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January 19, 2006 - Image 17

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 2006-01-19

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

FOOD

Boil And Serve

Easy, hearty soups melt away
the wintertime blahs.

I Annabel Cohen
Special to the Jewish News

7: 1 1,1111,1R

s

oup is so easy. Basically, you
chop, dice and boil. The stove
or slow cooker does all the
work. And with the wide variety of
canned and frozen broths and stocks
available, this task of old — which
often took a whole day to perform —
is practically eliminated.

Soup 911:
• Bland soups can be saved by adding
a squeeze of vinegar, a dash of
Tabasco, a glass of wine or an extra
pinch of salt.
• Boring soups can benefit by the
addition of a favorite ingredient, such
as cooked wild rice, mushrooms,
frozen or even drained canned vegeta-
bles and beans.
• Too-thick soups need a little thin-
ning with broth, water or your favorite
wine.
• Thin, runny soups can be reduced
through evaporation (boil for a while)
or fortified by adding something as -
simple as instant potato flakes or a
few tablespoons of tomato paste.
• Tasteless broth can be boosted with a
couple bouillon cubes.

Chunky Vegetarian Vegetable Soup
For variety, I look to sprinkle any
crumbled or grated cheese over my
soup just before serving. Gorganzola,
parmesan, chevre and feta are good
choices.
1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup chopped onions
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped turnip
1 cup coarsely chopped carrot
1 cups water or vegetable stock

You can cheat at soup preparation.
These days, there are "boxes" of soup
— ultra pasteurized for .a long shelf
life — that include smooth-as-silk
pureed combinations, such as tomato
(with or without additional flavor
ingredients like cream and basil),
squash, mushroom and curried carrot.
Of surprisingly good quality and
flavor, these quart-sized boxes (don't
.look in the refrigerated section of your
market), are really quite good, eaten
alone or doctored for some last-
minute personalization. I always have
a few on hand for last-minute meals. I
usually garnish these soups with
added vegetables (thawed frozen peas
or are favorites of mine) or with
frozen tortellini or even dry pasta.

1 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper, or more
to taste
2 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. dried dill
1 cup diced peeled sweet potato
1 cup frozen corn or peas, thawed
Heat oil in a large soup pot over medi-
um-high heat. Add onions and garlic and
sauté for 5 minutes. Add celery, turnips
and carrots and sauté for 1 minute more.
Add remaining ingredients, except sweet
potato and peas, and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and cook, Uncovered,
for 30 minutes. Add sweet potato and
cook for 30 minutes more. Adjust sea-
sonings and liquid to texture and
taste. Just before serving, add peas,
heat through and serve with grated or
crumbled cheese, any variety, if
desired. Makes 8 servings.

Chicken Orzo Soup
Orzo looks like rice-shaped pasta. You
may also substitute your favorite
shape pasta for this soup — keep it
small, though, for optimum "spoon-
ability."
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped shallots

1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 chopped red bell pepper
8 cups chicken broth

11/2 cups diced zucchini
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup cooked white beans (great
northern or cannelini)
2 cups diced cooked chicken breasts
1 cup dry orzo
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. fennel seeds, optional
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped, garnish

,

Heat oil in soup pot over medium-
high heat. Add shallots and garlic and
saute for 5 minutes. Add remaining
ingredients — except basil — and
bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, for I.
hour. Adjust seasonings and liquid to
texture and taste and serve hot. Makes
6-8 servings.

Asparagus Soup

Soup:
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
2 pounds green asparagus
(cut into small lengths — reserve tips for
garnish)
6 cups parve chicken-flavored or
vegetable broth
1/2 cup white wine
salt and white pepper to taste
Garnish:
1/2 cup half-and-half

Heat oil and onion in a large pot over
medium heat. Cook the onions (do not
let them brown), stirring, for about 8
minutes. Add remaining soup ingredi-
ents, raise heat, and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer, covered,
until asparagus are very tender, 15-20
minutes. Allow the soup to cool.
Puree the soup in batches in a food
processor or blender until smooth and
return to pot. Stir in half-and-half and
asparagus tips and heat the soup on
medium heat until hot (do not boil).
Adjust seasonings and liquid to tex-
ture and taste and serve hot. Makes 4-
6 servings.

Roasted Tomato Soup
I like to serve this soup serve over a
mound of fresh, thin-sliced baby
spinach.

4 pounds ripe tomatoes, cut into large
chunks
1 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano, crumbled
4 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
chopped Kalamata or dry-cured olives,
garnish

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine toma-
toes, onions, basil, garlic, oil and
oregano in a large bowl and toss well.
Transfer to a large, shallow baking pan

that's been sprayed well with nonstick
cooking spray. Roast, uncovered, for 1
hour. •
. Puree the vegetables in batches in a
food processor until blended, but still
chunky, and transfer to a large pot.
Add broth and seasoning and bring to
a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 20
minutes and serve hot, garnished with
olives. Makes 8 servings.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Most gumbos are like stew, but this
soup keeps the flavor, but is more
soupy. For a more "gumbo-like" expe-
rience, serve over a few spoonfuls of
cooked white rice.

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup flour
6 cups chicken broth
1 cup chopped onions
1 can (about 28 oz.) seasoned
diced tomatoes
3 cups diced cooked chicken breasts
1/2 pound smoked sausage, chopped .
3 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. Cajun seasoning (available in the
supermarket)
1-2 Tbsp. red pepper sauce (such as
Tabasco)
1 package (about 10 oz.) sliced frozen
whole okra
salt and pepper to taste

Combine oil and flour in soup pot
over high medium-high heat and
whisk until smooth. Cook, whisking
constantly for about 3 minutes. Add
remaining ingredients and bring to a
boil. Reduce heat to medium and
cook for 1 hour. Adjust seasonings
and liquid to texture and taste and
serve hot.

Parmesan Crisps
These are very easy melted-and-
fused-together cheese disks to garnish
your soups, but you'll need a nonstick
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-350F. 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. Li

For more recipes, go to JNonline.us .

January 19 2006

17

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