Udon Soup with Swiss Chard and Mushrooms

In honor of the unending New England winter (are you tired of me complaining about winter yet?), here's one of my favorite soup recipes. Especially with a little spicy Sriracha stirred in, it'll warm you up from the inside out. Based on what's in your kitchen, you can start with this basic idea and adapt it (because no one wants to go to the grocery if it's snowing). It would be great with a little shrimp or shredded chicken, napa cabbage could be used in place of swiss chard, toss in thinly sliced carrots or snow peas, or how about soba or ramen noodles rather than udon? Here's to soup and to hoping it's warmer wherever you are!

(recipe based on The Kitchn's Quick Udon Noodle Soup)

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Tb olive oil

~6 oz baby bella mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 bay leaves

1 star anise pod

2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)

4 cups water

pinch of salt

1 bundle of udon noodles

1 bunch swiss chard, stems removed and thinly sliced into ribbons

1 block extra firm tofu, sliced into 1" cubes

Garnishes: cilantro, soy sauce, sriracha

Directions

Heat a dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat. Pour in olive oil, and once heated, toss in sliced mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes until the mushrooms are nicely browned. 

Add bay leaves and star anise pod, and let cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Pour in the water and chicken stock along with a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil.

When boiling, add the udon to the pot, and cook according to package directions (mine required about 10 minutes).  

When the noodles are almost done, stir in the swiss chard. Once the chard is wilted and the noodles are done, add the cubed tofu, and remove from the heat.

Remove the bay leaves and star anise, and serve sprinkled with chopped cilantro. Stir in a little Sriracha and/or soy sauce, according to your taste.

Beef, Barley, and Sweet Potato Stew

Do you ever have those evenings when you're all set to start a recipe and you realize that you're missing a key ingredient? I'm sure you would never do such a thing, but that's exactly what I did this weekend. Saturday afternoon was dreary and rainy, just the kind of weather where you want something warm and comforting simmering on the stove all afternoon (coincidentally that's just the type of day where you don't want to run to the store at the last minute). I was excited to make Hungarian Goulash for the first time when I realized I had forgotten an ingredient at the store. I was in a bit of a pickle. There I was with 2 lbs of thawed beef stew meat on the counter and nothing to make with it. My husband was elbow deep in flour making homemade Parker House Rolls from Beard on Bread to go with the goulash. So what was a girl to do? Improvise and make beef stew! This template from The Kitchn was a really helpful starting place. And you know what? It was hearty, rich, and flavorful. What a happy accident!

Serves 5-6

Ingredients

2 lb beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized cubes and pat dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture

1/2 yellow onion, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1/2 sweet potato, peeled and diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 cup red wine

1 bay leaf

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups beef broth

1 Tb tomato paste

~1/4-1/3 cup barley

1 Tb cornstarch

salt and pepper

Directions

Heat a dutch oven or stock pot over medium high heat. When hot, swirl in enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan.

When the oil is hot, sear your meat (you'll probably need to do this in several batches). Add meat to the pan in a single layer. Let sit undisturbed for 2-3 minutes for a good sear to develop; then flip each piece to sear the other side. After another 2-3 minutes, remove the meat to a clean plate, and sear the remaining batches. (Meanwhile, don't be afraid of the blackened bits that are collecting along the bottom of the pan. That's building flavor for your stew!)

Add in another teaspoon of oil, lower the heat to medium, and then add in your diced onion. Saute for a couple of minutes. Then add in the diced celery, carrot, and sweet potato. Let cook for another 5 minutes or so until everything begins to soften.

Push the vegetables to the sides of the pan, and add the garlic and thyme to the open center of the pan. Let it cook for about 30 seconds, or until fragrant, and stir to combine with the veggies.

At this point, pour in the red wine to deglaze the pan, stirring and scraping up all of those browned bits.

Pour in the chicken broth, beef broth, tomato paste, reserved stew meat, and the bay leaf. Top the pan off with water, if required, such that the liquid just covers the meat. Bring the liquid to a boil. Then cover, and reduce the heat to low. Let the stew simmer for at least an hour, or until the meat is tender.

About 30 minutes before the stew is done, add the barley, and stir to combine. Continue to simmer until done. 

A few minutes before you're ready to serve, ladle some of the broth into a small bowl and whisk in about 1 Tb of cornstarch. Once dissolved, stir back into the stew, and let simmer for a few minutes until your soup begins to thicken. 

Remove the bay leaf and serve!

Lentil Soup

With a July birthday, I am a summer baby through and through. I need warmth, sunshine, long days, and bare feet.  When the season starts to change, the days become shorter, the air becomes a little crisper, I usually go into a mild form of denial, clinging to the last shreds of hope that summer might last forever. But when the leaves start to change, as they are right now, even I have to admit that fall is on our doorstep. So to ease the transition, I make a big batch of lentil soup. It's warm, it's earthy, and it's so delicious that it makes fall seem like something to look forward to rather than to dread. After all, apple picking, cinnamon, and pumpkins aren't so bad. So make a pot of this soup, and welcome fall with open arms. Just don't you dare remind me that winter is right around the corner! 

(Side Note: This probably doesn't apply at all to folks back home in Texas where they're still facing a couple months of extreme heat. In your case, maybe it's best to crank up the AC, make a batch of this soup, and keep the faith that fall will someday arrive and provide a relief from the heat!)

