Fiddlehead Soup

Image courtesy Creative Commons

The only thing tastier in the spring in NB than a “mess of fiddleheads”, is pairing them with a bit of potato and some cream in the form of soup. Tuck into our simple and quick version of this gourmet classic. It can be made with either fresh or frozen fiddleheads. Alternatively, if you’re making it later in the year, you can substitute 16-20 asparagus stalks for the fiddleheads. The soup base can also be frozen to enjoy later in the year.

Ingredients

• 2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed (3 cups or more) or shredded
• 1/2 cup finely diced celery
• 1 cup of diced onion (about a medium sized onion)
• 1 – 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
•  1-2 cups of chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 2 ½  cups cleaned fiddleheads, tightly packed into the cup
• Water as needed
• 1-2 cups of cream (2 cup coffee cream or 1 cup whipping cream)
• Salt to taste
• Croutons (optional garnish)
• Parmesan cheese leaves (optional garnish)

Directions:

1. Place the potatoes, celery, onion and garlic in a heavy bottomed pot. Add stock and enough water to cover.
2. Bring to a boil and lower heat. Cover pot and simmer for 10-12 minutes, until potatoes are starting to get tender.
3. Add fiddleheads and recover pot. Simmer for 10-12 minutes. Fiddleheads must be thoroughly cooked. Potatoes at this point should be very done – mushy and falling apart.
4. Remove a few of the fiddleheads and set aside for use as a garnish. Using an immersion blender or in small batches in a regular blender, puree the soup until smooth.
5. Return to pot and stir in enough cream to give it a creamy texture without overwhelming it. You probably won’t use the full amount called for in the recipe.
6. Salt to taste
7. Ladle into bowls and garnish with reserved fiddleheads and/or croutons or parmesan cheese leaves.

Keeping it for later: After step 4 (before adding cream), this soup base can be packaged into freezer safe containers and frozen for up to 6 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and heat the next day in a pot. Add cream, salt to taste and serve.

Tummy filling Hamburger Soup

We did this as a demonstration soup at the NBEX on Tuesday. It's a delicious, basic soup that is very flexible in terms of ingredients. Use what you have on hand, take the opportunity to clean out those dribs and drabs in the fridge.  We use lentils in it, along with soaked dried beans, to make the meat go farther. Lentils are an excellent source of protein and iron and really do go well in meat dishes. 

Feel free to experiment with this recipe. It has a hundred different variations. Check the "tips" section at the bottom for some ideas on how to make this your own favourite comfort food. 



Ingredients: 

2 Tbsp oil

1 lb (450 g) lean ground beef (or use a combination of ground beef and ground pork)

1 medium onion chopped, about 1 cup

2 stalks celery –finely chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 cloves garlic – or ¼ teaspoon garlic powder (not salt)

1 bay leaf

Pinch of red pepper flakes

1 can (796 ml—28 oz) diced tomatoes — can also use fresh tomatoes, peeled and seeded

1 cup of tomato sauce or puree

1/4 cup dried green lentils (can also use red)

3-1/2  cup beef stock  (cube/stock pot/ boxed is fine)

1 tsp dried oregano or Italian seasoning, or basil. Alternatively, you can use fresh

Salt to taste

Other additions you might enjoy:

Mushrooms

Pasta (cook separately, put in bowl and top with hot soup)

Rice  or barley 

Diced green, red, yellow or orange sweet peppers. 

Shredded zucchini -- add at the end

Shredded cabbage

Barley

Parmesan cheese rind (for flavour — remove before serving) 

Dried shitake mushrooms (for flavour — remove before serving)

Directions:

1. In a heavy bottomed pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Break up ground beef and scramble fry until it is brown. Drain any excess fat and liquids.

2. Add celery, onion, carrots and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic.

3. Add lentils, bay leaf, pinch of red pepper flakes, tomato sauce (or puree), canned tomatoes including liquid and beef broth. If using dried herbs and spices, add them now.

4. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer and cover. Cook on a low heat until everything is tender. Depending on the ingredients and their size, this could be 20 minutes to 45 minutes.

5. If using fresh herbs, add them now. Stir and taste. Adjust seasonings as necessary.

6. Serve with garlic bread, warmed rolls or topped with Parmesan cheese.







Tips:

• Cook a small pasta like macaroni, stars, alphabets, orzo in a separate pot and add hot soup on top. This keeps the pasta from getting mushy if there's leftovers
• Finely slice fresh spinach leaves and put into the bowl. Top with hot soup. The heat will wilt the spinach without it getting slimy. Also means that the soup will keep better in the fridge

 

 

Carrot and Lentil Soup

This is a recipe we adapted from BBC's Good Food. We've made this version vegan because we are demonstrating it at the NBEX tonight.Chicken stock could be used to replace the vegetable stock.

Unless you're a real cumin lover, consider cutting the cumin in half for this recipe. We found that the flavour "bloomed" when the soup sat for a bit. The soup is quite thick, so be prepared to thin it out with a little additional stock.


