Day Before Lentil Soup

This is a stick to your ribs winter soup. I love lentil soup. I posted a vegetarian lentil soup previously. This one is not vegetarian, but it's still full of wonderful things. The addition of bacon gives it a smoky flavor, which is quite delicious, without adding too much richness.

You really should make this the day before because lentil soup, like many soups and stews, gets better after chilling in the fridge. All the flavors come together in a more cohesive whole. It also freezes well.

Day Before Lentil Soup
(serves 9 generously)

5 slices bacon, chopped
1 teaspoon oil
2 onions, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 cups dried lentils, rinsed and checked for any pebbles
8 cups water
¼ cup balsamic or red wine vinegar
½ cup chopped fresh parsley

Garnish (optional)
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
lemon wedges
quartered hard boiled eggs

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until browned and the fat has rendered out. Remove the bacon pieces to a paper towel to drain. Add the onion, celery, and carrots. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes, and thyme. Cook for another minute. Add the black pepper, bay leaf, salt, lentils, water, and reserved bacon. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for 45 minutes (less time if lower than Boulder, CO altitude of 5300 ft) until lentils are tender but not mushy.

If you don't plan to eat the soup right away (good call!), chill in the fridge. Fish out the bay leaf and discard. Put about 3 cups of soup in the blender and puree. This makes the soup thicker and creamy. Or, you can use an immersion blender to puree it slightly, right in the pot. Reheat over medium-low heat until piping hot. Stir in vinegar and fresh parsley. Check for salt; add more if needed. Serve with garnishes of your choice. Add a salad and you've got yourself a hearty meal.

Adapted from Cooking with Cornelius: The Corning Cookbook by Cornelius O'Donnell, Random House, 1982.

Cauliflower-Leek Soup for The 52 New Foods Challenge

I've been reading The 52 New Food Challenge by Jennifer Tyler Lee, the creator of Crunch a Color. I received a pre-release copy. It's hitting the shelves this week and it's a thoughtful guide for getting more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains into your family's diet. The recipes are simple for each of the 52 foods featured in the book. If you are introducing a new food into your diet, one you've never tried before, do you really want to spend a lot of time on a dish you may not love? The important thing thing is to try it, and the recipe shouldn't become a barrier to that.

One of the chapter titles, "Keep Trying, Together," really resonated with me . Sometimes, it takes time for children (and adults too!) to like a new food. That means trying it more than once. The book has great tips for how to make this work:

• Use a reliable favorite like a stir fry or frittata. It's amazing how many new foods can work in a frittata!
• Experiment with tastes and textures. My daughter refused to eat the florets of broccoli but loved the stems. 
• Walk the Talk. I'm surprised when I hear about parents trying to get their kids to eat something new, and they don't want to eat it themselves. This is a learning process for everyone and the adults have to take part too.

There are lots of other creative tips for getting the 52 new foods into your family's diet. I think that's what makes this book so wonderful. Trying new foods can be intimidating and we all need ideas on how to make it work. The suggestions are positive and take the drama out of the situation. Who wants to battle with the kids (or maybe your spouse?) over eating some bok choy? Wouldn't you rather have some tools that help you and your kids through the process of trying a new food? This book has them. 

In the spirit of the book, I created a super-simple soup. Soup is another tasty way to add new foods to your diet. This recipe doesn't hide the cauliflower and the leeks, but they don't look like themselves. Their flavors shine through, however. The potato helps to thicken the soup without any cream. 

Cauliflower-Leek Soup

(serves 6)

4 medium leeks, white and light green part only

2 Tablespoons butter or olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

about 4 cups cauliflower florets

5 ½ cups chicken or turkey stock

1 medium red potato, peeled and diced

½ teaspoon salt 

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

some possible garnishes: grated nutmeg, chopped chives, chopped parsley, a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, grated lemon zest

To clean the leeks, make a cut lengthwise through each leek. Wash them well by immersing them in a bowl of water and swishing them around so that you loosen up any sand in between the layers. Leeks are infamous for hiding dirt between the layers. Thinly slice them crosswise.

