Soup 32: French Lentil

I know, it's been a while again since my last post.  So I thought I would do a special post to make up for my tardiness.

Last month I decided to try one of my recipes for the ladies coming to my cookie exchange party.  I chose the French lentil soup.  It sounded easy and delicious.  But since it was the busy holiday season and I was in a hurry and I was not able to locate all the ingredients the recipe called for, so I did my best choosing substitutes. But once the holidays wrapped up, I decided to make the recipe as intended and blog about a battle of fancy ingredients.

The recipe called for French lentils, also known as lentils du Puy. These are supposed to be the "caviar of lentils" but instead, they are just impossible to find in the South Bay.  After checking 2 Whole Foods and a variety of other specialty grocery stores, I finally gave in and purchased some plain, organic bulk lentils.  Still, I wasn't thrilled about this substitute.  How can I make FRENCH lentil soup with out the French?  But time was ticking and I had just one day before the party, so I gave in to the ordinary lentils. To make matters worse, the Whole Foods I visited did not have kielbassa, so I chose a linguica.

Making the soup was very easy.  I chopped the carrots, celery and sausage.  I cheated this time and bought pre-chopped onions from Whole Foods.  They are more expensive but save me time and tears, so I decided to splurge.  I sauteed the veggies in olive oil until soft and then added the sausage, garlic and thyme and cooked for a minute or so more.  Next, I added the broth, bay leafs and lentils and brought the soup to a simmer.  I simmered on low heat for an hour and the soup was done and delicious.  Since this was for a party, I prepared it the day before and reheated slowly before I served it to my guests.

I doubled the sausage for a hearty soup

Everyone loved the soup!  I heard nothing but good things.  BUT... I couldn't help but think that the soup would be even better with the caviar of lentils.

So I decided to make the soup a second time just as the recipe calls for.  Without a time constraint, I was able to order the lentils off of Amazon.  I did my research and found a vendor that promised they were imported from France and had a "AOP" on the box-- indicating the region of France (Appellation d'Origine Protegee).  This should indicate they are the REAL French lentils and not an impostor.  The price was also an indication. A bag of regular lentils is about $2 per pound.  French lentils are $11 per pound or more (NOT including shipping)! Yikes!  This better be good!  The linguica was easy to find (considering I knew not to go to Whole Foods), so I whipped up my second batch.

Lentils du Puy

Regular lentils (organic)

And how did the fancy lentil stack up against the regular lentils? Drum roll, please. The fancy soup was a little better, but not worth an extra $15!  The Puy lentils we very pretty.  They cooked faster and stayed more firm than the regular lentils.  They were supposed to add a "peppery" taste, and they did.  But throwing some pepper in the regular lentil soup worked just as well.  I did prefer the Keilbassa, but the bottom line is that neither of the ingredient swaps would make or break the soup if you value time & money.  And with the kudos I received after serving the first batch, I don't think my guests minded either.  I even had a request for the recipe from a friend's 10 year old daughter.  So I would call this a winner!

Sadly, I ate the soup up (both times) before I took a picture.  But this soup wasn't going to win any presentation awards, so please enjoy the pics of the lentils above.  So what do I do with the remainder of my French lentils?  Maybe I'll try them in a recipe other than soup to see how they taste on their own.  If you care to read more, I added links at the end of this post about the French lentils and some recipes.


Ingredients
2 Tablespoons Olive oil / from home
9 cups beef broth / $2.89 + $0.99 = $3.88 / Lucky's
1 cup carrots / $0.99/ lb = $0.50 / Lucky's
1/2 cup celery / $1.69 / Lucky's
1/2 cup diced onions / $2.49 / Lucky's
3 garlic cloves garlic, finely chopped / from home
12 oz Keilbassa / $3.79 / Lucky's
2 teaspoons dried thyme / from home
2 bay leafs / from home
2 cups (1 pound) French lentils / $17.49

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes
Servings: 8
Taste: 4 stars
Prep: easy!
Cost:  $29.84 ($3,73/ appetizer serving)

All about lentils
Puy lentil salad with beetroot
Warm lentil and smoked pork belly salad

Soup 31: Butternut Squash & Apple Soup with Cider Cream

Soup blog is back!

As much as I love soup, it was just too darn hot to be making soup this summer.  With the amazing fall fruits and veggies calling me from the market, I've decided to pretend it's not still 80 degrees in NOVEMBER and get back to the soup blogging anyway!  So glad I did, because the first soup after the hiatus was delish!

Nothing symbolizes fall produce like squash and apples.  This recipe highlighted them both.  I saw a big barrel of butternut squash while walking into Whole Foods and it jumped into my little cart.  At the time, I didn't know what I would do with it, but the trusty soup cookbook helped me decide right away.  I love to buy locally grown but don't always look for the organic.  In this case, it was an impulse buy, but if you are on a budget, you can usually find a butternut squash for a few bucks at a farmers market.I just opted for a small one.  I didn't decide on a recipe until after my squash came home with me and I found apples in my fruit basket, so I purchased the remaining ingredients at my nearby Lucky's.

First step: prep the ingredients.  Butternut squash isn't the easiest to prep, but it's readily available already peeled at most grocery stores.  I had a small squash, so it wasn't too bad, but larger ones can be a struggle.  I then chopped up the leeks, carrots, and celery like it hasn't been 5 months since I've handled a vegetable. :) Although I did feel like I cheated a little since this recipe did not call for onions and my eyes stayed tear free.

The rest is super easy.  I melted butter in a hot pan and added the squash, leeks, carrots, and celery.  These cooked for about 10 minutes until I added the apples, thyme, broth and 1 cup cider.  I brought the broth to a simmer and then cooked on low for 30 minutes.

While that cooked, I worked on the garnishes.  I cooked a few slices of bacon until very crispy.  To prepare the cider cream, I boiled 1/2 cup cider until it reduced down to 1/4 cup.  Once cool, I whisked into 2/3 cup sour cream.  This was so yummy, I could have eaten it by the spoonful!  Finally, I cored and thinly sliced a granny smith apple.

By this time, the soup was ready for my handy immersion blender.  I seasoned with salt and pepper and was ready to serve!

The soup looked almost too good to eat with all the garnishes.  Sour cream isn't on my diet plan, but I added a generous helping anyway.  The soup was awesome.  The sweetness of the butternut squash pared with the tart apples was the perfect marriage.  The cider cream added richness and fizz.  Opposites attract in this soup for sure!  And it was a great "Welcome fall" recipe. To be honest, the bacon --as much as I love bacon-- didn't add much too this soup.  If you don't have it on hand or don't feel like adding the extra step, the soup was definitely delicious enough to stand on its own.

So excited to back to soup making.  More fabulous recipes to come!

Soup Ingredients:
3 Teaspoons unsalted butter / from home6 cups butternut squash, peeled, diced & cubed / Whole Foods / $1.29/lb = $2.331/2 cup carrots, chopped / Lucky's / $0.99/lb = $0.861/2 cup celery, chopped / Lucky's / $1.992 granny smith apples, peeled, chopped / from home1 granny smith apple (for garnish), sliced thin / from home1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme / from home

5 cups chicken broth / Smart & Final / $2.49
1 1/2 cups apple cider, divided / Lucky's / $1.99
2/3 cup sour cream / Lucky's / $1.48
bacon slices (for garnish) / Lucky's / $3.99

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 40 min
Servings: 6-8
Taste: 5 stars
Prep: easy
Cost: $15.13 ($2.52 per serving)

Soup 30: Roasted Red Pepper with Spicy Corn Salsa

Wow!  Over 2 months since my last post!  Life has been busy, but there has been plenty of soup making (just not enough blogging time).  So to get myself going again, I dusted off the new cookbook and found a recipe that I knew wouldn't fail me.  Roasted bell peppers, corn salsa!  Bring it on!

This soup gets 5 stars.  Easy-to-find. healthy ingredients, easy prep, and quick cooking.  Oh and it's delish!   What's not to love!

I began with sauteing onions and garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes and then added the roasted peppers and potatoes to cook for a few minutes more.  I added the broth and bought to a boil and let simmer for 25 minutes.

While that was brewing, I began the corn salsa. I put the fresh corn, husks and all in the microwave for 7 minutes, just to get it a tad soft and easier to get off the cob.  The recipe says frozen corn can also be used, but I'm all about the crunch, so fresh corn was a MUST!.  I let it cool and cut the kernels off the cob.  I sauteed the jalapeno and green onions for just a few minutes.  I then added the corn and cooked for and additional 2 minutes, enough to combine the flavors but keep the kernels crisp.  I added a pinch of salt and pepper and transferred to a serving bowl to let the family garnish their soup to taste.

