Soup Night (10 page)

Serves 6–8

Leftover turkey would also work in this recipe — delicious and quick.

• 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
  
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size pieces
  
• 2 medium onions, chopped
  
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 6 cups chicken broth
  
• 2 (16-ounce) cans pumpkin purée
  
• 1 cup frozen corn
  
• ²
  ⁄
  ₃
  cup uncooked rice
  
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  teaspoon salt
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  

1. 1.
   Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the chicken, onions, bell peppers, and garlic. Sauté until the chicken is no longer pink, 6 to 8 minutes.
   
2. 2.
   Add the broth, pumpkin, corn, rice, basil, salt, and pepper. Stir well and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Serve hot.
   

Make ahead?
Complete the soup as much as a day ahead; refrigerate.

For large crowds:
This soup multiplies successfully.

Recipe from
Grace Martin
, Aurora, Illinois

Serves 6

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
  
• 4 cups chicken broth
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup uncooked rice
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  
• 2 cups shredded cooked turkey
  
• 1 (11-ounce) can whole-kernel corn with red and green peppers, undrained
  
• 1 cup picante sauce
  
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
  
• 2 corn tortillas
  
• Cooking spray
  
• Sour cream, for garnish
  

1. 1.
   Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the broth, rice, and cumin; bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, until the rice is almost tender. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
   
2. 2.
   Stir in the turkey, corn, picante sauce, 1 tablespoon of the cilantro, and the lime juice. Simmer until the soup is warmed through and the rice is completely tender.
   
3. 3.
   Meanwhile, cut the tortillas into thin strips, place the strips in a single layer on a baking sheet, and spray with cooking spray. Bake about 10 minutes, until golden brown.
   
4. 4.
   Serve the soup topped with tortilla strips, sour cream, and the remaining 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (1 teaspoon per serving).
   

Make ahead?
Make the soup (steps 1 and 2); refrigerate. Make the tortilla crisps; store in an airtight container.

For large crowds:
As long as you have the turkey, you can multiply this as much as you like.

Serves 6–8

On the other hand, if you had ham for Thanksgiving (well, it could happen) and have some leftovers of that, I urge you to try this soup. The recipe came to me from the sister of a long-ago boyfriend; I’ve lost track of both, but I think about them every time I make this soup, which is often. In their family it was always called “the famous cabbage soup,” so that is now the official name. This is one of those recipes that don’t reveal their true nature on paper; just reading it, you wouldn’t have any idea how delicious it is.

• 2 tablespoons butter
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup diced onion
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup diced celery
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup chopped green or red bell pepper
  
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  
• 6 cups boiling water
  
• 4 cups finely chopped cabbage
  
• 4 cups cubed ham
  
• 2 bay leaves
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  teaspoon salt
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  
• 1
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cups sour cream
  
• Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
  

  Notes:
  Use real butter (it matters), but nonfat sour cream works perfectly in this soup. I left the celery in the recipe, for verisimilitude, but when I make this soup I prefer to leave it out.
  

1. 1.
   Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and bell pepper, and sauté until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables, stir well, and cook for 1 minute. Slowly stir in the boiling water.
   
2. 2.
   Add the cabbage, ham, and bay leaves, and simmer until the cabbage is crisp-tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
   
3. 3.
   Stir in the sour cream and simmer until heated through. Serve hot with parsley to garnish.
   

Make ahead?
Prepare step 1. I don’t much care for the texture of the cabbage when it is overcooked, so I would start with step 2 at dinnertime.

For large crowds:
I have been known to make this soup for 50 people, so feel free to multiply as needed.

Montpelier, Vermont

“A few weeks ago, we began a new tradition in our home: Monday Soup Night.” That was my introduction to Lisa, who hosted a soup night once a week in the fall and winter months. Although this group is smaller than some of those described in these pages, the basic idea is the same: get some folks together for a simple, delicious meal of soup and bread, and watch what happens. Lisa’s friends and neighbors bring a potluck collection of ingredients and they do the cooking together, which admittedly is easier with a small group, and a lot more fun.

