Somme Borscht and Whole Wheat and Honey Biscuits September 1, 2011
Posted by kcat in breads, soup.Tags: biscuits, borscht, somme borscht, whole wheat biscuits
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Good things to eat together around this time of year: hearty somme borscht full of all your garden (or farmers market) bounty and some tasty whole wheat and honey biscuits for dunking. Enjoy!
somme borscht
1 ham bone (optional)
2 onion, diced
3 stalk celery, diced
2 large red potato, diced
1 L chicken stock
1 L water
4 Tbsp dill, fresh chopped or dried
beet or chard leaves, shredded to yield about 4 loosely packed cups
1/4 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
*if you do use a ham bone be careful to taste the soup before seasoning.
Sweat the onions in oil in a large heavy bottomed soup pot. Add the celery. Cook the vegetables for several minutes over medium high heat. Add the potatoes and toss everything around in the pot. Add the chicken stock and another litre of water. The vegetables should be submerged by at least an inch of liquid. Add the ham bone, if using (this would also be the time to toss in some cooked diced ham if you feel like making the soup a little meatier). Bring the soup to a boil then turn the heat down to medium low and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Check to see if the potatoes have cooked through. When they have cooked add the dill and the greens. Stir them around in the pot. Leave the soup for about 5 minutes to allow the greens to cook through. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the sour cream. Taste it then season with salt and pepper (and maybe a hit of tabasco and a few pinches of sugar).
whole wheat and honey biscuits
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup butter, lard, or shortening
2/3 cup milk
3 tbsp melted honey
First of all I would like to thank Fannie Farmer for the foundation for this recipe. Thank you.
Set your oven to 425*F. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Rub the fat into the flour mixture with your hands until it resembles coarse meal. Make a well in the center then add the milk. Use a fork (or your hands) to incorporate flour into the milk then gently toss the mixture until the flour is all incorporated into the dough. Pat (not kneading too much!) the dough into one piece. If you must knead it a few times to bring it all together then giv’er but be gentle! Roll the dough out to a 1″ thickness and cut 2.5″ (or whatever!) rounds. Place them spaced at least 1 inch apart of parchment lined pans. Brush the tops with melted honey. Bake until golden brown (apx. 15-20 minutes depending on the size.)
Eat with somme borscht!
waps January 17, 2011
Posted by kcat in soup, vegetarian.Tags: Peanut, Pumpkin, soup, Stock (food), West Africa, west african peanut soup, yam
1 comment so far
Image by Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library via Flickr
West African Peanut Soup aka Senegalese Soup aka FANTABULOUS!!!! I had been making regular batches of this soup because I love it and many people I know love it and it was in high demand but now my daughter seems to have a peanut allergy. So who knows when I will ever make this again?! I might as well share the recipe with y’all so as to spread the love that is West African Peanut Soup. Enjoy!
west african peanut soup
1 onion
1 stalk celery
3 carrots, peeled
1 yam peeled
1 cup pumpkin cooked or raw(optional)
1 L chicken or vegetable stock
1 L water
1.5 cup smooth peanut butter
2 cloves garlic
thumb sized piece of ginger, sliced
1/2 lemon squeezed
2T cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
Roughly chop up the onion, celery, carrot, and yam and pumpkin if using. (I usually have some cooked pumpkin left over from baking in my fridge to use up. If you are using the cooked stuff, wait until after the stock is in the pot to add it. If you are using raw pumpkin or squash add it at the same time as the sweet potato.) Saute the veg with a bit of olive oil in your soup pot. Toss in the garlic cloves and the ginger. Add the water and the stock. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer for at least one hour or until the vegetables are totally soft. Puree with a wand blender. Add the peanut butter, lemon and paprika. Puree again. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Serve the soup garnished with sliced lime segments, a dallop of plain whipped cream and some crispy fried leeks if you are feeling very fancy. I generally eat it straight up, as quickly as possible.
As easy as this sounds to make West African Peanut Soup is one of my favorites. Please make it often! Spread the love! Maybe one day Maddy will grow out of her allergy and I can once again make this soup in my kitchen. Until then, enjoy!
vee-she-swa-ssss May 5, 2010
Posted by kcat in soup.Tags: leek and potatoe, soup, vichysoisse
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Properly vichysoisse. It is that ethereal and classic french soup which should be served ice cold garnished with a light sprinkling of freshly minced chives. I felt obligated to make this last week. My chives have been growing like crazy and I had a lot of leeks in my fridge to use up. I mean, ya….ok. I often eat this soup hot. I live in Winnipeg afterall. It’s been raining and cold all week and I’ll be damned if I’m going to eat cold soup right now. That being said I would NEVER call it vichysoisse and serve it hot. That’s sacrilegious. Just don’t. Ever. You should try to make this one. It’s delicious and pretty hard to mess up. Give it a shot. Let me know how it goes!
