Chilis of Opportunity

Next up: chili.  Is it a soup?  Is it okay to make when you are from the land of chile, as we are?  What are its core components?  Does it belong on this blog?  After discussing these existential questions with my brother last night, I decided to invite him to submit a recipe of his own.  My mom, brother, and I all hold "Michigan Chili" - ground beef, kidney beans, tomatoes, and ground chile, named by my Michigander mother - in the highest esteem. ( My grandma even made me a special batch to welcome me back to Michigan this summer!)  As a result, however, we need to move outside our chili comfort zones.  So even if it might be pushing the conception of soup a little far, we decided it would be an appropriate project for this blog.

After our rousing conversation, which provided no concrete answers, Nathaniel gamely jumped into the chili challenge, and provided the first of our three recipes.  As well as the title for this post: Chili of Opportunity.  Please note in what follows the EXTREME importance of vigilantly monitoring the burner temperature.

NATHANIEL'S OPPORTUNISTIC CHILI

Some people have a special recipe for chili, with specific ingredients, but I find it to be a great meal of opportunity.  It comes out differently every time if you use what is on hand.  Here is my chili of opportunity: 

First, I put the following into a pot:

3 stalks of organic celery, roughly chopped
½ red bell pepper that was found in the back of the fridge from an unknown
previous meal
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 lb. ground bison
olive oil
 

I usually would put an onion as well, but we didn’t have one. 

My stove has a number of settings on the burners: Lo, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Hi, and Power Boil.  Now, I’m not sure if Hi equates to High on an electric stove, or if Power Boil does.  Which means, where is “medium”?  Is it at 3.5? 4?  I’m not sure.  There are some questions the world is not ready for.  I turned the burner on to 3.5.  But then I became impatient due to a lack of sizzling sounds, so I turned it up to 5.  But then it seemed to be on too high, so it went back down to 3 ¾. 

Then I added some chicken bouillon, so that the vegetables would soften better due to the salt.  Knorr brand is the only way to go. 

It didn’t seem to be cooking high enough again, so back up to 4.5.  That didn’t quite do it, so up to 4 ¾. 

At this point I added about 2 tsp. ground Chimayo red chile, and cooked until all was, well, cooked. 

Next came the canned goods: a 28-oz can of organic diced tomatoes, and 15-oz cans each (drained and rinsed) of organic black-eyed peas and black soybeans.  I usually would have gone for black beans, pinto beans, and/or kidney beans, but none were to be found.  Although technically both black and bean, black soybeans taste somewhat different than black beans.  More soy-y I guess.  They really taste just like edamame.  But black.  They did work just fine though.  I also added:

another couple of teaspoons of ground chile
a teaspoon more of chicken bouillon
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
 

At this time, my darling daughter made it known that it was time for her to go to bed.  So, I turned it all down to 1.5 for baby bedtime.  After those proceedings, which took maybe 20 minutes, I added a dash each of ground coriander seed, dried dill, and dried thyme, and maybe a couple of teaspoons dried oregano.  Another 2 tsp chicken bouillon went in, along with some black pepper, and 1 tsp yellow curry powder. 

Lo and behold, it was not simmering any longer, so I turned the burner up to 5. 

After tasting, it wasn’t quite right.  It needed more sweetness and acidity.  What has both?  Nature’s most perfect condiment, ketchup!  I put about a tablespoon of that in.  I was also informed that we had a hidden can of corn in the cabinet, so I rinsed, drained, and dumped it in. 

Now it was boiling too hard, and no one wants splattered tomato all over their kitchen and shirt.  So, down to 3 2/3 it went on the burner. 

After about a teaspoon more salt, it tasted just right.  For today’s chili at least.  Served with grated sharp cheddar on top, and with saltine crackers on the side.

CASSIE'S AUTUMNAL VEGETARIAN CHILI

I decided that my chili contribution would be vegetarian, and I wanted to incorporate fall vegetables like winter squash or sweet potato.  I’d been searching for a suitable recipe for a few days and couldn’t find one that was exciting enough to get me to go to the grocery store.  But tonight I wanted to have chili for dinner, so I took Nathaniel’s “chili of opportunity” concept to heart, as well as a few cues from the recipes I had reviewed (I never would have thought to add coffee, for example, on my own).  The result was delicious!

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 butternut squash, peeled and diced

1 large carrot, diced

1 ½ cups tomato sauce

1 28-ounce can of tomatoes

2 cups broth

2-3 chopped chipotles in adobo

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 bay leaf

1 16-ounce can black beans

1 16-ounce can chickpeas

¼ cup brewed coffee

salt and pepper

juice of 1 lime

to garnish:

diced avocado, chopped green onion

Heat the oil in a stock pot over medium heat.  Add the onion, garlic, squash, carrot, and salt.  Cook until the onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes, sauce, broth, chipotles, and spices.  With the back of a wooden spoon, break up the tomatoes.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and add beans and coffee.  Simmer for 30 minutes or so, until the vegetables are soft and the liquid has reduced.  

Turn of the heat, add lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.  Serve garnished with avocado and chopped green onion.

ANN'S CHICKEN CASHEW CHILI

from Gourmet Today, edited by Ruth Reichl

4 dried ancho chiles

2-1/2 c. chicken stock

1 T. canned chipotle chiles in adobo

1-1/2 c. salted roasted cashews

1/4 c. olive oil

2 lg. onions, coarsely chopped

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 T. ground cumin

2 t. salt

1 (3-/2 to 4 lb) chicken, rinsed, patted dry, excess fat discarded and cut into 8 pieces

1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro

28 oz. can diced tomatoes in juice

1 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 (19 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Heat a dry small skillet over moderate heat until hot and toast dried chiles for several seconds on each side to make them pliable.  Seed and devein dried chiles and discard stems.  Tear the chiles into pieces and transfer to a blender.  Add stock, chipotles and 1/2 c. cashews and puree until smooth.

Heat oil in a 6-7 qt. wide heavy pot over moderate heat until hot but not smoking.  Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, 5-7 min.  Add cumin and salt and cook, stirring, for 1 min.  Add chicken and stir to coat with onion mixture.  Stir in chile puree, 1/4 c. cilantro, and tomatoes with juice.  Bring to a simmer and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking, until chicken is cooked through, about 45 min.  Remove from heat and transfer chicken to a plate to cool.  Shred meat using two forks and discard bones and skin.  Return chicken to pot and stir in chocolate, beans, remaining 1 c. of cashews and remaining 1/4 c. cilantro.  Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until chili is heated through and chocolate is melted.

