9 Essentials of a cold weather puree soup

This is a base recipe that can be applied to any number of puree soups ranging from squash to potato. A puree soup is probably my go-to soup style simply because cut consistency doesn’t matter and you can use product that’s “going bad” or doesn’t look so good and still have a fantastic product.

Puree soups can also range in flavor from a deep savory to something that is light and delicate. 

Depending on what ingredients you use, you can go in a thousand different directions. This particular recipe I used carrots. I would use this recipe with four pounds of your selected product and start branching out from there.

Onions – once these babies start to caramelize, the aroma and flavor is soul-filling. It’s a little savory and sweet, yet mellow enough to not overpower your main ingredients. The onion also adds more body to the soup. Keep in mind that if you’re going for a specific color, the onion tends to lighten the color or change it to a light brown if you allow the onions to fully caramelize.

Apple – I just started using apples in my stock and soups within the last year and let me tell you - it’s a game changer! I use whole apples for this application because the seeds and core contain a lot of pectin and if you’re making this completely vegetarian/vegan it helps with adding more body to the soup. I wouldn’t use more than one per quart batch of soup, unless the apple is one of the main ingredients.

Ginger – I love putting ginger in everything… it’s so good! Just a little nob will do. I shave the skin off with a spoon and slice it thin. Cook this when you’re cooking your onions. The flavor mellows out as it sweats out in the pan, but still gives you a nice little zip. I use this mainly in this application to add some brightness in the dark coldness known as winter.

Fat – It’s all about the selection here! I think that butter is the best selection here, but you can keep in the cold spirit and render a few pieces of bacon; or use avocado or grape seed oil. I stopped cooking with olive oil because it has a prominent flavor and it loses its integrity very quickly when exposed to heat. Remember that when you sweat the vegetables that the flavor is absorbed into the oil.

Champagne vinegar – this is another great ingredient that I’ve just started using. I deglaze the pan with the vinegar so that the flavor is absorbed into the vegetables. Once cooked down, it’s more sweet than acidic, but still adds some great dimension into the dish. I just use a little splash, no more than shots worth. I chose to use this vinegar because it adds a bit of delicacy to the soup. Other varieties a such as balsamic, apple, rice wine, and sherry add depth and tend to be a bit stronger.

Salt and pepper – It is essential that you apply seasoning throughout the various stages of cooking to get the best results out of your soup. I add a liberal amount when I’m sweating out my onions. Salt draws moisture out and allows it to be absorbed into the fat which results in the flavor being dispersed through the mixture.

Stock – If you learn anything from this post it needs to be this. The secret to any sauce or soup starts with a great stock. I highly suggest making your own stock at home. However if you don’t make your own stock, I suggest getting an organic stock with low or no sodium. The ones that do have sodium in them tend to taste super salty to me and basically rules out your own tastes. With puree soups, I suggest using a vegetable or chicken stock. The flavors tend to be more neutral whereas beef or seafood stocks contain a more prominent flavor. Experiment with different brands until you find something that suits your fancy.

Blender – Essential of anything pureed. Get a good blender with a warranty, or something of the professional grade. When you’re processing your soup, do it in small batches to achieve maximum results. Otherwise you won’t be able to get a smooth puree, or you will burn the motor out of your blender… and nobody wants that.

Strainer - One thing I am a stickler for with purees is that the whole product is blended fully and pushed through a strainer. In the restaurant industry we use a chinois, otherwise known as a fine mesh strainer; but you can just use the finest mesh strainer you can find. This creates a smooth product free of any product that hasn’t been fully cooked out. In this recipe I found the skin of apples and some carrot fibers. No one wants that garbage in their soup!

