Kathryn Purcell via Gina Depalma via Secrets of the Best Chefs
SERVINGS: 6 TIME: ABOUT 1 hour
This soup is hearty and so good! It freezes well. You could easily make it vegetarian by skipping the sausage. And you could make it vegan by not using the sausage and romano cheese.
*8 ounces of sausage meat is roughly 2 links. I have used up to 4. Use as much or as little as you choose.
2 large links (about 8 ounces) of sweet Italian sausage [see Note] 1 medium onion, diced
2 celery ribs, sliced or diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into half-moons or diced
4 cloves garlic, sliced (reserve half for later in recipe)
Kosher salt
A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup brown lentils, sorted and rinsed
2 bay leaves
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
6 cups water
Freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 cups shredded or thinly ribboned Swiss chard leaves or kale Grated Pecorino Romano cheese to finish
On the stove: Heat 1/4 cup olive oil (enough to generously coat bottom of pot) in a large pot on medium to medium-high heat. When hot, add the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until it starts to brown, about five minutes. Add the onion, celery, carrots, first two garlic cloves, a pinch of salt, and if you like your soup spicy, a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook with the sausage until the vegetables soften a bit, another 5 minutes. Add the lentils, bay leaves, tomatoes, water (6 cups is, conveniently, a little less than 2 empty 28-ounce cans, so you can get any tomato pulp you missed), more salt and black pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. (It might be necessary to add more water if the soup gets too thick, though we preferred ours on the thick side.)
When the lentils are cooked, add the chard and cook until the leaves are tender, just a few minutes more. Discard the bay leaves.
In an InstantPot or electric multicooker: Proceed as written above, using the sauté function on high (I find this to be like medium-high on a stove) to cook the sausage and then vegetables. Once you’ve added the remaining ingredients, including dried lentils, lock the lid and set to high pressure for 15 minutes. Let it naturally release for at least 10 minutes (or longer, if you have time), to help keep the vegetables intact. You can manually release the rest. Use the sauté function on high again to bring it back to a simmer (this should be take no time at all) and add the greens; cook until wilted.
Both methods: To finish, divide soup among bowls, then add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and 2 garlic cloves to a small skillet (on the stove) and heat over medium until the garlic softens and hisses. Drizzle this over soup bowls, and top with fresh Romano, passing more at the table. Leftovers will keep for several days in the fridge.
We make this soup all the time. We always use red lentils, give it a good whirl with an immersion blender when done and put some grated cheddar on top.
My Favorite Lentil Soup
Jane Brody’s Good Food Book
Jane Brody
2 T olive or vegetable oil
2 c chopped onions
3 carrots, coarsely grated
3/4 t marjoram, crumbled
3/4 t thyme leaves, crumbled
1 28-oz can tomatoes with their juice, coarsely chopped
7 c broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable)
1 1/2 c dried lentils, rinsed and picked over
1/2 t salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 oz dry white wine
1/3 c chopped fresh parsley or 2 T dried parsley flakes
4 oz Cheddar, grated
Heat the oil in a large saucepan, and saute the onions, carrots, marjoram, and thyme, stirring the vegetables for about 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, broth, and lentils. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat, cover the pan, and simmer the soup for about 1 hour or until the lentils are tender.
Add the salt, pepper, wine, and parsley, and simmer the soup for a few minutes. Serve with cheese sprinkled on each portion.
Nothing better with good fresh corn. I like this recipe that we made recently with some local Ohio Corn
Corn Chowder
recipetineats.com
4ears of corn(or 4 cups / 750g / 1.5 lb frozen or canned corn, drained)
1tspbutter(or oil)
250 g / 8 oz bacon, chopped
2 tbsp / 30 g butter(use 3 tbsp if bacon is lean)
1garlic clove, minced
1small onion, diced (or half large onion) (yellow, brown or white)
5 tbsp / 60gflour
2cupschicken broth, low sodium preferred
3cupsmilk(I used skim milk and it was fine)
600 g / 1.2 lb potatoes, cut into 1 cm / 2/5″ cubes (about 2 large)
2sprigs of thyme OR 1 tsp dried thyme
3/4 cup / 185 mlcream
3/4 cupshallots, green part finely sliced (green onions / scallions)
Salt and finely ground pepper to taste
Cut the corn off the cob. Place a small ramekin in a large bowl. Place corn on the ramekin then cut the corn off. Keep naked cobs.
Place 1 tsp butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until golden. Use a slotted spoon to remove onto a paper towel lined plate. Leave fat in pot.
Lower heat to medium high. Add 2 tbsp butter, once melted, add garlic and onion. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes until onion is translucent.
Add flour and mix it in. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Add broth, milk, potatoes, thyme and bay leaf. Break naked cobs into 2 or 3 and add into the liquid. Put the lid on and simmer for 25 minutes (adjust heat so it’s simmering energetically but not bubbling like crazy or super gently).
Remove lid, remove corn cobs. Add corn and cook for 5 minutes or until cooked to your taste.
Stir through cream and 3/4 of the bacon and shallots. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish with remaining bacon and shallots.
French onion soup is definitely the perfect solution for being holed up on a snowy weekend. This soup is so easy to make and tastes so good when you use good ingredients. I followed Deb’s recipe on smittenkitchen.com, which is pretty much similar to other recipes but with a few extra details like most of her recipes. Caramelizing the onions for a long time and using Gruyere cheese produces a first rate product.
five cups of onions. about 2 1/2 of the big ones.
the onions after 15 minutes
the onions after 1 hour just before adding the liquid. I probably could have done them a little longer to get them just a bit darker but they were getting very sticky and I didn’t want to burn them.
