The Healing Power of Soup

When I was little and felt sick – stomach sick, not head cold sick – my grandma used to make potato soup for me.  It mainly consisted of loads of starchy potatoes, salt and a bit of cream.  She said potato soup was the best medicine. It makes no sense in my grown-up mind to eat dairy when under attack from a stomach virus, but it always seemed to work then - and she had six kids so I know she knew what she was doing.

Recently, though, my husband had a head cold, so I decided to make a big pot of homemade chicken noodle soup. I’ve always heard it too was good medicine and make it often even if no one particularly needs a prescription. Sometimes I start with a mirepoix (sauteed carrot, onion, celery) and use my homemade stock and boneless, skinless breast or thigh pieces from the deep freeze for a quick pot or, when there is adequate time, simmer leg and thigh quarters all day, remove the skins and bones, separate the fat from the broth and go from there. Once in a while I like to add fresh cilantro and a dried Thai chili to switch it up a little. I add the chili in the beginning while all is simmering and the cilantro at the end to keep it a little fresh tasting. However I make it, I use garlic - and lots of it. I am a fresh garlic fiend and put it in almost everything. (Tried it w/ scrambled eggs once and it was…well, it just didn’t work.) 

For the soup, I put three leg/thigh quarters in a 10 quart stockpot, enough water to fill the pot halfway and twelve garlic cloves (yes, a whole dozen), and a couple teaspoons of dried thyme and sage and set it to simmer.  Four or five hours later, I pulled out the chicken and set it aside until it was cool enough to be handled easily, strained out the garlic, mashed and set it aside and separated the stock in my handy-dandy 4 cup Williams-Sonoma gravy separator. (I bought this one despite the price because I like the strainer top and the fact it is made of strong, shatterproof borosilicate glass - same stuff they use to make lab glass.)

Next I put the stock back into the pot along with the mashed garlic, three carrots and three stalks of celery cut thin with my Benriner Japanese Mandolin Slicer, 1/4 cup dehydrated onions, 1t fresh ground black pepper, 1t celery salt and kosher salt to taste, and the chicken (skin and bones removed).  Once the soup came to a boil, I added 1/2lb fusilli pasta and simmered until noodles and veggies are tender.   

Last thing is to serve up big bowls and enjoy.  Whether the health benefit of chicken soup is based on fact or fiction, I know a hot bowl of garlicy, peppery chicken soup makes me feel better. 

Meatless Minestrone

Friday was another meat-free day for the family, and I wasn’t feeling like another fish dish. While I was at the store, I spied a bin of very nice looking zucchini and started formulating a plan for dinner - I was going to make minestrone! I don’t know why I rarely think of making this traditional Italian dish - it's so easy and nutritious and everyone loves it. Minestrone is also very versatile - it can be meaty or meatless or use stock or be completely vegetarian.

Since the ingredients can be so varied depending on taste or by what is in season or available in the store or fridge, I started wondering about what makes minestrone minestrone. All the recipes I researched used beans and tomatoes along with a wide variety of vegetables. Still not satisfied, I pulled out my ever-useful Cook’s Illustrated yearbooks to see what they said.

On pages 6 and 7 of September 1998, I quickly found what I needed: Minestrone Deconstructed. According to CI, the word minestrone literally translates as “big soup,” and indeed is a hearty Italian soup suitable for a main dish especially when pasta or rice is added. It is composed of a balance of starchy veggies and “aromatic vegetables” which brings to mind the question – what exactly qualifies as an aromatic vegetable. I assume it is any pungent vegetable (onion, garlic, leek, celery, etc), but we all know what happened when we dare to assume…so I looked it up.
 

All information relating to “aromatic veggies” consistently pointed me towards a mirepoix of which I’ve written before (diced, sautéed combination of onions, carrots, and celery used predominantly in French cuisine.) I further learned the mirepoix’s Italian counterpart is known as a soffritto (means "sub-fried" or "under-fried" when literally translated - in other words, sautéed). And, unlike the mirepoix which is always onions, carrots and celery (usually of a 2:1:1 ratio), a soffritto varies by region. Northern Italy typically uses an onion, celery, carrot combo while the southern regions use onions and garlic. Also unlike a mirepoix, which is typically sautéed in butter (those French really seem to love their butter), a soffrito uses olive oil, of course.

The Cook’s Illustrated recipes uses leeks, carrots, onions, and celery as the aromatics and potato, zucchini, and spinach as the starches along with tomatoes, cannellini beans, basil pesto and Parmesan rind (for flavor and creaminess).

CI also lists these recommended alternatives: kale, Swiss chard, savoy cabbage or escarole in place of the spinach, fava beans or peas in place of the white beans, and green beans, tasty turnips, cauliflower, or winter squash (such as butternut) in place of zucchini or potato.

Here is how I made my minestrone:

~3 medium carrots diced, 1 small onion (diced fine), 5 cloves garlic (smashed) sautéed in 2T extra virgin olive oil
~Add in order: One 28oz can diced tomatoes and one tomato can of water, 29oz can light red kidney beans and 29oz can garbanzo beans (undrained), small bunch kale (chopped) and medium zucchini (diced), small piece of parmesan rind and salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
~Simmer until veggies are tender.
~Add 4oz dry macaroni and more water as necessary to prevent soup from becoming too thick. Stir every few minutes until pasta is done.
~Serve topped with fresh grated parmesan and enjoy!

