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Baby, it’s cold outside
05January 2010
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All of you residing in the North may think I’ve become a big wuss, but now that we are in the midst of our most severe cold snap this season, I realize I have been conditioned to much milder days than the predicted highs in the upper 20s and 30s of the coming week. Thankfully, I never parted with my warmest coats, and am looking forward to wearing them this week. Another thing I am looking forward to this week, and the weeks to come, for that matter, is soup. Both to make for my family, and to share with anyone desiring a hot dose of ‘warm me up.’
Actually, I’ve never been much of a soup person, but there are times when I crave it, almost as intensely as the peanut butter and bananas I craved throughout all of my pregnancies. The types of soups I crave this time of year seem to have a revitalizing, almost soul repairing ability (for me, though, don’t include chicken soup - not a fan.) Falling back on my fondest memories of my father making split pea soup, lentil soup, pepper pot soup … the thoughts of his big pot simmering on the stove is almost enough to warm me up on such a bitter cold day. I should refrain from any description of his attempts to make snapper soup, and the worst smell to ever blanket the neighborhood, his lobster bisque. He was amazingly talented, and his soups were always wonderful, but one of my brothers and I were assigned clean up duty after Dad made snapper soup. I gagged the entire time over the odor, and the thought of the poor turtles sacrificed for the effort. The lobster bisque may have been fantastic, (although, I declined having so much as a taste) but please allow me to warn you against attempts to make your own lobster stock. We don’t know what in the world he did, or didn’t do, to achieve such a stench in cooking the lobster shells, but my brothers and I are thankful that he never repeated it.
The soups in my kitchen this week are Tomato Basil, an extraordinarily soothing Minestrone, and hopefully I‘ll make it to some leek and potato, split pea, and
French onion by the weekend. The thought process in all of this being I can freeze all of them, even the cream soups - just save the cream for before serving, and have them ready in a flash for anyone. Also, soups are healthy, most being lower in fat than normal meals, and depending upon the ingredients, being a significant source of dietary fiber.
The recipe for Tomato Basil Soup is from a favorite aunt. She too ventured into catering at a point in her life, once having served this soup, which is truly fantastic, to 1000 people. (Sorry, I’m just not bold enough to make anything for that amount of people.) If you can’t get the thought of Campbell’s Tomato Soup out of your mind when imagining tomato soup (and, I do enjoy Campbell’s with a grilled cheese sandwich) just try this. The sweetness of the tomatoes comes out, and the brightness of the basil evens out the richness of the cream, making it quite satisfying. Don’t be afraid to play with this and doctor it up the way you would any canned tomato soup with a spice such as curry powder, or garnishes like fresh steamed or grilled shrimp, lumps of crab, float a lemon slice on top, or just toss on some good quality croutons. The original recipe for this soup called for serving it in ramekins, topped with puff pastry and baked. Whatever your fancy in this, this soup won’t disappoint.
Tomato Basil Soup
6 servings
| 3 T butter |
| ¼ cup chopped onion |
| 3 green onions/scallions |
| 1-2 cloves minced garlic |
| 1 ½ T flour |
| 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes |
| 1 c milk |
| 1 ½ c heavy cream |
| ½ c chiffonade of fresh basil (or, 2 1/2 T dried basil) |
| ¼ t ground allspice |
| 1 t sugar (or more, depending upon acidity of tomatoes) |
| 1-2 t salt |
| Freshly ground pepper |
Method
Melt the butter and sauté the onions and garlic. Add the flour and stir to form a paste. Add the tomatoes, milk, basil, allspice, sugar and salt. Cook for 30 minutes. Add the pepper. (May be frozen at this point.) Add cream when heating and check seasoning once again, and serve.
Now for the Minestrone. This version is so good, and the addition of fresh rosemary toward the end makes it perfect for this time of year. When the weather is a little warmer, and Spring is near, I will swap out the rosemary with pesto. The basil somehow echoing the sense of lightness, brightness, and freshness of the season.
Minestrone Soup
6-8 servings
| 8 cups water |
| 3-4 green onions/scallions, chopped, including white and green parts
(or, if you prefer to use leeks, rinse 2 of them well, and substitute for the scallions) |
| 2 medium carrots, peeled, chopped into small dice |
| 1 sweet onion, chopped into small dice |
| 2 medium stalks celery, chopped into small dice |
| 1 medium potato, peeled, chopped into medium dice |
| 1 medium zucchini, chopped into medium dice |
| 1 cup frozen, chopped spinach, thawed |
| 1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, drained, and chopped |
| 1 rind Parmesan cheese (if you don’t have this, put in a similarly sized hunk of parmesan, Romano, Italian sharp, etc., and let it cook into the soup. In a pinch, just toss in a half cup or so of grated parmesan) |
| 2-3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled |
| ½ cup uncooked long grained rice |
| 1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed |
| 1-2 cloves garlic, minced |
1 T chopped fresh rosemary
- or -
¼ cup basil pesto |
Method
Bring the water to a boil with about a teaspoon of salt, vegetables, tomatoes, bacon and cheese rind. Reduce the heat and simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally. Once the vegetables are tender (but not mushy) the soup may be refrigerated and frozen for up to a month.
Add the rice, and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add the cannellini beans, rosemary, garlic (or pesto) and simmer another 5-10 minutes. Adjust seasoning with ground pepper and more salt if desired, and swirl with a little olive oil to finish. Serve immediately
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