SOUP

FRESH TOMATO SOUP

Note - make this now while you can still get vine ripe tomatoes!

3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 red onions chopped
2 carrots unpeeled and chopped fine
1 Tablespoon of minced garlic
4 pounds skinned tomatoes chopped roughly
1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar
1 Tablespoon of tomato paste
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
3 cups chicken stock
1 Tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons ground pepper

Note - to skin tomatoes - boil water in a small saucepan and lower tomatoes into water for about 5 seconds and remove - the skins will slide off easily.

Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat and saute the onions and carrots for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute then add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. (Make sure the carrots are soft)
At this point it's easier to let the soup cool but you can proceed cautiously if the mixture is hot - the easiest way to blend the soup is by using a hand held blender directly into the cooking pot - or you can transfer the mixture into a conventional blender and blend in batches being careful to keep the lid on the blender or you will be covered in goop as it explodes! Serve with croutons or chopped basil leaves. The vine ripe tomatoes are the secret ingredient here! Makes about 6 servings.






MINESTRONE

The word minestrone means big soup and this is best made ahead and re-heated - the flavor gets better. Ingredients can vary - I always include white beans and although I start with dry beans - you can substitute 2 cans of white beans (drain and rinse them well) and that will save time.

1/2 cup dry white beans - I use Great Northern beans (or 1 - 2 cans)
5 ounces of pancetta chopped - optional
1 cup minced onions
2 big cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
1/2 cup minced celery
1/2 cup minced carrots
1 big Tablespoon chopped parsley
2 medium potatoes peeled and chopped
1 medium zucchini - diced
1/4 pound diced mushrooms
1 15 oz canned diced tomatoes, drained
1 49 1/2 oz can chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon salt
fresh ground pepper to taste.

Starting with dry beans - Boil 4 cups of water in a heavy saucepan. Add the beans, boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let them soak for 1 hour. Then, drain them, add 4 cups of fresh water and the beans and simmer them uncovered for 1 to 1/1/2 hours until they are tender. (Add more boiling water if needed) Drain them when finished.

In a big pot, add 2 - 3 Tablespoons of olive oil and saute on medium heat the pancetta, onions, garlic, celery, carrots and chopped parsley. Stir and cook for about 5 - 10 minutes until the veggies are taking on color. Then stir in the tomatoes and basil and cook another 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, beans, zucchini and mushrooms - stir mixture and add remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer, and cook about 2 hours until it has a nice thick consistency. Check for seasoning and eat the next day at least for optimum flavor! Add more chicken stock or water if needed.


BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Olive oil
1 large butternut squash - cut in half lengthwise with the seeds and fibers scraped out with a spoon
salt/pepper
6 cloves of garlic - no need to peel them
4 sprigs of thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3 Tablespoons butter
1 large onion chopped
3 shallots, chopped
4 cups canned chicken broth

Preheat oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Pour about a teaspoon of olive oil into the cavity of each half of the squash and rub the cut side with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and turn the cut side down on the sheet, tucking in the sprigs of thyme and 3 cloves of garlic each. Roast for about one hour, the squash should be quite soft and easy to pierce with a fork. Remove from the oven and let cool - you can do this early in the day if you wish. Save the garlic, discard the thyme, scrape the flesh away from the outer skin and chop it roughly.

In a heavy saucepan or stew pot, melt the butter and saute the chopped onion and shallots for about 5 minutes until they start to get brown, add the squash and garlic. (Hold a garlic clove at one end in your fingers and pinch and the inside will pop out.) Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/8 teaspoon of pepper and saute another 5 minutes until the squash starts sticking to the pan - add the chicken stock gradually and bring to a simmer and cook 15 minutes. Puree the soup in a blender in small batches and return to the pot where it can wait for serving time. (Be careful to put only small amounts of hot liquids in a blender because the top can pop up and cover you with soup!)

CROUTONS ARE NICE

Homemade croutons are the best - dice some old french bread, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in small skillet and saute until brown - be careful not to burn - sprinkle with kosher salt and set aside until serving time - trying not to eat them all yourself.

Serve the soup with the croutons and you can also add some chopped chives or the green part of a scallion to add more color.

This recipe is from the new "Organic Marin" cookbook which has great pictures.


ARUGULA SOUP

1 1/4 pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes
6 cups of water
12 ounces (about 5 cups of arugula leaves, large stems removed) chopped
4 big cloves of garlic,thinly sliced
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 slices of stale country style bread

Peel the potatoes, chop roughly and cook in the 5 cups of boiling salted water for about 10 minutes. Add arugula and garlic and cook another 5 or 10 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Add the red pepper flakes, salt and bread and let it stand off heat until the bread is soft. Puree in batches in a blender or food processor.
This mixture will be quite thick and you may need to thin with a little more water.

This produces a fabulous thick green soup that people will think is spinach. The arugula loses it's bitterness and the potatoes and bread give it substance. You can drizzle a little olive oil over the top to serve. Makes at least 6 servings.

This is adapted from Carol Field's "In Nonna's Kitchen" cookbook which has excellent old fashioned Italian granny's recipes.


POTATO AND PARSLEY SOUP

This is low cal, easy and cheap!

8 cups water
1 pound of potatoes (about 3 medium) peeled and chopped into 1 chunks
1 medium onion chopped smaller than the potatoes
5 whole cloves of garlic - peeled
1 large bunch of parsley, washed, remove stems and chop
Salt and pepper to taste (important to taste)

Combine the water, potatoes,onion and garlic with 1 teaspoon salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat and simmer 45 minutes or until the potatoes and onions are cooked through. Remove from the heat and add the parsley.
Puree the mixture using a hand blender or food processor - if you use a conventional blender be very cautious with the hot mixture - fill the blender only 1/3 full and cover the lid with a kitchen towel and keep your hand firmly on the top - the hot stuff can erupt and cover you with soup.
The cooked potatoes will quickly get too smooth if you let the machine run too long - this soup tastes best when you have nice little bumps of potato for texture rather than completely blended.

This is from Martha Rose Shulman's "Mediterranean Light" published by Bantam 1989 - the calorie count per serving is 132 in her version but I eliminated the milk that she calls for so the calories are even less in this recipe!


KALE AND CHICKPEA SOUP

This is unusual, very pretty, quick, easy and good!

2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 oz chopped pancetta
1 onion chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoons salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
3 cups chicken stock
2 cups cubed yam or sweet potato (one medium)
1 sweet red pepper chopped
1 can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
3 cups chopped kale (you can use spinach instead)

In a large saucepan, heat the oil, saute the chopped pancetta, onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, add the salt pepper and sage and stir together for another minute.

Add the stock, 3 cups of water, sweet potato or yam and red pepper, bring to a simmer, add the chickpeas, keep at a simer, covered for about 15 minutes until the potatos are tender

Add the kale and simmer another 5 to 10 minutes. This can be served right away but keeps well in the frig.

This is adapted from "Make it Tonight" by Elizabeth Laird, published by Canadian Living 2007 thanks to my friend S who has good taste in cookbooks!