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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 4, 2009 22:12:07 GMT
Hot & Sour Leek and Potato SoupI had a leek. I had potatoes. I had no inspiration. Then it got cold & rainy, & I knew what kind of taste hit I wanted. -- At least a pound of small, young potatoes, diced -- One medium leek, chopped fairly fine -- A good 2 inches of very fresh ginger -- @ 5 cloves of garlic -- 3 T. of sesame seeds, lightly toasted -- a fresh hot pepper or hot pepper paste -- one lime or lemon @ a tsp. of sichuan peppercorns (crushed to a powder), soy sauce, worchestershire sauce, a good pinch of 5-spice powder, corn starch + salt & black pepper Boiling water Heat oil in a wide, deep pot & put in the potatoes so they can cook while you chop the leek. Add that to the pot & let the two saute. Meanwhile, put the ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, & hot pepper into a mini processor or grinder. (You could use a mortar & pestle instead. You could also weave your own garments). Add the paste above and let it saute briefly, then add the boiling water, some salt, the sichuan peppercorns and let it simmer until the potatoes are done. Mix up cornstarch with water & soy sauce -- you want to give the soup body, but not make it glutinous. Pour it in, let it thicken, then squeeze in the juice of 1/2 or a whole lime or lemon. Taste. You'll probably want to squirt in a little worchestershire -- it gives that small touch of sweetness that amps up the soy sauce flavor. At this point add the 5-spice powder if you wish and some grindings of black pepper. Adjust for salt (& anything else) & serve. This re-heats very nicely.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2009 22:19:46 GMT
Hmmmm. That goes against my grain for leek and potoato soup, which is a comforting creamy winter soup in my part of the world.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 5, 2009 2:10:56 GMT
I expected better of you, I really did.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2009 4:46:32 GMT
Next you'll be dipping shrimp in maple syrup or something.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 5, 2009 5:36:12 GMT
It's not as though that was the last leek or only potatoes I'll ever see. It was a logical melding of one kind of soup with the ingredients of another.
Have you tried it yet?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2009 12:51:19 GMT
For breakfast? No thanks.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jun 6, 2009 0:03:57 GMT
Next you'll be dipping shrimp in maple syrup or something. Kerouac2, I thought of you as I prepared dinner. I was making Braised Red Cabbage in Red Wine, and the recipe needed an apple or two. As I didn't have any, I soaked some mixed, dried fruit and threw it in, Not bad, but apple would have been better. A True Story: the last restaurant at which I worked, was truly good taste challenged, especially at dinner time. One of the Specialties of the House was a dish of Scallops in a Dijon Mustard Maple Sauce. Urrrghhhh---bloofkhkh!!!! (I admit I never tasted it.)
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Post by lola on Jan 8, 2010 0:28:12 GMT
I have been making big pots of soup that improve over the few days we work towards the bottom.
The current one, reverting to peasant roots, is Cabbage Soup, mostly based on Joy of Cooking recipe.
Sautee garlic, 3 onions (leeks if you have em) slowly in oil. Add a quart or so chicken broth, a cup or so water, bring to boil Add 4 diced potatoes, 3 sliced carrots, and lower to simmer for 25 min until potatoes are cooked. Add 6 cups cabbage, shredded, a tsp of caraway seeds, and simmer another 20 min. Salt, pepper. Garnish with roquefort if you have it, or similar.
The next day I stir fried more cabbage until just tender, added it to my bowl, and the rest to the pot.
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Post by lola on Jan 8, 2010 0:37:52 GMT
A few days ago, it was Vietnamese Shrimp Soup, sweet and spicy, from epicurious.com
2 cans low fat, low sodium chicken broth, 1 can vegetable broth, 3 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tsp chili-garlic sauce, 4 roma tomatoes wedged, 2 cups fresh pine apple chunks, 1 sweet onion sliced, 3 stalks celery sliced, 1 lb medium shrimp peeled and deveined. Garnish: 1 package fresh mung bean sprouts, 1/2 cup fresh basil slivered, juice of 1/2 a lime In a dutch oven on medium high heat add chili garlic sauce and fish sauce. Stir to heat. Add chicken and vegetable broth, , add onion,celery and pineapple pieces. Simmer 25 minutes until onion is cooked but not soft. Add shrimp and tomatoes. Cook until shrimp are pink. In deep bowls divide garnishes equally. Ladle the soup over the garnishes.
It was very well-received, and an easy meal with some Trader Joe's vegetable egg rolls from the freezer.
