Tears of (Onion) Joy -- with Recipe!

It's almost Vidalia onion season, and that makes me think of... well, a lot of things, actually, but mostly about onion soup.  In Rhode Island in April, Gentle Readers, it is still chilly enough to enjoy a big bowl of hot soup for dinner
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There's no cheating on the caramelization process using brown sugar in this recipe. It takes time -- from half an hour to an hour -- but it's worth it.  The onions don't require constant attention, but you should stir occasionally.  To make things easier, you can caramelize the onions ahead of time and then continue with the soup later in the day.

I always slice the onions by hand even though I know my eyes will burn like crazy and stream with tears.  You can feel free to use a food processor if you'd like to avoid all that.  As for me, I really like the finished product when I slice the onions by hand and somehow, from one time to the next I always remember how delicious the soup was and I forget the pain.

Onion Soup
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
5 large onions, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp. flour
8 cups beef stock
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
6-8 thick slices french bread, toasted
2 cups grated Swiss cheese (more or less to taste)

1. Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add sliced onions and reduce heat to medium-low.  Cover (this helps with the burning-eyes aspect and also speeds things up a bit.  Just don't get all out-of-sight-out-of-mind about it) and cook onions, stirring occasionally, until well caramelized, half an hour to an hour.  While you wait, you can toast the bread and grate the cheese.  Maybe make a nice salad.

2. Sprinkle flour over onions; cook, stirring constantly, two minutes.

3. Add stock, salt and pepper.  Crush the thyme between your fingers and add.  Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

4.  Preheat broiler.  Ladle soup into heatproof bowls.  Place one slice bread on top of soup, sprinkle with grated cheese.  Place bowls on a rimmed baking sheet and slide them under the broiler.  Broil until cheese is bubbling and golden brown.

Weekly Soup: French Country

There are lots of recipes out there for different french country soups.  This is by far my favorite of the ones I've tried.  My research indicates that it is traditionally served with a drizzle of pistou in each bowl (recipe follows); I subsituted basil-infused olive oil because I had some on hand and the results were delicious.

There are also lots of pistou recipes out there, and you could certainly use commercial pesto.  For me, the raw garlic is overpowering to a delicately-flavored soup like this.  But if lots of garlic is your thing, feel free to add a clove or two to the pistou or use a commercial one.

French Country Soup
Serves 4

1 Tbsp. vegetable or canola oil
1 Tbsp. butter
3 large leeks, white and light green parts only, cleaned and chopped
1 large floury potato, cubed (I used a Russet)
2 large carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 1/2 - 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil and butter in a stock pot or dutch oven over medium-low heat.  Add leeks and saute, stirring frequently, about two minutes.  Add potato and carrots, and lightly season with salt and pepper.  Cook another 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add garlic and cook, stirring, about 1 minute.

2. Add stock, bay leaves, and thyme.  Lightly season with salt and pepper.  Raise heat and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are very soft.  Add broth if needed to keep vegetables submerged.

3. Remove bay leaf, then carefully puree the soup in batches in a blender (you could use an immersion blender if you have one).  Return the soup to the pan and gently reheat, stirring frequently.  Taste and adjust seasoning.

4. Serve very hot.  Drizzle each bowl with a little pistou.

Pistou

2 cups fresh basil leaves, washed
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Whirl basil and olive oil in a food processor or blender until smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste, and process until combined.


Hints:
~ You might want to double the soup recipe -- I definitely will the next time I make it.  The soup can be frozen after step 3.
~ This soup has a delicate flavor, so go easy on the salt and pepper.  Remember you can always add, but you can't remove it once it's in the pot.
~ The dark green part of the leeks can be saved for making stock, but they are also delicious cut up in salads.
~ I used homemade vegetable broth that I had on hand; if I make it with commercial broth I will probably use about 2/3 broth and 1/3 water.  I find commercial broths (especially chicken broth) overpowering in this kind of soup.  But that could just be me...

Dept. of Home Economics: Use-It-Up Soup Recipe

Gentle readers, I lied to you a little bit in the title for this post.  Use-It-Up Soup is more a method than an actual recipe.  I don't know what you have in your refrigerator that needs to be used up; in fact, I'll bet you don't, either.  That's okay, you can go check.  I'll wait.

Got your list?  Let's begin.