Ann's Version

I stuck pretty closely to the recipe with just a very few small changes.  I used 4 c. of chicken stock as I wanted this to be more soupy than stewy, and I used a 5-1/2 lb. chicken (with no salt water injection).  I used cumin seed rather than ground cumin since I like the chewiness of the seeds and also think the whole seed is much more flavorful than the ground.  Luckily I have lots of beautiful fresh cilantro growing in the garden--it is definitely a late fall and early spring crop in New Mexico and won't grow at all in the summer heat.  The chili simmered for about 1-1/4 hrs. since I had a lot of meat in the pot.

The chile smelled incredible as it cooked and tasted even better.  The sauce was very mole-like (a good thing!) and it was not too spicy (the only thing I might change for my taste is to use slightly hotter chiles).  This was one of the best soups I've made yet and somewhat reminiscent of the Spicy Chicken Peanut soup we made a year or so ago that we all loved so much.   It was also quite easy to make--shredding the cooked chicken was the most work.  I highly recommend this recipe.

ALEX'S BABY-APPROVED CHILI

Nathaniel provided yet another chili recipe, sending the following along:

Not to be left out, Alex made her own chili!  This was enjoyed by not only her and I, but also in hearty quantities by baby Josephine, despite it being spicier than my chili!  Exact burner settings were not obtained, but even so I believe these scant details will suffice.  

Vegetarian-ish Chili

She [editor's note: "she" is Alex, not the baby] first put

2 diced organic zucchini (is a singular a zucchinus?)

6 diced scallions

1 pinch crushed red pepper

2 pinches salt

some powdered garlic

2 shakes of dried oregano

1 pinch thyme

2-3 T. olive oil

into a pot, and cooked it all through.  In case it matters for pinch size, she has small hands and fingers.  And the red pepper was previously crushed; it was not a result of the pinching, however vigorous.  

After that was all cooked, she added drained and rinsed cans of organic butter beans, kidney beans (we did have some after all!), corn, and a large can of organic crushed tomatoes.  She spiced that up with 1 tsp. red chile powder, 2 bay leaves, 2 tsp. Knorr chicken bouillon (hence the “ish” in the dish’s title), and then some more salt and chile powder (about a teaspoon each), another small-fingered pinch of thyme, and 2 pinches dried parsley.  It tasted like tomato vegetable soup at this point.  How to make it into chili?  Some cinnamon and generous amounts of ketchup.  

If this is too spicy for you, apparently you’re wimpier than a 9-month old baby.


ELLEN'S CHILI OF OPPORTUNITY

(Aunt) Ellen was also moved to make chili!  I had no idea that chili was so popular.  Her tomato-less version sounds particularly good.

I realized I had the opportunity when my sister, nieces and nephew all joined in on this challenge at the same time a co-worker posed a chili cook off in my last week at work. How could I resist?

My opportunity came in the form of cooked chicken breasts, fresh cilantro, chicken broth and wonderful dried green New Mexico chili powder from my sister. I admit to cheating a bit, it needed more white beans and yellow peppers to provide the proper balance so I sent my husband out for those as we needed coffee anyway.

I sautéed chopped onion with the peppers while onion, garlic and tomatillos roasted for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees. When the sautéed veggies were soft I added the roasted ones (after first pureeing in a blender) and cooked it all together for about 5 minutes to meld the flavors. Then I added about 2 tsp of the green chili powder, 1tsp cumin and 2 tsp oregano (using up the last of that jar). Continued cooking that for about another 5 minutes then added a large box of organic chicken broth, the rinsed beans (small white habichuelas, 3 small cans) and the diced chicken breasts.

I let it all simmer for about 20 minutes, then added chopped fresh cilantro and adjusted the salt (which I forgot to mention I first added when sautéing the onions and peppers). Beau and I sampled with sour cream and crumbled tortilla chips (wonderful ones from Mexicantown in Detroit) as garnish. Tastes great per Beau. I think I'll amp up the chilies in the portion I keep for home, for work I'll leave it milder.

Great option for a non-tomato based chili. I'll make it again.

Creamy Corn Soup

Something creamy seemed like a great idea for our next soup.  As the weather gets chillier here in Boston, I'll likely be making even more soup than I have been lately.  My mom and I both recently purchased Pati Jinich's Pati's Mexican Table and have been eager to try out her recipes.  This is not a winter soup, but a perfect one for autumn - full of corn and a taste of summer, but also creamy, spicy, and with a hint of vanilla to warm up the chill of fall.  Never mind that it's still in the high 70s in Las Cruces during the day - the temperature always drops significantly at night in the desert!

Creamy Corn Soup, from Pati's Mexican Table

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2/3 cup chopped white onion

2/3 cup thinly sliced leeks (white and light green parts only)

4 cups fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels

5 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 canned chipotle in adobo, seeded if desired, plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce

1/2 vanilla bean, sliced open

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

slices of toasted crunchy bread (or, as my mom suggests, corn tortillas)

1.  Heat the oil and butter in a large pot over medium heat until the butter starts to foam.  Add the onion and leeks and cook for 5-6 minutes, until softened.  Add the corn and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it softens and deepens in color.

2.  Add the broth, chipotle, and adobo sauce, and bring to a gently simmer.  Cook for 5-6 minutes.

3.  Puree the soup until smooth (or puree only half, if you like more body as we do). 

4.  Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them to the soup, along with the bean.  Gently heat the soup over low heat until hot, then add the milk.  Season with salt and pepper, stir, and allow the soup to steep over low heat for 8-10 minutes.  Remove the vanilla bean and serve.


CASSIE'S VERSION

This was simple and very comforting.  It was also consumed long ago, from both fridge and freezer, and I forgot to write anything down after making it.  I do remember that I increased the amount of adobo sauce (probably too much - my hand is often a little heavy when it comes to chile), and I also used my fancy Tahitian vanilla salt in addition to the vanilla bean.  This salt, a gift from my mom, has a very unusual sweet flavor and I am often unsure of how and when to use it.  I recently discovered it is great atop chocolate chip cookies, and it was also perfect in this soup.  Do not skip the vanilla, either in bean, salt, or extract form; it is a subtle addition that makes this otherwise simple soup a little different.  Aside from the vanilla, this is a fairly straightforward corn soup - but the proportions are just right, and sometimes straightforward with a little twist is just right for a satisfying lunch or dinner!

