Soup has always been my favorite food to cook. We've even had soup-tasting parties for our friends. Fire comapanies, churches and other organizations sell homemade soup by the quart as fund raisers too. Here are a few of my favorites:
ROASTED GARLIC SOUP WITH PARMESAN CHEESE
(from David at THS Cooking forum)
26 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 1/4 cups sliced onions
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
18 garlic cloves, peeled
3 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
4 lemon wedges
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place 26 garlic cloves in small glass baking dish. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake until garlic is golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes. Cool. Squeeze garlic between fingertips to release cloves. Transfer cloves to small bowl.
Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and thyme and cook until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add roasted garlic and 18 raw garlic cloves and cook 5 minutes. Add chicken stock; cover and simmer until garlic is very tender, about 20 minutes. Working in batches, purée soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to saucepan; add cream and bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring occasionally.)
Divide grated cheese among 4 bowls and ladle soup over. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon wedge into each bowl and serve.
Serves 4.
Note from RR: I usually just cut the tops off 2 or 3 (depending on size) whole bulbs of garlic instead of the 26 garlic cloves in the first step and use ½ tsp. dried thyme if fresh is not available. Don’t leave out the lemon wedges.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH BISQUE
3 leeks (white portion only), cleaned and sliced
4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
4 Tbs. butter or margarine (1/ 4 cup)
3 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cubed
6 cups chicken broth
3 medium zucchini, peeled and sliced
1 – 1 1/ 2 tsp. salt
1/ 4 tsp. dried thyme
1/ 4 tsp. dried marjoram
1/ 4 tsp. pepper
1 cup milk
In Dutch oven or soup kettle over medium heat, melt butter and saute the leeks and carrots for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add remaining ingredients except milk. Bring to a boil; cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. Cool until lukewarm. In a blender or food processor, puree soup in small batches until smooth; return to pan. Add milk, stir until smooth and heat through (do not boil). Add salt to taste. Can be sprinkled with chopped chives or parsley before serving. Makes about 3 quarts.
Notes: One large onion can be substituted for the leeks. You can replace 2 Tbs. of the butter with 2 Tbs. olive oil. The milk can be anything from skim milk through half-and-half. My friend uses canned evaporated skim milk and also white pepper instead of regular black pepper. Since it makes a lot, you can freeze it after soup is pureed and before milk is added. Then after defrosting, add milk.
SOUPE AU PISTOU – makes 4 ½ quarts
½ lb. dried white kidney beans
¼ cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 ½ lb. zucchini
3 medium white turnips (1 lb.)
1 large potato
6 medium carrots (1 lb.)
2 large celery stalks with leaves
2 red onions
8 cups water, chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 cup dry white wine (optional)
1 peeled onion stuck with 4 cloves
1 whole bay leaf
1 can (1 lb.) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tsp. dried basil leaves or 2 Tbs. minced fresh basil
1/8 tsp. dried hot pepper
1 ½ tsp. salt
2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
Soak beans overnight in cold water to cover. Next day, drain beans in colander and rinse under cold water. Prepare vegetables – dice zucchini, pare and dice turnips and potato into cubes, pare and thinly slice carrots, slice celery, coarsely chop the 2 red onions.
Heat oil in 6 qt. soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add garlic, zucchini, turnips, carrots, celery and chopped onions and saute for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beans, water or broth, wine and remaining ingredients except parsley.
Bring to boiling over medium heat; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 2 hours or until beans are tender. To serve, remove whole onion and bay leaf and adjust seasoning. Stir in parsley. Flavor is even better the next day.
Notes: equivalent amount of fresh tomatoes can be used instead of canned. You can use canned and drained canneli or great northern beans instead of the dried. If so, follow direction but don’t add the beans and only simmer the soup for an hour. Then add the beans and cook another 15 minutes. Soup will stay nice for 4 or 5 days in fridge
OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER STEW – 4 servings
4 slices bacon
1 cup thinly sliced leeks
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1/ 8 tsp. cayenne pepper
3 cups half-and-half
2 cups milk
1 1/ 2 pints shucked oysters and liquor
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 cups thinly sliced raw spinach leaves
Salt and black pepper
1 Tbs. butter (optional)
Oyster crackers to serve with stew
In a large heavy saucepan or soup kettle, fry the bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towel, crumble and reserve. Pour off all but 2 Tbs. of drippings from the skillet.
Add the leek and celery and saute over medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes, until the vegetables are softened. Stir in the cayenne pepper.
Add the half-and-half and the milk and bring to a simmer. Add the oysters (cut large ones in half) and the Worcestershire sauce. Return to a simmer. Stir in the spinach and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the spinach is just wilted and the oysters are cooked through. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Swirl in the optional butter, if used, and serve immediately in large, shallow bowls. Sprinkle each bowl with the reserved bacon.