Tag Archives: Soup

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Bisque of Clam and Chicken (Alice Wesner)

This recipe was revised from one within the Williamsburg cookbook by Alice Wesner.  As far as altering the recipe goes, she says that either shrimp or crab can be used to replace the chicken, if needed, and it is still tasty, although not as good as the original.
This recipe accidentally became a family tradition – she’d made it one year at Thanksgiving, and it received rave reviews.  The next year, there were no specific requests, and there was sadness at the absence of the Bisque.  Since then it has become a traditional starter for holiday meals, and now that I’ve tasted it, I can understand why.

1 1/2 c clam juice (from the can, top off with water)
2 T onion
1/4 c celery, diced
1 small bay leaf
2 c chicken broth
2 T butter
3 T flour
1 can boned chicken (8 oz)
1 can minced clams (8 oz)
1 c light cream
(salt and pepper to taste)
1/4 c whipping cream for the garnish

Simmer clam juice, onion, celery, and bay leaf for 30 minutes.  Add chicken broth and bring to a boil (you can strain it for a smoother texture here, but it tastes quite good without doing so).  While waiting, melt butter in a medium sauce pan and add flour.  Add hot stock, stir until blended.  Add chicken, clams, and light cream.  Season.  Simmer 20 minutes, stirring as needed.  Whip cream and garnish soup.  (Can skip the garnish if you want, still a lovely soup without it.)

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Dal Soup (Madhur Jaffrey)

1 1/2 c green or yellow split peas, washed
6 c chicken broth
24 black peppercorns and 10-15 whole cloves (in cheesecloth or teaball)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 – 3/4 tsp salt (only if broth is unsalted)

Garnish:  8 lemon wedges, 6 slices worth of croutons

Combine split peas and chicken broth in a pot and bring a boil.  Remove scum.  Add cheeseclothed spices, turmeric, and salt.  Cover, lower heat, and simmer gently for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until peas are tender.  Remove cheesecloth, squeeze into soup, and discard.
Garnish with lemon wedges, with the croutons on the side.

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Sunday Supper Soup (McCall’s)

As per usual, changed this one up a bit to give it more flavour.  Also, the original recipe called for onion soup mix – having issues with this, I used onions and garlic instead.

Meatballs:
1 1/2 lb ground beef chuck
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 c soft bread crumbs
1/4 tsp salt
1 T chopped parsley

2 T butter
10 oz or so beef broth
18 oz tomatoes, undrained
2 c sliced pared carrots
1/4 c chopped celery or celery tops
1/4 c chopped parsley
1 chopped onion
3 – 5 (or to taste) cloves diced garlic
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil
1 bay leaf

Make meatballs:  combine beef, egg, 3 T water or milk, bread crumbs, salt, parsley.  Mix lightly.  Form into balls.
Heat 2 T butter in 5 qt pot.  Saute meatballs, until browned on all sides.  Set meatballs aside.
Saute the onions and garlic in the drippings from the meatballs, adding more butter if necessary.  Add 2 c water, beef broth, tomatoes, carrots, celery, parsley, pepper, oregano, basil, and bay leaf.  Bring to boiling, then reduce heat, and simmer, covered, about 30 minutes.  Add meatballs and simmer another 20 or until meatballs are cooked through.
We served this over pasta and with grated parmesan, general theory seems to be it is tastier as a straight soup, just serve with bread on the side.

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Potato Soup (Madhur Jaffrey)

1 T veget oil
1/8 in pebble asafetida or 1 pinch
1/4 tsp whole cumin
2 medium potatos, peeled and quartered
2 T tomato paste
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Heat oil in 3 qt pot over medium flame, and put in asafetida and cumin, and stir once.  When seeds begin to sizzle, add potatos, tomato paste, turmeric, salt, and cayenne.  Stir and fry about 2 minutes.  Add 4 c water and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer gently for 45 minutes.  Turn off heat, mash potatoes.  Serve.

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Split Pea Soup (Betsy Codier)

2 lb split peas
3-4 qt water
1 ham bone or smoked ham hock
1-2 c chopped celery
1 c chopped onion
3 large diced carrots
1-2 bay leaves
1/4 – 1/2 tsp thyme
salt and pepper (and turmeric) to taste

Wash and sort peas, add enough water to cover them + s inches.  Boil for 2 minutes, cover and let stand for one hour.  Add everything else, heat to boiling, and simmer for three hours.  Remove bone, add diced ham if desired.  Fix seasoning.