Heat up butter in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic and leeks. Cook, stirring, until leeks are limp, about 4 minutes. Add cauliflower, stock, potato, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 25 minutes until cauliflower is very tender. Puree soup in a blender or in the pot using an immersion blender. Return to the heat and add the lemon juice. Check for salt and add more if needed. To serve, ladle into a bowl, and garnish with one of the possible garnishes, or none of them, if you prefer.

Split Pea, Barley, and Vegetable Soup

Cold, cold, cold! It's been more than a little cold here in Colorado. Soup is what you need when it's cold. This vegetarian soup is easy and adaptable. And, it makes a lot. Sure to warm your belly.

The recipe calls for turnips, but you can use rutabaga (a large yellow turnip), or daikon (an Asian turnip). You could use cauliflower. You can even use celery root, which is rather exotic for most folks. It works great here because it is a hardy vegetable that holds up to long cooking but its flavor is subtle, like a very mild celery. You need to peel it and cut away all the brown rough parts which results in a fair amount of waste. That makes celery root a somewhat expensive vegetable. But, this recipe is very inexpensive because it contains no meat, so splurge a little on the veg if you want to experiment with a new vegetable. You can also mix up the turnips/rutabagas/celery root/cauliflower in any proportion you have. I used ½ pound daikon and ½ pound celery root because that's what was in my fridge.

Split Pea, Barley, and Vegetable Soup
(serves 8, costs $6)

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced (or 2 medium leeks, white and light green part, thinly sliced)
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
¾ cup diced red pepper (about ½ a pepper, can use frozen)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 chipotle chile in adobo, seeded and minced
1 Tablespoon ground coriander
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
10 cups water
1 cup dried split peas (yellow or green)
1 pound turnips, peeled and cut into 1" dice
½ cup pearl barley
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon vinegar, lime or lemon juice

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and chile. Sauté for 10 minutes. Add coriander and cumin. Stir to combine and cook for 1 minute. Add water, split peas, turnips, barley, oregano, thyme, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to low to maintain a simmer. Cover and cook until split peas are tender, at least 1 hour 30 minutes, or longer, if you prefer them softer. Add salt and vinegar or citrus juice. Stir  and taste. Add more salt, if needed. Freezes well.

Adapted from Lean Bean Cuisine by Jay Solomon, 1995, Prima Publishing.

Mushroom Barley Soup

Here's a recipe for mushroom-barley soup that originally called for making stock from scratch. But, it's nearly as good with supermarket stock. You can make it with all vegetable stock for a vegetarian version or use ½ chicken and ½ beef stock.

Half the barley is sautéed before adding it to the soup to keep it chewy. You can skip that step for a softer texture. The dried porcini are a bit pricey but they add a depth of flavor that is unique. For a less expensive and very different flavor, use dried shiitake mushrooms (also sold as Chinese black mushrooms). Still delicious.

Mushroom Barley Soup
(makes 8 servings, costs $10 with porcini, $6.50 with shiitakes)

What's in season now: Sweet Onions

Sweet onion with baseball for size comparison. And, as sweet onions go, this one is not very big.

Sweet onions are showing up all over the place right now. There are a number of different types (Texas 1015's, Sweet Mexican, Vidalia, Maui) but they can be treated the same, culinarily speaking.

• They are all sweeter than your average yellow onion, which is not to say they won't make your eyes water when you chop them! But, the additional sweetness makes them milder and a great raw onion slice on a burger.
• They are big, sometimes very large.
• They are juicier than yellow storage onions.
• They don't keep well.

That last point is the most important thing to keep in mind when buying sweet onions. Unlike yellow onions, which are grown to be stored for months through the winter, sweet onions will get moldy and mushy in short order. Don't buy more than you can use in a week or so.

