New Year Noodle Soup

Ok...the only thing I have to say is...Make This Soup Now.   Seriously.  This is one of the best soups I have ever eaten.  It's hearty, tasty, healthy, nutritious and really pretty easy,  I pretty much followed the recipe exactly as written and my husband loved (loved) it too!

I saw this recipe on the 101cookbooks.com website a while back and thought it looked good.  So I bookmarked it.  Then thegdkitchen blogged about it and I went back and looked at the recipe again and thought, "OK, I think I'll make this soup for New Year's Day."  And I am so glad I did.  It is delicious!  I'm not even going to retype the recipe.  If you want to make it (and I hope you do!), here is the link to it on 101cookbooks.com.

I usually annotate recipes in my books or ones that I've downloaded so I can keep track of whether I liked them or not.  And on this one I simply wrote:  Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!

And to be honest, I ate most of it with a fork!

Buon Appetito!

Mushroom, Barley & Leek Soup with Mini Chicken Meatballs

Ok...here's another one :)  I told you I was totally enamored with my new Soup CookBook!  This Mushroom/Barley soup is destined to become another of my go-to-favorites.  It's tasty and very hearty; perfect for a cool fall night; or if you're up North, a cold winter night :)  Do try this one.  This is a great soup to make with kids who will love rolling out the meatballs and they will also love eating the results :)  These meatballs are delicious served with pasta or couscous and marinara sauce or added to virtually any vegetable or grain soup.  And they can be made ahead and frozen.  The recipe is also easily doubled.  So for me, if I'm going to make 30 meatballs, I might as well make 60!

Mushroom, Barley & Leek Soup with Mini Chicken Meatballs

For the soup:
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large or 2 small leeks, white and pale green parts, thoroughly rinsed and chopped
3 cloves garlic, either mince or very thinly sliced; I prefer the latter as it seems to take some of the bite out of the garlic
1/2 lb cremini or baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup dry white wine or chicken stock
1 cup pearl barley
4-5 cups chicken broth, plus more as needed

In a large, heavy pot, melt the butter with the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the leeks and garlic and sauté until very soft, about 5 minutes.   Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add the tomato paste and wine, store to combine and cook for 4 minutes.  Add the barley and broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the barley is tender, about 45 minutes.  

Meanwhile, make the meatballs. 
1 lb ground chicken breast meat
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp minced flat leaf parsley, plus 1/2 cup chopped parsley for garnish
1 Tbsp tomato paste

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375F.  Line a large baking sheet with heavy duty foil and lightly coat with oil.  In a bowl combine the Parmesan, egg, bread crumbs, tomato paste, 2 Tbsp parsley and 1 tsp salt & 1/2 tsp pepper.  Mix thoroughly.  Then add ground chicken and gently mix to combine.  The mixture will be very sticky.

Gently shape the mixture into small meatballs and transfer to baking sheet.  My own note here:  Be very gentle when forming meatballs (of any kind).  You don't want to "pack them" together.  As you can see here, mine are kind of gnarly shaped, but that's what makes them light, not tough.  Bake until the meatballs are cooked through and no longer pink in the center, about 10-12 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.  

Add the meatballs to the soup and stir gently.  If the soup is too thick, add more broth and heat through.  Season with salt and pepper, garnish with the 1/2 cup chopped parsley and serve.  

I hope you enjoy this soup as much as my husband and I do :)

Buon Appetito!

Lemony Red Lentil Soup

I just can't seem to get enough of that new Soup Cookbook I bought recently!  Here is another soup I tried that is too good not so share.  In keeping with how I like to cook~~It's easy to make, comes together very quickly, uses seasonal, on-hand ingredients (one of my lemons :), and is hearty enough for dinner served with either cheddar biscuits or a green salad.

I like red lentils better than green or brown, although I do like them too.  According to this book, An ancient preparation~~this is the biblical "mess of pottage" for which Esau sold his birthright~~red lentil soup remains common today in Egypt and Lebanon.  Red lentils cook more quickly than other varieties and to me, are easier to digest.  I really like this soup.  Let me know if you do too!

Lemony Red Lentil Soup
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 carrots, finely diced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 cup split red lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 can cannellini beans, drained and well rinsed
1/4 cup canned, diced tomatoes
4 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of one small lemon or 1/2 of a large lemon
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped.

Combine the cumin, coriander and red pepper flakes and set aside.

Chop the onion and carrots and set aside.

Zest the lemon and freeze zest for later use.  Squeeze juice from lemon.  You should have about 2 Tbsp.

Measure out 1/4 cup diced tomatoes; refrigerate or freeze remainder for another use.

In a large heavy pot, warm the olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the onion and saute until soft, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the spice mixture and cook, stirring, until the spices are fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the lentils, carrots, tomatoes and broth.  Season with 1 tsp of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer until the lentils fall apart and the carrots are soft, about 15 minutes.  Add the beans and heat through on low, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.  Using a potato masher or fork, mash the soup to your desired consistency.  I don't like this soup too well pureed, so I leave it kind of chunky.

Add the lemon juice and warm through over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Serve, garnished with chopped fresh parsley.

This soup has now been added to my repertoire for quick weeknight suppers.  I hope it makes its way into your kitchen as well :)

Buon Appetito! 

Sweet Potato Chipotle Soup

Remember that wonderful new soup cookbook I wrote about recently?  Well this was the first recipe I tried out of that book.  Considering the abundance of sweet potatoes I harvested, I thought I would give this one a try.  And I was not disappointed...it was delicious and very easy!  My husband loved it.  Of course, he's never met a sweet potato that he didn't like :)  The soup has a mild chipotle flavor but you can adjust it to suit your desired level of heat by adding more.  I hope you try this one.  Even this kids might like it :)

Sweet Potato-Chipotle Soup
adapted from Soup of the Day
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 small sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or thinly sliced
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced
1 teaspoon adobo sauce (or not...depending on how spicy you like it)
2 sweet potatoes (1 1/2 lbs) peeled and diced
4 1/2 cups chicken broth (or you could use vegetable stock if you want to make the soup vegetarian)
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp chopped chives

In a large, heavy pot, melt the butter of medium-high heat.  Add the onion and garlic and saute until translucent, about 5 - 7 minutes.

 Add the chipotle, adobo sauce and potatoes and cook, stirring often for 5 minutes.

 Add the broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are very tender, 30-35 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

Working carefully, in batches, puree the soup in a blender.  Return to the pot and season with salt and pepper and heat through.  Serve, garnished with the chives.

I served this soup with a red cabbage and apple slaw and it was a delicious meal!

Buon Appetito!