Curried sweet potato soup

 Never do I adore past self more than when I heat up soup for two for a quick lunch on a cold workday at home. And never is advance prep more rewarded than when it comes to soups.

Like so many soups, this one definitely benefits from being made ahead so the flavors have time to fully develop. When I tasted this one for seasoning purposes right after I first made it, I put it in that burgeoning category of recipes that qualify as perfectly fine, but ones that don't necessarily need to be made again.

Then I reheated it for lunch today. The keeper pile just got deeper.

Note: This recipe contains peanut butter, which makes a very nice flavor component, but I think tahini would be a quite workable substitute if allergies are an issue.

Curried sweet potato soup

Adapted from Meredith Deeds, published in the Star Tribune Taste section

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 pounds sweet potatoes
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger or ginger paste
1 tablespoon curry powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 cups broth
1 (15-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Optional garnishes: cilantro, plain yogurt, chopped peanuts, lime zest

Directions

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium low heat. Add onions and cook until softened, stirring as needed.

Meanwhile, peel sweet potatoes and chop into pieces no more than 1-inch big.

When onions are softened, add garlic, ginger and curry powder and cook 1 minute. Stir in salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Add sweet potatoes and broth and bring to a simmer. Cook covered until sweet potatoes are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.  Stir in coconut milk and peanut butter and let cool slightly.

Blend soup in a blender or food processor once it’s cool enough to safely process. Return to pot and add lime juice and brown sugar and heat through. Adjust seasoning as needed. Serve with optional garnishes as desired. (We opted for just cilantro, which worked well.)

Rating: Soothing, creamy warmth. Perfectly balanced, with different notes that hit you with each mouthful, from the ginger to the curry and the very subtle red pepper flakes. 

It made part of a perfectly delightful lunch with chutney chicken salad sandwiches made with the chicken leftover from making broth overnight. For that next make-ahead soup. Again, thank you past self, and Ms. Deeds for a nice recipe.

Chicken with pecorino cream sauce

 

Chicken with Pecorino Cream sauce

Adapted from recipesandme.com

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to a uniform thickness
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup chicken broth
¾ cup half and half
2 teaspoons dried oregano
⅓ cup Pecorino Romano, grated
⅓ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1½ cup spinach leaves

Method

Cut pounded chicken into smaller cutlet-size pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until golden. Remove and set aside.

Increase heat to medium high and add chicken. Cook until golden brown on each side. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium and add broth and half and half to skillet. Add cheese and whisk until melted. Add sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. Simmer until spinach wilts. Add chicken and juices back to the skillet along with reserved garlic and cook for another 5 minutes or so or until chicken is heated through.

Rating: It didn't pack quite as much flavor punch as I'd hoped, but it's fine enough and fairly pantry-friendly. Serve it with quinoa or couscous to soak up some sauce.

 

Cauliflower soup with crème fraiche

 

 I first ran across this recipe when it ran in the Star Tribune's Taste section in 2004. It's been a go-to ever since, as has the cookbook it initially came from. The soup is particularly good, and colorful, when made with the golden cauliflower often available at farmers markets.

Cauliflower soup with crème fraiche, prosciutto and Parmesan

Adapted from Betty Rosbottom’s “Sunday Soup”

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
3 cups chopped leeks (white and light green parts only)
2 large cauliflower heads, broken into florets
8 cups chicken broth
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
½ cup crème fraiche
Thinly sliced prosciutto for garnish

Method
Melt butter in a deep skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and saute until softened. Add cauliflower, broth and cayenne pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook until vegetables are tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly.

Puree soup in food processor or blender. Return to pan and whisk in crème fraiche and half of the Parmesan. Heat through.

Meanwhile, cook prosciutto slices in a small skillet until crispy. Serve soup garnished with prosciutto and remaining Parmesan.

Rating: Rich in flavor, creamy with just the slightest touch of heat, this is good with or without the garnish, although it pairs nicely.

Roasted red pepper soup

Today was the last day for the Midtown Farmers Market for the season. Glad they had a decent weather day; those vendors could certainly use a break after coping with their second year in a cramped temporary location, pandemic protocols and riot-destroyed buildings across the street. I'll miss our weekly market run, the fresh produce and our friendly vendors, but I know they're ready for a winter rest.

