Arts & Life
Food
Souper Soups
Nothing fights the cold weather like these delicious recipes.
ANNABEL COHEN
Special to the Jewish News
r
or some, soup is the ultimate
comfort meal. It can conjure
memories of childhood and
favorite people. It can transport you to a
foreign land or remind you of a favorite
vacation. And it can be your meal, if
hearty enough.
It's also one of the few foods that can
successfully be eaten for a few days and
still taste fresh.
Soup is the easiest food to prepare,
period. Essentially, you throw some
ingredients together in a large pot, add
some liquid — water, broth or stock —
turn up the heat and it's soup. Still,
there are those who feel that making a
delicious potage — like that from a
favorite restaurant — is a mystery.
Salvation comes from your own
instincts and a little cooking know-how.
For example, bland soups can be saved
by adding a dash of Tabasco or an extra
pinch of salt. Boring soups will benefit
from a squeeze of lemon or vinegar and
perhaps the addition of a favorite ingre-
dient, such as cooked wild rice, mush-
rooms and even canned vegetables.
The recipes below take a few liberties
with classic combinations and dish up
some fresh, contemporary flavors as
well. There are even a couple of garnish-
es — cheese crisps and toasts — for a
gourmet touch. It's winter, so there's no
better time than now to hole up and
bring a big pot of great ingredients to a
boil and serve.
PUREED SWEET POTATO AND
ROASTED PEAR SOUP WITH
PARMESAN CRISPS
The parmesan crisps are optional, but
an easy and great recipe to learn.
They're perfect with soup, on a salad or
anytime you need a fancy garnish. For a
richer soup, you may substitute chicken
broth for the water.
4 Bosc pears, unpeeled
4 T (1/2 stick) butter
3 pounds sweet potatoes (or yams),
peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 T. minced peeled fresh ginger
1 t. grated orange peel
1/ 7
2005
50
1 cup orange juice
water
1/2 cup cream or half-and-half, option-
al
1/4 cup good quality sherry, optional
Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a baking
sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Cut
the pears into thin wedges and arrange
on the baking sheet. Spray the tops of
the pears with non-stick cooking spray
and roast, uncovered, until the pears are
golden and tender, about 20 minutes.
Set aside.
Melt butter in a large pot over medi-
um-high heat. Add the onions, celery,
ginger and grated peel and cook, stir-
ring often, for about 10 minutes or
more, until the onions are very soft and
lightly golden. Add the sweet potatoes
and pears and bring to a boil. Add
orange juice and enough water to cover
the ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce
heat and cook until the sweet potatoes
are very tender.
Remove the soup from the heat and
allow to cool until just warm. In batch-
es, puree the soup in a food processor or
blender until smooth. Return to the
pot, add water or broth until the soup is
the desired consistency and add sherry if
using. Heat the soup until hot, then
add salt and pepper to taste and cream
if using.
Serve in small bowls or mugs with
parmesan crisps (see recipe in this
story). Makes 8-10 servings.
WHITE BEAN AND
SPINACH SOUP
1 T. olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 t. chopped garlic
8 cups chicken broth
3 cans (about 15 oz. each) great north-
ern or canellini beans, drained
1 can (about 15 oz.) black beans,
drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
2 T. balsmic vinegar
salt and white pepper to taste
1 package (10 oz.) frozen spinach,
thawed and drained well
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-
high heat. Add onion and garlic and
cook, stirring often, until the onion is
tender, about 8 minutes. Add the broth
and beans and bring to a boil. Reduce
heat and cook for 30 minutes.
While the soup is cooking, combine
the black beans, bell pepper, parsley and
vinegar in a bowl and toss well. Add salt
and pepper to taste and set aside. .
Remove the soup from heat and cool
until the soup is just very warm. Puree
in a food processor or blender until
smooth and return the soup to the pot.
Season to taste with salt and white pep-
per. Stir in the spinach and bring to a
boil.
To serve, divide the black bean mix-
ture among 6 bowls. Ladle the soup
over the mixture and serve. Makes 6
servings.
SPLIT PEA AND SMOKED
TURKEY TURKEY SOUP
3 T. olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
2 cups green split peas
1 pound smoked turkey (skin
removed), cut into 1/2-inch chunks
6 cups chicken broth (or 3 15-oz, cans)
4 cups water
1/2 t. dried cumin
salt and pepper to taste
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-
high heat. Add onion, celery and carrots
and cook, stirring often, until the
onions are tender, about 12 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients and bring to
a boil. Reduce heat and cook for about
1 hour, until the peas are tender. Adjust
salt and pepper to taste. Makes 8 serv-
ings.
LOW-CARB CAULIFLOWER SOUP
1 head cauliflower (at least 1 pound),
core removed and chopped
3 T olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
4 cups water
1/8 t. ground cayenne pepper
1/8 t. ground nutmeg
1/8 t. dried mustard powder
salt and white pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups shredded good quality
cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, gar-
nish
1 cup minced scallions (green part
only)
Combine all ingredients except cheese
in a large pot over medium-high heat.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook,
uncovered for 1 hour.
Remove the soup from heat and cool
until the soup is just very warm. Puree
in a food processor or blender until
smooth and return the soup to the pot.
Adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve
hot, garnished with shredded cheese
and scallions. Makes 6 servings.
PARMESAN CRISPS
These are very easy melted-and-fused-
together cheese disks, but you'll need a
non-stick baking mat (such as Silpat)
for best results. You may have to make
these a couple of times to perfect them
— it's worth it though.
2 cups coarsely grated parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350E Place a non-
stick baking mat on a baking sheet.
Divide the cheese in about 8 piles on
the prepared sheet (these will "grow," so
leave plenty of space in between).
Bake for about 9-10 minutes until the
cheese is completely melted. Remove
from the oven and cool completely.
Remove the crisps from the sheet with a
spatula. Makes 8 crisps.
CHEESE TOASTS
These are also wonderful floating in
soup or topping a salad. Vary the
cheeses for different flavors. I like blue
cheeses and swiss. It's also fun to make a
variety of flavors and serve them in a
basket as an appetizer.
2 T olive oil
1 thin French baguette, cut into 1/4-
inch rounds
2 cups grated cheese, any variety
fresh ground pepper
For croutons: Preheat oven to 350F.
Brush the breads with olive oil and
arrange on one or two baking sheets.
Bake for 8 minutes.
Remove from oven and heat oven to
broil. Sprinkle the cheese and pepper
over the toasts and broil until the cheese
is melted and bubbly. Remove from
oven and cool. Makes 24-36 toasts.
❑
For more recipes, see JNOnline.com