Lisa herself picks up the story:

“A good friend of ours recently moved back to the area, and we wanted to have her over for dinner. She brought a butternut squash, which we turned into soup; last week [this was November] we made a carrot soup (we still have loads in our garden) and a potato soup; and now we’ve decided that these weekly soup meals are official.”

I really love Lisa’s thoughtful comments about the virtue of Soup Night, and am grateful for her permission to share them with you:

Cooking together
. “Making meals with friends is more fun than cooking alone. One of the main parts of the evening is making a meal from scratch together.”

Potluck.
“We talk during the day about what kind of soup we’ll make, depending on what ingredients everyone already has. One person may have leeks, potatoes, and bread, the other may have vegetable broth, and apples for an apple crisp.”

The cold.
“Winter in New England lasts a long time, usually November to April. Soups are a wonderful way to warm up.”

For health.
“Soup broth absorbs the vitamins and minerals from its ingredients. A vegetable soup made with beans and grains is extra healthy and wholesome.”

Simple living.
“Living simply is about choosing experiences over stuff. Cooking the meal, sipping on a glass of wine or beer while cooking, and enjoying conversation all become an activity prior to the actual eating. I love finding new ways to spend time with the people I care about.”

Low cost.
“While we didn’t specifically start Soup Night as part of Meatless Mondays, it’s turning out to be that way. Making a hearty vegetarian soup with a homemade bread is a pretty cheap meal. Healthy can be affordable.”

• Carrot-Ginger Soup
  
• Borscht
  

Recipe from
Lisa Fine
, Montpelier, Vermont

Serves 6

This soup would be lovely with a swirl of crème fraîche (see
page 237
).

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1 large onion, chopped
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 4 cups water or vegetable broth
  
• 1 pound carrots, sliced
  
• 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  
• Crème fraîche (optional)
  

1. 1.
   Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the water and carrots and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the carrots can be easily pierced with a fork.
   
2. 2.
   Transfer the soup to a blender (careful, it’s hot) and purée until smooth, and return it to the pot. Or use an immersion blender and purée the soup right in the pot. Stir in the ginger.
   
3. 3.
   Reheat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with a dollop of crème fraîche, if desired.
   

Make ahead?
This soup is easily made a day ahead; refrigerate.

For large crowds:
Also easy to multiply.

To get the incomparable taste of fresh ginger without adding actual pieces of ginger to your soup (some people don’t like to bite into it), try making “ginger juice.” Place a paper towel on a small dish and grate fresh ginger directly onto it. When you have a small mound, wrap the paper towel tightly and squeeze directly over the dish, catching the liquid.

Serves 6–8

Several folks who host soup nights have the tradition of serving an orange soup and a black soup in October, in honor of Halloween. You have several options for the orange — carrots, pumpkin, or butternut squash, all of which are represented in this book. For the black, the obvious choice is the classic black bean. You might entice your kids to try it if you call it something like Witch’s Stew. Or try this version, with an unusual but delicious Latin American touch — bananas.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 2 medium onions, minced
  
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 3 (15-ounce) cans black beans; or 6 cups cooked black beans with
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup of the cooking liquid (see
  page 27
  )
  
• 4 cups chicken broth
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  pound cooked ham, cut into bite-size pieces
  
• 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
  
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  teaspoon ground cumin
  
• Dash Tabasco
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  
• Ripe bananas, sliced, as garnish (4–5 slices per serving)
  

1. 1.
   Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute longer.
   
2. 2.
   Drain two of the cans of black beans, and then add them plus the third can with its liquid to the pot. Mash the beans lightly with a potato masher; you want a mixture of whole beans and bean pulp.
   
3. 3.
   Add the broth, ham, tomatoes with their juice, vinegar, cumin, Tabasco, salt, and black pepper to taste. Simmer to heat everything through and allow the flavors to blend, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
   
4. 4.
   Top each serving with banana slices; have extra banana slices on the table so folks can add more if they wish.
   

Make ahead?
All the way through step 3; refrigerate.

For large crowds:
Easily multiplied.

For vegetarians:
Just leave out the ham, and use water or vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth.