Garlicky White Bean and Kale Soup

~Adapted from "My New Roots" webpage~

 

Garlicky White Bean & Kale StewServes 6-8

 Ingredients:
Spoonful of coconut oil
4 medium leeks
10-12 cloves garlic
 2 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional, but really delicious)
5 bay leaves
Pinch chili flakes
Sea salt
Cracked black pepper
4-5 cups cooked white beans (lima, butter, navy, cannelini…)
4 cups packed shredded kale leaves
 4 cups vegetable broth (+2 more cups optionally)
 1 can (28 oz.) organic whole tomatoes
Cold-pressed olive oil to garnish


Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large stockpot. Slice leeks and add to the pot with a couple pinches sea salt, chili, bay leaves and paprika. Cook for a few minutes until the leeks have softened, then add sliced garlic. If the pot becomes dry, add a little juice from the tinned tomatoes.



2. Add all other ingredients, bring to a boil, season to taste, and serve with a drizzle of olive oil (since everything is cooked, you don’t need to heat it long). If you are going to let it simmer for a while, add the kale about 5-10 minutes before serving so that it retains more of its nutritional value.

Mine was a bit on the thicker side of things so if you like a broth-y-er soup, I'd recommend adding a couple more cups of vegetable broth.

Beef Barley Stew

~Adapted from Skinny Taste~

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp oil
• 1 cup dried green peas
• 1-1/2 lbs lean beef round stew meat
• 1 leek 
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 cups water
• 3 cups beef stock
• 1 - 2 tsp kosher salt, to taste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1-1/2 cups dry barley
• fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Heat a large heavy pot or dutch oven on medium heat. Add oil and beef, season with a little salt and brown meat a few minutes.

When meat is browned, add carrots, leek, celery and garlic to the pot and give it a good stir.

Add water, salt and bay leaves and bring to a boil. When boiling, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer covered over low heat until the meat is soft, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Add the barley, adjust the salt if needed and add fresh ground pepper. Simmer an additional 30-35, remove bay leaves and serve. Makes 6-8 servings.

Apple, Leek, Butternut Squash Soup

From my Soup of the Day book from JJE!

Ingredients:

1 or 2 butternut squash (about 4 lb total, halved, seeded, peeled, and cut in to chunks) - or 2-3 lbs butternut squash chunks pre-cut by the store

1 lb tart apples (I used honeycrisp) - peeled, cored, and quarters, plus 1 small tart apple, unpeeled, halved, cored, and thinly sliced

2 large leeks (white and pale green parts, thickly sliced)

4 large cloves garlic

2 Tbsp chopped sage, plus whole leaves for garnish (optional)

2 tsp ground cumin

salt and freshly ground pepper

3 Tbsp olive oil

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup hard cider or dry white wine

1/2 cup apple juice (optional)

1/2 cup crème fraiche or sour cream

Steps:

Preheat the over to 425 degrees.  Place the squash, quartered apples, leek, and garlic on a rimmed baking sheet.  Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp of the chopped sage and 1 tsp of the cumin.  Season with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with the oil, stir to coat, and spread the apples and vegetables in a single layer

Roast, stirring 2 or 3 times, until the squash is fork-tender and all the vegetable and apples are golden, 20-25 minutes.  Remove from the oven.

Working in batches, process in a food processor (or with an immersion blender) until a course puree forms.  With the motor running, pour in 1-1.5 cups of the broth and process until nearly smooth.

The immersion blender worked much better for me as you can see from these pics.  My food processor is a bit small....

Transfer the puree to a large, heavy pot over medium heat.  Stir in the remaining broth, the cider/juice/wine, and the remaining 1 Tbsp chopped sage and 1 tsp cumin and bring just to a simmer, stirring often.  Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup in to shallow bowls and top each serving with 1 Tbsp cream fraiche.  Float a few apple slices in each bowl.  Garnish with sage leaves, if using, and serve.

Pea Soup

Ingredients

• 16 ounces dried green split peas, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups diced ham
• 2 cups diced potatoes
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 8 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced, plus extra for garnish
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Place dried split peas, ham, potatoes, carrots, and garlic in the bottom of the slow cooker. Pour in chicken broth. Stir in bay leaf and parsley. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours (or on high for 4 to 5 hours). Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Tips, Tricks, & Variations

You can shred your carrots if you prefer less noticeable bites of carrot that practically melt into the soup. 
The amount of liquid in this recipe should be more than sufficient, but any time you cook a dried bean recipe in the crock pot for the first time, you'll want to check your water/broth level every once in awhile to make sure too much hasn't been soaked up by your beans/peas. If it has, just add more water/broth and stir. Some crock pots run hotter than others.

