Roasted Tomato Pumpkin Soup

The is a base for a great roasted vegetable soup. You can use most vegetables. I use this when I have a lot of vegetables I need to use in my refrigerator. I have added peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, zucchinis, squash. But keeping pumpkin and tomato in the leading role.

The soup freezes well, so make a large batch so you have an easy dinner for a busy day.

Ingredients:

• olive oil for the roasting

• 1 small pumpkin (Hokkaido) (400g)

• 2 onions

• 4 large tomatoes

• 400 g cherry tomatoes

• 2 garlic bulbs

• 1-2 chili peppers

• 1 bell pepper

• 1 ½ teaspoon salt

• 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme

• 2 ½ cup (600 ml) boullion (chicken or vegetable)

• ½ cup (ca 100 ml) heavy whipping cream

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 440℉ (225℃).

Peel garlic and onions. Wash and cut all the vegetable in chunks, and place them on a parchment lined roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt and olive oil.

Roast the vegetables for 20 minutes, then shut the oven off, letting the vegetables in the oven for another 15-20 minutes.

Pour all the vegetables in to a large pot. add the boullion and then let it simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Blend the soup either in a blender* or using an immersion blender. Add the cream and season the soup with salt and pepper.

Serve the soup with some good bread and maybe your favorite topping, like nuts, sour cream, or crispy bacon.

Enjoy!

* Be careful when working with hot soup in a blender.  If you need a new blender, consider a Vitamix. They are expensive, but they are worth all the money. They can liquefy almost anything and makes soup and margaritas so smooth and creamy. But the best part, you can blend hot soups without having to clean the soup of all your kitchen cabinets afterwards. Just saying. ;)

Lemony Kale and White Bean Soup

Lemony Kale and White Bean Soup

My mom often made kale soup during the winter months, but her soup was made with very fine chopped kale, it was kinda grated. It felt like I was eating the fresh cutting from the lawn, and the cut of meat was very fatty. To be honest, it was far from a favorite of mine, but my mom and dad loved it.

So here many years later, after I have been using kale in green salads, I wanted to try a white bean and kale soup, hoping not to visit my childhood kale soup traumas. Maybe that was why it took me years to muster enough courage to give it a try. As it turned out, this soup was nothing like my moms kale soup, actually it has become one of my favorite winter soups. The different textures and the tanginess of this soup makes all the difference. It makes an appearance on the menu in my house several times a month. It’s easy to make, and you have a comforting, warm, and healthy meal on the table within 25-30 minutes.

Normally I use Lacinato kale also known as Dinosaur, or Tuscan kale, but any kale will do. Just make sure to give it a rough chop, so you have something to chew on. If you want to keep the soup vegan, use vegetable stock and omit the chicken.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 1 clove of garlic, crushed

• ½ teaspoon rosemary

• ½ teaspoon thyme

• 2 lemon, the juice

• 2 liter (8 cups) chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

• 250 g raw chicken tenders, cut bite sized

• 2 cans cannellini beans, drained (not rinsed)

• 250 g fresh kale, roughly chopped

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottom pot over medium heat add the onion, and cook them until soft and translucent, you don’t want them to be brown. Add the garlic and cook for a little minute. Stir in the herbs, and add vegetable or chicken stock, lemon juice and chicken tenders. Cover, and bring the stock to a boil. Turn the heat down so it gets to a simmer. After about 15 minutes, season with salt and pepper.

Add the white beans and kale, and let it heat through befor serving. This will give the kale a bright green color, but keep it crispy. Serve the soup hot, with some good bread.

Enjoy!

Potato Leek Soup

Potato Leek Soup.

This soup is a classic in many countries. It's a good hearty everyday soup, that will heat you up and fill you up without robbing your wallet. And I love that this soup is easy to make, dinner is ready under 45 minutes.

Serve the soup with a cheesy dinner roll.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

Soup:

• 850 g potatoes, peeled and diced

• 3-4 leeks, rinsed and sliced thinly. Save a little for garnish

• 20 g butter

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1200 ml stock, vegetable or chicken

• 1½ dl (little over ½ cup) heavy whipping cream

• salt & pepper to taste

• lemon juice to taste

Toppings:

• bacon

• leeks

• parsley

Directions:

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan. Add leeks, garlic and potatoes, cook them for 5-7 minutes, until potatoes begin to soften. Do not let the potatoes get browned. Add the stock in bring it to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

Puree soup in batches in a blender* until smooth, and return to saucepan. 

