Classic Gazpacho

Ahh Summer. Well not quite yet, but the weather and produce is making a turn for the warmer. In Whole Foods this week (I am a Whole Foods gal now, because my move put me a touch too far from my beloved Wegmans), I found cherries, apricots, and beautiful tomatoes. They may not be Jerseys yet, but they were so delicious, they just had to become my absolute favorite tomato dish. When I lived (lived being the loose term applied to the summers I spent there) in Spain, particularly Madrid, I ate Gazpacho every single day. I could not get enough, and I never got sick of it. I would have it for lunch, or stop on my walk home from class. I loved the cool and refreshing soup, and the little plate of mix ins it came with. Making this made me so happy, and eating it out on my deck this weekend brought me right back to my favorite little neighborhood joint in Madrid, where I would sit outside, enjoy the weather, the company of good friends, and a delicious bowl of cool, refreshing Gazpacho.

Classic Gazpacho:
2 inch long piece of baguette, without the crust
2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp of Sherry vinegar
1 tsp of sugar
2 1/2 lb of tomatoes
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 jalapeno
1/2 cucumber
1/4 vidalia onion

Fixings:
1/2 a tomato
1/2 cucumber
1/2 bell pepper
1/4 vidalia onion
1/2 lime
2 inch piece of baguette

In a food processor, minch the garlic and salt together. Soak the bread in a some water for 1 minute, then ring out as much water as you can and add to the food processor. Core and quarter the tomatoes, peel the cucumber, and remove the seeds and ribs from the bell pepper Add in sherry, sugar, half of the tomatoes, the peppers, cucumber and onion. Blend until no large pieces remain, while the motor is running, and the rest of the tomatoes, until everything is liquified and combined. Taste and adjust seasonings. Pass soup through a strainer into a large bowl. Reserve the solids. Cover the gazpacho and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to overnight. Serve with the fixings: dice the tomato, cucumber, pepper, and onion into small squares. Slice the lime into thin wedges. Slice the baguette like you are making bruscetta (into thin strips). Toast the bread and then cube that as well. To serve your soup (in the classic Spanish fashion), serve the gazpacho plain, with the fixings on the side and let people stir in their own amounts of each to the soup before eating. Use reserved solids to make pan con tomate (see below).

You could discard the solids, but it's much tastier and less wasteful use them for pan con tomate (a favorite treat of mine from my time in Barcelona). It's like a Spanish version of a extra garlicy bruscetta. Slice 2 inch pieces of baguette and then cut those in half. Toast them lightly, then rub them with a garlic clove that has been cut in half. Drizzle the toast with extra virgin olive oil and top with the reserved tomato solids from the soup.

Happy Eating.

Beef and Onion Soup

As I made this delicious soup, and again writing this, I wonder if this will be my last slow cooker post for awhile. I tend not to use it when it gets warmer, because, it's hot and I am not craving the comforting stews and soups. It's sad because I love the slow cooker, but also extremely happy, because it's finally not warmer. This is a perfect way to say goodbye to the slow cooker for awhile it combines two of my favorite things, onion soup and short ribs. It takes a plain old bowl of onion soup and decadants it up (without the cheese, but feel free to add it for a truely wild treat). So I will enjoy one last bowl of warm delicious comfort and then I will say hello to the fresh deliciousness of Spring and Summer.

Beef and Onion Soup:
1 lb beef short ribs
1 tbsp of butter
5 medium onions
1 medium shallot
2 cloves of garlic
1 bottle of beer
3 cups of water or beef stock
2 tbsp of Worchestershire sauce
1 tbsp of sugar
1 tsp of dried oregano
salt, pepper

Melt the butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper and brown on all sides until carmelized, about 2 minutes per side. In the meantime rough chop the onions and add to the basin of a slow cooker. Dice the garlic and shallots and add to the slow cooker as well. Pour beer, water, and Worchestershire sauce. Stir in sugar and oregano, and season lightly with salt and pepper (you can always add more). Add seared short ribs and cover. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours. When finshed cooking, shred beef with two forks and adjust seasonings to taste. Serve with hearty bread.

Happy Eating.

Onion Lager Soup

It's fall. It's time for lazy, cool Sunday's spent snuggled up watching football and movies (an epically relaxing combination). When the cold weather hits, or even the moderately cool weather, I instantly become a soup fiend. Can't get enough of the warm comfort. There is nothing so homey and wonderful as a hot bowl of soup on a cool or rainy day, well unless you stuff that soup with crusty bread and top it with caramelized cheese. Enter the onion soup, so many variations, so many choices. What kind of cheese? What kind of stock? Wine or Beer? What kind of onion? There are endless permutations to play with. This time I went with four different members of the onion family, beef stock, beer, and Fontina (with a splash of Parmesan) and I ended up with a delicious and hearty Sunday lunch.