ANN'S VERSION

My mom also forgot to document her soup.  But she loved it!

KALE AND SWEET POTATO SOUP WITH CUMIN AND LEMON

(from Love Soup by Anna Thomas)

2 lg. leeks, white and lt. green part only
1 lg. onion
2 Tbs. olive oil
1-1/2 tsp. sea salt, more to taste
12 oz. sweet potatoes
1 sm. Yukon gold or white potato
12 oz. black or Russian kale
4 green onions, sliced
2/3 c. chopped cilantro
2-1/2 c. vegetable broth, as needed
fresh ground black pepper
1 Tbs. cumin seed
1-2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
pinch of hot pepper
garnish:  additional fruity green olive oil, crumbled feta cheese

Wash and coarsely chop the leeks, using only the white and light green part, and chop the onion.  Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan and start sauteing the onions with a sprinkle of salt.  When they are translucent and soft add the leeks and keep cooking, stirring often, until all the vegetables are golden, about 20 min.

Meanwhile, peel the sweet potatoes, scrub the small Yukon gold or white potato, and cut them all in 1/2 inch dice.  Trim the thick stems from the kale and cut the greens into one-inch strips or chop them very coarsely.  Combine the sweet potatoes and kale in a soup pot with 5 cups cold water and a teaspoon of salt, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about fifteen minutes.

Add the sauteed leeks and onions to the pot along with the sliced green onions, cilantro and a lot of fresh ground black pepper.  Add as much of the vegetable broth as you need to give the soup a nice consistency--this is a hearty soup but not a stew and it should pour easily from a ladle.  Simmer the soup gently, covered, for about ten more minutes.

Lightly toast the cumin seed in a dry pan just until it is fragrant and grind it in a mortar or spice grinder.  Stir the cumin seed and a spoonful of lemon juice into the soup and taste.  Add more salt, pepper or lemon juice as needed and finish with a pinch of cayenne or any red pepper.

Ladle the soup into warm bowls and garnish each bowl with a swirl of fruity olive oil.  If you like cheese, a heaping spoonful of tangy crumbled feta cheese dropped on top of each serving is fantastic.

ANN'S VERSION

I found this recipe by googling "kale soup" and this was one of the few that didn't have beans and sausage.  My all-time favorite soup (and one I make often) is kale with potatoes, beans and sausage so I wanted one a little different.  The online recipe said it was from an Anna Thomas cookbook, Love Soup.  Her Vegetarian Epicure cookbooks are probably the most dilapidated in my library from frequent use so I was sure it would be good.  I must admit though that I did some drastic comma editing when I posted the recipe as the recipe had commas out the wazoo which drives me crazy.  I would not expect this of Anna Thomas who I suspect is superior in all things so I blame the blogger who posted her recipe.

I chose a kale soup because I had a lot of baby kale in my garden.  Notice I said "had".  I actually took my kitchen scale to the garden to make sure I cut only the 12 oz. called for in the recipe since I want the crop to continue.   I stopped at 8 oz. because it was a big bowlful of kale and the stems were so tender and tiny that I would not be removing them.  The poor kale patch is quite sparse now but should rebound soon.  

I used a sweet onion variety (can't recall the name) grown in Las Cruces,  a red-skinned potato, a whole bunch of cilantro and 3 cups of unsalted chicken broth instead of the vegetable broth.  I'm not a vegetarian and I've never found a commercial vegetable broth that doesn't have an overwhelming taste of one vegetable, usually celery or turnips.  The soup goes together pretty quickly with most of your time spent chopping.  The final consistency was excellent and all the ingredients kept their integrity so it was also very attractive.  Toasting cumin seed has got to be one of the best smells in the world, and when ground in a mortar it is amazing and really essential to this soup.  At the end I also added the juice of 2 small lemons, 2 tsp. of salt and 1 tsp. of Aleppo pepper (one of my favorites). I did not add olive oil to my bowl (because I forgot!) but the feta cheese is a great addition.  The Windmill Dairy (in northern NM) goats' milk feta is the best ever!

Really good soup--healthy and satisfying.  The combination of sweet potatoes and kale is so pretty and very tasty.  I highly recommend this recipe.


CASSIE'S VERSION

Yum!  This was delicious, and very, very green.  I might have used more kale than was necessary, as well as more cilantro, but I love greens so this worked for me.  I used one sweet potato, one red-skinned potato, and two full packages of baby kale which didn't require any de-stemming.  As a result I needed to add quite a bit of broth to thin the soup, which then required that I add additional toasted cumin, way more lemon juice (almost three whole lemons), and healthy doses of red and black pepper.  I too used Aleppo pepper as that was close at hand.  The feta was a lovely touch at the end and added a nice saltiness and consistency.  Other than fiddling with the quantities somewhat, I adhered to the recipe and was glad I did.  I would not have thought to combine these ingredients, nor would I have thought a soup could be so tasty with so few components - but this made for a very satisfying dinner.  Thanks for the recipe, Mom!  And it appears that we made the very same modifications, down to the skin of the potato and the variety of the red pepper.  Reminds me of those days that we would inadvertently wear the same color shirt, pants, and shoes and not realize it until the afternoon.  :)

Fruit Soup

Our next task: fruit soup! We'll each find a recipe of our choosing, starring summer's bounty of fruit, and then share the results. I've never made a fruit soup before, so I'm looking forward to the challenge!

CASSIE'S SOUP: Peach Gazpacho, from The Washington Post

Ingredients:

6 to 8 soft to mushy peaches, peeled, pitted and cut into quarters

1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks

1 small clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon champagne vinegar or white balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1/2 teaspoon coarse sea or kosher salt, or more to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste

1/2 to 3/4 cup water

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley leaves

Red bell pepper slices and peeled avocado slices, for garnish (optional)


Directions:

Combine the peaches, cucumber, garlic, vinegar, oil, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup of the water in a food processor; pulse to form a pureed soup. If the consistency seems too thick, add the remaining 1/4 cup water and pulse just to incorporate.

Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

Just before serving, taste the soup and adjust the seasoning as needed. Stir in the cilantro or parsley. Divide among individual bowls. Drizzle each portion with a little oil. Garnish with the bell pepper and avocado, if desired. Serve right away.