I toasted the bread in a 400 degree oven, turning them every five minutes until they were very hard. Don’t use un-toasted bread or it will turn to mush.
ridiculously expensive… but so worth it.
into the oven they go
Olivia Newton John enjoying her soup.
I pretty much followed the recipe below except I didn’t add the raw onion and the cognac at the end. It turned out perfectly.
1 1/2 pounds (680 grams or 24 ounces or about 5 cups) thinly sliced yellow onions
3 tablespoons (42 grams or 1 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 grams) table salt, plus additional to taste
1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) granulated sugar (helps the onions to brown)
3 tablespoons (24 grams or 7/8 ounce) all-purpose flour
2 quarts (8 cups or 1.9 liters) beef or other brown stock*
1/2 cup (118 ml) dry white wine or dry white vermouth
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons (45 ml) cognac or brandy (optional)
To finish [Gratinée] (Optional)
1 tablespoon grated raw onion
1 to 2 cups (to taste) grated Swiss (I often use Gruyere) or a mixture of Swiss and Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon butter, melted
12 to 16 1-inch thick rounds French bread, toasted until hard
Melt the butter and oil together in the bottom of a 4- to 5-quart saucepan or Dutch oven over moderately low heat. Add the onions, toss to coat them in oil and cover the pot. Reduce the heat to real low and let them slowly steep for 15 minutes. They don’t need your attention; you can even go check your email.
After 15 minutes, uncover the pot, raise the heat slightly and stir in the salt and sugar. Cook onions, stirring frequently, for 30 to 40 minutes until they have turned an even, deep golden brown. Don’t skimp on this step, as it will build the complex and intense flavor base that will carry the rest of the soup. Plus, from here on out, it will be a cinch.
After the onions are fully caramelized, sprinkle them with flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the wine in full, then stock, a little at a time, stirring between additions. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and simmer partially covered for 30 to 40 more minutes, skimming if needed. Correct seasonings if needed but go easy on the salt as the cheese will add a bit more saltiness and I often accidentally overdo it. Stir in the cognac, if using. I think you should.
Set aside until needed. I find that homemade onion soup is so deeply fragrant and flavor-rich that it can stand alone, but that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy the graitinéed top once in a while. Here’s how to pull it off:
Preheat oven to 325. Arrange six ovenproof soup bowls or crocks on a large, foil-lined baking sheet. Bring the soup back to a boil and divide among six bowls. To each bowl, add 1/2 teaspoon grated raw onion and a tablespoon of grated cheese. Stir to combine. Dab your croutons with a tiny bit of butter and float a few on top of your soup bowls, attempting to cover it. Mound grated cheese on top of it; how much you use will be up to you. [Julia Child, in another era, felt that 1/2 cup of grated cheese could be divided among 6 bowls. I can assure you that if you’d like your gooey bubbling cheese lid to be anything like what you get at your local French restaurant, you are looking to use more, such as a generous 1/4 cup.]
Bake soups on tray for 20 minutes, then preheat broiler. Finish for a minute or two under the broiler to brown the top lightly. Grab pot holders, and serve immediately.
* Porcini or mushroom stock are a robust vegetarian substitution.
We have been making this soup for years whenever we have left over ham and a ham bone. It always tastes better the next day.
Senate Bean Soup
Soup Suppers, Arthur Schwartz
1 lb. dried white beans, rinsed and picked over
1 small ham hock (we usually use the left over bone from a ham)
3 quarts water
1 large onion
6 to 8 celery ribs, finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves
Soak the rinsed beans overnight in cold water to cover by several inches. (we usually skip this as we aren’t thinking that much ahead. Just a couple of hours soak helps though if you have time).
In a 5 to 6 quart pot, combine the drained beans, ham hock, and water. Cover and bring to a boil; adjust the heat, partially cover, and simmer briskly until the beans are tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the onion, celery, garlic, potato, salt and pepper. Keep at a steady simmer another hour, stirring occasionally, until the beans are very tender and the soup is very thick.
Remove the ham hock and, if desired, strip the meat off the bones and put into soup. (we usually add more left over ham if we have it)
2 cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only)
1/2 cup chopped peeled carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 small Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried sage leaves
5 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
1 1/2 cups apple cider
2/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream
Chopped fresh chives
Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add squash, leeks, carrot and celery; sauté until slightly softened, about 15 minutes. Mix in apples, thyme and sage. Add stock and 1 cup cider and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until apples are tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly.
Working in batches, purée soup in blender. Return soup to pan. Boil remaining 1/2 cup cider in heavy small saucepan until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 5 minutes. Cool. Place sour cream in small bowl. Whisk in reduced cider. (Soup and cider cream can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)
Bring soup to simmer. Mix in whipping cream. Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle with cider cream. Top with chives.
Mix package of ground turkey, one egg, about ½ cup parmesean, dried parsley and salt and pepper. Mix together and form into small, quarter size meatballs. Refrigerate.
Make soup with 8-10 cups chicken broth. Chop up a head of escarole and add to broth. Add meatballs when escarole is cooked.
Cook 1 cup of orzo separately and add to soup when serving.
Sauté onion and garlic in small amount of oil in large pot. Add spinach and cook down with the onion and garlic for a few minutes. Add the broth, salt, pepper, seasoned salt etc.. (Season well – yogurt will neutralize flavor). Add rice. Simmer for 20 minutes or until rice and spinach are tender. Turn off heat and let soup cool down to almost room temperature. Whisk the yogurt for a minute or two and slowly pour and mix into the soup. Reheat the soup slowly at low heat as the yogurt will curdle if brought to the boiling point. (If the yogurt does curdle, the soup is still good). Can also be eaten cold or at room temperature.
Eat On Edgecliff 