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Vegetable Cheese Soup (International Cheese Book)

1 c grated Swiss Cheese (for three servings, in my household)
1 small, shredded head of cabbage (I got frustrated with the shredding and just chopped it up.)
1 large potato, sliced (thinner you slice, the faster the initial boiling goes)
1 Qt milk
3 T butter
Pinch salt, pinch pepper (Went a bit heavier on this for my household, though was still cautious)

Cook the cabbage and potato together in lightly salted boiling water until soft.  Drain.  Mash or mix (depending on your texture preference) together, and add butter, milk, salt, and pepper. Cook over a low flame for 10-12 minutes.  (I just waited until it seemed warmed through enough to be ready to eat.)  Remove and dish into bowls.  Spoon in grated Swiss.  Place under a broiler for 2 minutes, or until the cheese has bubbled and starts to brown.

Surprisingly lovely delicate flavour.  My housemates are both meatatarians, and there was not a single word of complaint.

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Chicken and Mushroom Soup (Wok Cookbook)

4 oz chicken breast

1 oz dried mushrooms

4 c broth (I used 1/2 chicken, 1/2 mushroom)

(opt:  1/2 oz Szechuan mustard pickles, 1 oz bamboo shoots, 1 oz cooked ham)

Marinade:  1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp white or rice wine, 1 tsp cornstarch (or flour)

Cut chicken and mushrooms into thin slices.  Marinate chicken (at least 15 minutes).  Bring mushrooms to a boil in the broth.  Take broth off heat and add marinated chicken carefully.  (Slipping it in with chopsticks worked well.)  return the broth to a medium heat and heat until chicken is done.

(If you want to use the optional ingredients, put them in with the mushrooms.)

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Potato and Leek Soup (Lifescript)

1 T oil
1/2 c finely chopped onions
2 c chopped Leeks
1 sprig fresh or 1/4 tsp dried thyme
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 1/2 qt chicken stock
2 c potatos, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 T fresh chives for garnish

Heat oil.  Add leeks, onions, and thyme.  Season.  cook 15 minutes.  Add stock, bring quickly to a boil.  Lower the temperature, and simmer until leeks are tender.  add potato and simmer until tender.  Puree.  adjust seasoning.  Garnish and serve.

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Onion Soup with Cheese Bread (KHR)

olive oil (veget) (1 1/2 tsp)
4 med onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced (originally 1)
1/3 c. apple cider (originally sherry)
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
salt, pepper, W-sauce to taste
6 c beef broth
shredded cheese
baguette

Heat oil.  Add onions.  Saute.  raise heat and brown onions stirring to keep from burning.  Add salt, pepper, w-sauce.  Add garlic, cook another minute or so.  Add cider, thyme, bay leaf.  Cook until cider is mostly evaporated.  Add broth.  Simmer.  Spice more if needed.  Heat broiler.  Slice bread, 1 per bowl.  Put slices on baking sheet.  cover with cheese.  Broil until cheese melts and bread browns.

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Mulligatawny (Madhur Jaffrey)

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
A piece of fresh ginger, about 1/2 inch cube, peeled and chopped
1/2 pound of boneless lamb (from shoulder or leg), with fat removed, and cut into 3/4 inch cubes
2 T vegetable oil (I used olive)
1 T white poppy seeds, roasted (3-4 minutes in a pan, stirring constantly) and ground (She specifies in the book that one should not substitute other poppy seeds, and I found them fairly easily for not arm and leg prices.  For the grinding I used my kitchen mortar and pestle, which worked quite well.)
1/2 tsp ground coriander (I’ve never actually seen it ground, so I used the m&p for this to, slightly more dangerous)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground tumeric (I misread this and used half, which worked)
1/2 tsp salt (if the broth is unsalted)
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 T chickpea flour
2 c chicken broth
1 T lemon juice
2-3 T cooked rice, or 1-1 1/2 T uncooked rice)

Put the garlic and ginger into the container of an electric blender with 3 T of water.  Blend at high speed until you have a smooth paste.  Set aside.
Pat dry the pieces of lamb.  Heat the oil in a 2-3 quart pot over medium high flame, and add the meat.  Turn, and fry until the pieces are lightly browned on all sides.  Remove, and set aside.  turn the heat off.
To the same pot, add the paste from the blender, the poppy seeds, the turmeric, cumin, and coriandor.  Turn the heat to medum, and fry, stirring constantly, for about a minute.  Turn the heat to low.
Now add the browned meat and any accumulated juices, the salt, the cayenne, and the pepper. Stir and leave on low flame.
Combine chickpea flour and 1/4 c water in a bowl, mixing thoroughly until you have a smooth paste.  Slowly add the chicken brother, stirring as you do so.  Pour this mixture over the meat in the pot.  Turn heat to high and bring soup to a boil.  Add uncooked rice if you are using it.  cover, lower heat, and simmer gently for a half an hour or until the meat is tender and rice is coked.   Stir in the lemon juice.
If you are using cooked rice, add to soup 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe claims to serve 4.  If this is all for the meal, it mostly feeds 2 ravenous male persons and a walnut-stomached me, quite nicely.