Cassie's version

I was a bit nervous that this would not turn out well, and I really didn't expect my husband to want to eat it (beyond politely agreeing to try it).  It was, however, delicious!  We both ate full bowls of it for dinner, and accompanied by a plate of arugula, cheese, crackers, and salami it was a perfect summer meal.

I peeled the peaches by scoring the bottoms and dropping them into just-boiled water.  After sitting for a few minutes, I took them out and was able to slip off their skins quite easily.  While I usually don't bother to peel fruit for baked desserts, I felt it was necessary for a blended soup so that it would not be too thick or chunky.  I don't have a full-sized food processor, so I just used an immersion blender, and this worked fine.  I did take care to press the garlic so that it would better integrate without a food processor, and I found that 3/4 cup of water was definitely called for to thin the soup to a desirable consistency.  

The only other small changes I made were to use regular white wine vinegar, since that was what I had, and to use about a teaspoon more than is called for because I thought the sweetness of the peaches needed to be tempered a bit more after tasting it.  I added a dash of cayenne to pep it up a bit, and added fresh cracked pepper after refrigerating it.  I served it with ice cubes since I only refrigerated it for an hour (rather than the recommended two - we were ready for dinner!), and topped it with diced bell pepper, chopped cilantro, and another swirling of olive oil.  Don't skip the final olive oil addition, as this really helps to make this a savory rather than a sweet soup.  I decided to use the avocado for a pre-dinner guacamole instead of as a garnish, mostly because my husband prefers avocado on its own rather than as a topping, and it seemed a shame for him to miss out.  An avowed tomato hater, he said that this soup tasted just like gazpacho but without the offending ingredient, and I took this as a compliment.  I also thought it was clearly in the gazpacho category, particularly with the addition of the diced red pepper, but I definitely found it to be sweeter than the standard tomato variety.  

If you find the savory-sweet combination appealing, and if you'd like to use fresh peaches in a creative way, please try this soup!  It's very quick, once you peel the fruit, and it tastes and looks like a summer dish should - simple, cool, healthy, and colorful.

ANN'S SOUP: SOME LIKE SOUP HOT - Chilled Curried Pear Soup (from cookstr.com)

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
6 c. sliced peeled pears about 6)
2 c. chopped onions
2 c. sliced leeks, white and light green parts
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. curry powder
6 c. chicken stock
1/2 c. white wine
1/4 tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Yogurt Garnish:

1/4 c. sliced green onions
1 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1/3 c. plain yogurt
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt 5 Tbsp. of the butter in a large pot over med. high heat.  Add pears, onions, leeks and garlic and saute for 2 min.  Reduce heat to med. and and saute for 1 min.  Sprinkle with the flour and curry powder and saute for 5 min. or until pears are soft.  Gradually whisk in stock and wine,  then simmer for 15 min.,  reducing heat if necessary, until soup is velvety and slightly thickened.  Season with salt and pepper.

  Meanwhile, prepare the yogurt garnish by heating the butter in a small skillet over med. high heat, then adding the green onion and sauteing for 2 min.
Add honey and sesame oil and saute for 1 more min.  Remove from heat and stir in yogurt.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Use and immersion blender to puree the soup in the pot until it's smooth.  Cover and refrigerate until cold.  Adjust salt and pepper if needed.  Serve topped with a dollop of the yogurt garnish.


Ann's Version

I made this soup about a month ago and apologize for how long it's taken me to post.  The only cold soups I've actually made in the past are gazpacho (LOVE!) and vichyssoise (wished it were hot) and I had high hopes for this recipe because I love all the ingredients.  I intended to make it through two batches of pears brought home from the grocery, both of which were overripe by the time I got around to actually making the soup.  The overripe pears do make a delicious fruit crisp, by the way.  With the third batch of pears I got down to it and followed the recipe pretty closely.  The only ingredient I changed was using chives instead of green onions in the garnish because that's what I had on hand.

The soup was delicious as I cooked it and I had a hot bowl right after pureeing the pot.  Really aromatic and tasty.  I refrigerated it and next day had it for lunch cold and it was totally blah. What happened?  So the following day for lunch I heated it up and it was wonderful again.  I think the cold just deadens the aroma and makes the soup quite bland.  The yogurt garnish is good on both hot and cold versions, but next time I think I'd leave out the honey or cut it way down as it seemed incongruously sweet.

I finished the soup and really liked it, but only when it was hot.  Perhaps cold fruit soups are too smoothie-like for me,  the rare person who finds smoothies strangely irritating.  

Italian Wedding Soup

We both like Italian Wedding Soup but have never made it before, so we figured, why not try it now?  It seems light enough to enjoy in the summer, and we found a recipe that looks great in a cookbook we both have - Gourmet Today, edited by Ruth Reichl.  This is the cookbook that gave us the absolutely amazing Spicy African Chicken and Peanut Soup recipe, so I have a feeling this soup will be pretty good.

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP, from Gourmet Today edited by Ruth Reichl (page 147)

For stock:

1 (3 1/2) pound chicken, rinsed, patted dry, and cut into 8 pieces

2 celery ribs, cut into 2-inch lengths

2 carrots, quartered

1 large onion, left unpeeled, trimmed and halved

2 garlic cloves

6 fresh parsley stems, without leaves

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

4 quarts cold water

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

For meatballs:

1 cup 1/4-inch pieces Italian bread

1 cup whole milk

1 pound meat loaf mix (equal parts ground beef, pork, and veal)

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup finely grated pecorino Romano

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

About 2 cups vegetable oil

For soup:

5 cups water

1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

3 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

2 celery ribs, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 (3-by-2-inch) piece pecorino Romano rind

1 medium head escarole, tough stems discarded, leaves chopped (about 5 cups)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Make the stock: Combine all ingredients in an 8- to 10-quart pot and bring to a boil; skim froth.  Reduce heat and simmer gently, uncovered, skimming froth occasionally, for 2 hours.  Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, form and fry the meatballs: Stir together bread and milk in a large bowl and let stand for 10 minutes.  Add meat, garlic, eggs, cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper and blend with your hands just until well combined (do not overmix).  Form scant tablespoons into meatballs; you will have about 60 meatballs.

Heat 1 inch oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking.  Cook meatballs in 3 batches, turning occasionally, until well browned and cooked through, about 6 minutes per batch.  Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Make the soup: Remove chicken from pot and pour stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl; discard solids.  Skim off and discard fat.  You should have about 3 quarts stock; if you have less, add enough water to make 3 quarts.