This is a nice starter if you are having people over on a hot summer day for a barbeque and want to fancy things up a little bit. It’s great followed by a poultry or fish course. Because the soup is fairly thick and has such a rich mouthfeel I would suggest following it by something a little lighter. Serve a light salad and some grilled chicken for the main maybe. Avoid following this soup with citrus though because it probably won’t sit well with the creaminess of the soup.
Vichysoisse
3 Tbsp butter
6-8 leeks, white and light green parts only, cleaned and thinly sliced
2 medium-sized russet potatoes
2 L of chicken stock
250 mL of heavy (whipping) cream
Salt and White Pepper to taste
Melt the butter over medium heat in a large heavy bottomed pot. Add the leeks and toss them around to make sure they are well coated with butter. Let the leeks cook down until they are very soft taking care not to let them stick to the bottom of the pot or get any color on them. In other words, stir them from time to time. Meanwhile peel and cube the potatoes (small dice for those culinarians out there). Add the potatoes to the pot and give everything a good stir. Add the stock and let the soup come up to a boil. Turn the temperature down a little so that you can see a few bubbles coming up every couple of seconds (more than a simmer, less than a boil). Let everything cook for about 40 minutes, stirring from time to time. When the potatoes are totally soft and the leeks are deliciously melty puree the soup with an immersion blender (that’s your handheld Braun blender there Mom). Strain the soup through a sieve to make sure it is completely smooth. Set it somewhere to cool (an ice bath works well if you’re in a hurry). When it totally cool and you are ready to serve it whip the cream until it begins to thicken. Add the soup in a few ladle fulls at a time and gently mix them together. Season to taste with salt and WHITE pepper. Serve chilled garnished with a sprinkle of minced chives. Enjoy!
cold kicker March 27, 2010
Posted by kcat in chicken, soup.Tags: amazing soup, asian chicken soup, chicken soup, sweet and sour
3 comments
I am not hugely fond of posting other people’s recipes on here, but this one I just want to share with the world. Every time I make this soup its goodness BLOWS MY MIND! Seriously, it is amazing. I suggest that anyone reading this immediately run to the store, buy the ingredients (if you don’t have them on hand) and then make this soup. It is a pretty straight forward recipe but the resulting flavors meld together so perfectly that I find it hard to pick out individual tastes within the broth. It is just …. perfect soup!
I am not entirely sure where this recipe comes from, so if anyone recognizes it please let me know the author to give props to. I was only given a photocopied page by a friend who turned me on to this little gem. Thank you Tray, my life will never be the same.
*note: I have edited this recipe very slightly. This is one of only a very few recipes that I actually follow. Where it calls for spaghettini I do tend to substitute rice noodles and I also cut them up with a few snips of the ol’ scissors after cooking them. I prefer eating this soup with a spoon. I also use whatever chicken I have on hand. Usually a few chicken legs get dropped into the pot after peeling the skin off of them. You could also use a turkey leg if you had one kicking around. ha. haha.
Asian Chicken Noodle Soup
Spaghettini is a good stand-in for Asian noodles, but if you can find rice noodles, by all means use them here. Serve the soup in deep bowls with chopsticks or forks as well as spoons. Eat the noodles first and then drink the soup in the Asian manner. Or, to use a spoon only and eat everything together, break the pasta into small pieces before cooking.
Serves 4
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 onion, sliced
2 ribs celery, sliced on the bias
4 cloves garlic, green germ removed and slice very thinly
1″ piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced very thinly
2 Tbsp chili powder
pinch dried red pepper flakes
1 1/2 L chicken stock
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 Tbsp nam pla or nuoc mam (fish sauce)
1 tsp salt
1/2 lb spaghettini, cooked
1/2 head bok choy or green cabbage, sliced
juice of 2 limes
1. In a large heavy pot, heat up both oils over moderate heat. Add the onion, celery, garlic, ginger, chili powder, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
2. Add the broth, tomatoes, chicken, fish sauce, salt and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is just done, about 15 minutes. Remove the chicken; when it is cool enough to handle, cut it into bite-sized pieces. Continue cooking the soup for 15 minutes longer.
3. Add the bok choy or cabbage; bring back to a simmer. Cook until just done, about 5 minutes. Stir in lime juice. Devour.
** the recipe also calls for the addition of 1 cup cilantro leaves plus another 1/4 cup chopped cilantro to garnish. I don’t really enjoy cilantro, but if it’s your thing add the 1 cup of leaves after you add the broth. Garnish with the chopped leaves after portioning into individual bowls.
