Ale, cheddar, cauliflower soup to warm your bones!

Here in Brooklyn, there is a chill in the air, the leaves have mostly changed and fallen and people are hunkering down for the winter months to come. This can only mean one thing: it is prime soup making/eating time! On a chilly evening in late November, Judy and I gathered to make a very hearty soup that would sit in our bellies (and our hearts). Get ready for the magik of ale, cheddar, cauliflower soup! Judy describes this soup as "complex", which is a very apt description. You can distinctly taste each of the three main ingredients, but they hit you at different times. Talk about soup magik....We followed a recipe from Mark Bittman in the NY Times pretty closely, with just minor adjustments. As always, we made the vegetarian version of this soup, but there are optional meaty additions.

Here's what we did:

Time: 30 to 40 minutes

2 tablespoons butter

4 ounces bacon, chopped, optional

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 medium celery rib, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Salt and black pepper

1 small cauliflower, cored and chopped

2 12-ounce bottles Brooklyn Local 2, Westmalle Dubbel or another beer in the Belgian dark-abbey-ale style- we used Westmalle Trappist Ale, but we would recommend a lighter ale if you want a less bitter, beery taste

3 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 bay leaf

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon mustard- we used a spicy Polish mustard called Kosciusko mustard- yum!

Judy had so many different kinds of mustard to choose from- which one will do?

Kosciusko wins! Because it smells delicious !

8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Chopped fresh cilantro or chives for garnish

1. Put the butter in a large pot over medium heat. When it melts, add the bacon (if you’re using it) and cook until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and some salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften. About 5 minutes.

2. Add the cauliflower, beer, stock, bay leaf and cayenne. Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles steadily; cover and cook until the cauliflower is very tender, 10 to 15 minutes more. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the mustard, and purée the soup with an immersion blender or semi-purée it with a potato masher. We used a hand-held immersion blender which was not only convenient, but also fun!

The magik ingredient: TONS OF CHEDDAR CHEESE:

3. Toss together the cheddar and cornstarch. Add the cheese mixture to the soup a handful at a time, stirring all the while, until it’s well incorporated and the soup is smooth. Serve hot, garnished with the herb. We served the soup with some toasted potato bread and just a taste of left-over beer! Bon soup apetit!

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

* This soup ends up tasting strongly like the beer. If you aren't a big fan of the taste of beer, but are still interested in the soup, Judy and I strongly recommend that you use a lighter beer and less of it. Substitute stock for some of the beer.

Finished product!

Jude enjoys the fruits of our labors:

Un'Phở'gettable Soup

Soup is the life

Soup is the bounty of life
The earth gives to us her bounty
And we return the favor
By making yummy soup!

These are the first lines of ‘Soup is the Life,’ a lively tune that was to be the theme song of the ‘Soup is Magik’ blog. Unfortunately, Dara and I were in such soup-making ecstasies as we improvised on the melodies, we forgot to write them down. I’m sure they were great. If you have any ideas on what tune we should use for the ‘Soup is Magik’ theme song, let us know. In the meantime, here is a delicious vegetarian Phở soup recipe to get you in the mood for Fall’s soup-making season. It’s taken from thekitchn.com website, with a few minor adjustments for us soup amateurs:

Vegetarian Phở (Vietnamese Noodle Soup)

Serves 3

Broth


1 large onion, peeled and halved


a few chunks of fresh ginger root, around 2 inches each


3-inch cinnamon stick

2 cloves


1 teaspoon coriander seeds


6 cups unsalted vegetable stock


4 teaspoons soy sauce


6 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped

Noodles


1/2 pound dried flat rice noodles (known as bánh phở; use 1/16", 1/8", or 1/4" width depending on availability and preference). We weren’t able to find these, so we used vermicelli rice noodles, which worked just fine.

Toppings (optional)


Protein such as fried or baked tofu, bean curd skin, or seitan
, mushrooms
, vegetables such as bok choy, napa cabbage, or broccoli.

Garnishes

1/2 onion, very thinly sliced
, 2 scallions, thinly sliced, 
1 chile pepper (Thai bird, serrano, or jalapeño), sliced, 
1 lime, cut into wedges, 
1 cup bean sprouts
.

Large handful of herbs: cilantro, Thai basil, culantro/saw-leaf herb


Hoisin sauce, sriracha (optional)

For the broth

Char onion and ginger over an open flame (holding with tongs) or directly under a broiler until slightly blackened, about 5 minutes on each side. Rinse with water.
Dara and I charred them over the stove flame, which was kind of fun, like S’mores-making. However, it would probably be faster to broil ‘em.

In a large pot, dry roast cinnamon, cloves, and coriander over medium-low heat, stirring to prevent burning. When spices are aromatic, add vegetable stock, soy sauce, carrots, and charred onion and ginger.

Bring broth to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Strain and keep hot until ready to serve.

For the noodles
 While broth is simmering, place noodles in a large bowl and cover with hot water. Let stand for 20-30 minutes or until tender but still chewy. Drain. (If soaking does not soften the noodles enough, blanch them in a pot of boiling water for a few seconds.)

For the toppings (optional)
 While broth is simmering, prepare toppings as desired – slice and cook tofu, lightly steam or blanch vegetables, etc. Toppings should be unseasoned or only lightly seasoned so as not to interfere with the flavor of the broth.

To serve


Divide noodles between three bowls. We added some of the vegetables that had been boiled in the broth too. They were tasty, and we just hate to waste!

Arrange toppings over noodles. Ladle about 2 cups of broth into each bowl. Serve with garnishes on the side, which diners should add to taste. Be happy because you are eating delicious, nutritious soup.

The end

Summer in the City, and the Livin' is Soupy

Well hello summer soup fans!

Judy and I are well aware that we have been slacking on our soup-making duties, but fear not. We have not forsaken soup! We are making soup even in the midst of the dog days of summer. One evening in late July, Judy and I decided to take a long overdue soup journey. We both have shares in different CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) in Brooklyn and we decided to utilize some of our fresh, local, organic produce to make a refreshing summer soup. Some of summer's most abundant veggies are cucumbers and zucchini, so I loaded up my backpack with these potential soup ingredients and hopped on my bike. While biking to Judy's house in Bed-Stuy, I got caught in some torrential downpours: heavy rain, thunder, lightning- the WORKS. By the time I got to Judy's house, I was cold, wet and downtrodden. But, the one thing that can always make me feel better is soup! As soon as we began to cook, my spirits lifted. And that, soup fans, is soup magik.

We decided to make a very simple cold cucumber soup. We also baked up a loaf of zucchini bread to go with the soup. Now, I love soup, but this bread was pretty amazing. This is the produce that we used for the soup and the bread. We mixed some yellow squash in with the zucchini for the bread; it was a bold move that worked out deliciously. All produce was grown locally (Long Island, Hudson Valley, Judy's garden) with the exceptions of the lemons and limes:

Here is the soup recipe. This recipe is ripe for improvisation, so go crazy. Please note that you will need a blender.

Refreshing Cold Cucumber Soup

Servings: 3-4

3 cucumbers peeled, seeded and cut in half

3 cloves of garlic

2 1/2 cups of plain yogurt

8-10 mint leaves

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Juice from 1/2 lime

salt and pepper to taste

*We did not use dill, but this herb would be a delicious addition.

Place half of the ingredients into the blender (cukes, garlic, yogurt, mint, juices) and blend until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and blend again. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remember that raw garlic adds quite a kick!

Pour the soup into a large bowl and chill for at least 20 minutes. Garnish with mint leaves. Voila!

*Soup note: My friend Siobhan makes a version of this soup using steamed zucchini instead of cukes and it is eaten warm.

And now the bread. We used a recipe from The Joy of Cooking 75th Anniversary edition.

Sweet Zucchini Bread

2 cups grated zucchini

1 1/4 cups all- purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cups sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups ground walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan or cover in tinfoil or parchment paper. In a large bowl, blend the sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla and salt. Stir in the dry ingredients. Blend in the zucchini and optional nuts with a few strokes. We substituted a 1/2 cup of zucchini with grated yellow squash. The recipe says to squeeze out access moisture. We didn't do this, but the batter needed a little bit of extra moisture, so everything worked out perfectly. Scrape the batter into the greased pan. Bake until the bread pulls away from the sides, and you can put a toothpick in the middle that will come out clean-about 45 minutes. Cool for ten minutes before unmolding from the pan.