Fall carrot puree soup

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

1 large onion

4 lbs carrots (medium dice)

¼ inch ginger fresh (sliced)

1 apple (quartered then cut in half)

2 Tablespoons butter

½ shot champagne vinegar

1 ½ quarts vegetable or chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Equipment:

Medium sized pot

Chef knife

Cutting board

Blender

Fine mesh strainer

Rubber spatula

Ladle or cup

Directions:

1. Place the pot on medium low heat. Once hot, add the butter and allow it to melt then add the onions and ginger. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until onions become translucent but not brown.
2. Add carrots and apple. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook until apples and carrots start to become tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Pour in shot of champagne vinegar. Continue to cook until the vinegar fully evaporates.
4. Add stock. Turn heat up to medium and cover. Cook until carrots start falling apart with a fork.
5. In small batches, transfer the soup to the blender and blend. Once spoon pour into the mesh strainer and push through with the rubber spatula.
6. Garnish with parsley and tarragon mixed into ricotta cheese or yogurt, lemon olive oil, cracked black pepper and nutmeg. 

Pickled spicy carrots

This week I found myself elbows deep in carrots. They were just everywhere! So, I decided that it was time we went on an adventure; and what better way to do that than with a pickle?! 

This recipe was influenced from a spicy Thai beef dish I did at The White Dog Café in Philadelphia. It's not the exact recipe at all, but I really like taking something sweet and turning it spicy. The complexity that results just dances across your palate. 

As mentioned before in previous posts (sweet-pickled jalapenos) pickling is a method of preservation that can extend the shelf life for months in an opened jar – even longer if it’s sealed properly. So this was my go-to method for utilizing these carotenoid packed roots.

This recipe calls for the hot pickling method (as opposed to a cold pickle) because the heat from the liquid not only preserves it through the acidity, but it blanches the product in the jar. I’ve found this to be beneficial with whatever I’m pickling that has the color red, orange, or yellow. You’ll see that once the heat is applied that the color intensifies and becomes super bright.

So what do you do with spicy pickled carrots?

Glad you asked!

To start off, simply add them with some pickled red onion and pickled Anaheim peppers to create a little pickled veggie salad. Toss in your favorite oil (make it Asian and use sesame!) to coat it; and season to taste. It’s not necessary to add anything to it though, they’re fantastic by themselves.

You can also serve these on the side or on the top of a dish; I’ve been favoring it with my eggs lately. I’ve found that they really bring out some wonderful characteristics when matched with a grilled or seared piece of beef or fish.

I would encourage you to substitute them in stir fry’s or any hot recipe where you see carrots. The vinegar, spices, and salt will provide a flavorful base for you to build off of.

TIP: If you add these at the beginning, they will break down further and caramelize. The vinegar will also reduce and become sweet. However, if you add them at the end of the cooking process, they will maintain their integrity and brightness and bring a little pop to the dish.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons pickling spice

2 Dried chiles

2 Tablespoons sea (or pink Himalayan) salt

¼ cup white vinegar

1 Tablespoon sugar in the raw (or honey)

2 cups water

3 carrots (shaved)

Directions:

1. In a medium sized saucepot or small pot, slightly toast the pickling spice and chilies on a medium heat. You should be able to start to smell the aromatics when it’s ready
2. Add your vinegar and water to the pot.
3. Add salt and sugar to the liquid and bring to a boil.
4. While the liquid is waiting to boil, shave your carrots down with a vegetable peeler. I took the top layer of skin off of them, then continued to shave down until there was hardly anything left.
5. Place the shaved roots in a jar. Place that jar on top of a dishtowel or something soft to act as a barrier with the counter and to catch any spills.
6. Once boiling, strain the liquid into a container and then pour it into the jar with the carrots. You can also strain right from the pot into the jar (if you feel so brave to do so).
7. Put the lid on your jar and pop it in the fridge. Allow to sit for at least 8 hours (ideally overnight) before using.

Garlic Confit

I recently had the opportunity to clean out my pantry and, much to my surprise, I ran into some old garlic that was going bad. Now, I hate to throw things out, so I decided to preserve them further.

In restaurant’s we have many processes that we use to both save and utilize multiple applications of the same product. The most obvious for me in this situation was to confit it.

The process of confit means to preserve in oil, or it’s on fat (when pertaining to animals). This will extend the shelf life up to a month, even if you’re working with old garlic.

If you are facing the same issue I was, simply cut the bad garlic out of the bulb when you remove the skin. Trim down any brown pieces off any cloves so the flavor won’t transfer into the oil.