When chicken is cool enough to handle, discard skin and bones and coarsely shred enough chicken into bite-sized pieces to measure about 3 cups (reserve remaining chicken fro another use).

Return stock to cleaned pot and add 5 cups water.  Add onion, carrots, celery, and cheese rind and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 15 minutes.  Stir in escarole, cover, and bring to a boil.  Add meatballs and simmer, uncovered, until escarole is very tender, about 10 minutes.  Discard cheese rind, stir in shredded chicken, and season with salt and pepper.  Serve with grated cheese.

ANN'S VERSION

Making a good chicken stock from scratch is time-consuming but in this case it was totally worth it.  I used a really nice organic 3-1/2 lb. chicken and parsley and bay leaves from my garden, and for once I was diligent about skimming the scum when it first came to a boil.  The simmering took 2 hours and at the end I had both a delicious stock and nice poached chicken.  While the stock simmered I made the meatballs using half ground beef and half ground pork since I don't approve of veal on ethical grounds.  The mixture was quite loose and I made the first batch of meatballs a little too large, but they held together and were absolutely delicious.  I made the last two batches quite a bit smaller and they do cook a lot quicker than the recipe says so be watchful!  Next time I think I'll refrigerate the meatballs for an hour or so between forming and frying and they should be rounder and prettier, but the flavor and texture were wonderful.

There was no escarole at the grocery so I substituted 7 c. of dino kale which had a slight bitterness and chewy texture similar to the escarole.  I used a parmesan rind instead of romano.  I shredded all the poached chicken meat to make about 4 c.  This makes a LOT of soup!  We ate it for supper, I put 1-1/2 qts. in the refrigerator, and there were still 4 qts. for the freezer.  I highly recommend this soup and will make it again.  You could certainly make it with good quality commercial stock and just poach some chicken breasts for the meat, but I wouldn't change anything about the meatballs as they are the stars of the dish!

CASSIE'S VERSION

I forgot to write about this soup after making it (which was quite some time ago now!).  It was absolutely delicious!  The meatballs I made were so very good, but also quite rich.  Due to a strange bout of grocery shopping, I found myself with almond milk and heavy cream, but no regular cow's milk... so I used a combination of these two things.  I also made them out of pork only, because I also don't buy veal and didn't feel like using only half a package of ground meat.  As a result, these were incredibly rich meatballs but that worked out okay because the rest of the soup wasn't too heavy.  And they were incredibly delicious!

Other than these changes, I believe I followed the recipe fairly closely.  I didn't use a whole chicken, but rather just chicken thighs.  This was because every chicken I encountered was at least double the required 3.5 pounds.  Why are the chickens of New England so large?!?  I was happy to find escarole, which proved to be a delicious green in this soup.

Once again, a winning recipe from Ruth Reichl's Gourmet Today!  I can't wait to try another...

Tomato Soup, Two Ways

In honor of it no longer being winter, we have resolved to take on tomato soup. As with our seafood soups, we've decided not to choose a single recipe, but rather to each find something that suits our own particular tastes, mood, and ingredient availability. My mom also suggested that we make something to go along with our soup, so that means a total of four recipes!

CASSIE'S SOUP: Egyptian-Inspired Tomato Soup

No, I've never been to Egypt, and given the current political state, I don't think I'll be going there anytime soon. But as I was searching for recipes, I came across one for Egyptian Tomato Soup which looked delicious, easy, and (usually most important for me) spicy. This recipe was created by an American woman who traveled to Egypt, had a transformative bowl of soup, and tried to recreate it when she returned home. Thus, neither she nor I can vouch for its authenticity, but I can certainly vouch for its flavor. I did, of course, modify the recipe slightly, taking it even further away from its inspiration. I got the recipe from the prolific website The Kitchn.

Egyptian Tomato Soup, by Patti Londre

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium brown onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (4 ounce) jar diced pimientos
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice; or 1 pound fresh tomatoes
1 (14.5 ounce) can low sodium chicken broth, or 2 cups homemade chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 limes cut into wedges
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large stockpot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and garlic, cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the pimientos and tomatoes, cover and cook gently for 10 minutes. Add the stock, chili powder and paprika and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Using an immersion blender (or transfer to a food processor or blender), puree until almost smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with fresh lime squeezed on top.

My version

I had just roasted red bell peppers, so I substituted one pepper for the jarred pimientos (I weighed it and it was just about 15 ounces). I opted for fresh tomatoes even though they are not yet at their peak, because I found some that actually looked quite good, and winter has made me so tired of opening cans! I substituted Urfa pepper, a rather fantastic and complex Turkish crushed pepper, for the "chili" powder called for in the recipe, and I used about 3/4 of a teaspoon of it. I used smoked paprika and increased the amount to 1/2 teaspoon. After blending everything together, I went ahead and squeezed about a quarter of a lime directly into the soup. I didn't want to overdo the citrus, as tomatoes are already very acidic, so I went easier on the lime than I often do, but I loved the result. (Another reason to go easy on limes right now: they are super expensive and increasingly rare!). One nice thing about this soup is  that it takes very little time to make; you need only chop ingredients roughly because it is blended at the end. The other nice thing is, of course, the taste. Absolutely wonderful - light but filling, flavorful without being overly fussy, and a very welcome break from winter. Topped with a dollop of sour cream and served with the flatbread, below, it makes for a very pleasant meal.


CASSIE'S ACCOMPANIMENT: Flatbread with Dukka

This recipe comes from the much missed Gourmet magazine. My mom is not only an avid cookbook reader and collector, but she has as times also been a rather obsessive recipient of cooking magazines (though I hear she's cut back recently!). Until she could scour each issue and clip out the very best recipes, she would keep all the magazines - Bon Apetit, Cook's Illustrated, Saveur, and of course Gourmet, to name a few - under our coffee table. Though I didn't cook much until high school, I loved pulling out a random issue while I was a kid, perusing it on the couch while my mom made dinner (we were a very food aware household!).  Even then, Gourmet seemed to have not only the most interesting recipes of all the magazines, but also the best writing. Gourmet's allure for me was compounded by my mom's brief acquaintance with its editor, Ruth Reichl, when the two were living in Michigan in their 20s. Their acquaintance might have been brief, but it was productive: a picture of my mother, looking quite stylish, appears on page 46 of Ruth Reichl's very first cookbook, the psychedelic yet strangely practical Mmmmmm A Festiary. I was always mighty impressed with this photo, and I now have my own copy of the book (which has become quite expensive and difficult to find as it is, like Reichl's magazine, now out of print).

