Tag: soup

Black bean and roasted corn soup

A quick black bean soup recipe for two.

Ingredients

  • 1 15 oz can black beans.
  • 2 cups chick stock
  • 1/2 cup roasted corn (I used Trader Joe’s frozen roasted corn)
  • 1/2 small onion, diced
  • 1/2  red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 garlic clove(s) finely chopped or pressed through garlic press
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 canned chipotle pepper from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (more or less to taste)
  • 2 scallions roughly chopped.
  • 1/4 lime

Procedure

  • Add the olive oil to a hot sauce pan.
  • Add garlic to oil and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
  • Add onion and cook until softened
  • Add red bell pepper to the garlic and onion mixture and cook for 2 minutes.
  • Drain and rinse black beans; add the beans to the peppers, garlic and onions.
  • Add roasted corn to the pan.
  • Chop and add chipotle pepper to the pan.
  • Add chicken stock to the pan and bring to a boil.
  • Taste and adjust seasoning.
  • Garnish with chopped scallions and lime juice

Variations

Vegetable stock can be substituted for chicken stock for a vegetarian dish. Chipotle chile powder can be substituted for the canned chiles.

Possible garnishes

Chopped fresh cilantro
Sour Cream

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

This was a quick soup for Sunday lunch. In all, it took about 15 minutes to cook.  This provides three generous servings, but it can easily be expanded to serve more people.

Ingredients

  • 1 small head cauliflower
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 medium onion roughly chopped
  • 1 garlic clove roughly chopped
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup left-over mashed potato (0r one small potato, baked and peeled)
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup milk (more for desired consistency)
  • 1/4 cup half-and-half
  • 2 oz.  Fontina cheese, grated

Procedure

  • Separate (or chop) the cauliflower smaller pieces.
  • Add the cauliflower to a microwavable container with 1/4 cup water. Microwave for about 5 minutes or until tender.
  • Add the olive oil to the pan over medium heat.
  • Add the onion and garlic to a sauce pan and cook about 2 minutes until tender.
  • Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamom to the pan to onion and garlic mixture and cook for another minute.
  • Add the cauliflower to the pan and along with enough chicken stock to barely cover the cauliflower.
  • When the cauliflower is tender, puree to desired consistency in a blender or with a stick blender.
  • Return to the pan and add the cheese, milk, and half-and-half to reach desired consistency.
  • Taste for seasoning, adding salt if needed.
  • Heat until near but not quite boiling.

Variations

One could easily make this a vegetarian soup by using vegetable stock (or even water) instead of the chicken stock. The cheese, milk and half-and-half could be replaced with a nut milk and/or silken tofu.

Possible garnishes

Chopped fresh herbs (dill, chives, parsley)
Lightly toasted pumpkin seeds
Drizzle extra virgin olive oil or pumpkin seed oil
Finely diced red bell pepper

Potato-Ham Soup

I bought a ham recently and after cutting most of the meat of the bone, decided I would make a soup. Nancy is not always fond of bean soups, a traditional kind of soup to use with a ham bone, so I decided to do a potato soup. Below is the recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 ham bone
  • 1 medium onion
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 2-3 quarts water
  • 1 tbsp black pepper
  • 4 medium russet potatoes
  • 1 1/2 cup diced ham
  • 1 cup peas
  • 1/2 cup grated cheese (Parmesan, Asiago, or Romano)

Procedure

  • In a stock pot, or large sauce pan, cover the ham bone with water.
  • Peal, roughly chop  and add the garlic and onions to the stock pot
  • Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. When the liquid reaches a boil, turn the heat low enough to maintain a gentle simmer.
  • After an 1 to 1 1/2 hours, remove and discard the bone. The meat should fall away from the bone by this time. It is not particularly flavorful, having yielded its flavor to the stock, so don't bother trying to add it back into the stock.
  • Skim any fat from the surface of the stock. (The stock could be stored at this point for future use.)
  • Peel and chop the the potatoes into chunks of approximately the same size. Size doesn't matter since they will be pureed, but making the chunks the same size insures they will cook in about the same time.
  • When the potatoes break apart when a knife is inserted, purée the garlic, onions, and potatoes with an immersion blender.
  • Thin the soup with a little water if the consistency is too thick. Or thicken the soup with a little corn starch mixed with cold water if the consistency is too thin for your taste.
  • Add ham chunks and peas to the liquid and heat through.
  • Remove from heat and stir in grated cheese.
  • Serve with a little more grated cheese on top

Variations

I didn't have a lot of herbs available, but adding a bay leaf at the beginning would be good. Carrots and celery would also add flavor to the stock.


Roasted Butternut Squash and Corn Soup

Ingredients

1 butternut squash
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 small onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 cup frozen corn
1 Tbs olive oil
1 cup frozen roasted corn or 2 ears of fresh corn (I get it frozen at Trader Joe's)
1 chipotle pepper and canning sauce
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 quart chicken broth
1/2 cup milk

Possible Garnishes: Sour cream, Yoghurt, roasted pumpkin seeds, mint, celantro, quesa fresca

Procedure

  1. Peel the butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise and remove seeds from the center. Cut into pieces equal in size.
  2. Toss the squash with 2 Tbs olive oil, salt and pepper and spread in a single layer on a baking sheet or roasting pan.
  3. Roast the butternut squash in a 350 degree oven until soft.  (40-50 minutes)
  4. If using fresh corn, remove the husks and roast along with the squash, removing after 15-20 minutes.
  5. Heat a 2 quart pan over medium heat. Sauté the onion and garlic in one Tbs olive oil until aromatic and softened (3-5 minutes).
  6. Add 1/2 cup pumpkins seeds to the onion and garlic mixture and sautee until the seeds swell and begin to pop.
  7. Add one cup frozen corn and one chipotle pepper with 2 Tbs canning sauce to the onion, garlic, and corn mixture. (Adjust the amount of peppers to suit your taste).
  8. Add the roasted squash.
  9. Add enough chicken stock to cover.
  10. Cook until the mixture just begins to boil.
  11. Remove from heat and puree the soup with a food mill, blender, or stick blender.
  12. Add 1/2 cup of milk and enough chicken stock or water to reach a desired consistency.
  13. If you roasted fresh corn, remove the kernels from the cob with a knife.
  14. Add the roasted corn to the soup and heat until the soup just comes to a simmer.
  15. Possible garnishes:  Sour cream or yoghurt, pumpkins seeds, fresh cilantro or mint.

Serve with a rustic whole grain bread or corn tortillas.