This cooking process will yield you two products: garlic infused oil and slow-cooked garlic. Both of these products are really great to utilize in the kitchen. The cooking process mellows out the garlic flavor and makes it very rich and savory – not pungent at all.

I would use the oil in salad dressings and as a base in soups. My favorite thing to do is sauté my veggies in it before I add it to rice or pasta. You can also drizzle this on some bread and roast, sear, or press it to make garlic bread. Make it super garlicy and spread some of the confit garlic on there as well for good measure.

The actual remanding cloves of garlic will be light brown, a slightly roasted color. You can use this as a thickener and flavoring agent in spreads, sauces, and soups.

Fold the garlic in with some cream cheese or mascarpone cheese with onions, shallot, citrus, and herb; and you have a fantastic stuffing for a chicken or ravioli.

You can also blend this up with some marinated artichokes, sautéed spinach, and garlic oil to make a simple chip dip. Extra points if you add some chive, tarragon, and crab!

Prep time: 10-20 minutes (depending on amount)

Cook time: 20-30 minutes

Ingredients:

Garlic cloves

Fat (olive oil, grape seed oil, coconut oil, blended oil, or avocado seed oil)

Directions:

1. Trim the rough ends off the garlic; as well as any brown or green parts.
2. Place trimmed garlic into a sauce pot.
3. Pour enough fat into the saucepan to cover the garlic by at least a quarter inch.
4. Place pot on the fire and bring up to a simmer.
5. Allow to simmer until garlic is tender and slightly brown.
6. Remove from heat and allow to cool
7. Strain garlic from oil by pouring into a colander or fine mesh strainer. Make sure you have a container below the strainer to capture the oil.
8. Store oil and garlic separate in refrigeration. 

Pumpkin Hummus

Hummus is one of my favorite things to make. It’s perfect for almost every kind of situation and by simply creating a seasonal blend; you can really “wow” your guests with different variations. Simply provide some fresh bread/pita or some nicely cut vegetables and use it as a dip. It’s quite filling and satisfying.

Hummus goes great in flatbreads, sandwiches, purees, and dips. With the combination of seeds and nuts in one element, I lean heavily on making hummus as a go-to simple dish that is sure to please everyone.  I suggest toasting some bread, pita, or naan with chive oil and cutting some fresh veggies down. I’d also accent this with a garnish of toasted seeds/nuts or pickled veggies. 

Traditionally this dish is based off chickpeas, but I’ve found restaurants all over the place using any legume and then calling it a hummus. I would not call this a classical dish at all. I cook American cuisine and it’s a melting pot of local cuisine influenced by an influx of immigration.

This will really be something unique for you to enjoy so do so irresponsibly with an adult beverage. Cheers!

Pumpkin Hummus

Prep time: 5-7 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

1 can cannellini beans

8 Tablespoons pumpkin puree

1 juice and zest of lemon or orange

2 Tablespoons Tahini

1 clove roasted garlic (or half clove raw, 1 teaspoons garlic powder)

Salt and pepper

Stock

Smoked paprika

ground cinnamon

sweet and salty pumpkin seeds

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients (except salt, pepper, and stock) into a blender
2. Begin to blend.
3. Slowly add stock and thin until you reach your desired consistency.
4. Season to taste.
5. Finish with smoked paprika, sweet and salty pumpkin seeds, and cinnamon

Pumpkin Puree

This is a great recipe to add to anything and make it “Thanksgiving” themed. I’ve been using this in a lot of my recipes, and will be used in my next 4 installments. It's a really great thing to have around in the house as well, think of it almost like canned tomatoes and you'll be surprised of where your creativity takes you. 

Pumpkins are a really awesome flavoring agent because it’s kind of sweet and savory, combined with the spices in the puree, it adds a great complexity to any dish.

You can also use this as a soup easily by adding a few quarts of stock and 1 cup rice and 1 cup black beans to the base recipe. Finish it with some cheese, drizzle of sour cream, herb, and toasted squash nuts. You will need to season this to taste. I’d suggest using some orange juice or apple cider as well.

Add eggs, cream cheese/mascarpone cheese, and sugar; and turn it into a pie. Put it on a cookie crust and top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of ginger powder and cinnamon. 

You’re possibilities are endless with this great flavor base. Use it for an equal substitute with canned pumpkin in any recipe to make it your own.

Pumpkin Puree

Prep time: 10-15 minutes

Cook time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

2 quarts diced pumpkin

¼ stick butter

1 bay leaf

1 stick cinnamon (or 1 Tablespoon ground)

1 clove (or 1/4 tsp ground)

½ tsp nutmeg (ground or fresh grated)

¼ tsp coriander

1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger (or 1 1/2 T ground)

Directions:

1. Put a medium pot over the fire on medium heat
2. Melt the butter down with the spices
3. Once the butter starts to brown and the spices infuse, add the pumpkin.
4. Switch the temperature to medium-low
5. Stir mixture occasionally until squash breaks down like this
   
   
   
   
   
6. Transfer mixture to a blender and puree until smooth
7. Pass through a fine mesh strainer to make sure product is smooth
8. Return to the pot and allow reducing until it starts caramelizing (turning brown)

Vegan Chili

This wonderful crisp fall weather has me hankering for some mean chili. I think this hits just the right spot! 

There’s a good solid heat that still lets the beautiful marriage of ingredients to shine.

For me chili is really a celebration of the pepper; and I chose to use many different forms of it in order to build the unique flavor profile that is the result. I know this particular recipe is pretty intense in the ingredient list, but I do think it will be the best vegi chili you’ve ever had.

As far as the ingredients are concerned, feel free to mess around with them a bit. Like for example, if you don’t have the varieties of peppers or powders, just use whatever you can get – just keep the ratios the same and you should have a fantastic chili.

I chose to display this particular dish on a cheese crustini with a basil leaf garnish. However, I’d say that serving it hot in a bowl with some Mexican or cheddar cheese would be the most common. The fat content of cheese cuts through the spiciness and provides relief if it’s too spicy for your liking. You can also enjoy this irresponsibly with a few beers (of which I highly suggest).

This also serves as a great basis for some huevos rancheros. Just heat up the beans and put in a bowl. Top with some onions, salsa, avocado, sunny side up egg, and cilantro or parsley. Extra points for some melted Oaxaca cheese on top of all of this!

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons coconut oil

6 crimini mushrooms (sliced

6 shiitake mushrooms (sliced and destemmed)

4 medium onion (diced)

3 stalk celery (diced)

2 carrots (diced)

1 roasted red pepper (diced)

1 roasted publano pepper (diced)

1 pickled Anaheim pepper (diced)

4 cloves garlic (sliced)

4 tsp sriracha sauce

2 tsp mustard

2 dried Serrano chiles (chopped)

2 bay leaves

2 Tablespoons dark chili powder

3 Tablespoons cumin

1 teaspoon coriander (ground)

2 tsp smoked sweet paprika

1 tsp hot paprika

2 Tablespoons dried pequin peppers (chopped)

1 tsp cayenne

1 beer (lager)

2 tsp capers

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 can pinto beans (drained and rinsed)

1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)

1 can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

4 cups tomato herb sauce

1 med can tomato puree or whole tomato

2 tsp oregano (dry)

½ tsp basil (dry)

Directions:

1. Heat up a large pot to medium heat.
2. Put your coconut oil in the pot and allow to heat up (about 30 seconds). Add mushrooms.
3. Allow mushrooms to brown. Stir occasionally to ensure even browning on product. They should be ready when they look like the picture below.

1. Once mushrooms have browned, add the following: onion, celery, carrot, peppers, and garlic. Reduce to medium/low heat. Cook until onions become translucent.
2. Add your spices: sriracha, mustard, serranos, bay leaves, dark chili powder, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, hot paprika, pequin peppers, and cayenne. Allow to absorb into the oil/liquid. Stir occasionally.
3. Once incorporated fully, add vinegar, capers, and beer. Allow to simmer and reduce. You’re ready to move to the next step once it looks like the picture below.

