Sweet potato soup

 

 This one's pantry and eater friendly.

Creamy sweet potato soup

Adapted from Cooking Light, November 2013

Ingredients
2 pounds sweet potatoes, halved lengthwise (about 2 large)
¼ cup water
4 slices bacon
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4 cups broth
¼ teaspoon salt
Shaved Parmesan and fresh parsley leaves for optional garnish

Method
Place sweet potatoes cut-side down in a microwave safe baking dish large enough to accommodate them in a single layer. Add water and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 15 minutes or until tender. Cool slightly. Remove and discard skins.

In a large heavy pot, cook bacon until crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain. Chop bacon coarsely and set aside.

Depending on how much fat your bacon yielded, remove some or add olive oil to reach the 2 teaspoon of fat in the pan. Cook onion over medium low heat until softened. Add cumin, crushed red pepper flakes, broth and salt. Working in batches, puree half of cooked sweet potatoes with half of broth mixture and then return to pot to heat through. Serve topped with bacon pieces, shaved Parmesan and parsley. Serves 4 as first-course size servings.

Rating: Really quite tasty. Decent texture with some creaminess without being at all sludge-like. Nicely spiced.Worth repeating.

Chickpea kale soup

 Snow, again. It's melting on contact, but still falling. So soup, again.

 Chickpea soup

From Rachael Ray magazine, November 2015

Ingredients
1 bunch kale, center stems removed
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 large onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped small
3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 cups broth
2 cans (15.5 ounce) chickpeas, rinsed
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
Grated Parmesan for optional garnish

Method
Chop kale coarsely and add to food processor bowl. Pulse briefly to chop finely. Remove to bowl and set aside.

In a large heavy pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add carrots, onion, celery, rosemary, garlic, crushed red pepper and some salt and pepper. Cook until tender. Add broth, chickpeas and tomatoes. Transfer half of mixture to food processor to puree, leaving the rest in pot. Add pureed mixture back to pot along with kale and cook another 15 minutes. Serve garnished with Parmesan if desired. Serves 8.

Rating: Fine enough. Best when it's had a few days to blend flavors. Reasonably hearty, It's not a wower, but it's a very pantry-friendly recipe that fills a certain sort of bill in the soup rotation, giving variety amid creamy soups, clear soups and thicker chili. Probably the best thing about it is that I discovered that chopping kale in the food processor really does work, providing you're looking for a fairly fine consistency.

Black bean soup with lime cream

 We actually managed to clear the patio free of ice and grilled yesterday in honor of spring. The garage door is no longer frozen shut, so that's a plus as well. Slush is forecast for the day after tomorrow, so I'm still keeping the refrigerator stocked with soups.

Black bean soup with lime cream

From “The California Cook” by Diane Rossen Worthington

Ingredients
1 pound black beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 to 2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
2 quarts water
½ small ham hock or bone
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Garnish
½ cup sour cream
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
¼ teaspoon salt
Pinch white pepper
Cilantro leaves
½ cup salsa

Method
Soak beans overnight, or for a quick soak, in a large pot cover beans with enough water to cover, bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Turn off heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain beans, picking out any loose floating skins.

In a large heavy pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until softened. Add jalapeños, garlic, red pepper, cumin, coriander and oregano. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add beans, water and ham bone. Bring to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until beans are tender, about 1½ to 2 hours. Remove ham bone, removing meat and set it aside.

Puree half of the soup mixture, either in a blender or with a stick blender. Add in 2 tablespoons lime juice, 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro and any ham bits off the bone. Cook to heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Combine sour cream, lime juice, salt and pepper for lime cream garnish. Serve soup topped with salsa, lime cream and cilantro. Serves 8 reasonably well.

Rating: Dave really liked it. I thought it actively not bad. I could see making it again. I might punch up the lime and cumin just a bit if I do. Fairly mild heat. It has a nice texture from the partially pureed beans but still has enough solids to seem hearty.