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Post by lola on Jan 8, 2010 1:00:09 GMT
My pressure cooker lets me use cheap dried beans easily for the kind of vegetarian soups favored by still-at-home daughter:
Soak, etc, and cook a pound of white beans until tender. Sautee garlic and onions in olive oil, slowly. Add diced green and red peppers, the more the better, along with any other kind of hot peppers that might strike your fancy. (OR the red pepper sauce you made this summer from Bixa's recipe can be added later to add heat. ) You can add chile powder, plenty of cumin, a little curry powder maybe at this point and stir 30 seconds. Add beans. A big can or two of diced tomatoes now, and water if it needs to be soupier. I like Penzey's Vegetable Soup Base that you keep in the refrigerator; plop in a teaspoonful or so of that. Let it simmer awhile, 30 min or more, until it starts to look more like something you'd want to eat. Salt, black pepper. Serve good bread or crackers. If you made it too spicy, garnish with cheese, sour cream, greek yoghurt.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2010 3:39:32 GMT
Bless your heart for starting this thread Lola. It has been in the back of my head for the longest. As I often dine alone, while my husband is working ,or our schedules don't connect, we almost always have some pot of soup available for the week in the fridge. (in the wintertime).
Look forward to some new ideas of which I see you already have going.Grazie!
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Post by imec on Jan 8, 2010 4:21:09 GMT
So is this the "official Soup Thread" then? I hope so. I LOVE soup - the greatest food of all time. I'm suspicious of anyone who doesn't like soup.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 8, 2010 6:48:10 GMT
Yum, Lola! I'm past due for some soup, and these are wonderful. I'm intrigued by the pineapple in the shrimp soup.
Name your creations, please, or suffer my mundane monickers.
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Post by lagatta on Jan 8, 2010 15:21:08 GMT
Before I saw this thread, I'd dragged out a little book I have, "soupes de poissons". Not really a coincidence: one needs soup here this time of year, but a good fish soup can also be a fine thing to eat outdoors in finer weather. It sets out from la boullabaisse and its many cousins round the Mediterranean, but also touches on other fish soups from France, other European countries and some famous North American ones (especially those of French influences such as an Acadian cod chowder) - Chaude acadienne à la morue, and Soupe créole au germon (white tuna, but there are other fish choices). I'll translate a couple of these.
Is there anyone who doesn't like soup? Isn't the problem indifferent soup that relies on chemical mixtures, too much salt, too thin (even a boullion should have some concentration) etc?
Soup is very easy to assimilate - of course for people who aren't feeling well, but in many cultures it is also served to new mothers. Soup and soupy things are traditional after fasts - religious fasts such as Ramadan and Yom Kippur, but also people who are starved and semi-starved: concentration camp survivors, refugees etc. In the latter cases too heavy "solid foods" could finish off the people one is attempting to rescue.
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Post by lola on Jan 8, 2010 16:21:00 GMT
More recipes would be so nice.
Midwinter Cabbage Soup Sweet and Spicy Vietnamese Shrimp Soup (I used frozen pinepple bits, and don't see why canned wouldn't work. It makes the soup, so don't skip.) Vegetarian Chili #2 (the #2 is for mystery and drama, since there's no #1)
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Post by bjd on Jan 8, 2010 16:49:46 GMT
I tend to make a lot of soup in wintertime. Sometimes just stuff out of packages if I'm in a hurry, but mostly I just throw in whatever veggies I happen to have: carrots, leeks, cabbage, at least one beet for the colour, even some frozen vegetables. Just cut and put in a chicken broth and let it cook. Or a chicken noodle soup with vermicelli noodles.
Any soup is good when it's cold outside.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 8, 2010 17:57:47 GMT
[highlight=Yellow]More recipes would be so nice.[/highlight] Midwinter Cabbage Soup Sweet and Spicy Vietnamese Shrimp Soup (I used frozen pinepple bits, and don't see why canned wouldn't work. It makes the soup, so don't skip.) Vegetarian Chili #2 (the #2 is for mystery and drama, since there's no #1) [highlight=Yellow]Ditto![/highlight] This is the recipe section of Dockside Dining, after all. Thanks, Lola. I will go change those on the Recipe Links thread right now! Incidentally, I hope everyone will check out the Recipe Links from time to time and let me know if anything is missing there. It can happen, you know!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2010 17:59:03 GMT
Frankly, I have found that a lot of the instant Chinese soups (uh, what do some people call them? -- ramen noodle soup?) make a good base for a real soup when you want to chop up some vegetables and/or leftover meat while still remaining lazy.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jan 8, 2010 18:09:47 GMT