1. Add your beans and tomato sauces. Allow to simmer for 1-2 hours.
2. Finish with herbs before serving. Use fresh if you can (preferably). 

Toasted CousCous and Wilted Kale

Happy National Kale Day!

I only thought it fit that given the name day that I do another kale recipe for you. I’ve been really into wilting fibrous greens into pastas or hot salads lately and I think it’s a great way to still enjoy the texture while not losing the green. This particular recipe is great served both cold and hot.

I know a lot of times if you braise kale or sauté it too long that it starts to turn dark on you. This also (in my opinion) allows for the bitterness to seep out and you really need to pay attention to the balance or it won’t taste light and fresh. The next few paragraphs explore how to use different varieties.

It’s also worth mentioning that there are quite a variety of kales out there and they all have a little something special about them. Familiarize yourself with what is available and start to explore!

I chose to use curly kale so I will explain why first. Your standard curly kale is going to be the toughest of your varieties and needs to be cooked or cut very thin to be able to eat it. It’s got very curly looking leaves (like curly parsley) and really has a fun texture when you wilt it down in this recipe. If you do wilt it down like we are here, I highly suggest ripping or cutting it into small pieces (half the size of a credit card) before wilting it. Keep in mind that the process of wilting will reduce the structure and size of the leaf so when you put it in doesn’t be alarmed if you suddenly think “I put way too much kale in this”. It will reduce down.

The next toughest would probably be the green or red Russian kale. I like using these in slaws or to make chips because they are pretty easy to cut compared to the curly. Furthermore, they still have a hearty texture so you can really let it marinade it a dressing for a few days and still have that great texture – but so much more flavor.

Lacinato kale is a lot more tender than the two previous varieties and can be cut large and thrown into salads. It’s a little sweeter and sometimes darker in color, which means higher nutrient content. It also strays away from the other varieties in its texture and shape. It’s got a very textured leaf, but it’s thinner and you can easily eat half of the stem raw. For this reason I like to use it in salads with fruits or some kind of sweet reduction dressing. I’d also suggest extra virgin olive oil or avocado seed oil because of their lightness.

Lastly we have Tuscan kale. Like Lacinato, it’s a lot thinner in its leaf spread and not as fibrous. I find that the local Tuscan kale to be very sweet for what I would usually classify as a “bitter-green.” This variety does not really hold up too well in a marinade, but great to toss into any quick sauté or sauce for a healthy addition. I’ve even put this on sandwiches/wraps and been quite pleased with the results.

Ok. Recipe time!

Toasted couscous and kale

Ingredients:

2 cups couscous

4 cups water or stock (unsalted preferred)

2 cups kale (ripped or cut)

1 medium onion (small dice) 

1 Poblano pepper (small dice)

1 garlic clove (sliced thin)

2 tsp smoked sweet paprika

½ tsp cinnamon

Juice and zest one lime

1/8 cup chopped parsley

1/8 cup chopped basil

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Sautee pan

Medium or large pot

Directions

1. Put both the pot and pan on the stove on medium heat
2. Once they start to heat up, put the couscous in the pan and allow to slowly toast (toss at least once a minute)
3. Then put some olive oil in the pan (enough to almost cover the bottom with a very thin coating) about 2 Tablespoons
4. Add your pepper, onion, and garlic. Cook until the onions are translucent. Stir occasionally.
5. Once onions are clear, add your spices and stir until incorporated.
6. By this time you should have been stirring/tossing the couscous and it should have some browning on the edges and some may even look slightly burnt. It’s ready now!
7. Put your couscous in the pot with the veggies and stir until incorporated and the couscous is coated in the oil. 
8. Once coated, add water and allow cooking until tender and all the water is gone (approx. 20-30 min). You may want to reduce to a med/low heat at this point if it is cooking too fast for you.  You can stir it here and there, but generally speaking: you should try and avoid it since it will disrupt the starch and you’ll wind up with a risotto style couscous.
9. Once cooked; add your lime zest and juice, ripped kale, and herbs.
10. Stir until kale wilts down to about half its size. You’ll tell it’s done because it will have a darker green color than before and be a lot smaller. Once it stops shrinking, that’s when it’s ready to be served!

