Category Archives: Soup
Found by Nemo
The Blizzard of 2013 has come and mostly gone from the Boston area. The eastern part of the state is still under a travel ban until 4 pm. I applaud the governor for proactively keeping people off the roads. I’m sure it went a long way towards the seemingly seamless cleanup effort that has taken place so far. There are power outages in some area, mostly southeast of the city (we are northwest of the city). For a variety of reasons, the public transit system remains down, but hopes to be up and running for the Monday commute. Officials are urging all to be patient, a virtue that Americans often seem short on. I’m happily settled in for the rest of the day with a cup of tea and a book (Jill Lepore’s The Story of America: Essays on Origins).
Backyard at start of storm, noon on February 8, 2013
I estimate we got about 27 inches of snow. It’s a little hard to judge because of the heavy drifting. Thank goodness the snow blower was successfully fixed! Howard did a few passes with the heavy equipment, and I supplemented with the shovel. We were cleared out and ready for action by around noon.
Backyard after the storm, 24 hours later, noon on February 9, 2013
What’s the perfect lunch for a snowy day? I always vote for tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. I made a pot of soup yesterday in anticipation of the storm, and it definitely hit the spot today. This recipe was quick and easy and uses canned tomatoes, a staple in my pantry. I used garden basil that I froze in ice cube trays at the end of the summer which gave the soup a hint of a warmer season.
Spicy Tomato Soup
Adapted from Food52
Serves 6
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, peeled, halved, and sliced into ¼-inch-thick slices
¼ tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
2 (28-oz) cans whole tomatoes, NOT drained
1½ cup water
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and very tender, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, plus the water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors have melded, about 30 minutes. Add the basil, season with salt and pepper, remove from the heat, and let cool briefly, about 5 minutes.
Set a medium-mesh strainer over a large, heatproof bowl. Using a blender, purée the soup in batches until smooth. Pour the blended soup through the strainer. Stir and press on the solids with a rubber spatula to force what you can through the strainer. Scrape into the bowl any tomato that goes through the strainer but sticks to the outside. Discard any solids that don’t go through strainer. It won’t be that much. Taste the soup and season with additional salt and pepper as needed.
Return the soup to the saucepan and reheat until hot.
Soup Season
The month of January has been filled with wild temperature swings. The past few days have been frigid, starting in single digits, but staying well south of freezing. And yet, we saw a balmy 50 just this past weekend and 60 one day last week. Climate change is in the air, and something needs to stabilize it.
I do love winter, though maybe not as much as I used to. I certainly prefer winter to summer. The trick is to dress properly. In winter, you can bundle up. In summer, you can only take off so many clothes. My mainstay has been my flannel-lined jeans. That extra layer helps cut the wind and generally keeps me warmer inside and out.
Another trick is eating soup. A bowl of soup is just what the doctor (or maybe the weatherman?) ordered. I’ve made so many delicious pots of soup this month; I just haven’t gotten around to sharing about them.
Here’s a little roundup of my favorites:
This carrot soup is from Smitten Kitchen. The soup itself is nothing exciting, just a simple carrot puree. What makes this soup special are the garnishes: a lemony tahini sauce to swirl in, crispy chickpeas to sprinkle on top (though flavorful, mine were not very crispy), and za’atar topped pita chips (my new favorite snack). A bowl of this fully-adorned soup is a keeper!
This cauliflower soup was recommended by my Dorista friend Teresa from One Wet Foot. My previous go-to cauliflower soup starts with roasted cauliflower. This one does this same. However, Teresa’s soup is seasoned with curry powder. The curry powder also imparts a slight yellow tinge to the soup (you can’t really tell from the photo). This soup achieves a silky, creamy texture without any cream, so it will become my new go-to cauliflower soup recipe. Delicious!
Finally, drawing on inspiration from the freezer, pantry, and refrigerator, I created a pot of Turkey Mushroom Barley Soup. I thawed turkey bones from the freezer to make into rich stock in the slow cooker. To the finished stock, I added a complement of hearty vegetables (about 6 cups in all) and some barley and let it simmer until the barley was nearly tender. Finally, sautéed mushrooms and chopped turkey (frozen leftovers from Thanksgiving) were added to the pot. The result was a thick, hearty soup to warm us from the inside out.
Spring doesn’t usually arrive in these parts until April (optimistically), so there will be many more pots of soup in my future. Do you have a favorite recipe to recommend? Please share!
Turkey Mushroom Barley Soup
Serves 8
8 cups turkey stock (chicken would be fine)
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced into ¼-inch pieces
2 stalks celery, diced into ¼-inch pieces
2 turnips, peeled and diced into ¼-inch pieces
1 cup barley
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 pound mushrooms, quartered
2 cups chopped cooked turkey
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
In a large soup pot, combine stock, onion, carrots, celery, turnips, and barley. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Simmer for 40 minutes, until barley is nearly tender. In the meantime, heat the oil in a large skillet. Saute the mushrooms until they have given up all their liquid and the liquid in the skillet evaporates. The mushrooms should be tender at this point. When the stock has simmered for 40 minutes, the barley should be nearly tender. Add the mushrooms and turkey. Continue to cook the soup until the barley is completely tender and the turkey is warmed through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
A Plateful of Happiness 