Use-It-Up Soup

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
3-ish carrots, diced
2-3 stalks celery, diced (aim for roughly equal amounts onion, carrot, and celery)
2 cloves garlic, minced (use more or less to taste)
1 15.5 oz. can beans of your choice, rinsed and drained OR 1/2 cup uncooked lentils, rinsed and drained
1 28-30 oz. can tomatoes of some type: diced, crushed, whole (chop them up before adding)
4-6 cups of water, stock, or combination (depends on amount of stuff to use up and how thick you like your soup)
2-3 potatoes peeled and diced (optional)
Vegetables: fresh, frozen, or cooked, cut to bite size (avoid anything cabbagy, such as broccoli or brussels sprouts)
Leftover cooked meat
Leftover cooked pasta or rice (omit potatoes)
Salt & Pepper
Herbs and spices of your choice

Method:

1. Heat oil in soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat.  When hot, add the onions, carrot, and celery and cook until onion is translucent, 5-7 minutes.  (I season these with a little salt and pepper).

2. Add garlic, saute one minute more.

3. Add beans, tomatoes, water or stock, and potatoes, if using.  At this point, add any fresh vegetables and dried herbs and spices you are using.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally (you want your potatoes and lentils, if using, almost but not quite done when you add the rest).   Add water or stock if needed to maintain soup consistency.

4. If you're using frozen vegetables, give them about 10 minutes of cooking time at the end -- 5 to get the soup back to temperature and 5 to cook.

5. Leftover vegetables, meat, and pasta or rice (if using), and fresh herbs (if you have them) go in for the last 5 minutes of cooking time.  Heat through.  Another option is to put the rice or pasta in the bottom of each bowl and pour the hot soup over it.

6. Taste, adjust seasonings, and serve.

TIPS

~ Match your stock to the meat you're using (chicken with chicken, beef with beef).  Chicken stock works well with leftover pork or turkey.
~ You can omit the meat entirely.  The beans, veggies, and starch will still give you a hearty soup.
~ Try out different combinations.  I put some leftover water chestnuts in my soup last week, and to my surprise they maintained their crunch even after 30 minutes of simmering.  They added a fun texture to the finished soup.
~ Lentils need more cooking time than canned beans, so plan to simmer them 30-40 minutes.

Dept. of Home Economics: Broccoli Stems

In an email, one of my Gentle Readers said "Up till now I have been throwing the stalks away but now I know what to do with them."  She was referring to the Cream of Broccoli Soup recipe I posted last week, but don't throw those stems away if you aren't a broccoli soup fan.  There are other things you can do with your broccoli stems.

Lightly peel the outside and then cut the stems in matchsrick pieces (also called "julienne;" click here for a turtorial).  When I julienne broccoli, I prefer to slice the stem in  about 1/8-inch circles, then stack two or three circles and slice them into matchsticks.  You get shorter matchsticks that are not all perfectly the same size, but this technique has its advantages.  The first cut (into circles) goes across the grain of the stem and cuts the tough lengthwise fibers into shorter lengths, resulting in a more tender, less fibrous finished product.  They still look like cute little matchsticks, they are just not all perfectly alike.

I'm not bothered by the lack of perfection, my friends.  We do not seek to emulate Martha Stewart here at Old Maid HQ.  Firstly, like my fellow spinster Jane Austen, "pictures of perfection make me sick and wicked."  Secondly, my food actually tastes good.

Once you have your matchstick pieces, you can:

• Toss them in a stir-fry.
• Use them in place of celery in soup.  (Make sure it's a strong-flavored soup such as a nice garlicky lentil or a flavorful minestrone.  Broccoli has a strong taste that can overwhelm more delicate flavors.  Experiment!)
• Saute them with julienned carrots and use as a side dish.  Season with salt and pepper, or finish with a splash of soy sauce or a splash of vinaigrette toward the end of the cooking process.
• Make the side dish above, adding a few julienned radishes.  They add a nice peppery bite.
• Freeze the julienned broccoli stems for quick addition later to soups and stir fries.  They go right into the pan frozen.
• Lightly steam the stems, chill them, and they are ready to be added with other veggies to pocket or wrap sandwiches.

Or

• Cut the stems in slices and make Baked Broccoli Chips.

Broccoli, Explained -- With Recipe!

Peel and rough chop broccoli stems, then store them in the freezer.  When you've got 4 cups, you're ready to make this soup.  The frozen pieces go right into the pot.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
1/4 tsp. pepper (plus more to taste)
Generous pinch of dried thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chopped broccoli stems
2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups milk (whatever fat content you have is fine)
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

1. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat.  When oil is hot, add onion, bay leaf, basil, and thyme to pan.  Add 1 teaspoon of salt and  1/4 tsp. pepper, then saute the onion for 5-7 minutes or until onion is translucent.  Add garlic and saute for about a minute more.

2. Add broccoli pieces and broth.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer.  Cook about 10 minutes, or until broccoli is very tender.  (If you're lazy like me and your "rough chop" is very rough and some pieces are biggish, it might need 15 minutes.)

3. Remove the bayleaf, then puree the soup in batches in a blender.  (Please be careful!  Only fill the blender halfway at most.)

