Soups

Minestrone al Pesto con Formaggio

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This is a REALLY hardy soup – great for snowy winter nights.  It looks far more complicated than it really is.  The vegetables could be varied if you are missing something.
Ingredients:

  • 4 ounces ditalini or small shells
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 Tab extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 quart vegetable or chicken broth, homemade or canned
  • 1 c dry white wine
  • 1 prosciutto bone (because we all have one sitting around), or a few ounces diced prosciutto or another Italian cured meat (optional) or 1 lb Italian sausage
  • 4 to 5 cabbage leaves, thinly sliced
  • 1 carrot, thinly sliced
  • 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, or about 2 cups diced fresh tomatoes
  • 1 zucchini, sliced fairly thickly
  • 3 to 4 ounces fresh spinach leaves, coarsely chopped, or 1/2 cup cooked and drained frozen chopped spinach
  • Handful of green beans, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1/4 cup fresh young peas, blanched, or frozen peas (no need to defrost)
  • 1/2 cup cooked cannellini beans (canned are fine), drained
  • Large pinch of thyme, either fresh or dried
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 c sun-dried tomatoes
  • About 6 ounces fontina, Jack, provolone, young (medium) Asiago, or cave-aged Gruyère cheese, cut into thick, slab like slices (1/8 inch)
  • 1/2 cup pesto, homemade or store-bought
    2 to 3 ounces Parmesan, pecorino, aged Asiago, or dry Jack cheese, grated

Directions: 

  1. Cook the ditalini in a pot of rapidly boiling salted water until al dente.
  2. Drain and set aside.
  3. Brown the sausage.
  4. Cut into 1/2 inch pieces and set aside.
  5. Lightly saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil until softened, about 5 to 8 minutes.
  6. Add the broth and white wine, and if using, the bone or prosciutto.
  7. Cook for about 10 minutes.
  8. Add the sausage, cabbage, carrot, and tomatoes and continue to cook for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are very tender, especially the cabbage.
  9. Add the zucchini, spinach, green beans, and peas and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
  10. Add the cannellini and thyme.
  11. Season with salt and pepper, if needed.
  12. Into each bowl place a slab of cheese, then a big spoonful of the pasta and a dab of pesto.
  13. Ladle the hot soup over it all.
  14. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan or pecorino.
  15. Serve at once!

Serves:  The recipe does not say, but it must be at least 12

Source:  Marlena Spieler’s Macaroni and Cheese, via Rich and Jenny Barkley

Quick Chili

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This is sort of the chili version of a dump cake – open cans, dump, stir.

Ingredients:

  • 1 #10 chili with meat (beans or no beans, your choice)
  • 3 35 oz cans tomatoes, juice and all
  • 1 can (6 lbs) cubed meat, juice and all (Hereford brand is good)
  • ½# onions – chopped
  • 4 c sour cream
  • grated cheese
  • chives or diced onion
  • soda crackers

Directions:

  1. Dump the chili, tomatoes, meat, and onions into a large pot.
  2. Heat.
  3. Serve in bowles
  4. Top with cheese, sour cream and chives.
  5. Serve with crackers.

Serves:   25-30

Source:  A desperate need.

Bad Red Wine Soup

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Throw caution to the wind!  Don’t drink that bad red wine – make soup!  This is the perfect soup to take somewhere — the longer it sits the better it gets!

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. white beans
  • 1 can tomatoes
  • 1 lb. Italian sausage
  • onion
  • celery
  • large bunch fresh oregano
  • garlic
  • thyme
  • 1 bottle red wine
  • Parmesan cheese

Directions:

  1. Soak the beans.  Several hours or over night.
  2. Drain, put enough fresh water to cover the beans plus the wine and tomatoes and cook until tender.
  3. At some point add everything else.
  4. Amounts are whatever looks good to you.
  5. Sauté the sausage with the onions and celery and garlic and drain off some of the fat before adding to the soup.
  6. The herbs just went straight in.
  7. Give everything enough time so the flavors blend.
  8. You could probably add carrots if you want, and it’s possible to use canned beans, though I haven’t tried it that way.
  9. Serve topped with cheese and good chewy bread.