Which is a long way of introducing this recipe for Flatbread with Dukka, which appeared in the November 2004 issue of Gourmet, though I found it online. Perhaps my mother once clipped it from the magazine and added it to her massive recipe binders. Which she should have done - it's wonderful! This bread is, like the recipe above, inspired by Egypt. The spice and nut blend, dukka, is apparently used throughout the Middle East, though I'd like to fix that, and have it be widely used everywhere.  It's a fascinating and highly addictive combination of flavors.

Flatbread with Dukka, from Gourmet

For dukka:

2 tablespoons whole hazelnuts

1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

For flatbread:

3/4 cup warm water (105 - 115°F)

1 tablespoon mild honey

1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast (from a 1/4-oz package)

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus additional as necessary

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

Special equipment: 2 large (17- by 11-inch) shallow baking pans

Make dukka:

Pulse all dukka ingredients in a food processor or an electric coffee/spice grinder until very finely ground, about 3 minutes (do not grind to a paste).

Make flatbread:

Stir together warm water, honey, and yeast in bowl of a stand electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment (see cooks' note below if you don't have a stand mixer) and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, start over with new yeast.) Add 2 cups flour, salt, and oil and beat at medium speed until incorporated. Replace paddle with dough hook and, if necessary, add 2 to 3 teaspoons more flour, 1 teaspoon at a time, until dough begins to pull away from side of bowl and is smooth but still slightly sticky to the touch, about 5 minutes.

Transfer dough to a large oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 425°F.

Punch down dough and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half and let stand, covered with plastic wrap, 10 minutes.

Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining piece covered) on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a roughly 17- by 11-inch rectangle. (Dough will be very thin.) Transfer dough to 1 of shallow baking pans. (Repair any tears in dough by pinching together.) Repeat with second piece of dough, transferring it to second baking pan. Sprinkle half of dukka over each rectangle and bake, switching position of pans and rotating them 180 degrees halfway through baking, until golden, about 20 minutes total. Cool in pans on racks 5 minutes, then transfer flatbreads to a cutting board and cut each into pieces with a sharp heavy knife. (Centers will be crisp.)

My version

I don't particularly like bread, but I do love pizza and crackers, and this flatbread occupies a deliciously elusive space between these two things.  I baked only half the dough, putting the other half in the freezer to make another time.  The only modifications I made were to roll the dough into a circle rather than a rectangle (because it was easier), and to brush the dough with olive oil before sprinkling on the dukka, as some of the online reviews mentioned that otherwise the spice doesn't really stick.  The bread baked beautifully, though it did bubble up quite a bit in a few places (not necessarily a bad thing, but perhaps dimpling the dough, like you do with focaccia, would help produce a smoother surface).  And even with the olive oil, the dukka did fall off a bit.  I strategically ate the bread over my soup bowl, so that the spice would fall directly into my soup and thus be put to good use.  The flatbread was quite lovely, and I'd like to try using dukka on other things, too - I think it would be particularly wonderful as a crunchy coating for fish.



ANN'S SOUP: Provencal Tomato Soup

I love Patricia Wells's recipes and own at least 5 of her cookbooks.  Her recipes use ingredients I can find and aren't so complicated that I would put off making them until I have a big chunk of time. Plus, every recipe of hers has proved to be delicious!  The recipe for Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Fresh Sage from her 1993 Trattoria cookbook is one of my family's favorite all-time dishes. (Maybe I should figure out how to convert that to a soup!)

Cold Tomato Soup with Basil, adapted from At Home in Provence by Patricia Wells

2 cloves

1 onion, halved

2 pounds firm, ripe tomatoes, quartered

4 garlic cloves, peeled and quartered

2 t. salt

1 stalk celery, minced

1 T. extra-virgin olive oil

2 c. water or veg. stock

1 bunch fresh thyme

2 fresh bay leaves

4 T. basil leaves, cut into julienne strips

Press a clove into each half of the onion and place in a stockpot.  Add the tomatoes to the pot along with the garlic, salt, celery, oil, water or stock, thyme and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil over high heat, lower the heat, and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.  Remove the onions, thyme and bay leaves and discard.  Pass the soup through the coarse blade of a food mill into a bowl.  Taste for seasoning.  Serve the soup hot or cold, sprinkled with fresh basil.  Add a persillade of finely minced garlic and parsley if you like.

My version

Ann's Version:  For once I didn't double or triple the recipe, figuring it was so simple it'd be as easy to make a new batch as to unthaw a container from the freezer.  I made very few changes, just using vegetable boullion for the stock and cooking the tomatoes for about 15 minutes more.  When it was all strained it really was just glorified tomato juice (but really good) so to pep it up I added about a teaspoon of grated lemon rind and the persillade of garlic and parsley.  That turned it into delicious soup!  The first day I ate it hot from the pot and it was great.  Second day it was cold from the refrigerator and just as good.  So easy and fast!

ANN'S ACCOMPANIMENT:  Rosemary Brioche Rolls, from Country Living Magazine, April 2014

1 T. active dry yeast

3-1/3 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. sugar

1 t. salt

5 large eggs

1 stick unsalted butter at room temp.

1 T. finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 T. freshly ground pepper

1 T. coarse salt, such as Maldon or kosher

In a small bowl, whisk together yeast and 1/2 c. lukewarm water.  Let sit until it becomes bubbly (about 10 min.). Combine flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl.  Add yeast mixture and stir well to combine.  Add 4 eggs one at a time, mixing well with each addition.  Add butter, rosemary and pepper and stir until just combined.  Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and it comes together. Put in a large bowl, covered with a damp towel and let sit in a warm place until it's doubled in size (about an hour).  Prepare a baking pan by lining it with parchment, divide dough into 12 pieces, and roll each piece into a ball and place them on the parchment.  Cover loosely and let rise until doubled in size (about 30-45 min.). Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Whisk remaining egg with 1 T. water and brush tops of rolls with egg wash. Sprinkle with coarse salt and bake until golden brown, about 20 min.

