It is officially autumn, and the best thing about the cool weather? Soup! I have done plenty of recipes since the last post, however two of my favorites were broccoli-cheddar soup and pasta lentil soup (thank you food network magazine!) While I admire all the recipes in this particular magazine, I believe that nothing is perfect and things can always be improved upon. So, I will take you on my kitchen adventure...
BROCCOLI-CHEDDAR SOUP
This is the
perfect autumn evening meal!
Ingredients:
2 tbsp evoo
1 medium onion finely chopped
2 celery stalks finely chopped
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 cups 1/2 and 1/2
1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 bay leaf
kosher salt & pepper
2 cups chopped broccoli florets
1 1/3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1. Heat the evoo in a large pot, add the onion and celery, cook until softened.
2. Add the chicken broth, 1/2 & 1/2, potatoes, bay leaf, 2 cups water, salt and pepper- bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat, simmer until potatoes are tender.
4. Meanwhile- heat broccoli in microwave with water and salt covered, for about 4 minutes.
5. When the potatoes are tender, remove the bay leaf. Transfer soup to a blender, puree until smooth. (When blending, be sure to remove the cap to allow steam to escape).
6. Return soup to pot and heat, add broccoli, season.
7. Add cheese stir until melted.
8. Enjoy!
Adjustments....
Overall, I enjoyed this soup, however there are some changes I would recommend. First, make sure you do your prep work! Peel potatoes ahead of time if you are looking to do this after work...as I did. Also, be sure to season soup throughout the cooking process. I felt the final product could have used a little more kick. I cannot stress enough that it is essential to allow steam to escape, otherwise you will be looking at a minor explosion. Lastly, the recipe says sharp cheddar for a reason. I wish I had used a sharper cheddar, I thought my soup was slightly bland, and I think this is something that would have really amped up the soup.
PASTA AND LENTIL SOUP
Ingredients:
5 tbsp evoo
1/2 onion chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup grated parm cheese
8 oz orecchiette or other small pasta
2 14-oz cans lentils (1 drained, 1 undrained)
1/3 cup roughly chopped parsley
kosher salt
1. Heat evoo in a large pot, add onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook until onion is soft. Remove 1 tbsp of the oil and set aside. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring.
2. Add chicken broth, 4 cups water, bring to a boil. Add pasta.
3. After 5 minutes, add the lentils along with the liquid from one can. Reduce heat and simmer ~12 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, whisk 1 tbsp parsley and 1 tbsp water with the reserved flavored oil.
5. Stir 1/4 cup parm cheese and remaining parsley into the soup. Add salt.
6. Ladle into soups, drizzle with oil and top with remaining cheese.
Adjustments...
Rule #1- Read the recipe before you shop. I accidentally bought only 1 can of lentils...oops. A good substitute was white beans. I found that they added a little more texture and different flavor. Additionally, I was unable to find that specific pasta, so I used small shells. I suppose I should mention, that I never measure, so although these recipes use specific measurements, I always guesstimate. (The only time I measure is when I bake.) So it's safe to say that I used more cheese than this recipe called for and more red pepper flakes. This soup was full of flavor! Next time I would use more tomato paste since the pasta seemed to suck up a lot of liquid I kept adding more and the paste got somewhat lost.
This soup would stand up to lots of flavor. I can see myself adding some sausage (linguica- Portuguese sausage) or spinach or kale next time!
I found these two soups really delicious. I was happy to make two solid soups.
Looking forward to the next posts.....Carmel apples anyone?
