Entries Tagged as 'soup'

Summer Borscht

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Truth be told, I eat soup year round-hot and cold. Certain soups can be eaten both ways. Potato leek soup, or vichysoise is one, and borscht is another. Here’s a beet borscht that I put together with beets and dill bought from Medina’s Produce at the Kingstowne Farmers Market.

The real kicker is the dill juice! It gives the soup a nice sour zip. Enjoy this soup as hot are as chilled as you wish.

Summer Borscht

serves 6-8

Ingredients

  • 6 medium beets
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar
  • juice 1 lemon
  • 2-3 tablespoons dill pickle juice
  • 1/4 cup sugar, or to taste
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • sour cream to garnish
  • bunch fresh dill, chopped to garnish

Directions

Thoroughly rinse and clean beets. Cut stems approximately 3-4 inches above beet. Place beets in pan and cover with water. Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer covered for about an hour, or until tender.

Remove beets from water and allow to cool. Reserve about a quart and a half of the beet liquid. When beets are cool, peel and dice them into bite-size pieces.

Return beets and beet broth to the pan and heat over medium low heat. Add chicken stock, vinegar, lemon juice, and dill pickle juice. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve when warmed, or allow to cool to room temperature. Garnish with a dollop of cold sour cream and fresh dill.

Puree Of Sunchoke Soup

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Last Sunday at the Dupont Farmers Market, I picked up a carton of sunchokes, not to be confused with artichokes. The producer at Next Step Farm where I purchased them told me that sunchokes don’t truly need to be peeled and that they could just be scrubbed, seasoned and roasted in the oven. Sounded good.

But, with me being a soup geek, I decided to turn them into a creamy  soup since I had all of the other ingredients on hand; shallot, chicken stock, cream and herbs. The soup came together easily and I have found a new favorite. Sunchokes taste like the similarly named artichoke. They are slightly sweet, a bit tangy, and nutty.

Sunchokes, also called Jerusalem Artichokes (They’re not from Jerusalem, and they’re not artichokes. Discuss), are little tubers which resemble fresh ginger. These New World tubers have waxed and waned in popularity, and now seem to be making a comeback as a change to the traditional potato for starch. Diabetics often use sunchokes as a substitite for potatoes because the sunchoke contains inulin; which is not absorbed by the body. Inulin also feeds the helpful bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, therefore, aiding in digestion.

Sunchokes need to be stored in a cool dry place. I stored mine, as advised, in a plastic bag with a paper towel to absorb moisture. Once exposed to the air, sunchokes oxidize quickly and discolor. When preparing sunchokes for cooking, soak them in acidic water (squeeze a lemon) to avoid discoloration.

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Puree of Sunchoke Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. sunchokes
  • 1 large shallot, diced
  • 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 cups low sodium chicken stock
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • salt and pepper
  • white truffle oil (optional)

Directions

Prepare sunchokes by scrubbing and peeling off any “eye’s” are dark blemishes. Slice into 1 inch pieces.

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add shallot and saute for 4-5 minutes until they begin to soften and become transluscent. Add sunchokes and stir. Add thyme,  a pinch of salt and several grinds of black pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir frequently.

Add chicken stock and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to maintain a low simmer. Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes, until sunchokes are easily pierced with a fork.

Remove bay leaf. Puree mixture in batches using a blender, or in the pot using a stick blender. Blend until smooth. You can choose to strain the soup with a fine mesh/chinois at this point. I left my soup a bit rustic.

Return soup to pot and add cream. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Serve garnished with a drizzle of white truffle oil (optional).

Potato Leek Soup Redux-Peel, Package And Puree

To get this recipe, see Bistro At Home-Potato Leek Soup over at DC Foodies.

Italian Wedding Soup

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 Now that I’ve made a whole bunch of chicken stock-it’s time to make something with it!

Italian wedding soup is delicious anytime-but especially on a cold day with snow covering the ground. Try this one out this weekend!

For the recipe, go to DC Foodies.

Mangia!

Cream Of Kohlrabi - Potato Soup With Tat Soi And Chopped Egg

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I thought I’d end this week’s blogging with a recipe using some of the produce I bought from Dupont Market last week. Tat Soi, deep green and vibrant looked to beautiful too pass by. It can be prepared like any green and the most simple methods are probably the best. I simply sautéed the tat soi in a bit of olive oil and butter, seasoned it with salt and pepper and added a pinch of nutmeg. The tat soi was wonderful right out of the pan but also worked well as a garnish to my soup.

With a couple sprouting yukon potatoes idling away in my cupboard, I decided to use them up along with the 4 kohlrabi bulbs I purchased from Next Step Farm. The method of preparing this soup is very similar to a potato leek soup and is very simple and quite versatile. Raw, kohlrabi is akin to cabbage, radish and turnip. Once cooked, it takes on a nutty artichoke flavor, and blends well into a smooth texture for the soup.

I served the garnished soup with toasted and buttered sourdough bread from Atwater’s Bakery. Lastly, this recipe can be made vegetarian by substituting vegetable stock for the chicken stock.

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