The shrimp and white beans with pasta recipe I posted recently is great with sweet onions. French onion soup is delicious made with sweet onions, though I rarely make it with sweet onions. French onion soup is a winter dish for me and there are no sweet onions around in the winter. But, if there is a little chill in the air (or you just have the A/C cranked way up), here's a magnificent version. It's not hard, but it does take a long, long time to cook. It also makes a lot of soup, but you can freeze it. Or have a French onion soup party, since this is definitely a treat. All you need to make a complete meal is a simple green salad and fresh fruit for dessert. Very French!

This recipe uses a roux, a mixture of a fat (in this case oil) and flour, to thicken the soup. A roux is a common thickener in French cooking and it is used frequently in Cajun and Creole cooking. Very dark roux, used in gumbo or Étouffée, is sometimes referred to as Cajun Napalm because this stuff will hurt if you get it on your skin. You don't need to go that far in this recipe, but I felt you needed to know that there is something edible called Cajun Napalm. :-)

French Onion Soup
(serves 10)

¼ cup flour
¼ cup vegetable oil

1 stick of butter
4-5 large onions, sliced (about 10 cups)
1 ½ teaspoons sweet paprika
¾ teaspoon celery salt
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
10 cups beef stock
1 cup dark beer
½ cup dry red wine

10 1" thick slices French bread
10 oz. Swiss or Gruyère cheese, sliced or coarsely grated

Heat oil in a large heavy dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add flour. Stir constantly to keep it from burning and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove the roux to a small bowl. Return the pot to the stove and medium heat. Add the onions and sauté them, stirring often, until golden yellow. Add paprika, roux, celery salt, salt, pepper, and beef stock. Stir well. Reduce heat to low and cook for 4 to 6 hours (yes, that long!).

Add beer(if using) and wine and simmer while you toast the bread slices. Heat the oven until very hot, 450°F. Toast the bread in the oven until golden brown. To finish soup, ladle into large soup bowls. Add a slice of bread, sprinkle a scant ¼ cup of grated cheese or 1 slice over the bread slice and place the bowls on a baking sheet. They are easier to put in and take out of the oven this way. Place the soup in the hot oven and bake until the  cheese is melted and gooey. Serve immediately but be careful! The soup under the cheese is burn-your-tastebuds-off hot.

To freeze, freeze only the soup. Reheat to a simmer then proceed with heating the oven and toasting the bread.

Note: I have not tried this recipe in a slow cooker, but I bet it would work there too. You still need to make the roux and sauté the onions on the stove, though. If you dump the raw onions and the stock into the slow cooker, the onions never get that wonderful soft texture that comes from sautéing them first.

Brussels Sprouts - roast 'em to love 'em

We know Brussels Sprouts have a bad reputation. Often they are boiled to death and take on an aggressive cabbage aroma and flavor. It's not the Brussels sprouts' fault. We just need a better way to cook them. Enter roasting. We blogged about vegetable roasting last year and we mentioned Brussels sprouts but you probably didn't seriously consider them. It's not on most people's list for most desirable vegetable. You should try them. They get sweeter and their flavor mellows when they are roasted. They are very nutritious like most of their cabbage-family relatives.

When you shop for Brussels sprouts, look for bright green ones. If they have yellowing leaves, they have been hanging around too long. They should be firm and try to get sprouts that are all the same size; they will roast more evenly. Use them within a few days because they will start to yellow if stored too long.

When you are ready to roast, preheat your oven to 375-400° F. Trim them up by slicing off the tough stem end. Rip off any bruised or damaged leaves. Cut the sprouts in half. Place them on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with 1 Tablespoon olive oil per pound of sprouts. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Roast them for 20-30 minutes. You want them to get well-browned in spots but be careful not to overcook them.

You can serve them as is. You can squeeze on a little bit of lemon juice. You can toss them with some sliced roasted red peppers, like in the photo. You can toss in some chopped nuts like almonds, walnuts, or pecans. The sweetness of the nuts complements the sprouts nicely.