Curried Butternut and Acorn Squash Soup with Apples and Potatoes

Fall is officially here! I don’t know if you can tell… but I’m super excited for fall/winter squashes, as well as the massive variety of apples that are on hand. Fall is also a great time to sit outside on the porch in a sweatshirt and enjoy a hearty soup that warms you from the inside out. So, I’ll explore a semi-spicy curry soup that’s sweetened with apples and fortified with potatoes.

I’ve been really into curries as of late, and this squash soup pretty much sums up why I like curry powders. Now I know some of you curry fanatics will inform me that this is not true curry – I know this! However, this recipe is probably one of the best I’ve come up with so far. It’s so exciting to make something this good on the first try!

The idea behind the multiple cooking methods is that the squash will break up slightly (as will the potato) and create a natural chowder consistency. This stew is vegan, so obviously there is no dairy. However, I think it replicates the consistency quite well and is really a great treat to have your soup thickened naturally with roasted squash.

This recipe is a bit more complicated than my previous ones. I chose to do this to really hit on some fundamentals of soup making. I’ll probably be go over some real basic stuff to help you build flavor in your soup so you can great soup from scratch all the time. I make soup to utilize little bits and things hanging around in the pantry or fridge. So, understanding these principles and how great you can make something is important. Pay attention!

Please take note as well that you will be making your own stock here. Stock/broth at the store adds up in cost and contains a lot of salt/preservatives – even when you get the organic low-salt variety. I should say that the stock should be on the fire for about 4 hours to really benefit from the flavor. Otherwise you’re just going to get a whole bunch of lame stock.

I also chose to cut the vegetables with a very small dice. If you want to save time cutting, simply toss it in a food processor or grate it on a box grater on the side with the largest holes. But, given the amount of time you will have with the stock, I suggest pouring yourself a drink and refining your cuts.

If done correctly, this soup should have the following experience: You taste savory with a hint of building spice. Once you think the spice is going to heat up your palette, it drops off completely (cut by the sweetness) and leaves you on the edge of your seat for a moment. Then, a slow heat starts to reside on the tip of your tongue that slowly builds as you eat more. It’s truly a fantastical roller coaster that will dazzle all your friends. 

Ingredients:

1 acorn squash (peeled, seeded, and diced medium)

1 butternut squash (peeled, seeded, and diced medium)

1 apple (any one with a sweet and crisp taste profile)

3 stalks of celery (small dice)

2 medium sized carrots (small dice)

1 large sweet onion (small dice)

2 garlic cloves (sliced thin)

1 orange

10 medium Yukon gold potatoes (skin on, diced medium)

1 tsp thyme or 3 sprigs of fresh time

2 bay leaves

¼ cup cilantro (chiffonade or chopped fine only once)

2 tsp of your favorite curry powder

½ tsp cinnamon

1 Tablespoon champagne vinegar

1 ½ tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp mustard (whole grain preferably)

1 Tablespoon hot sauce (your favorite variety will work here)

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Directions:

1.       Preparation

a.       Peel the squashes and place scraps into a stock pot.

b.      Keep the seeds separate in a container filled with water.

                                                               i.      Seeds will be easier to separate once wet.

                                                             ii.      Set seeds aside on a sheet pan, spread out evenly.

                                                            iii.      Allow seeds to dry while you prep.

                                                           iv.      Toast seeds with olive oil, salt, pepper in the oven at 300° F until super crunchy (about 1 hour).

c.       Remove bottom and tops of celery stalks and add to stock pot.

d.      Remove outer layer of skin on onions (learn how here) and add to stock pot.

e.      Peel carrots and cut off ends. Add scraps to stock pot.

f.        Remove outer skin of garlic and add to stock pot.

g.       Fill stock pot up with water – enough so that the scraps float up an inch.

h.      Add thyme and bay leaf.

i.         Put the pot on the stove and bring to a full boil.

                                                               i.      Reduce the heat to low and allow to barely simmer.

                                                             ii.      Keep on the stove for 4 hours.