Take Stock

Tonight I made chicken and wild rice soup for dinner with the leftover whole roast chicken I baked last night (recipe below) in my cast iron dutch oven (which by the way was amazing, tender and moist.  I will definately make whole roast chicken in the dutch oven again.  It was just an experiment but one that went really well).

Back to the soup - I started with a mirepoix (chopped carrot, celery and onion sauteed until soft in a bit of butter or olive oil), 2 bay leaves, 1t of dried thyme, 1t fresh ground black pepper, 1T Kosher salt, 1 cup of wild rice, 2 quarts of water and two of homemade stock (and the chopped chicken).  It was delicious - I'd say, largely inpart because of the stock.

I used to rely on Swanson's broth (in the can - I still use it from time to time in a pinch) but got brave a couple years ago because of Alton Brown and started making my own stock.  I use the pieces parts of the chicken - neck, guts, wing tips, etc - and simmer them down, strain out the bones and floaters, and freeze for later.  Having good stock always at the ready became somewhat of an obsession, and I now have a freezer full.  I started having the butcher save me his backs and necks and even boil down the carcass of whole baked chickens and turkeys after the meat is picked off.  If you remember, I also made duck stock for use in my New Year's Day stuffing.  And, yes, I did use this most recent roast chicken carcass to make another pot of stock I just finished squirreling away in the freezer. (PS - fried turkey carcasses are not fit for stock - icky - and smoked turkey stock must be marked as such because it can't be used as readily as other plain stock).

Alton Brown uses a bunch of herbs and veggies in his stock - and I did try his recipe - but I am pretty happy with my plain poultry stock.  It also appeals to my thrifty side because it is pretty much free.  Maybe instead of stocks and bonds, I can save money with stocks of bones. 

Roast chicken: Rub - 1T kosher salt, 2T Hungarian paprika, 1t ground black pepper, 1t white pepper, 1t cayane pepper, 1t dried thyme, 1t onion powder, 1t garlic powder ground together in my spice grinder (aka coffee grinder).  Pat all over the chicken and put in the fridge for a day in a gallon zip-lock.  Add 1T olive oil to dutch oven, add the chicken, lid and bake for three hours at 250 or until done (180 degrees or until juices run clear)

Soup's On!

This time of year I love to make soup.  Maybe it's because it's cold and dreary or maybe it's because many of the "soup veggies" (a.k.a. root cellar veggies) - potatoes, onions, dried beans, carrots, squash, cabbage, greens, parsnips - are in season.

Soup is nutritious and inexpensive and a big ole pot goes a long way (leftovers freeze well or make great lunches).  Consequently, we have soup a few times a week.  A big pot of veggie soup and biscuits is one of my favorites.  I start with V8, tomato juice or homemade stock, dried or fresh herbs (usually parsley, thyme and sage - sorry, no rosemary) and start adding an assortment of veggies - stewed tomatoes, corn, carrots, green beans, cabbage, onions, parsnips - I just keep stuffing whatever I have in the pot (this is a great way to get rid of levtovers too), add salt and pepper to taste, and simmer until tender.   

I often use dried legumes for added protein.  I either soak them overnight or simmer them on low all day.  Sometimes I cook double the lentils or beans and scoop out half, cool and freeze for a later date.  

Earlier this week I made navy bean soup.  It was nutritious, delicious and SUPER cheap!  I estimate I paid less than $3 for the whole pot.  $1 for the 28oz can of stewed tomatoes, $1 for the bag of dried beans, and less than $1 for the 1/4 cup of dehydrated onions, salt and pepper, thyme, and the hambone (stashed in the freezer after Christmas).

We also enjoy a big pot of beef and barely soup.  For this, I simmer about two pounds of beef shanks - usually three rounds of beef - in five quarts of water with three bay leaves and 1/4 cube dehydrated onions for several hours until the meat falls off the bone.  Next I skim off the fat and add the barley and cook until tender.  Lastly I add the shredded meat back in along with a 28oz can of stewed tomatoes, a T of worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper to taste (sometimes I add a couple beef or vegetable bullion cubes for a flavor boost).

Tonight, I experimented a little and came up with a real winner.  I started with some ham stock (left from Christmas) and enough water to equal about three quarts, 1/4 cup dehydrated onions and about three pounds (a dozen small) of peeled potatoes sliced into thin rounds.  I let the potatoes cook just until they began to break apart and added the last bit of the Christmas ham from the freezer - maybe 1/2 pound - chopped into small chunks and a pound of chopped mustard greens.  I simmered the soup until the greens were tender but still green and then stirred in 1/2 cup half and half, sprinkled in a little bit of kosher salt and about a t of white pepper.  It was delicious!

Soup is a great way to warm the belly, lighten the grocery bill and make the house smell great!  I say you start with a pot of water, add a little of this and a little of that and end up with a fabulous meal.  Those stone soup guys had it right (just remember to remove the rocks before serving). 

(P.S. I usually pair my soups with either cornbread made in my cast iron skillet handed down to me by my grandmother or drop biscuits that I like to bake in a muffin tin.)