Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup

Served to us by a friend in Hobart, Tasmania, this soup surprised me with its good flavor and texture. Very easy and quick to make, and I won't nag you with how good it is for your health. The second time I made this soup, I threw in 1/2 cup finely grated raw carrot, that I had left over from making a carrot cake. Add the carrot just before you purée and serve the soup. No more cooking required. You are looking for texture, not mush.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tb Olive Oil
• 1/2 head Cauliflower, leaves and thick stem removed, and cut into florets about 2″ long, 1″ wide
• 1 head Broccoli, thick stem removed and cut into florets about 2″ long, 1″ wide
• 3 fat cloves Garlic, smashed, peeled and chopped
• 1 medium Brown Onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
• 1/8 tsp Salt
• 2 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 cup Milk
• 1/3 cup finely grated Carrot (optional)
• freshly grated Parmesan Cheese for garnish when serving

Instructions:

1. Heat Olive Oil in a large soup pot.
2. Add Cauliflower, Broccoli, Garlic, Onion, Pepper and Salt
3. Stir fry over High heat until the Onions soften, being careful not to burn the Onions and Garlic. Don't stop tossing the vegetables or they will burn.
4. Add Chicken Broth and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to Low and simmer until the Cauliflower and Broccoli are tender but not mushy, when pierced with a fork.
5. Add the Milk and grated Carrot if you are using it.
6. Remove pot from heat, and use a hand held blender or upright blender to purée the soup.
7. Serve hot in broad soup bowls, with Parmesan Cheese on the side for a garnish.

Enjoy!

 

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Soup — Black Bean Soup with Sour Cream

We have tried out numerous recipes for black bean soup, and this is our favorite one.

From the New Zealand Herald, 17 July 1995.

Ingredients:

• 250 gm Black Turtle Beans, soaked overnight
• 3 rashers Bacon, chopped (about 1/2 pound)
• 4 cloves Garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 1 stalk Celery, chopped
• 1 Carrot, diced
• 8 cups Chicken Stock
• 1-1/2 tsp ground Cumin
• 1/4 cup fresh Coriander
• 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper, or more to taste
• 250 gm Sour Cream, or Nonfat Yoghurt
• Chopped Cilantro for garnish.

Instructions:

1. Cook the Bacon over low heat in a soup pot.
2. Add Garlic, Onion, Celery and Carrot.
3. Sauté over low heat, stirring, for 3 minutes or until Onion softens.
4. Add drained Beans and Chicken Stock.
5. Simmer for about 1-1/2 hours, or until beans are soft.
6. Add more Stock or water if necessary, making sure the Beans are always covered with liquid.
7. Add Cumin, Coriander and Cayenne.
8. Stir to combine.
9. Use a hand-held wand blender to purée some of the soup to thicken it, or put about 1/3 of the soup through a food mill or blender. Return blended soup to the pot.
10. Reheat the soup and serve in bowls, garnished with Sour Cream and chopped Cilantro.

Enjoy!

 

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Soup — Carrot-Orange Soup with a Toasted Cashew Garnish

This is our favorite recipe from the 1992 cookbook: Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread Cookbook, by Crescent Dragonwagon. We prepare this soup before departing on a blue water passage aboard ADAGIO. It makes an excellent appetizer or main dish, and is sooooooo good for you, too!

This recipe serves approximately 8 people as a main dish.

Prepare all of the ingredients in advance, so that you are ready to add each ingredient to the soup as it is called for.

Ingredients:

• 2 T Canola Oil
• 1 large Onion, chopped
• 3 medium-sized Red Bell Peppers, diced
• 4 cups Chicken Stock
• 1 Tb Honey
• 1-1/2 lbs Carrots, peeled and finely chopped or grated
• 2 Tb Tomato Paste
• 2 Tb Long-grain Rice
• Grated Zest of one Orange
• 1 cup freshly squeezed Orange Juice
• Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper to taste
• Freshly toasted Cashew nuts, either whole or chopped for garnish

Instructions:

1. In a large soup pot, sauté the chopped Onion in the Oil for 3 minutes. Add the diced Red Bell Peppers, and sauté for 5 minutes more.

2. Add the Chicken Stock, Honey, Tomato Paste, Rice and Carrots. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until Rice is soft and the Carrots are tender.

3. Remove the pot from the heat.
4. Add the Salt and Pepper, Orange Juice and Grated Zest.
5. Purée some of the soup in a Blender, or if you have a Hand Blender, submerge the blade into the soup pot and purée the soup until smooth with small chunks.
6. Serve garnished with the toasted Cashews.

This soup keeps well in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

 

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Soup — Fresh Corn-Off-The-Cob Soup

Serves 4 people as a main dish

The Farmers' Market in Whangarei, New Zealand was a source of the summer's best freshly picked corn. We developed this simple and delicious recipe to enjoy aboard ADAGIO while were were stuck in the Town Basin Marina for ADAGIO's 12-year refit. Use very fresh corn. Keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the soup.