2.       Roast the squash

a.       Acorn squash

                                                               i.      Medium dice the acorn squash. and transfer to a mixing bowl.

                                                             ii.      Add oil to the mixing bowl and toss the squash in it. You’re looking to just coat the squash.

                                                            iii.      Continue to toss and pour into the mixing bowl 2 tsp curry powder and juice of a quarter of the orange.

                                                           iv.      Add a generous amount of salt and pepper.

1.       I’d say it’s probably going to be around 2 tsp worth of salt and 1 tsp of pepper. But use your judgment and season to taste.

2.       Seasoning while roasting allows for quicker moister evaporation and a quicker caramelization process on the plant matter.

                                                             v.      Place in oven at 400° F until edges of squash begin to brown.

b.      Butternut squash

                                                               i.      Medium dice the butternut squash and apple.

                                                             ii.      Transfer to a mixing bowl.

                                                            iii.      Coat with oil as mention previously with acorn squash.

                                                           iv.      Add the cinnamon, paprika, and champagne vinegar.

                                                             v.      Season to taste.

                                                           vi.      Roast in the oven at 400° F with the acorn squash until it begins to brown.

3.       Cut your veggies

a.       While all this is going on cut veggies (carrot, celery, onion, garlic)

b.      They will break down throughout the cooking process, but it’s important to have them small. You don’t have to be super precise with your cuts here.

4.       Making the soup

a.       Wait until the squash is done roasting and the stock is about 3 and a half hours in or so.

b.      Put a large pot on the stove over a medium heat.

c.       Put some oil in the pot, enough to lightly coat the bottom

d.      Add in your raw onion, celery, carrot, and garlic.

                                                               i.      Keep this on a medium/medium-low heat.

                                                             ii.      I add a little salt at this point to add to the dynamic of the flavor. Salt aids in extracting the flavor from the product (which is the goal of sweating). I don’t do this when I am sautéing. I always season that at the end.

                                                            iii.      Stir occasionally until onions become translucent.

e.      Add both squashes to the stock pot, straight from the roasting pan.

                                                               i.      Any juices or remaining oil is a plus!

                                                             ii.      Make sure you soak roasting pans after the transfer so they aren’t hard to clean

f.        Allow ingredients to incorporate and heat up.

g.       Add mustard and hot sauce.

h.      Continue to cook ingredients until you start to see a little browning on the bottom of the pan.

i.         At this point, strain the stock into the soup pot.

j.        Allow to come up to a simmer

                                                               i.      While this is happening, start cutting your potatoes

                                                             ii.      It doesn’t matter if you add them all at once or simply as you finish cutting them. You want some to break down.

k.       Add potatoes into the simmering soup.

l.         Reduce heat to low (a light simmer)

m.    Cook until potatoes are fork tender.

5.       Finishing the soup

a.       Once the potatoes are ready, add remaining juice of the orange and cilantro.

b.      Season to taste.

                                                               i.      You shouldn’t really have to season much at this point. The flavor complexity should be showing through by this point.

                                                             ii.      Since you seasoned all the ingredients and you have a really great, flavorful stock – you shouldn’t need the extra few grams of salt.

6.       Serving the soup

a.       Serve with bread, crostini’s, or naan to dip with. I’d also recommend ethnic Indian crackers to eat with the soup. You could also get a little weird with it and use ginger snap cookies.

b.      Match with a fizzy or acidic drink.

                                                               i.      The heat may be too much for you to handle. However, you can make it spicier by adding dried peppers to the stock or when you roast the squash.

                                                             ii.      The bubbles in beer will help lift the heat off and cool your palate.

                                                            iii.      I would match this as well with either some kind of vodka and ginger beer cocktail. The ginger would both cool and accent the complex flavors here.

                                                           iv.      Steer away from gin in this application, it will have too much of an aromatic competition.

                                                             v.      White wine is a lot cleaner than red, so I think that the light fruit/acidity that it has to offer would complement this nice.  However, that’s not to say that if you have a lighter tasting red wine that it wouldn’t work.