Easy, Low Calorie Asparagus Soup

~Adapted from Yum Sugar Webpage ~

 

Easy, Low Calorie Asparagus Soup

 

Serves 4 ish

 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

course salt

1 lb asparagus, trimmed, chopped, tips reserved

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup loosely packed spinach leaves

Optional:  sharp cheese for garnish (I used Havarti)
 

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add chopped asparagus, and cook for 1 minute. Stir in broth, red pepper flakes, and salt and 1 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer; continue cooking until asparagus is tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, prepare an ice-water bath. Fill a medium saucepot with water and bring to a boil. Add salt, return to a boil, and add asparagus tips. Cook until just tender. Transfer asparagus tips to ice-water bath; let cool about 1 minute. Drain and set aside.

    4.  Remove from heat; add spinach.

    5.  Using an immersion blender, puree soup while drizzling in remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Return to heat and cook until heated through; season with salt. Divide soup evenly between 4 bowls, garnish with asparagus tips (and Havarti or some other type of sharp cheese!), and serve immediately.

Spinach and Pomegranate Soup

Adapted from Sara's Book:
(This has been one of my favorites so far!)

 

Based on a Persian traditional soup

 

Serves 4-6 (but I doubled it):

 

Ingredients:

1 lb spinach, stalks removed, rinsed

1/4 stick (2 tbsp.) butter

1 large onion or leek, finely chopped

1 tbsp. ground turmeric

2 tbsp. long-grain rice

2 tbsp. split peas (yellow recommended but I used green)

1/2 tsp crushed black peppercorns

1 tsp salt

juice and finely grated zest of 1 bitter orange or lemon

seeds of 1 pomegranate, to garnish

 

Directions:

1.  Shred the spinach and set it aside.

2.  Melt the butter in a large saucepan.  Add the onion/leek, turmeric, rice, split peas, peppercorns, and salt with enough fresh spring water to cover generously, about 1 quart.

3.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and bubble gently for 20-30 minutes, or until the rice grains are tender and the split peas are perfectly soft.

4.  Stir in the spinach and bubble again.  Reduce the heat and simmer for another 10 minutes, or until the spinach is well amalgamated into the soup.

5.  Stir in the citrus juice and zest, then taste and adjust the seasoning.

6.  Ladle into bowls and garnish each portion with a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds.

Scottish Tweed Kettle Soup

~ Adapted from Jackie's Soup Recipe Book ~

According to the book, this soup is named from a classic fish soup made with salmon.  The "Tweed Kettle" takes its name from Scotland's most famous sporting river.

Not gonna lie - this is a weird one.  If you're looking for something different, this is it.  But I wouldn't say we loved it....


Serves 4 (but I halved the recipe when I made it):

Ingredients:

4-6 salmon steaks (about 4 oz each)

1.5 lbs potatoes, diced

1 cup chopped leeks (although could also sub an onion if you like onions)

2 tablespoons chopped chives

Salt and ground black pepper 

 

For the butter sauce:

¾ cup butter

1 tbsp vinegar

2 hard-boiled eggs, freshly chopped

 

Steps:

1.        Wipe over the salmon steaks, salt them lightly, and set them aside

2.       Place half the potatoes in the bottom of a heavy saucepan, cover with the chopped leeks, top with the remaining potatoes.  Pour in enough boiling water to cover the potatoes completely – about 2 quarts – add 1 teaspoon of salt.

3.       Bring the pan to a boil, cover tightly, and simmer for 30 minutes.  (Alternatively, the recipe said you could also use a casserole dish and cook the potato mixture in the oven at 350 degrees F.  You may need to add a little more boiling water though.)

4.       Five minutes before the end of the cooking time, lay the salmon steaks on top of the potatoes and season with generous amounts of pepper.

5.       Return the broth to a boil and cover.  The fish will take no longer than 5 minutes to cook.  Stir in the chopped chives.

6.       To make the butter sauce, melt the butter in a small pan, whisk in the vinegar, and stir in the chopped hard-boiled eggs.

7.       Ladle the potatoes, leeks, and salmon steaks into warm serving bowls and hand round the egg - butter sauce separately.