I have become a Specialist, First Class in Leftovers Soup, AKA Clean Out the Fridge. A recent one combined water, sliced boiled potatoes, cooked green beans, bits of pork roast and its jus, roasted chiles Poblanos, onions, garlic, canned diced tomatoes and leftover brown gravy, spices and seasonings to taste. It was great, and we ate it for 3 days, both at breakfast and dinner. "A few days ago, it was Vietnamese Shrimp Soup, sweet and spicy, from epicurious.com" We used to enjoy a Tamarind Shrimp Soup and the Tamarind Vegetable Soup version, (below) at our favorite Vietnmese restaurant in Little Rock, Arkansas.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2010 18:33:25 GMT
Oh my god, you used water in your soup! What next?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 8, 2010 18:44:49 GMT
Masoor Dhal Soup
1 lb. lentils 2 medium or large carrots enough water to make final product soupy ½ teaspoon each of fenugreek and fennel seeds 1 tablespoon of mustard seeds 1 medium onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, mashed with fresh, green chile heavily sprinkled with salt in a mortar. When well mashed, add a big pinch of cumin seeds and mash all together. Add a couple of tablespoons of water to get all the mixture off the pestle, then set aside. 1 ripe medium or large tomato salt
Grate the carrots on the tear-drop side of the grater and combine them with the lentils and the water. No salt. Cook until just tender. Meanwhile, heat @ 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy skillet. Toss in seeds, and when they begin to “bloom”, add onion. Cook until the onion is well-wilted and translucent. Add contents of mortar and continue frying. Grate the tomato, add it to the skillet, and fry until tomato turns orange-y. Add the contents of the skillet to the cooked lentils, taste for salt, then cook all, covered, until very tender. When done, add the juice of one lime and serve over rice, with salt and freshly ground black pepper on the side. I didn’t specify how much chile, but it should be enough to lend a mild heat to the finished product. For this amount of ingredients, I used 5 chiltepines (bird’s-eye chiles). To grate a tomato: cut off the bottom end. Holding it with the skin against your hand, grate it on the tear-drop part of the grater over a dinner plate. Discard the skin, then repeat the grating with the remaining tomato. You could substitute canned tomato, chopped. I had this with achiote-flavored rice, mainly because I had some achiote paste & wanted to try it. It was effective, but I think tumeric-flavored rice or, better yet, some basmati, would be just as good. The seed amounts are a guesstimate, as I only wrote down this recipe after deciding it was good. I don’t think the amounts are crucial—only that the end product not taste harsh. Enjoy!
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Post by lola on Jan 8, 2010 19:37:49 GMT
Red dal, bixa? Or brown lentils OK?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 8, 2010 20:10:06 GMT
Any lentils, Lola. I just called it "masoor dhal soup" as a clue to the flavors in it.
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Post by lola on Jan 8, 2010 20:26:45 GMT
Yum. Thanks!
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Post by tillystar on Jan 8, 2010 21:10:12 GMT
C&P from a MP posting, sorry if I am repeating mself but it does taste good:
I am quite addicted to slow-cooker soup right now and love lentil soups so Bixa's is next up!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2010 21:37:38 GMT
Thanks Bixa,'tis similar to what I had I mind to post and will surely make tonight/tomorrow.
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Post by imec on Jan 9, 2010 0:43:26 GMT
Dead easy, outrageously good - from the Canadian cookbook series " The Best of Bridge"... Hamburger Soup Ingredients: 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef 1 medium onion,finely chopped 1 - 28 oz. can tomatoes 2 cups water 500 mL 3 - 10 oz. cans consomme 1 - 10 oz. can tomato soup 4 carrots, finely chopped 1 bay leaf 3 sticks celery, finely chopped parsley pepper to taste 1/2 cup pot barley 125 mL Instructions: Brown meat and onions. Drain well. Combine all ingredients in large pot. Simmer covered, at least 2 hours, or all day. Serves 10.
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Post by lola on Jan 10, 2010 3:17:09 GMT
Quick and Lazy Black Bean Soup
Sautee large onion and some garlic in olive oil, then add a green and/or red pepper, diced, until tender. Add 3 cans of black beans, and mash ~2/3 of them right there in the pot; I use a potato masher. Add one can diced tomatoes, cumin, oregano, and a dash or so of hot sauce. Simmer a bit. Garnish with cilantro, sour cream or greek yoghurt. Eat with peasant bread and a salad, and you've got it made.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 10, 2010 4:36:54 GMT
Oh my gosh, that's my kind of soup, Lola.
For those who like it hot, you could try these variations: Crush hot green peppers in a mortar with some salt, then scrape the mush into the yoghurt or sour cream. (yum!) Make hot sherry or rum with fresh hot peppers: crush them slightly, put them into a bottle & salt them lightly, then add sherry or a rum/vinegar combination. Let them steep until they're hot enough for you. (yeah, I know it's not hot pepper season) Great for sprinking on black bean soup.
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Post by lola on Jan 10, 2010 17:35:15 GMT
Nice, bixa. Will file that for pepper season.
I added a bag of frozen corn to the black bean soup I made yesterday from pressure cooked dried beans, and daughter H. pronounced it my best effort yet.
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