My version

These were wonderful!  I picked this recipe because the rosemary seemed appropriate to accompany a Provencal soup and the pepper was an extra bonus taste.  I used Balinese long pepper that I'd gotten a while ago from Zingerman's Deli.  It has a very floral taste and not too much bite, and it gave the rolls an exotic flavor that would be not easily identified as pepper.  Using a Kitchenaid mixer the rolls went together really fast. I'll definitely be using this recipe again, maybe experimenting with substituting various other spices and herbs.  I made the rolls to go with the cold soup and the contrast of the hot rolls and the pepper with the cold tomato was fantastic.

Asparagus Soup

To celebrate the arrival of spring in the Northeast (it's been spring for months in the Southwest!) we are making soup from the springiest of vegetables, asparagus.  The basic recipe is quite simple--an Amish soup from the Midwest--but I'm sure we will fiddle with it a bit (that makes me think of fiddleheads, but I think they are already past their prime in the cooler regions already and they never appear in markets in southern New Mexico).

ASPARAGUS SOUP (adapted from Cooking from Quilt Country)

1 lb. asparagus spears
2 c. chicken broth
2 T. butter
2 T. minced onion
2 T. flour
1/4 t. salt
l/4 t. grated nutmeg
1/8 t. powdered mustard
1/8 c. half and half
Dash of Tabasco
Croutons

Break the tough ends off the spears and cut off the tips and reserve.  Cut the stalks nto 2 inch pieces.  Put the stalks and the broth in a med. saucepan, bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 5 min.  Let cool slightly, then puree with a hand-held blender.  In another saucepan, melt the butter, then add the onion and cook over med. low heat until the onion is transparent.  Stir in the flour, salt, nutmeg and mustard and cook and whisk until the mixture bubbles, about 2 min.  Add the half and half all at once, cooking and whisking until the mixture thickens.  Add the asparagus and broth puree, reserved tips, and Tabasco.  Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat just long enough to cook the tips, about 3 min.  Sprinkle croutons over the top before eating.


CASSIE'S VERSION

I was fairly swift in making this soup, as my mom posted the recipe just before I headed to the grocery store.  I did actually see fiddlehead ferns there (as well as fresh chickpeas and fresh, unpeeled almonds - this is a pretty amazing store).  We also bought a single morel to saute in butter (they were something like $32/pound, so one is all I could justify!).

Because there was so much asparagus available, and the soup sounded so good, I decided to double the recipe.  Made as written, I think it would be fairly bland, but with my modifications it was delicious.  I left out the hot sauce and added a 1/2 tsp. of smoked paprika, as I thought its flavors would complement the other elements of the soup quite well.  I had fresh sage so I added a generous few tablespoons chopped leaves.  I thought the soup could be a bit richer, so I added maybe 1/8 of a cup more of half-and-half.  I had to increase the salt quite a bit, though I'm not sure how much I added.  I also liberally cracked fresh pepper into the soup, added several shakes of hot pepper flakes, threw in some dried marjoram at the last minute, and then finished it off with the juice of one whole lemon, plus the juice of half a Meyer lemon that needed to be used up.

I topped the soup bowls with fresh croutons, which I made using sourdough bread, good olive oil, and garlic salt.  I served the soup alongside chicken sausages.  Delicious!  A great soup for spring.


ANN'S VERSION

I had wonderful local purple asparagus from the co-op for this soup, but I know from past experience that purple asparagus turns green when it's cooked so I wasn't hoping for any special color.  The really cool surprise was that since the tips are reserved and only cooked briefly at the end they actually stayed purple!  So, nice contrast between the green soup and the floating purple tips.  I also doubled this recipe, finding it hard to believe that any Amish family could sit down to dinner with only one quart of soup.  My changes and substitutions are given for the original size recipe.

I added 2 T. minced parsley and 1 T. fresh lemon thyme to the stems as they cooked and also added 1/4 t. urfa pepper (dark and smoky and not too hot) to the flour, butter and spices.  When I went to the refrigerator for my half and half all I found was a partial carton of heavy cream gone quite bad and some 2% milk--oops!  It seemed the soup was going to be quite thick so I used the 2% and upped the quantity to 1 cup, adding 2 T. more butter to make up the richness.  The soup thickened and was very flavorful even with the reduced fat milk.  I added the tips with the pureed broth and stems to the milky mixture and simmered it for about 5 minutes or so.  At the end I added the juice of half a meyer lemon and another 1/2 t. salt. 

I'd put some homemade croutons to bake in the oven while making the soup and croutons and soup were done at the same time.  My croutons are just cubed french bread, a fair amount of olive oil, herbs de provence and kosher salt.  The soup was wonderful and the lemon thyme was the real star.  It's the perfect herb for asparagus and luckily I used just the right amount so it was noticeable but not overpowering.  I ate the croutons on the side (much better than crackers!).  Great soup for a spring day!

Seafood Soup

Our next soup will be a seafood soup, with each of us finding a recipe we'd like to try.  I've invited my brother Nathaniel - the beer cheese soup proponent - to join in.  We can make each others seafood soup recipes at some point, but I'm mostly curious to see what we are individually drawn to in this broad category.

 

CASSIE'S PICK

Hot and Sour Tomato Broth with Shrimp from Padma Lakshmi's Tangy, Tart, Hot, & Sweet

This soup is inspired by the South Indian soup rasam, which I really enjoy. It is certainly not a meal on its own, but shrimp would certainly make it more filling. Lakshmi warns that the addition makes this very different from the "original" it is based on, but that the flavors still work quite well together. She also suggests adding rice noodles to make it even more substantial (and, of course, even less traditional).

Ingredients: 

 
2 1-ounce knobs tamarind pulp
12 ounces peeled, deveined shrimp
juice of 1 ripe lemon
salt
1 ½ T vegetable oil
¾ t black mustard seeds
¼ t fenugreek seeds
½ t cumin seeds
20 fresh curry leaves
3 cloves sliced garlic
½ t asafetida powder
2 C halved grape or cherry tomatoes
1 to 2 fresh minced green chilies
½ t sambar curry powder (or Madras curry powder)
½-inch piece of jaggery (brown cane sugar or palm sugar)
1 T Thai fish sauce
¼ c chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

 
1. Soak the tamarind pulp in 6 cups of very hot water (bring it to a boil and then pour it over the tamarind) for 20 minutes and crush it with the back of a spoon to make a pulp.