(recipe modified from the Lentil Vegetable Soup in Lucinda Scala Quinn's fabulous cookbook Mad Hungry)

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 Tb olive oil

3/4 onion, diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery stalks, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

12 tsp salt

~6 baby bella mushrooms, diced

1 or 2 canned whole tomatoes, diced (or 1 small fresh tomato)

1 Tb tomato paste

1 3/4-2 cups lentils

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf

~1/4 tsp black pepper

4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)

2 cups water

1 chicken bouillon cube, roughly chopped to help dissolve

(you could also use 5 cups stock and 1 cup water to avoid using a bouillon cube)

2 tsp red wine vinegar

Directions

Heat a dutch oven or large pot over med-high heat. Add olive oil, and once heated, add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and 1 tsp of the salt. Stir and then reduce heat to medium. 

After about 2 minutes, add in the mushrooms, stir to combine, and let cook for another 2-3 minutes until vegetables have started to soften.

Add the tomato and cook for 2 more minutes. Then add the tomato paste, stirring to combine, and cook for another 2 minutes.

Next, add the thyme, bay leaf, and black pepper to the pot. Stir to combine, and after about a minute add in the lentils, broth, water, bouillon cube, and remaining 1 tsp of salt.

Turn the stove to high and let the mixture come up to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and let simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes until the lentils are tender. 

(Note: I prefer a lentil-heavy soup, but if you want a thinner soup, add in a little more water at this point. Just heat it up in the microwave before adding.)

Stir in red wine vinegar to give it a little brightness, add salt and pepper to taste if needed, and serve alongside some crusty bread or a side salad.

Irish Cheddar Ale Soup

This fall, I shared some of my cooking goals for the year, and I've been slowly chipping away at them. I officially got the "canning bug" after making and canning apple butter, and my husband and I had a blast teaming up to make homemade pretzels.  I checked off another with this Irish Cheddar Ale Soup, featuring some of my husband's homebrew.  

We really loved this soup. It's all kinds of rich, using almost unseemly amounts of sharp cheddar and Irish Cheddar, but some days you need something that's comforting, creamy, and cheesy (and topped with bacon crumbles). For a contrast to the richness, it helps to serve it with a hunk of hearty whole wheat bread, a crusty baguette, or even a soft pretzel for dunking. 

(based on Tracey's Culinary Adventures Cheddar Ale Soup)

Serves 6

Ingredients

6 thick-cut bacon slices, cut into 1/2 inch strips

2 Tb unsalted butter

1 large yellow onion, diced

1/2 cup (~3 small) carrots, peeled and sliced 

1/2 cup (~4 small) celery stalks, sliced 

1/4 tsp cayenne

4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup amber ale (I used my husband's homebrew)
(The remainder of the 12 oz bottle is an added bonus for the cook)

1 Tb Worcestershire sauce

2 cups whole milk

2 cups chicken broth

3 cups (~2/3 lb) Irish cheddar, grated (I used Kerrygold Kilaree)

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

Set a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the bacon. Cook until crisp, stirring occasionally, then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Scoop out excess bacon grease, leaving about 2 Tb in the bottom of the pot, and lower the heat to medium.

Add the butter to the pot. Once it melts, add in the onion, carrots and celery. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened. 

Add the cayenne and garlic, cooking just until fragrant, about 30 sec-1 min. 

Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly to make a roux (cooking the flour keeps it from tasting raw).

 Add the beer gradually, stirring constantly to incorporate with the roux. Cook until the mixture forms a thick paste, about 2-3 minutes. 

Stir together the Worcestershire sauce, milk, and chicken broth.  Add to the pot gradually, again stirring constantly until all is incorporated. 

Increase the heat to medium-high, and let the soup come to a simmer. Then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and puree the soup with an immersion blender (you could also use a food processor or a food mill, pureeing in batches if necessary)

Set the pot back over medium-low heat, and begin adding the cheese a little at a time, stirring constantly to incorporate (be sure to scrape the bottom periodically to prevent sticking). The soup has to be warm enough to melt the cheese, but be careful not to allow the soup to come to a boil. Continue until you've added all of the cheese and the soup is smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Serve topped with the crumbled bacon. 

Potato Leek Soup with Bacon Crumbles

It's nothing flashy or glamorous, but Potato Leek Soup is one of my favorite soups. It's simple, it's creamy, it's a cinch to make, and you can stir bacon crumbles into it. What's not to like? Grab a glass of wine and some warm crusty bread (after all, you'll need something to mop up any last remains of soup...spoons can only do so much), and you've got yourself a well-balanced meal.

Ingredients

2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced

2 leeks, trimmed of green portion and roots, halved, and thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

3-4 pieces of bacon, sliced

4 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup water

1 bay leaf

pinch of thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a dutch oven or soup pot, fry bacon until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon or tongs to a paper-towel lined plate to drain. Scoop out excess bacon grease, leaving about 1 Tb in the bottom of the pot.

Add leeks and garlic to the pot and season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of thyme. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes, until softened.

Add potatoes, chicken broth, water, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until potatoes are soft.

Remove bay leaf and then puree soup with an immersion blender (I usually do this in a separate bowl) or food processor, and return to the pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with bacon crumbles.