Makes 2.5 litres or about 7 generous servings 

Ingredients:  

• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• pinch chilli flakes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 250 ml - 1 cup onion, diced finely
• 1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 600g carrots, washed and coarsely grated (no need to peel) – about 8-10 carrots
• 200 g split red lentils – about a cup
• 2 litre – 8 cups vegetable stock (from a cube is fine)
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt to taste
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• plain yogurt to serve 

Directions: 

1. Heat a large saucepan and dry-fry the cumin seeds and chilli flakes for 1 min, or until they start to jump around the pan and release their aromas. Scoop out about half of the seeds with a spoon and set aside.
2. Add the oil, onion and garlic and sauté for a few minutes until the onion is soft.
3. Add carrots, lentils and stock to the pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 mins until the lentils have swollen and softened. Add the nutmeg.
4. Whizz the soup with a stick blender until smooth (or leave it chunky if you prefer).
5. Season to taste and finish with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkling of the reserved toasted spices. Serve with warmed naan breads

Poached chicken -- Kitchen style

Image courtesy Creative Commons 

Poaching chicken is a wonderful way of cooking chicken that keeps it moist and flavourful. We use poached chicken a lot here in the Kitchen when we are catering events. The meat can be used in sandwiches, soups, casseroles, salads or sliced by itself. This recipe gives a delicate flavour to the meat. 

Most important -- don't throw out that cooking liquid. This is an extremely flavourful soup base. Freeze it in gallon sized freezer bags and use for soups or stews. We always keep 4 or 5 litres of it on hand at all times because once this broth is made, a kettle of fresh homemade soup needs very little work -- and about 45 minutes to the table. 

Ingredients: 

• 3-4 lb whole chicken (or chicken parts). Legs and thighs are preferred over breast meat if using parts. 
• 3 litres chicken stock (either in ready to use box or bouillon powder) 
• 1 large onion, chopped -- include the yellow skins if possible 
• 1 large / 2 medium sized carrots, scrubbed and chopped 
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped including leaves
• 2 cloves garlic chopped or 1/4 teaspoon dried garlic powder (not salt) 
• 1 bay leaf
• 10 black peppercorns 
• sprig of rosemary or 1/4 teaspoon of dried rosemary
• sprig of thyme or 1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme 
• 2 clove buds or pinch of ground cloves 
• 1-2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil for sauteing 

Directions: 

1. Using medium high heat, heat the oil in a large heavy bottom pot 
2. Add chopped onion, carrots, celery and cook for 5 minutes. Stir frequently. 
3. Add fresh garlic and stir well, cook for an additional minute. If using dried, skip this step. 
4. Add spices (powder garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme and cloves) 
5. Place the whole chicken (or chicken parts) on top of the sauteed vegetables and add enough stock to cover half of the chicken (about mid way up the thigh). Don't cover the chicken. 
6. Bring the pot contents to a boil and immediately reduce to a slow simmer. Cover the pot. 
7. Cook for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, until meat is falling off the bones 
8. Separate the meat from the carcass, discarding bones, cartilage and skin. Reserve for later use. 
9. Strain vegetables from the remaining broth and refrigerator for a maximum of 3 days or freeze for up to six months. 

Cream of Mushroom Soup

White button mushrooms 

Canned cream of mushroom soup is a bad representative of the dish. It's overly salted and not very tasty. Here's a better version.

Homemade cream of mushroom soup is an easy to make, quick, gourmet treat. You can use any type of mushroom -- white button, cremini, portabella, or a mixture of them. You can also add some of the more exotic mushrooms that are occasionally available in our stores. Dried mushrooms can also be added but hydrate them first. Sometimes the refreshed mushrooms are very tough and it's really just the soaking water we want to use. Dried chrysanthemum or shitake mushrooms are often like this. So dehydrate separately and only add the mushroom "meat" if it's tender enough. 

INGREDIENTS:

·         3 tablespoons butter

·         5 cups sliced fresh mushrooms, roughly chopped

·         1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth

·         1/2 cup chopped onion

·         1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

·         1 large baking potato, peeled and grated

·         1/4 teaspoon salt

·         1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

·         1 cup light cream or milk

·         1 tablespoon sherry (Optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1.                   If using portabella mushrooms, use the side of a spoon to scrape out the gills underneath the mushroom. These mushroom spores are very dark in colour and will make your soup an unappetizing grey colour. If using any dried mushrooms, soak in a small amount of boiling water to rehydrate. Reserve that water for the soup pot – it’s full of flavour.

2.                   In a large heavy saucepan, heat the butter until bubbling. Add the onion and mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms release their liquid (about 10 minutes).

3.                   Add grated potato and enough broth (and mushroom water from dried mushrooms if using) to cover. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook about 10 to 15 minutes, until potatoes are done and their starch has made the broth thick.

4.                   Remove some of the mushroom/onion/potato from the pot and set aside. Using either an immersion blender or regular blender, puree the remaining soup. If you’re using a regular blender, be careful to work in small batches and make sure you hold the lid on tight while blending. Return the reserved mushroom/onion mixture to the pot. Recipe can be refrigerated at this point for 3 days and rewarmed. Additionally, it can be frozen in Mason jars (leave at least 1-1/2 inches of head room in the jar) for 6 months. Defrost overnight in refrigerator before rewarming and continuing to step 5. 

5.                   Add the salt, pepper, thyme, milk or cream.. Stirring constantly, bring soup to a hot temperature without boiling. Adjust seasonings to taste, and add sherry if using it.