Soup Recipes

Cabbage and Farro Soup

by Anne Maxfield on February 4, 2019

Accidental Locavore Cabbage Soup with FarroThis cabbage soup was making the rounds of the Internet recently and everyone was raving about how good it was. It’s from Smitten Kitchen and serves 4.

Cabbage and Farro Soup

  • 1 pound cabbage: savoy or green
  • Olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
  • 1 sprig of rosemary or thyme
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 2/3 cup uncooked farro
  • About 4 cups broth (beef, chicken or vegetable)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice plus more to taste
  • Shaved Parmesan, to finish

Accidental Locavore Cabbage for SoupCut out the cabbage core and finely chop it. Cut the leaves into 1/8” ribbons.

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cabbage core, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion starts to soften but is not yet browned, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another 3- 5 minutes, until the garlic softens.

Add the shredded cabbage leaves and herb sprig, if using. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and let it steam a bit to soften the leaves, then toss the cabbage to combine with other ingredients. Cook, covered, until the cabbage is very sweet and tender,15-30 minutes depending on the type of cabbage you’re using. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat a glug of olive oil over medium heat and add the uncooked farro. Toast it, stirring, for a few minutes, until it’s about half a shade darker.

When the cabbage is ready, stir in the vinegar. Taste and season with more salt and pepper. Add the farro and broth. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook for 25 to 35 minutes, until farro is tender. The soup will be very thick, but if you’d prefer more liquid, add another 1/2 cup broth or water. Taste and adjust seasoning again. Stir in lemon juice.

Ladle into bowls and finish each with a drizzle of olive oil and a shower of Parmesan, serve and enjoy!

Accidental Locavore Farro for Cabbage Soup

My verdict: Frank loved it, but I was disappointed in it. I had great ingredients, cabbage, garlic and onions from the farm, homemade chicken broth but it was a long process and in the end it was cabbage soup.

As a friend said about a recent food event—meh.

The original recipe comes from Six Seasons: A New Way With Vegetables which I happen to have on my iPad. He calls for meat or poultry broth and I’m wondering if beef broth would be a better way to go. I did add a couple of pieces of smoked pig skin (left from making bacon) for flavor, and used good homemade chicken broth, but neither took it into the realm of super deliciousness.

Both recipes said it would be thick, but mine was pretty soup-like. Not sure what browning the farro achieved except dirtying another pan.

Since I was on the fence about this, I gave it a time out and left it alone for a few days. Time made it thicker (the farro absorbing more broth) and a squeeze of lemon and some shaved parmesan gave it flavor. I’m still not wowed, there are better soups out there that come together faster. What do you think?

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Roasted Potato Leek and Garlic Soup

by Anne Maxfield on October 8, 2018

Accidental Locavore Roasted Leek and Potato SoupPotato leek soup is good any time of year.

When Frank kept bringing home potatoes and leeks from our CSA, I knew he was serious about me making a batch.

Since it’s fall, I like this version, where the leeks and potatoes are roasted with some garlic, making it heartier than traditional vichyssoise. Serves about 6:

Roasted Potato Leek and Garlic Soup

  • 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
  • 3 leeks, white and light green parts, cleaned, cut in half lengthwise and then in ½” slices
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine, plus extra for serving
  • 6 to 7 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 8 ounces crème fraîche
  • 1-2 heads roasted garlic (see below)

Accidental Locavore Potatoes and LeeksPreheat the oven to 400°.

Combine the potatoes and leeks on a sheet pan in a single layer. Add the olive oil, salt, and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast for 40 to 45 minutes, turning them with a spatula a few times, until very tender and lightly golden.

Remove the pan from the oven and place over 2 burners. Stir in the wine and 1 cup of chicken stock and cook over low heat, scraping up any roasted bits sticking to the pan.

In batches, transfer the roasted vegetables and garlic to a food processor or blender, adding the pan liquid and about 5 cups of the chicken stock in batches and purée. As you finish a batch, pour it into a large pot or Dutch oven. When it’s all in the pot, add the remaining 1- 2 cups of stock to make a thick soup. Add the cream, crème fraîche, and salt and pepper as needed. Heat over medium-low heat until heated through. Serve and enjoy!

Accidental Locavore Potatoes and Leeks RoastedMy verdict: I’ve never made vichyssoise with crème fraîche before and if there wasn’t some in the fridge, I probably wouldn’t have used it this time either – which would have been a big mistake! It gave this very rich soup a nice depth of flavor that’s sometimes missing. Roasting the potatoes and leeks was a great idea and the next time I do it, I’d just toss some garlic cloves in the mix. If you were doing this in the summer and didn’t want to heat up your oven, grilling them would most likely be great! If you like a finer purée, use a blender, for a chunkier version the food processor is fine.