I am in some ways as well. We spent the afternoon getting a good start on garden cleanup. At some point you're ready for it to be over, even if the price is winter. At least most of the snow has melted.

I roasted a mound of peppers from the market a few weeks ago and put some to work in this soup. A nice reminder of the market I can pull out of the freezer this winter.

Roasted red pepper soup 

Adapted from Cooking Light, Aug. 2006

Ingredients 

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups diced onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
8 roasted red peppers, coarsely chopped
4 cups broth
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
5 black peppercorns
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground pepper
2 tablespoons chopped chives (or green onion tops)
 

Method
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium low heat. Add onions and cook until softened. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add red peppers, broth, white wine vinegar and fennel seeds. Place peppercorns, thyme sprigs and bay leaf in a cheese cloth bag and add to pot. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.   

Remove cheesecloth bag and stir in salt and pepper. Let soup cool slightly and puree in blender or food processor. Heat pureed soup through and serve garnished with chopped chives. 

Rating: I made this once without the fennel, and found it a little too sharp tasting, perhaps from all that vinegar. Once I added the fennel it became less one-note, and I liked it quite a bit better.

Roasted fish with wine and tomatoes, two ways

 

Lots and lots of cherry tomatoes made the final trip inside just before the plants got zapped. Here are three ways I used up tiny tomatoes and a package of frozen fish.

Roasted fish and tomatoes with basil and white wine sauce

From "Fit Food" by Ellen Haas

Ingredients

2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves

4 thick fish fillets such as cod (a little over a pound total)

½ cup white wine

Method

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place tomatoes in a baking dish large enough to hold the fish in a single layer. Drizzle tomatoes with ½ tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. Roast 15 to 20 minutes until soft.

Remove tomatoes from the oven and reduce oven heat to 350. Transfer tomatoes to a bowl. Toss with garlic and basil.

Place fish in baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with remaining ½ tablespoon olive oil. Pour the wine on top of fish. Spoon the tomatoes over the top. Cook until fish is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Rating: Dave liked it. I thought it a touch bland.

 

Cod with tomato-orange relish

From “Fit Food” by Ellen Haas

Ingredients

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

Zest of 1 orange

¼ cup fresh orange juice

1 small shallot, finely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves

2 fish fillets such as cod

¼ cup white wine

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Method

Combine tomatoes, orange zest and juice, shallot, basil and salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate relish if not using that day.

Preheat oven to 350. Place fish I a shallow baking dish. Pour wine over the top. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 12 minutes until cooked through. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Serve topped with relish.

Rating: I was really rooting for this dish, but it comes up short. Maybe more garlic? Hot red pepper flakes? There's a fine line between not overwhelming the delicate nature of fish and being underwhelming, but this didn't tread anywhere near it. 

 

 Deviled fish with tomatoes bacon and leeks

And then there's one of our usual suspects, which no doubt does not qualify as fit food, but was by far the tastiest. I've blogged about deviled fish with tomatoes and bacon here.

Deviled fish with tomatoes and leeks bears repeating.

Chicken with roasted red pepper sauce

 

Sometimes you need a really fast weeknight supper. This one definitely qualifies, and it's pantry friendly. In my case I had just roasted a big batch of red peppers from the farmers market and had those on hand, but bottled would certainly be fine.

 Chicken with red pepper sauce

From "The 5 in 10 Chicken Breast Cookbook: 5 Ingredients in 10 Minutes or Less," by Melanie Barnard and Brooke Dojny.as published in the Star Tribune Taste section in March 2003.

Ingredients

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 tablespoons olive oil

12-ounce jar roasted red peppers

¼ cup cream

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

3 cloves garlic, chopped

Method

Pound chicken breasts to flatten slightly. Season with some salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Cook chicken until browned on the outside and white inside, about 4 minutes a side. Remove from pan and keep warm.

Meanwhile, combine drained red peppers, cream, salt and pepper in a food processor. Blend until smooth.

Add garlic to chicken cooking pan and saute until fragrant. Stir in red pepper cream sauce to heat through. Serve chicken with sauce spooned on top.

Rating: Definitely repeatable. Consistency-wise it's reminiscent of Romesco sauce, but milder in flavor. Blessedly fast. Did I mention that it was yummy?