Onion Lager Soup (serves 4):
1 giant boiler onion
2 medium yellow onions
2 large leeks (or 3 medium)
1 Medium shallot
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of sugar
1 can or bottle of lager (I used Yuengling, for you East Coasters)
4 cups of beef stock
2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp of soy sauce
Salt, Pepper
Half a loaf of French Bread
4 oz of Fontina cheese
4 tbsp of Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil over medium heat. Slice the onions, leeks, and shallots. Add to the oil, stir in the sugar and a little salt and pepper. Cook covered, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the beer, and raise heat to high, cook uncovered until the beer is about half gone. Add the stock, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil. Salt and pepper to taste. Pre-heat the boiler. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes. Chop the bread into large croûton sizes and toast under the broiler for about a minute (be careful they burn fast). Divide the bread between bowls (oven safe bowls), then top with the cooked soup.



Grate the cheese. Top each bowl with about an ounce of Fontina and a tbsp of Parmesan (more or less to taste). Put bowls on a baking dish (in case of dripping and to make removal easier) and put under the broiler for 3-4 minutes until cheese is melted and golden.



Serve and Enjoy!



Happy Eating.

Squash Soup

Welcome to fall!! So it's not completely official yet, but as the air is crisp, I needed a jacket this morning, and I got a butternut squash in my CSA, I am going with it. I am so excited for the return of my favorite season. Pumpkins, Ginger snaps, apples, and some wonderfully delicious squash soup!



Squash Soup:
1/2 garlic head
1 butternut squash
2 medium turnips
3 leeks
1 onion
1 shallot
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp corriander
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp chilli powder
4 cups of low sodium beef or vegetable broth
Salt, pepper

Pre-Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Peel and wash the turnips and poke with a fork in repeatedly (like you would to a potato). Poke the squash with a fork as well. For the garlic, peal as much of the outer layer off as you can while keeping the head in tact. Cut off the top exposing the cloves, but leaving the bottom in tact so that the head stays together. Drizzle top with a little olive oil, and sea salt. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and roast the garlic, squash and turnips for 45 minutes. During the last 15 minutes dice the shallots, leeks and onions, this does not have to be precise. Heat a tbsp of olive oil in a large pot on medium-low. Add shallot, leeks, onion and spices. When the Roasted veggies are done (garlic lightly browned, squash and turnips tender) let them cool for about 5 minutes. Peel and roughly dice the squash, the skin will come right off. Add to the onion mixture, add peel about half the garlic and add in to the pot. Chop the turnips and add as well and cook for 10 minutes. Add stock bring to boil and then simmer for 10 min. Puree in batches, using a blender or food processor. Strain the soup by passing through a pasta strainer, pushing down soup with the back of a spoon. Heat until desired temperature. Serve with plain yogurt or sour cream and toasted piece of bread with goat cheese.

Happy Eating

Garlicy Shrimp and Udon

On a lazy, slightly rainy gray, summer day I was craving something warm and soothing, yet still a lit summery and fun. I was thinking about a stir fry, and wondering how I could kick it up a notch. Then it hit me, soup! This delicious dinner was part stir fry, part homemade ramen, part soup, and all delicious. Like many of the delicious Asian and Asian inspired soups out there, it is totally hearty enough to be a meal, full of delicious veggies, shrimp and udon noodles. I found the noodles in the Asian section of Wegmans, it took a little hunting but it was so worth it.



Garlic Shrimp Soup:

5 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 lb of shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 container shitake mushrooms
1 bunch of swiss chard
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 yellow onion
4 cloves of garlic, divided
2 tbsp Chili sauce
2 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp of soy sauce
salt, pepper
8 oz of udon noodles (1 package)

Heat oil over medium-low heat in a large pan or wok. Dice 3 cloves of garlic and the onion and put them into the pan. Lightly salt and pepper and add 1 tbsp of chili sauce and 1 tsp of curry powder. Bring the stock to a boil in a medium pot, smash the last clove of garlic and add it to the stock, add a tsp of curry powder and a tbsp of chili sauce to the stock. Cook the udon noodles for 10-12 minutes in the stock, then remove the noodles from the stock. Add the mushrooms and chard to the onions and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the mushrooms are tender. Add the shrimp and the soy sauce to the pan. Turn heat to medium high and cook shrimp for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. To assemble the soup, put about a cup of noodles in a bowl with a generous scoop of shrimp and veggies, then top with stock. Serve and Enjoy.

The Shrimp Cooking away:


The Shrimp and veggies on top of the noodles:


Ready to eat:


Happy Eating.