Accidental Locavore Garlic for Roasted Leek and Potato SoupIn preparation for this I roasted 4 heads of garlic separately (cut 1/2″ off the tops, put in an oven-proof dish, sprinkle a little olive oil, cover with foil and roast at 400 degrees for an hour), not knowing how many I’d need (about 1 1/2 heads) to flavor but not overwhelm the leeks. Frank was wondering about adding bacon which would be fine, but not necessary – maybe as a garnish? This is great hot or cold, so depending on the season…

 

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The Best Gazpacho Ever!

by Anne Maxfield on July 30, 2018

Accidental Locavore Drinking GazpachoNow that it’s time for great tomatoes, do yourself a favor and give this amazing gazpacho recipe a try. Thank me in the comments.

It’s become our go-to gazpacho, it’s so good!

After I read the description of this gazpacho in the NY Times and remembered how good it was when Chef Jose Garces made it at his house a couple of years ago,  I needed to give it a try. Use the best tomatoes and olive oil you can.Accidental Locavore Gazpacho IngredientsBest Gazpacho recipe:

  • 2 pounds of red tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks
  • 1 Italian or Anaheim pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
  • 1 cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1 small onion, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1 clove of garlic, peeled
  • Part of a Serrano chile, seeded and thinly sliced (optional, if you like a little heat)
  • 2 teaspoons Sherry vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons salt, more to taste
  • ¼ cup good olive oil, plus more for drizzling

Accidental Locavore Straining GazpachoCombine the tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, onion and garlic in a blender.

Blend at high speed until very smooth, about 2 minutes.

With the motor running, add the vinegar and 2 teaspoons of salt, taste and add the Serrano chile if you’re using.

The next part you might want to do in batches unless you have a big blender.

Very slowly pour in the olive oil, so the gazpacho can emulsify. It will thicken and change color, becoming more orange.

If it seems thin, keep slowly pouring in the olive oil and it will thicken up. Taste and adjust the vinegar, salt and oil as needed.

Strain and discard the solids.

Pour into a pitcher and chill for at least 6 hours or overnight. Serve in glasses with a drizzle of olive oil on the top and enjoy!

Accidental Locavore Gazpacho Close UpMy verdict: Fabulous! It took a few minutes, but the color did change and the texture and taste was perfect. You really need a blender for this – sadly, a food processor won’t give you a fine enough puree.

I didn’t have the right kind of peppers, so I seeded and chopped a couple of pepperoncini, and they worked fine.

Since you really taste the oil, be sure to use something delicious. If you wanted, a shot of vodka might be interesting.

The original recipe suggests pouring the gazpacho over ice, which I think is a good idea; even though ours had chilled all afternoon, it never tasted really cold.

And forget Christmas in July, I’m thinking about making a batch and freezing it, so it can be August in the middle of January!Accidental Locavore Gazpacho Gone

 

 

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Greek Egg-Lemon Soup: Avgolemono

by Anne Maxfield on February 23, 2017

Accidental Locavore Egg-Lemon SoupEgg-Lemon Soup is my go-to soup when I’m not feeling well.

To me, it’s more interesting than most chicken noodle soups and if you’re making your own, much quicker.

Egg-lemon soup also has the advantage that you know exactly what’s in it (all five ingredients), unlike canned soups.

So, I pull out that classic from the 1980’s The Silver Palate Cookbook (still available if you never got a copy) and have soup in 30 minutes. Makes 6 cups.

Greek Egg-Lemon Soup:

  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup long grain rice
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice or more to taste
  • salt and white pepper to taste

Pour the broth into a pot, and bring it to a boil.

Add the rice, reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for about 25 minutes until the rice is just tender.

While the rice is cooking, whisk the egg yolks and the lemon juice together in a small bowl until well combined.

When the rice is done, remove soup from the heat, and slowly ladle 2 cups of hot broth into the lemon/egg mixture. Whisk to combine, and pour back into the pot. Stir.

Return the soup to medium heat, and cook until soup is just steaming. Do not let it reach a boil. Season to taste. Serve and enjoy!

Eggs for Egg-Lemon SoupMy verdict: As I said in the intro, it’s my go-to when I’m sick. You’ve usually got all the ingredients on hand, it’s easy and tastes great!

I often leave the pepper out, but if you’re going to use it, try to use white pepper, it just looks better.

Some chicken diced up would add protein and you often see this made with little lamb meatballs, but that’s beyond my pay-grade when I’m sick.

And if this doesn’t work, there’s always albondigas.

What’s your go-to cold remedy?

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