 

 

Spinach vichyssoise

 

We'll say this leek and potato soup is in honor of St. Patrick's Day, although I'm pretty sure the spinach bit is far afield from the traditional.

Spinach vichyssoise
Adapted from “The New Carry-Out Cuisine” by Phyllis Meras. The carry-out source for this recipe was Monticello Gourmet in Washington, D.C. Can’t tell if that still exists in any form, but if it did, it would be worth a visit if you can get this as takeout.

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
7 leeks, white parts only, washed and sliced
8 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon salt
5 cups broth
8 ounces fresh spinach
2 cups half and half
1 cup cream

Method
Melt butter in a large heavy pot. Cook leeks over medium heat until soft. Add potatoes, salt and broth. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender. Remove pot from heat. Stir in spinach to wilt. Add half and half and cream. Puree with a stick blender or in batches in a food processor. If you want to serve it cold, chill soup, but the recipe notes that it is good served hot, which is what we opted for. Serves 6 amply.

Rating: This is just a lovely soup. Dave called it ridiculously good. I recommend chilling it even if you plan to reheat it to serve warm, because then it's picked up a truly velvety quality. Really nice flavors. A pretty quick fix. And you can pretend it's somewhat healthy with that dose of spinach, although anything with that much dairy fat in it can't be anything but tasty and thus not exactly healthful.

Linguine with artichokes, lemon and pancetta

 

Linguine with artichokes, lemon and pancetta

From “Milk Street Vegetables”by Christopher Kimball as published in the Star Tribune Sunday Supper recipe. Kimball uses the same blender veggie sauce technique with other vegetables in the book. You can find a recipe for broccoli sauce here.

Ingredients
1 pound long pasta such as linguine, fettucine or spaghetti
4 ounces chopped pancetta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, quartered
Zest and juice of 1 lemon, divided
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
½ cup chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, basil, chives or thyme

Directions
Cook pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, retaining cooking water.

In a large heavy pot, brown pancetta. Remove from pan and set aside. Add olive oil and cook artichoke hearts until they pick up golden color. Remove half of artichoke hearts and set aside. Put remaining half of artichokes in a food processor or blender, add ½ cup retained cooking liquid, lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper and puree.

Put pureed mixture back into pot. Toss with pasta, lemon zest, Parmesan cheese and herbs. Add enough cooking liquid to make desired sauce. Toss with pancetta. Serve topped with artichoke hearts and additional Parmesan cheese as garnish.

Rating: Very bright and fresh tasting of lemon and herbs. The sauce is fairly minimal compared to the pasta, but it still brings flavor to every bite. I suspect this is one of those recipes where you want to haul out the best pasta you've got, because the pasta itself is front and center. I used Rummo spaghetti No. 3 and thought it worked well.

Chicken spinach potato bake with garlic cream sauce

 

Meat, potatoes and a vegetable in a cream sauce baked in a casserole. It's a lot like the basic formula for hot dish/casserole, only with a notable upgrade in the sauce department. (And minus any crunchy topping component.)

Chicken and potato bake with spinach and garlic Parmesan sauce
From "Scrumptious" by Christy Denney as published in the Sunday Supper section of the Star Tribune.

Ingredients
3 cups peeled potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
¼ cup plus 2 to 3 tablespoons butter, divided
3 cups spinach leaves, roughly torn
2 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 cup broth
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup grated Parmesan

Method
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Place potatoes in an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper.

Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium high heat in a large skillet. Brown chicken on both sides. Remove and place on top of potatoes in baking dish.

If needed, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the same skillet. Add spinach and cook briefly until wilted. Season with salt and place in pan around chicken.

Melt ¼ cup butter in skillet. Add garlic and cook briefly until fragrant. Stir in flour and cook for a few minutes until no longer raw. Add thyme and rosemary. Slowly whisk in broth. Stir in cream and Parmesan. Cook a few minutes until sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until chicken is no longer pink and potatoes are tender.

Rating: Essentially a casserole, only looser. Fast enough one-pan dinner. Decent enough sauce. Maybe try again with Gruyere and kale?