Try a new vegetable - give roasted Brussels sprouts a chance!

Vegetarian Curried Split Pea Soup

We posted a recipe for split pea soup with ham in 2012, saying we would post a vegetarian version soon. OK, a year isn't soon, but here it is. It's a twist on split pea soup that makes the vegetarian version even better: curry.

Curry and green split peas are a natural combination. Many similar pulses (lentils, split peas of various colors) are used in Indian dals so why not split pea soup? The curry adds lots of flavor too, flavor that usually comes from a pork product.

Instead of chopped onions, this recipes uses dehydrated onions. Since this cooks a long, long time, the dried onions dissolve into the soup. If you use fresh onions, they remain crunchy, even after long cooking. We like it better without the crunch.

Curried Split Pea Soup
(serves 6-8, costs $7.35)

1 pound dried green split peas, rinsed, drained and picked over for pebbles or non-pea particles
6 cups vegetable stock
2 Tablespoons minced dehydrated onions
2 Tablespoons mild or hot curry powder
4 large carrots, chopped into ¼ to ½ inch pieces
2 large ribs of celery, chopped
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Mix together everything in a soup pot or 3-5 quart slow cooker.

If cooking in a pot, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until the peas are tender, at least 2 hours. Longer isn't bad; the peas will get very soft which is really the point.

If cooking in a slow cooker, set to cook for 10 hours on low.

Stir well and add more salt if needed.

This soup freezes very well. If you reheat it, add a bit of water because it will get much thicker when it cools.

Turkey and Corn Chowder

Turkey leftovers will abound next week. We are here to help you turn them into something delicious. Last year, we posted a turkey curry recipe. This year, it's soup. This is a rich, warming soup, perfect for a cold night. If it's too rich for you right after the eating bacchanal that is Thanksgiving, toss that leftover turkey meat in the freezer (tightly wrapped to prevent freezer burn) and save this recipe for a future chilly night.

If you can find turkey stock in the box, this will have better turkey flavor. It is often available right around Thanksgiving. Chicken stock is a perfectly acceptable substitute. If you are inspired,  you can turn a Thanksgiving turkey carcass into great stock for this soup.

Turkey and Corn Chowder
(serves 8)

3 strips Bacon
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 medium Carrot, chopped
1 rib Celery, chopped
1 medium Onion, chopped
3-4 cups Corn Kernels, fresh or frozen
1 large Baking Potato, cut into 1 ½" cubes
½ teaspoon Dried Marjoram, crushed
¼ teaspoon Dried Rosemary, crushed
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Black Pepper
6 cups Turkey Or Chicken Stock, preferably low-sodium
3 cups Leftover Cooked Turkey, cut in bite-size pieces
1 cup Heavy Cream
4-5 dashes Hot Pepper Sauce
¼ cup Chopped Parsley, for garnish

Heat a soup pot over medium until hot. Add bacon and cook until done but not too crispy. Remove from pot and set aside. Add butter to pot. Then add carrot, celery, onion, ½ of the corn, and potato. Cover and cook for 5 minutes until onion is softened.

Add marjoram, rosemary, salt, pepper, and stock. Increase heat to high to bring to a boil, then reduce to low to maintain a simmer. Cook, covered, for 30 minutes until vegetables are very soft. While soup is cooking, dice bacon and set aside.

Using a slotted spoon, remove ½ the vegetables to a blender. Add about 1 cup of broth. Puree until smooth. Add back to soup along with turkey, bacon, and the rest of the corn. Cook over medium heat to reheat turkey and corn. Reduce heat to low. Add cream and hot sauce. Check seasonings. Depending on the stock, you may need to add more salt.

Add parsley and serve.

Note: if you happen to have leftover roasted potatoes from Thanksgiving, those work just fine. That's what I used. Soup is a great repository for all sorts of leftovers.