Serves:  12

Source:   Cathy Painter

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Gazpacho by Margie

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The perfect summer lunch – Gazpacho, good bread, and maybe a little Sangria.  This one is mild and slightly chunky.  For a little more bite substitute 1 can of soup for an equal amount of V-8 juice and a dash of Tabasco sauce.

Ingredients:

  • 2 can tomato soup
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1 cucumber, peeled
  • 1 onion
  • 1 large tomato, peeled
  • 2 stalks celery
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2/3 c wine vinegar
  • 6 Tab olive oil
  • sour cream

Directions:

  1. Chop pepper, onion, celery and garlic in food processor.
  2. Finely dice by hand cucumber and tomato.
  3. Mix together with soup, vinegar and oil.
  4. Chill.
  5. Serve with dollop of sour cream.

Serves: 4

Source: Combination of several recipes.

Notes:  Updated version:  Replace tomato soup with 1 large can V8 juice.  Use 1/3 c wine vinegar, 1/3 c balsamic vinegar.  Add diced avocado for special occations.

 

Cream-of-Whatever Soup Substitute

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This is really just a basic White Sauce (thick).  It can be frozen – great for emergencies!

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tablespoons butter or oil
  • 3 Tablespoons flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • dash of pepper
  • 1-1/4 cup liquid, milk or stock

Directions:

  1. Melt butter or oil in saucepan.
  2. Stir in flour and seasonings.
  3. Cook over medium heat until bubbly.
  4. Add liquid slowly, stirring with wire whisk to prevent lumps.
  5. Cook until thick.

Serves:  Makes 1 cup or 1 can of condensed soup.

Tomato Soup: Use tomato juice for the liquid. Add dashes of garlic, onion powder, basil and oregano.

Chicken Soup: Use chicken broth for half the liquid. Add 1/4 t. poultry seasoning or sage.

Mushroom/celery/chive soup: Saute 1/4 C chopped mushrooms, celery or chives and 1 T minced onion in butter before adding flour.

Allergy Suggestion: If you use a gluten-free flour (rice, tapioca, etc.) or cornstarch, you can make the soup gluten-free. And if you use a stock rather than milk, you can make it milk-free, too.

Source:  A Frugal Simple Life, September 7, 2011

Nancy’s Clam Chowder

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Quite tasty and you can saute stuff and refrigerate until ready to add soup etc.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cans Snow’s New England Clam Chowder
  • 2 cans whole milk (measure in soup can)
  • 2 cans chopped clams
  • 2 – 3 tomatoes, peeled, chopped fine
  • 3 onions, chopped fine
  • 1 green pepper chopped fine
  • 1/2 c butter (1/4 lb)
  • dash of Tabasco
  • dash of seasoning salt
  • chopped parsley (optional)

Directions:

  1. Saute onion and green pepper in butter about 15 minutes.
  2. Add soup, milk, tomatoes, clams and heat.
  3. Add dash of Tabasco and seasoning salt.
  4. Serve garnished with parsley.

Serves:  4 – 6

Source:  Nancy Kenz

Tomato Soup

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No fresh tomatoes?  Canned work too.  You can make the base (no cream) and freeze it when you have the bounty of summer tomatoes.

Ingredients:

  • 4 c tomatoes cut in pieces (2 #1 cans)
  • 2 scallions, finely cut – stems and bulb
  • 1 onion – small, finely chopped
  • 1/4 tsp dried thyme (1/2 tsp fresh)
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil (1 tsp fresh)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp parsley, chopped
  • 1/8 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 pt cream

Directions:

  1. Simmer tomatoes, scallion, onion, thyme, basil, parsley, salt and pepper for 1/2 hour.
  2. Add 1/2 c water or tomato juice.
  3. Heat, but do not boil the cream.
  4. Strain tomato mixture into cream. (or just put the pulp in unstrained for a chunky soup)
  5. Can be served with a dollop of sour cream or croutons on top.  For fun, try popcorn!