                                                           vi.      Non-alcoholics will enjoy matching this with ginger beer/ale or a citrus based drink. Think orangeade/limeade base. 

Tomato and Herb Sauce: How-to

Anyone up to their ears in tomatoes? Well, first off – share some with me! Secondly, don’t let those delicious fruits get the best of you and wind up rotting away. These gorgeous colorful gobfuls of flavor are just waiting for you to use them.

One of the easiest and tastiest ways to preserve a tomato is with a sauce. Now, see, I don’t really like tomatoes all that much unless something is done to them. It’s embarrassing, but such is life. So, I’m always taking them and morphing the tomato into something spectacular.

This recipe explores a tomato and herb sauce. It’s pretty basic and comes straight from the garden (or farmers stand) so it’s not very labor intensive at all.

In the culinary industry, we are taught to concasse the tomato to make a sauce. This involves taking the stem out, making a few incisions, blanching them, cooling them, peeling them. I think it’s silly and it takes too long. 

However, my process still has the same principles in mind. Luckily there is more than one way to get things done in the kitchen!

Before I get into the recipe with you, I would like to bring up a few variations on the sauce:

1.       Romesco – add some peppers to the roasting process (seeded of course). Finish with lemon, basil, and oregano.

2.       Make the sauce more red – before transferring ingredients to pot, put about ½ tsp of tomato paste in the hot pot and stir until it starts to brown up and caramelize. This will make the sauce a little heavier in flavor and you may have to offset it with a little acid (white balsamic, lemon, champagne vinegar)

3.       “Fire roasted” style – keep the tomatoes in the oven longer until the skin starts to roast and gets black in some areas. Don’t peel the skin off! Simply add to the pot and puree it up after it reduces. This is also another way to add additional color to the sauce.

4.       Tomato soup – simply add carrot, celery, and onion to a hot pot on medium heat. Stir and cook until onions are translucent. Add 2-3 tablespoons of oil/butter and allow to melt/heat up. Sprinkle in some flour (enough to coat the vegetables) then add a large amount of tomato sauce (I figure 1 quart of sauce per 2 cups of additional veggies) slowly, while stirring. Cook that down for about two hours, blend and enjoy!

5.       Colored sauce – with the ever popular heirloom tomatoes, the color variation is superb. Follow the same recipe, but use yellow, brown, or purple tomatoes. I would suggest blanching tomatoes if they are green though – it preserves the color better.

So, as you can see by taking this very simple sauce, you can go much further. The best thing I’ve found to do is to do batches in different styles, then portion them off into pint containers /freezer bags and then freeze it for a later use. There’s nothing like having an amazing go-to tomato sauce right at your fingertips in the dead of winter.

Enough jibber-jabber; on to the recipe!

Tomato and Herb Sauce 

Ingredients:

10 ripe tomatoes (the big guys are usually the ones used here)

1 sweet onion (large dice)

2 cloves garlic

Olive oil

2 stems worth of basil leaves (or as much as you like)

3 stems worth of thyme leaves

(optional) “makes everything awesome spice” to taste

Mixing bowl

Oven

Large/medium pot

Stirring spoon

Sheet tray/cookie sheet

Blender

Strainer (optional)

Directions:

1.       Take all ingredients, except herbs, and toss in olive oil, salt and pepper.

2.       Place in oven at 400°F on a sheet tray.

3.       Once cracks in the skin form on all the tomatoes, pull them out and shut off the oven.

4.       When tomatoes cool, peel off the skins and toss them out

5.       In a pot on medium heat, place all contents of the sheet tray

6.       Once the tomato concoction comes to a light boil, turn heat down low and cover the pot

7.       Stir occasionally every fifteen minutes or so.

8.       After an hour and a half you should have been able to cook down the tomatoes pretty well.

9.       Blend contents in a blender, or use a little stick blender right in the pot if you have one.

10.   Transfer back to the pot

11.   Leave  the pot uncovered and add your herbs.

12.   Cook down for at least another half hour, or until color desire has been achieved, or you are satisfied with the flavor.

13.   Season to taste with salt and pepper or “makeseverything awesome spice”