It was a match made in soup heaven! Enjoy!

Dumpling soup extravaganza

Alright soup lovers, sorry for such a long delay between soup blog entries. Social work school is really kicking our asses. But have no fear, we have not forgotten the therapeutic value of soup and friendship!

While Dara and I have bonded through our love of soup, there’s another tasty food item that comes a close second in our hearts: dumplings! Or ‘dumpers,’ as Dara affectionately refers to them. There is no finer soup experience than combining the love of both into an Asian-inspired dumpling soup extravaganza. We used a miso paste base for the soup, then plopped our exquisite veggie dumpers into the broth after we steamed them. Dumpling soup, food of the goddesses…

Dumpling dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4-1 cup boiled water

Put flour in a bowl and make a well in the center. Stir the flour while you add the water in a steady stream. Keep mixing until you have a shaggy dough.

Knead the dough to bring it together into one large ball.

Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead it for a couple of minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic. Seal the dough in a zip-lock

plastic bag and let it rest for up to 2 hours.

After the rest, pull out the dough and cut it into 4 roughly equal sections. Roll each section into a 1-inch thick log, then cut each log into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a thick coin or disc. Lightly flour the top and bottom of each disc.

Holding the flattened disc gently, use a dowel rolling pin to press on just the outer edges of the disc. Roll back and forth once, then rotate the disc. Roll, rotate. Roll, rotate. Add a little flour if necessary to keep it from sticking and tearing.

You don’t want to make it too thin. It has to be thick enough to hold whatever filling you’re going to put in it. The final dumpling skin should be just over 3 inches in diameter.

We got this dumpling dough recipe from http://www.houseofannie.com/make-dumpling-skins-from-scratch/

After you’ve rolled out your dumpling dough, let your soup base brew for a bit.

Miso soup:

3 sliced carrots

1/2 cup sliced scallions

1/2 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms

minced ginger

water

miso paste

Heat some canola or peanut oil in a soup pot, then add your sliced carrot and ginger. Saute for a five minutes, then add the scallions and mushroom. Heat these together for a few more minutes, then add water. We suggest about 6-8 cups, depending on how much miso paste you want to add. We ended up using about 6 tbsp of miso paste, but if you’re nervous about it being too strong, start with a couple of tbsp and gradually add more until the soup tastes flavorful to you.

Dumpling filling:

1 chopped red onion

1 cup chopped green or white cabbage

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup chopped shiitake mushroom

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

1 tsp white pepper

1 tsp sesame oil

rice vinegar to taste

soy sauce to taste

tiny pinch cayenne pepper

While soup is simmering on low heat, you can prepare your dumpling filling. Put about 2 tbsp oil (we used peanut) in a wok or large frying pan. Stir in all the chopped vegetables except for the cilantro. Saute on medium high heat until vegetables are soft, about 10-15 minutes. Add sesame oil, rice vinegar (we used about 2 tsp), soy sauce, white pepper, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Time to stuff!

Place about a teaspoon of the vegetable mixture in the center of a dumpling skin. Wet the rim of the dumpling skin with a little water – this will help the dough stick and stay closed. Fold dumpling in half and pinch edges together. Voila! For a more fancy look, you can flute the dumpling edges, or fold the ends towards the middle like a fortune cookie.

Time to steam!

There are a couple of methods you can use for steaming your dumpers. If you don’t have a bamboo steamer, you can lightly fry your dumpers in a frying pan for a couple of minutes until bottoms are brown, then add about ¼ cup water, covering and steaming until transparent and water has evaporated.

We used the bamboo steamer, which was much simpler than we thought it would be. Just line the steamer with cabbage leaves, then place in a wok or large pan. Pour water into the pan, about a third of the way up the steamer. Place your dumplings gently in the steamer and cover. Bring the water to a boil, allowing the steam to cook the dumplings through, about 5 minutes. Mm hmm mm! Drop them in your soup.

Watch them float in delight. Then eat it all up.