and serve.

the big soup

a tasty soup for chilly fall days. this soup is very forgiving, making it easy to improvise and include whatever beans, grains or veggies you wish to use or have on hand.

MINESTRONE

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

3-4 celery stalks, diced

1/2 cup chopped prosciutto or ham (optional)

6 cloves garlic, diced

2 cups potatoes, chopped into cubes

salt and pepper

6 cups chicken stalk

2 cans diced tomatoes, including juices

2 cups zucchini, chopped into cubes

1/2 cup green beans

1/2 cup kidney beans

1/2 cup cannellini beans

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

Parmesan rind

1/2 cup pasta, such as ditalini or barley (optional)*

Heat the olive oil on medium heat and saute onions, carrots and celery until tender. Add in the prosciutto (or ham) and garlic and cook until garlic is fragrant and thoroughly cooked. Add the potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add the stock, tomatoes and Parmesan rind. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook about 30 minutes. Add the zucchini and different beans, along with the parsley. Add in the pasta and cover, cooking at a simmer until ready to serve. Serve with parsley and grated parmesan.

*Note pasta will continue to expand even during refrigeration. If you intend to eat over multiple days, add cooked pasta at serving time and store pasta separately for future servings.