4. Return the soup to the pot, then whisk in milk and sour cream or yogurt while heating gently over medium heat.   Do not allow the mixture to boil.  Whisk the soup occasionally while it heats to fully incorporate the sour cream or yogurt.  Taste and adjust seasonings and serve hot.

Variation 1: Sour cream or yogurt can be omitted if you don't have any on hand.  Soup will be thinner but still delicious.
Variation 2: Omit the sour cream or yogurt and replace half a cup of the milk with heavy cream or half and half if you have some on hand.
Variation 3: Omit the sour cream or yogurt and whisk in 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese.  Heat through until cheese melts and soup is hot.
Variation 4: Thinly slice and  lightly steam some broccoli florets as a garnish.  I never do this, but it does make a nice presentation.

Weekly Soup -- with Recipe!

Once the weather starts cooling off, I make a pot of soup just about once a week.  It's usually something hearty that can be eaten as a main course, and I eat it for lunch or dinner for a few days until either I get sick of it or I run out of it.  If I get tired of it (or for whatever reason, the soup is a few days old and I still have some left) I freeze the remainder in individual portions. 

Your mileage may vary depending on the size of your family and whether or not you like leftovers.  But remember: soup is always better the second day.

Tuscan-Inspired Soup 
(This is a vegetarian version, but you can brown 1/2 lb. of ground beef after the first step.  Drain off any excess fat and then continue.)

Ingredients
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced (or more to taste)
1 large or 2 small zucchini, diced
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
1 15.5-oz can canellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
5 C. vegetable broth (or chicken broth, or a combination of broth and water)
1/2 C. dry elbow macaroni, ditalini, or other small pasta (or 1 C. leftover cooked pasta)

Salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. Heat olive oil in large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat.  When oil is hot, add onion, carrots, and celery and saute until the onions are clear, about 5-7 minutes.
2. Add garlic and saute for a minute more.
3. Add zucchini, diced tomatoes, beans, broth (or broth and water combination), and Italian seasoning.  Stir. Add salt and pepper (I use about a teaspoon of salt; use more or less to taste).
4. Raise heat to bring soup to a boil, then reduce to simmer.  Simmer approx. 30 minutes or until vegetables are cooked, stirring occasionally.  Add broth/water as needed to maintain good soup consistency.
5. Meanwhile, cook dry pasta in a separate pot according to package directions.  Drain.
6. When vegetables are done, add pasta, stir, and heat through, about 1 minute.
7.  Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve, garnished with a little grated parmesan cheese if you like.

* If the pasta soaks up a lot of liquid overnight, add another cup of broth and heat through.  Alternatively, you could keep the pasta separate and add it to individual portions as you go.

Kale Is Cool

Kale is having a moment.  What was once a relic of peasant cooking and Victory gardens is now the darling of foodies everywhere who are finding out what grandma knew: kale is delicious and good for you.

This month's Eating Well magazine had some wonderful green soup recipes by Anna Thomas, the author of Vegitarian Epicure.  I made the Basic Green Soup using kale instead of chard since the soup is designed to work with any combination of greens.

Another change I made was that I added the vegetable broth at the same time as the kale instead of at the end.  Winter greens make a delicious pot liquor that brings a lot of flavor to the party, and I wanted time for it to meld with the vegetable broth.  It just goes to show you: if you want to know about peasant food, ask a peasant.

Feel Better Food -- With Recipe!

Perhaps, like my mother, you have been wondering how I'm feeling since I got back from my roadtrip. After a week of meals on the go and McDonalds: The Official Breakfast of Road Trips, I haven't been feeling so well.


So last weekend, I made a big pot of lentil soup and thawed out some wheat ciabatta that I had in my freezer. It was just what I needed -- delicious, healthy, and easy on my tummy.


Give this recipe a try, but feel free to make it your own. I rarely make this soup the same way twice. It comes out great with just water, but if you have chicken or vegetable stock on hand, go ahead and use it.


Lentil Soup

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 med. onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 cups lentils, rinsed and drained (go ahead and use a whole bag if you have it, just increase the liquid slightly)
8 C. water
3 red bliss potatoes, peeled and cut in about 1/2-inch dice
1 10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots and saute until onion is clear, approx. 5-7 minutes. (I always season the veggies with salt and pepper as they saute.) Add cumin and garlic, saute 1 minute.

2. Add lentils and water. Stir. Raise heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook soup 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Take this opportunity to clean up the mess you just made.

3. Add potatoes, then continue cooking 20-25 minutes, or until potatoes and lentils are almost done. Add water as needed to create a good soup consistency (the potatoes will thicken the soup quite a bit).

4. Add frozen spinach, raise heat slightly, and allow spinach to thaw in the soup. When soup returns to a simmer and spinach is thawed and stirred through, check potatoes and lentils for doneness. Keep simmering until desired texture is reached. Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed.