Tag Archives: soups

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo w/ Cilantro Rice

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There’s something about gumbo that is just fabulous. It’s like gumbos are America’s soups. You can’t find gumbos of any sort in other parts of the world. Not like these. With roux or filé powder made from the sassafras root or okra. Sometimes, you can find all three in one. Like a whole trifecta.

There are gumbos made from chicken and sausage like this one. And then there are seafood gumbos made with delicious fruits of the sea, like crab or shrimp or some fishes, even. No matter what the gumbo is made with, they are all served with some sort of rice. Now, you can serve gumbo with plain rice, but why? This is a great opportunity to kick it up a notch. Those boys and girls down in Louisiana are not shy about their spices. They like their heat. A lot.

Cajun and Creole cooks CAN hit you over the head with some heat and things, but they can also be masters of the nuance. Not all gumbos are hot spicy. Some of the are just well-spiced and so yummy that you can’t stop eating. Invariably, you run out of gumbo or rice. Depending on which, well, you might be making more rice or freezing up some gumbo for later. Either way, it’s a delicious dilemma.

Fried Chicken & Sausage Gumbo w/ Cilantro Rice

  •  1.25 cups plus 2 tbsp. canola oil
  •  1 (3 1/2–4 lb.) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
  •  2.5 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  •  Kosher salt, to taste
  •  2 cups flour
  •  1.5 tsp. dark chile powder
  •  1.5 tsp file powder
  •  1 tsp. cayenne
  •  1 tsp. ground white pepper
  •  1 tsp. paprika
  •  3 cloves garlic, minced
  •  3 stalks celery, minced
  •  1 green bell pepper, minced
  •  1 jalapeño, minced
  •  1 poblano pepper, minced
  •  1 yellow onion, minced
  •  12 cups chicken stock
  •  1 lb andouille sausage, halved and sliced
  •  12 oz. okra, trimmed and sliced 1/2″ thick
  •  Sliced scallions and cilantro, for garnish
  •  Cooked white rice with cilantro, for serving
  1. Heat 1.25 cups oil in an 8-qt. Dutch oven until a deep-fry thermometer reads 350°. Season chicken with 1 tsp. black pepper and salt; toss with 1⁄2 cup flour. Working in batches, fry chicken until golden; transfer to paper towels to drain.
  2. Add remaining flour to Dutch oven; whisk until smooth. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, whisking, until color of roux is dark chocolate, 1–1.5 hours. Add remaining black pepper, the chile and filé powders, cayenne, white pepper, paprika, garlic, celery, bell pepper, jalapeño, poblano, and onion; cook until soft, 10–12 minutes. Add stock; boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally and skimming fat as needed, until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes. Add reserved chicken; cook until chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes. Add andouille; cook until chicken is falling off the bone, about 1 hour.
  3. Using tongs, transfer chicken to a cutting board and let cool slightly; shred, discarding skin and bones, and return to pot. Heat remaining oil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high. Cook okra until golden brown and slightly crisp, 8–10 minutes, then stir into gumbo; cook 15 minutes.
  4. Add cilantro to cooked long grain rice. Do not add cilantro to the rice before cooking. Stop to combine and to let the cilantro release its scent and flavor. Scoop into a low bowl. Ladle gumbo around the rice. Garnish with scallions or more cilantro. Sprinkle with cajun spice.

Clam Chowder, New England Style

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There are some clam chowders that are so delicious it makes you sad when you get to the bottom of the bowl. Then there are other clam chowders who you wish had never been made much less served up to you.

A good clam chowder is sublime. There is a play on the potatoes and the clams and the little pieces of corn. And the best clam chowders aren’t always the most expensive. What they are is made with fresh ingredients, seasoned well, and served with bread. I feel like it’s almost a mortal sin not to serve a good chowder without a hunk of break and delicious butter. You slather the butter on and then you dip the whole thing into the warm chowder which is thick and clings to the bread so you have to lean down to eat it without dripping it all over yourself. THAT’s the kinda chowder I’m talking about. And if you can make it look pretty… so that my eyes have a visual feast to gnaw upon? Shoooo.

Best Damn Chowder

  • 2 slices of thick cut bacon, diced
  • 1 large onion, finely diced
  • 6 celery stalks, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 ear of corn, kernels removed.
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • ⅓ cup all purpose flour
  • 4 bottles clam juice
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 large sprig thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 lbs red skinned potatoes, diced
  • 1 ½ cups finely chopped clams from 6lbs cherrystone clams, reserve a few clams
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • fresh chives and/or parsley minced
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • crusty bread for serving
  1. Start the bacon with just a touch of bacon fat in the bottom of dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat. When it’s start crackling, you can decide to keep cooking it and then removing it and using it as a garnish or just adding in the onions.
  2. Once the onions have gotten coated with bacon fat and started on their way to cooking, add in the celery and the carrots. Give it a good stir. After a couple of minutes, add in the garlic and the flour. Stir again.
  3. Once everything is again coated with bacon grease or flour, add in the clam juice and water. Scrap up any bits that have gotten lodged. Then add in the thyme, bay leaves, corn, and potatoes. Add in a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper. Bring this to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer for 20-25 minutes until potatoes are tender. In the last 5 or so minutes plop in the reserved clams and then pull them out as soon as they’ve opened. Set aside with the bacon if bacon has been reserved.
  4. Remove from the heat, and take out the bay leaf and thyme sprig. Add in the cream, fresh chives and/or parsley. Stir. Taste and correct the seasoning.
  5. Ladle into bowls. Top with some cooked clams. If using reserved bacon bits, top the bowls with them here as well. If not, sprinkle with more herbs and serve.

Tomato Basil Soup with Blue Cheese Crumbles

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a creamy tomato soup
Photo by Sacha Moreau on Pexels.com

Soups soothe the soul and they make you feel good. Even when it’s hot, soups seem to be the thing sometimes. Especially, if the soup isn’t too hot. Or maybe served cold. Or just above room temperature. Soups are so versatile. they can be exotic or like a well-loved friend.

Tomato Basil Soup is perfect when summer’s bounty furnishes lots of beautiful red fruit. And basil seems to be the perfect complement to the acidic flavors of those ruby globes. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t like my tomato soup scorching hot, but slightly less. And I will chunks of blue cheese to add a salty umami-ness that I think this soup perfectly supports. When it gets too hot, tomato basil soup with blue cheese crumbles are about all I want to eat. I can’t stomach too much when I am sweating. I want something to take the edge off my hunger, but not make me uncomfortably full. The heat is already making me uncomfortable enough. I don’t need my food adding to the discomfort. What I need IS comfort.

Tomato Basil Soup

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  •  2 tablespoons butter
  •  1 medium onion (chopped)
  •  1 clove garlic (minced)
  •  1 dash Italian seasoning
  •  2 (28 fluid ounce) cans whole San Marzano tomatoes (with juices)
  •  1.5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  •  1/2 cup heavy cream (or to taste)
  •  fresh basil (torn)
  • blue cheese crumbles
  •  Salt & pepper (to taste)

Instructions 

  1. Over medium heat, add the oil to the pot first and then add butter. When the butter is melting, add onions. Sauté the onion for 5-7 minutes or until it’s lightly browned.
  2. Stir in the garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook for one minute. Then add in the tomatoes and chicken broth. 
  3. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once it’s rapidly boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 8 minutes, covered, with the lid slightly ajar. 
  4. Let the soup cool. Blend the soup until it’s smooth. Do it in batches if using a standard blender. Or you can do it right in the pot with an immersion blender.
  5. Stir in the cream and basil and season with salt & pepper as needed. 
  6. Add blue cheese crumbles on top.

Soups, Soups and More Soups

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Thanksgiving is right around the corner. The weather folks keep making dire predictions of cold, snow, rain and sometimes all of the above. I don’t know about you, but when the outside is crappy, I like the inside to have soup. Lots of soup to warm a person up. I try to keep a pot of something on the stove at all times. I picked the following three soups because I LOVE them. I also picked them because they are great cold-weather soups. Adding a slight international flare because they all originated in different countries.

Simple ingredients. Melding together to make something great. There is a lot of speculation that the first meals cooked on fire were not just meat shish kebabs, but also one pot meals. Can’t think of a better, simpler one pot meal our ancestors could have stumbled up other than soup. So it is very possible that soups have been eaten by humans and humanoids for as long as we’ve had fire. It’s something to think about.