This soup is quick to make, and quite satisfying. You should obtain good results using frozen corn, but I have not tried this. Be sure not to overcook the corn, or it will lose its sweetness. If you cannot obtain Chorizo sausage, use a lean, smoked bacon, and remove the fat from the pan before you add the onion and garlic. Do not overcook the sausage, as you want to get your teeth into it when you are eating the soup. Be sure to use Sweet smoked paprika, NOT HOT smoked paprika. There is a big difference.

Ingredients:

• Corn kernels removed from 6 large ears of corn
• 1 T butter
• 2 T oil (1 T oil if you are using bacon)
• 5 inches Chorizo sausage, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds, then cut each round in half. Taste the Chorizo and if it is too spicy, use less.-
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 large, fat garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 quart (1 litre) good chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp Sweet Smoked Spanish Paprika
• Additional slices of Chorizo sausage, sliced and heated until crisp for garnish

Instructions:

1. Over Medium heat, in a medium sized soup pot, heat the oil.
2. Sauté the Chorizo and onion, until the onion is translucent, but not until brown.
3. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute more.
4. Add the corn.
5. Turn up the heat to High and using two spatulas or wooden spoons toss all the ingredients for a few minutes, until all is heated and covered with oil. Do not allow ingredients to sit in the pot. Keep tossing, as in a stir-fry, until the corn is heated, but not burned and not over-cooked.
6. Add the chicken broth and the Paprika.
7. Stir until the soup is hot. Do not boil, or you will overcook the corn.
8. Remove the pot from the stove top.
9. Blend the soup with a hand blender to thicken, but leave at least half of the corn kernels whole.
10. Garnish each bowl of soup with the crisp slices of Chorizo sausage.
11. Serve immediately with crusty bread and a little hard cheese.

Enjoy!

 

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Soup — Dorothy’s Crazy Mixed Bean Soup

Easy Peasy, as the Kiwis like to say. If you begin with a Ham Hock (Bacon Hock), the cooking time is longer than if you begin with three large scrumptious, fresh, herby sausages. Use the greatest variety of the most flavorful canned beans you can find at the grocery store. Use beans of all sizes and colors. An example of the labels on the cans I have used recently:

Moroccan mixed beans
Maple baked beans
Italian white beans
Red kidney beans
Beans with Italian sauce
Chick Peas
Borlotti Beans
Southern Pit Barbeque Beans
Black Beans in Chili Sauce
Fagioli Bianchi di Spagna (White Beans from Spain)
Deep-Browned Beans with Pork and Molasses

What you are looking for is FLAVOR with not too much hot spice.

Makes roughly 5 litres of hearty soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 large (or two small) Ham Hocks,
  or 3 large, fresh, herby Sausages, cut into large chunks
• 2 Tb Olive Oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, diced
• 3 Tb Garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 litre of liquid low-salt Chicken Broth, if you are using the Sausages
• 1 can Crushed Tomatoes
• 2 Tb Pickapeppa Sauce
• 5 or 6 cans of cooked, flavorful Beans, low-salt if possible
• 1/2 cup multi-colored Lentils, uncooked — Green, Red and Yellow Lentils, or whatever you can find.

Instructions:

If you are using a Ham Hock:

1. Put the Ham Hock Into a 6 liter Soup Pot and cover the Ham with water.
2. Simmer for about 3 hours, until the meat is tender, but not mushy.
3. Let cool. Remove the Ham Hock from the liquid.
4. Strain the liquid and set aside.
5. Remove the meat from the bone and cut into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
6. Discard the bones and skin.
7. Into a 6 liter Soup Pot, put the Oil, Onions and Garlic.
8. Saute' over medium heat until the Onions are translucent. Do not burn the Garlic.
9. Add the Ham Broth, canned Beans, canned Tomatoes, Pickapeppa Sauce and Lentils, and simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes, until the Lentils are tender.
10. Add the bite-sized pieces of Ham, and stir in to heat.
11. Serve hot with cheese, crusty bread or crackers, and fresh fruit.

If you are using Sausages:

1. Into a 6 liter Soup Pot, put the Oil, Onions, Garlic and cut-up Sausages.
2. Saute' over medium heat until the Onions are translucent, and the Sausages are browning. Do not burn the Garlic.
3. Add the Chicken Broth, canned Beans, canned Tomatoes, Pickapeppa Sauce and Lentils, and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Serve hot with cheese, crusty bread or crackers, and fresh fruit.

This soup keeps well in the refrigerator or freezer.

Enjoy!
Dorothy
S/Y ADAGIO
cookingaboardadagio.com

 

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