Serves: 4

Source:  Some magazine long ago.

 

Freezer Tomato Soup

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So, it is the middle of summer and you have run out of friends to give your beautiful tomatoes.  Be selfish! Keep them and make this soup – so good in the middle of winter when fresh tomatoes taste like cardboard.

Ingredients:

  • 7 – 8 lbs tomatoes, ripe (16 – 18 large)
  • 3 onions, large, chopped (2 lbs)
  • 1/4 c sugar
  • 1/4 c parsley, chopped
  • 6 Tab cornstarch
  • 6 Tab water
  • dash of ground cloves (optional)
  • butter or sour cream

Directions:

  1. Core then chop 3 quarts of tomatoes.  Don’t bother to peel.
  2. In an 8 qt pan combine tomatoes, onions , sugar and parsley.
  3. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the tomatoes make juice and come to a boil.
  4. Reduce to medium low.
  5.  Cover and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  6. Blend cornstarch with water, stir into the tomato mixture.
  7. Cook, stirring until boiling and thickened.
  8. Remove and press through a food mill or fine strainer.
  9. Discard seeds and pulp.
  10. Cool and pack in pint containers.
  11. Freeze.
  12. To serve, thaw and heat.  Add salt, pepper, cloves.
  13. Top each serving with butter or sour cream (or popcorn).

Serves:  12 (makes 6 quarts)

Source:  Sunset

Notes: For cream of tomato soup add 1 c milk or half and half and 1/2 tsp basil.

Egg Flower Soup

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For meat lovers, you can add a ½ cup of diced leftover barbecued pork, cooked shrimp, or ham lunch meat.

Ingredients:

  • 6 c Swanson’s low fat chicken broth
  • 2 medium carrots
  • 1 c snow peas
  • ½ c frozen chopped spinach
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 nori 8-x-7-inch sheet
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp white pepper

Directions:

  1. In a medium soup pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil.
  2. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
  3. Julienne the carrots into match stick size pieces ½ in long.
  4. Snap off the snow pea stem ends and remove fibrous strings. Slice to 1/2”pieces.
  5. Add carrots and cook for 2 minutes.
  6. Add snow peas and spinach.
  7. Dissolve the cornstarch in 2 teaspoons of cold water.
  8. Add cornstarch solution to broth and cook, stirring, until the soup comes to a boil.
  9. Cut the nori into 1/8-inch strips.
  10. Stir in the nori. Turn off the heat.
  11. Crack the egg into a bowl and lightly beat it with a fork or whisk.
  12. Slowly pour the egg into the pot, stirring with a chopstick in a circular motion until long threads form.
  13. Stir in the sesame oil, salt, and white pepper.

Serves: 4-6

Source: Chinese Cooking for Dummies by Martin Yan

White Gazpacho

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This can be served in pretty mugs for something different with  margaritas or sangria.   As an main dish you can add bacon or shrimp, or avocado, or grated cheese, or croutons, or diced green pepper, or, or, or (use your imagination!).

Ingredients:

  • 3 c peeled chopped (seeded if necessary) cucumbers
  • 1 chicken bouillon cube dissolved in 1/2 c water
  • 1 or 2 cloves garlic chopped
  • 2 c sour cream
  • 2 c plain yogurt
  • 2 Tab white vinegar
  • 1 – 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp white pepper
  • chives, sunflower seeds and diced tomato for garnish

Directions:

  1. Process cucumbers, garlic.
  2. Add chicken  broth in food processor until pureed.
  3. Add sour cream, yogurt, white vinegar, salt and white pepper.
  4. Process until pureed.
  5. Pour into bowl.
  6. Refrigerate, covered, until well chilled.
  7. Ladle into each soup plate or cup and garnish with chives, sunflower seeds and diced tomato.

Serves: 16 1/2 cup servings – about 2 quarts

Source: Sherman Gardens, Corona del Mar, CA