Add the cream and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Serve the hot soup with the toppings.

Enjoy!

* Be careful when working with hot soup in a blender.  If you need a new blender, consider a Vitamix. They are expensive, but they are worth all the money. They can liquefy almost anything and makes soup and margaritas so smooth and creamy. But the best part, you can blend hot soups without having to clean the soup of all your kitchen cabinets afterwards. Just saying. ;)

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash Soup.

I love the fall season. Fall is the best excuse to make soups, and butternut squash soups are a fall staple here in the US. I earlier posted a roasted version, and to be honest I can't tell which is the best. 

This version is made mostly vegetarian, if you loose the cream and the sour cream and bacon topping. The crispy tart apples plays well with the clean flavors from the soup.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

Soup:

• 1 butternut squash

• 2-3 large potatoes

• 2 carrots

• 1 chili pepper

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 heaped teaspoon grated ginger

• 400 ml (1¼ cup) water

• ½ lemon, the juice of

• ½ teaspoon cumin

• 1½ dl (little over 1 cup) heavy whipping cream

Topping:

• 3-5 thin slices of bacon (+ a sprinkle ghost chili powder)

• 1 crisp apple, cut in small dices, dressed in juice from ½ lemon + ½ teaspoon honey

• roasted pumpkin seeds

• 1 chili thinly sliced

• creme fraiche (sour cream)

Directions:

Microwave the whole butternut squash for 2 minutes to soften it a bit, making it easier to cut.

Cut it in half, peel, deseed and dice the butternut squash. Peel and dice potatoes and carrots. 

Sauté the vegetables in a large pot in olive oil for a few minutes. Add water, chili, ginger and cumin. Bring it to a boil and cover it and cook it for 15-20 minutes, until the squash is tender.

Purée the soup in batches in a blender* until smooth. (You can also use an immersion blender.) 

Add the cream and season the soup with lemon juice, salt and pepper, heat soup through before serving.

Serve the soup hot with your favorite garnish and a slice of good bread.

*Be careful when blending hot liquids, it can make the lid pop off, and you may risk getting serious burns on you skin. You can remove the small cap on you blender lid and cover the lid with a clean kitchen towel. You need to hold on to the lid and towel. This will let the steam from the hot soup escape and avoid the lid from popping off. You can also get blenders like the Vitamix, where you can blend hot liquids, without any hassle.

Mushroom Soup

Mushroom soup.

With a bit of a chill in the weather, there is nothing like a bowl of hot soup. This is my take on a tasty cream of mushroom soup. And its way better than any canned soup you can buy in grocery stores. I got a bunch of mixed mushrooms to build a more complexed flavor. One of the best things about a blended soup is that you can sneak in different kinds of root vegetables for some added fiber, just keep in mind not to use vegetables with overpowering flavors and colors.

The addition of cream is optional, because most blended soups seems creamy without it.

Serves 4 as an entrée or 6 as an appetizer. 

Ingredients:

Soup:

• 1 red large onion, or 2 small, diced

• 1 large carrot, diced

• 500 g mixed mushrooms, chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 small sprig rosemary, leaves only

• 3 sprigs thyme, leaves only

• 100 ml white wine

• 800 ml chicken stock

• 150 ml heavy whipping cream

• lemon juice, to taste

• salt & pepper, to taste

Topping:

• 150 g bacon, diced and crispy

• parsley oil (Italian parsley + olive oil blended and drained)

Directions:

Fry the diced bacon crispy in a large pot. Put the crispy bacon bits on some kitchen towel to drain any excess fat. 

Cook the onion and carrot in the leftover bacon fat. When the onions are translucent, add all the mushrooms, and let them cook and caramelize. Add thyme and rosemary. When the mushrooms has got some color and lost its liquid, deglaze the pot with the white wine.  Pour in the chicken stock, and let the soup simmer for about 25 minutes. Let the whipping cream simmer in the soup for the last 5-10 minutes. 

Blend the soup, with an immersion blender or in a regular blender.* 

Season the soup with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Serve the soup with the topping. 

Enjoy!

* Be careful when working with hot soup in a blender.  If you need a new blender, consider a Vitamix. They are expensive, but they are worth all the money. They can liquefy almost anything and makes soup and margaritas so smooth and creamy. But the best part, you can blend hot soups without having to clean the soup of all your kitchen cabinets afterwards. Just saying. ;)