2. Marinate the shrimp in lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Set aside in the fridge.

3. In a deep soup pot, heat the vegetable oil on medium heat and add the mustard seeds, fenugreek, cumin, curry leaves, and garlic; cook for 3-4 minutes. As soon as the mustard seeds begin to pop and crackle out of the pan, add the asafetida, tomatoes, and green chilies. Stir for a couple of minutes and then add the curry powder.

4. After 4-5 minutes, after tomatoes start to soften, pour in the strained tamarind gravy.

5. Stir in the jaggery and the fish sauce, and heat for about 10 minutes. Make sure the jaggery dissolves completely. Taste for salt. Once the oil begins to separate, and pools of it form on the surface, add the shrimp and cook until just opaque. This is where you could add in rice noodles, too.
 

6. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.

My Version

This was so good!  And I know why: it is simply a seafood variation on our favorite genre of "spicy noodle soup."  I was rather impressed with my spice supply, as the only things I had to buy for this were shrimp, cilantro, and fresh tomatoes.  I somehow had all those other items on hand, although this did deplete my tamarind supply, and I am nearly out of curry leaves (20 is a lot, but don't scrimp; they really make this dish special).

I really didn't change much.  I had tamarind syrup instead of pulp, which is easier to use (basically a concentrate, and it doesn't need to be strained).  I added a bit more shrimp because I bought a full pound.  And I did opt for adding the rice noodles, which made the dish into a meal.  I just soaked them in hot water while I got everything else ready, and added them in, already cooked, with the shrimp.

This soup is so bright and fresh, and is an excellent way to transition to the lighter flavors of spring.  It was also fairly quick to put together, as nothing has to cook for very long.  I recommend assembling your spices and chopping all the vegetables first, to streamline the process.

Highly recommended! 

ALEX'S PICK (in place of Nathaniel, though he happily ate the results!)

It's finally my (Cassie's) turn to meet baby Josephine.  I'm in Colorado right now for my Passover/Easter/"spring" break and having a wonderful time.  (Josephine, by the way, is the sweetest baby there ever was.)  Last night, Alex made us a delicious bouillabaisse, and she passed the recipe on to me - though it came to her first from my mom.  She says she used different seafood (clams, mussels, and steelhead trout), increased the number of carrots, used canned tomatoes instead of fresh, and omitted the lemon juice.  She also used the full cup (!) of olive oil but was not satisfied with the results, thinking it needed less oil and more broth.  In the past she has used a large can of undrained crushed tomatoes, which she said worked better to thin out the oil.

This was really delicious, though quite rich!  One small bowl was enough for each of us.  We ate it with roasted Brussels sprouts on the side, in front of the TV, with the baby bouncing at our feet.  Vacation is great!

1904: Bouillabaisse, from The New York Times

1 cup olive oil

2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and sliced

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1 carrot, peeled and very thinly sliced

2 pinches saffron

1 bay leaf

4 sprigs parsley

2 cloves garlic

1 pound each boned and skinned cod and halibut (fluke or sea bass may be substituted for either), cut into 2-inch pieces

2 cups peeled and deveined medium shrimp

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup rich fish broth

1/2 cup white wine

6 slices toasted country bread.

1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, onion, carrot, saffron, bay leaf and parsley. Peel and crush 1 garlic clove and add it to the pan. Add the fish, shrimp and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and boil for 10 minutes. Add the fish broth and wine, bring to a rapid simmer and cook until the fish is just cooked through. 

Adjust the seasoning, adding more saffron, lemon juice, salt and pepper as desired.

2. Rub the toasts with the remaining peeled garlic clove. Set a toast in the bottom of each of 6 bowls and ladle the soup on top. Serves 6.

ANN'S PICK

I wanted to make a soup that would feel like spring (light and herb-filled) and would use frozen seafood, since in New Mexico we get our seafood from the freezer section.  If it's not frozen one wonders how long it's been away from the sea!  Cassandra forwarded a few recipes to me and luckily one used sea scallops (a bag of which I had stashed in the freezer). 

Spinach and Scallop Soup, from Bon Appetit, September 1997

makes 2 main course servings

2 T. butter
1/2 c. diced red bell pepper
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 c. canned low-salt chicken broth
1-1/2 c. (packed) thinly sliced spinach leaves
1/4 c. whipping cream
1/2 t. dried crushed red papper
10 sea scallops, halved horizontally
2 T. chopped fresh basil

Melt butter in heavy med. saucepan over med. heat.  Add bell pepper and onion and saute until almost tender, about 3 min.  Add broth, spinach, cream and red papper.  Cover pan and simmer until spinach is tender, about 3 min.  Add scallops and simmer uncovered until just opaque in center, about 3 min.  Mix in basil.  Season soup to taste with salt and papper.  Ladle into bowls and serve.

My Version

Very quick and easy recipe.  I tripled the recipe since who would ever make soup to serve 2?   One of the reasons for making soup in my opinion is to have containers in the freezer for days when you're just too tired to cook.  I used 1-1/2 large yellow and orange bell peppers instead of the red.  It's what I had on hand, but I think the colors also looked great.  So great, in fact, that I continued the festive theme and used an entire medium-sized purple onion.  Beautiful!  I had lovely baby spinach so figured there was no reason to slice such little  leaves (much work saved!).  I used med. hot Aleppo red pepper, one of my favorites and I didn't want to risk making this gentle-seeming soup too spicy.  The sea scallops varied a lot in thickness so I just tried to slice them between 3/8" and 1/2" thick.  This meant some were sliced once and others made two or three slices, but I wanted them all to cook at the same rate.  Even though I love fresh basil it just didn't seem to belong in this soup, so I picked parsley, lemon thyme, marjoram and chives from my herb garden and chopped them all up very finely with the ulu knife Gordon had brought me from Alaska (a wonderful contraption with its own shallow cutting bowl that I recommend to anyone who uses fresh herbs often).  Everything was done within a half hour, even with the longer times tripling the recipe required.  I added the herbs along with the broth and spinach rather than at the end since the slightly tougher leaves of the ones I used instead of basil needed a little extra cooking time.  The scallops went in last and were cooked in just a few minutes.  I suggest you stay with the soup once you add them so you can get it off the heat quickly enough to keep them from getting tough. 

I had the soup with a glass of ice water with fresh mint and some terrific small snack samosas Cassie had sent me.  Wonderful lunch!