Tuscan Ribollita

– makes 4 servings

By: Roger

2 tablespoons olive oil plus extra for drizzling on top
1 large onion, chopped (1 ½ cups)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped (3/4 cup)
2 celery stalks, chopped (3/4 cup)
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/8-1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes (depending on how spicy you like it)
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 bunch (about 10 oz) Tuscan kale, chopped (stems and ribs removed)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
4 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken stock or water
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 parmesan rind*
1 can (15.5 oz) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups cubed, firm bread such as ciabatta, whole wheat or multigrain loaf
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Heat the olive oil in a wide based pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and chili flakes and cook 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until partially softened. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. Add the tomato paste and cook another 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Stir in the kale and cook until it starts to wilt, 3-4 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, stock (or water), thyme, bay leaf and parmesan rind and raise the heat to bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, pour about ¼ of the cannellini beans into a small bowl with a couple of tablespoons of the cooking liquid and mash them together with a fork to form a paste. Pour the paste along with the remaining whole beans into the soup and stir to combine. The mashed beans will help to thicken the soup as it cooks. Simmer the soup with the lid slightly ajar, about 25 minutes until the vegetables are softened but still al dente. Add the bread and simmer another 5-7 minutes, partially covered. The bread will start to dissolve into the soup and thicken it further.

Before serving, remove the thyme sprigs, bay leaf and parmesan rind. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Spoon the ribollita into bowls and top with parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil, if desired.

Note: The soup thickens as it sits and should not be very liquidy. If you prefer more liquid, feel free to add more water at the end.

*Adding the rind of a block of parmesan cheese is a traditional Italian method of adding flavor to soups. The next time you buy fresh parmesan cheese, you can reserve the rind which is normally discarded. Wrap it in plastic wrap and store in the freezer to use in dishes like this. If you don’t have one, just add some extra grated parmesan cheese as a topping at the end.

 

French Onion Soup

-makes 4 servings

By: dithie

1/2 stick butter (4 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 cups thinly sliced onions (about 2-1/2 pounds)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon flour
8 cups homemade beef stock, or good quality store bought stock
1/4 cup Cognac, or other good brandy
1 cup dry white wine
8 (1/2-inch) thick slices of French bread, toasted
3/4 pound coarsely grated Gruyere

Heat a heavy saucepan over moderate heat with the butter and oil. When the butter has melted, stir in the onions, cover, and cook slowly until tender and translucent, about 10 minutes. Blend in the salt and sugar, increase the heat to medium high, and let the onions brown, stirring frequently until they are a dark walnut color, 25 to 30 minutes.

Sprinkle the flour and cook slowly, stirring, for another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool a moment, then whisk in 2 cups of hot stock. When well blended, bring to the simmer, adding the rest of the stock, Cognac, and wine. Cover loosely, and simmer very slowly 1 1/2 hours, adding a little water if the liquid reduces too much. Taste for seasoning

Divide the soup among 4 ovenproof bowls. Arrange toast on top of soup and sprinkle generously with grated cheese. Place bowls on a cookie sheet and place under a preheated broiler until cheese melts and forms a crust over the tops of the bowls. Serve immediately.

 

Spanish Sopa de Ajo

– makes 4 servings

About 6 cups of cubed French or Italian bread
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more to drizzle on bread cubes
6-10 thinly sliced garlic cloves
2-3 oz ham diced
3 tsp paprika or to taste
6 cups chicken broth
4 large eggs
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
salt, pepper, cayenne to taste

In a large stock pot, eat olive oil. Add garlic and cook until lightly golden brown. using a slotted spoon, remove the garlic from the oil and set aside. In small batches, toast the bread adding more olive oil as needed.

Once all of the bread is toasted, take the pot off the heat and add the paprika, ham and stir to combine everything. **Do not burn the paprika or it will turn bitter.** Once it is well combined, add the stock, reserved garlic and  put back on the heat. Simmer for 10-15 minutes more.

As soon as the soup is off the heat, gently break eggs into the liquid to poach the eggs. Tast and adjust seasoning. Gently transfer into 4 bowls, each with one egg. Sprinkle parsley on top and serve.