I love good soups. When a good soup meets my lips and warms my throat down to my belly, even my toes get a wiggle.

This is a perfect time of year for soups; and for using my favorite kitchen tool: an immersion blender. You don’t need one for this soup, of course, but if you do then your kids will come running when you power it up: can I try mom? Would you like me to help? (Music to my ears).

Certainly it counts as their daily good deed for lent. Helping mom make dinner. How could you argue with that? Just because it is fun doesn’t mean it doesn’t count (of course, I tell them, helping fold that mountain of socks or taking out the compost are also very good deed ideas…).

Pumpkin Ginger Soup
3 T butter
2/3 cup chopped onion
8 ounces cubed butternut squash
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp cardamom
3 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
2/3 cup carrots
2 T brown sugar

3 T butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onions and pinch salt; cook, stirring for 10 minutes. Add squash, low-medium heat, cooking for 20 more minutes. Add garlic, 1 T olive oil, and the spices. Cook 5-7 minutes. Add broth, carrots and pumpkin. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer. Cook 25 minutes then puree. Stir in brown sugar and salt to taste.

I was in a slump: I admit it.

I cooked impressive-sounding things like pinot noir braised red onions with roasted chicken, and soy braised beets with salmon in arugula cream sauce, and bruschetta with rosemary white bean puree. But things—these recipes—were just not going my way.

Some of them took too long to make, involved step upon step upon step and the end result while good, wasn’t worth the ardor. Or the recipes were adequate but not exquisite. Or even worse: they were merely decent but took a lot of effort to make. My goal is employing shortcuts, cutting out unnecessary steps, keeping all the necessary flavor and delivering a great tasting meal.

Life is short: our palate only has so long to enjoy flavor combinations and find favorite recipes. So as much as I can help it, when choosing between ‘eh, that was okay’ (aka functional food) or ‘wow, shut my eyes and enjoy the savory moment’ (aka fabulous food), I am going to have to go with the latter—for myself and those who sit around my table.

A tall order, and no, not every bite in our family is to die for. BUT I am always trying to find recipes that work for us, that we sincerely appreciate and enjoy, a sort of treasure hunt to find food that entices us, that beckons us to pull up a chair and stay awhile…

All of that to say this: I don’t share every recipe with you that I try. Many of my recent endeavors have fallen short. Translation: I won’t be making them again, so why would I share them? I am not going to send recipes to your kitchens, if it fails to pass the test in my kitchen.

That said, sometimes pressing on through a slump is the only way out. I pressed on, and [whew] have two new recipes that I am quite tickled with. One is Eggplant Parmesan: watch for the post and recipe soon. And the other, an appropriately fall Fennel Pear Soup (recipe follows).

I love soups. For a special first course at dinner, for lunch the next day… with a big wedge of just-baked bread… It isn’t a stretch to believe that soup is good for the soul—especially this one:

Fennel Pear Soup
2 bulbs fennel
1 yellow onion
2 comice pears
2 T butter
4 cups chicken broth
2 T flour
coarse salt & white pepper
½ cup half and half

Trim base and stalks of fennel, thinly slice bulb. Do the same with the onion. In skillet: add fennel, onion, butter and 2 T water. Cover, cook over medium high for 5-7 minutes. Add 2 T flour, stir for 1 minute. Add peeled and chopped pears and broth; cover and simmer until pears are soft, 5 minutes. Puree. Return to pan, add [coarse] salt, pepper and the cream. Simmer 6-8 minutes, serve. (optional garnish: fennel fronds).

I am in love with fennel; read more of my obsession in what to do with 2 bulbs of fennel. Oh, and if you DO make this as a lovely first coarse for Thanksgiving, also consider mixing up the Ginger Orange Cocktail (skip the Halloween rantings, this ginger-forward drink can easily squeeze in a chair at the Thanksgiving table).

First, empty entire contents of alcohol cabinet to counter top. That should have been the first instruction in this fennel soup recipe, seriously. I had to search the ingredient list to ensure there was actually some form of broth in this soup. Sure enough, there was. But I was already taken: any excuse to eat Gruyere cheese and I am all in. (Recipe from Barefoot Contessa, Parties).

…So I walked into the liquor store, and asked the cashier: do you have Pernod? Because it was listed in this alcohol cabinet recipe, one of four different liquors that would eventually call itself a soup. I had never purchased Pernod, but in the recesses of my brain knew it was a liquor of some sorts. Sure enough, they had a bottle. AND it was expensive. I looked at the guy, said thanks but I am not THAT invested in this soup and proceeded to purchase some humble bottles of wine instead.

He looked at me, sizing me up, surely deciding whether sharing information was even worth his time. Then proceeded to tell me that I could purchase some anise oil from a grocer and put a few drops of that into the soup instead. I looked at him—my turn to size him up—and with my mind swimming with thoughts of anise, I nearly stumbled on myself in happy disbelief: you mean, it is the same as Sambuca or Ouzo? Sure, he said, just the French version. I chuckled, filled my arms with bottles of wine and went on my way.

I had Sambuca at home; we love it as the occasional apertif—or treat, at the end of a meal. This time, though, my Sambuca was going into soup.

I will make this soup again, could eat it again and again and would recommend it time and again. French Onion Soup is a classic. Perhaps that is why the French Pernod and French Baguette? Instead I might call it Anise Fennel Gruyere Soup, though in the end when you eat it, you will inevitably cheer its cousin the French Onion Soup. You should try it: you might like it.

French Fennel Onion Soup
1/2 cup butter
2 bulbs fennel, slice thin
4 medium yellow onions, sliced thin
2 tsp fresh thyme
1/4 cup brandy
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/2 cup white wine
8 cups chicken stock
1 T coarse salt
1 tsp coarse pepper
1/4 cup Pernod OR Sambuca OR Ouzo
French Baguette, sliced
3/4 LB Gruyere cheese, grated

Melt butter over medium high heat, add fennel, onion and thyme and caramelize for 25 minutes. Adjust heat to medium, add brandy and cook 3 minutes. Add sherry, wine and simmer 10 minutes. Add stock, salt and pepper and cook for 15 minutes. Add Pernod and cook 5 minutes. Ladle into oven proof soup bowls, top with slice of bread and Gruyere cheese. BROIL for 3 minutes until cheese melts and begins to brown. Serve with what else? A glass of wine and probably some dinner-ending sips of Sambuca, sans the soup.

I like soups, and I need more in my repertoire. This one proudly made the cut. It is surprisingly good, though I confess its best quality might be that it is a worthy vehicle for piles of salsa, avocados and a dollop of cream.

I could serve this with grilled, marinated steak or pork, or maybe just some quesadillas and a salad. Bring out the Mexican beer and margaritas! Chips, salsa, cornbread…
I have been intending to make this soup for a week, but never seemed to start early enough in the day. I shouldn’t complain: with this recipe I don’t need to remember to soak the beans the night before! It isn’t terribly difficult to make, you just need a timer and an early start around midday. (You need about a 3-4 hour jump start, since the beans need lots of soaking and simmering).

A few things: you can control how pureed or chunky you like this soup. In the least, pull out 2 cups of the beans and puree, add back to soup and leave the rest chunky. At the most: puree it all.

Black Bean Soup
2 cups dried black beans, washed
2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups chopped yellow onion
4-5 cloves minced garlic
1 T fresh oregano or 2 tsp dried herbs
½ bunch cilantro, washed and cut into chiffonade
1 large anaheim pepper, finely chopped with seeds (or 2 jalapenos)
1 16 oz can roasted or chopped tomatoes with juice
3 T dark rum
1 tsp brown sugar
2 T lime juice
Kosher Salt to taste

Place beans in saucepan, cover with warm water by 3 inches, cover with lid. Bring to boil over low heat. While beans are waiting to boil: take out 3 small bowls. In the first put chopped onion, minced garlic and oregano. In the second place cilantro and pepper, in the third fill with rum, sugar, tomatoes and lime juice.

Back to the beans: let it boil hard for one minute, then simmer another 20 minutes. Drain beans of water, and add stock. Bring back to simmer; if stock drops below bean level, add more stock. Cook 20 minutes then add onion, garlic and oregano; cook another hour until beans fall apart, stir occasionally so beans don’t stick to pan. At the end of 2 hours, roughly chop/lightly puree soup. Place back in saucepan and add tomatoes, pepper, cilantro, rum and lime juice. Bring to simmer, puree about half of soup and add salt to taste.

 

More soup please! I realize my recipe archive is slim, slim, slim in the realm of soup so I decided it is time to start sharing some of my favorite, soothing, bowls full of goodness. Soup is comforting, and can be just the perfect lift-me-up midday or otherwise. A bowl full of love for Valentine’s Day, perhaps.

My kiddos aren’t in love with soup, though, and in fact the word ’soup’ typically brings on that nervous, doubtful wince that says: I hope there is more than soup for dinner. Most of the time they associate soup with chunky pieces of who-knows what, a concoction of hidden vegetables and unrecognizable pieces of fish, meat or potatoes.

Because I want to change their orientation toward soup, I have decided to find recipes for pureed soups. And, I figure instead of answering “soup is for dinner,” I should try something a little more mysterious—perhaps in Halloween style—like puree of purple people eater for beet soup or cream of weeds for that time I made watercress and cauliflower pureed soup. Or maybe, if I am lucky, out of the many bowls of pureed warm, soothing spoonfuls I serve them, their taste buds will be convinced without trickery. And soup, in Halloween style (wait—isn’t it Valentine’s Day?!) will turn from tricks to treats.

This friendly soup will warm your soul. I have served it with Thanksgiving dinner (another wrong-time-of-year holiday?), as a starter for a special roasted pork dinner and by itself for lunch. It is so easy it almost isn’t fair. Oh, and of course the simple color and texture are kid friendly—plus it is healthy! I heart this holiday style, immersion blender (my true hidden agenda for finding pureed soup recipes) soup:

Curry Carrot Soup
4 T butter
1 cup chopped green onions (white and light green parts)
5 cloves garlic, minced
4 T flour
1 T curry powder
1 quart chicken broth (4 cups)
4 ½ cups carrots, diced
2 ½ cups whole milk
Kosher Salt Coarse Pepper (KSCP)

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté 3 minutes. Sprinkle flour and curry over onion mix, stir to coat for 1 minute. Stir in broth and carrots. Bring to boil over medium high heat; reduce to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes until carrots are tender. Remove from heat. Puree—with immersion blender if you have one— until smooth and return to saucepan. Add milk, then salt and pepper to taste. Gently heat and serve. I drizzle with olive oil and top with ground pepper.