With the soup done simmering, I used my hand blender to blend into a puree.  The soup needed hardly any extra seasoning, but I added a pinch of salt and pepper just out of habit and stirred in a dollop of creme fraiche (since I had it on hand - but the recipe called for sour cream).

We ate the soup as an appetizer with some chicken and carne asada tacos. The family LOVED it.  Even the picky eaters!  My only complaint was the texture of the soup.  I would have liked it to be a little thicker.  The recipe called for 1 24 oz. jar of roasted red peppers.  Trader Joe's had a 12 oz jar, which I purchased 2. But if (more like when) I make this again, I may try to use more peppers or less broth to thicken it up.  The flavor, however, was perfect and the corn helped to make the soup more satisfying and a little kick with the bits of jalapenos.  And it looked so pretty with the corn salsa!

Soup Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons olive oil / from home
1 yellow onion, diced / Real Produce/ $0.26
2 cloves of garlic, minced / from home
1 24 oz. jar roasted red bell peppers, drained / Trader Joe's / 2 @ $1.99 = $3.98
1 russet potato, peeled and diced / Real Produce / $0.44
4 cups chicken broth / Smart & Final / $2.49
1 Tablespoon sour cream / from home

Corn Salsa Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter / from home
1 minced jalapeno / Fresh Produce / $0.05
1 tablespoons sliced green onion / Real Produce / $0.39
Kernels from 2 ears of corn / Real Produce / $1.00

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 min
Servings: 6-8
Taste: 5 stars
Prep: easy
Cost: $8.61 ($1.43 per serving)

Soup 29: Cannellini Bean & Tagliatelle Soup

I know, I know.  I'm lagging on the soup posts.  I have a few that I still need to blog about, but last week's soup was so good that I'm skipping a few recipes for now.

Drop everything and make this soup right now.  Up till this point, the tomato fennel has remained my favorite.  And it may still be, but this recipe comes a really, really close second.  Not only was it delicious, it was super easy to make and the ingredients were very affordable.  I've made enough soup now to know to keep key ingredients in my pantry when I find good prices.  I already had my big can of Swanson Reduced Sodium broth, Christopher Ranch chopped garlic and TJ's canned tomatoes on hand, so only the specialty ingredients were all that was needed.

The recipe called for some ingredients I thought I would not be able to find during my regular weekly shopping trip to Trader Joe's.  I wasn't in the mood for visiting multiple stores, so I went directly to Whole Foods this time, fully prepared to spend a ton.  And I could have easily spent more, but I found some less expensive ingredients to swap out (also knowing I had some of the ingredients at home) and the soup came out to be quite affordable. Maybe someday I will try this soup again using the ingredients called for, but it was so good, that it's hard to imagine the substitutions would make a huge difference and   I saved close to $8 with the substitutes.  The original recipe called for Cranberry Beans, with a side note that it's worth hunting them down if they were not readily available.  Whole Foods did carry them but only dried, not canned, and for $6 a bag.  I debated it for a second but quickly realized dried beans would add hours to the cooking time, so I opted for the $0.99 cannellini beans, and they worked just fine.  Feel free to weigh in if you have strong feelings about cranberry beans.  The other substitution I made was tagliatelle pasta for pappardelle.  Both are egg noodles, but the pappardelle is wider, and was a few bucks more at the market.  One pricey ingredient I would splurge on for this recipe is the dried porcini mushrooms.  These were over $70/pound.  Luckily, I only needed a few ounces amounting to about $6.00.  The steak flavor of these mushrooms ads a ton of flavor to the soup.  It's a must ingredient!

Porcini Mushrooms coming back to life

To reconstitute the mushrooms, I soaked them in hot water for 30 minutes.  While waiting for them to soften, I diced the tomatoes and chopped the sage leaves. Once the mushrooms were soft, I drained and coarsely chopped.  I heated a few tablespoons olive oil in a pot and sauteed the garlic, sage and mushrooms for a few minutes.  The smell was incredible.  At this point, I was convinced I had found a winning recipe.  I added the tomatoes and cooked a few minutes more.  I then added the chicken broth and brought to a boil. I added the pasta (broken up) to cook for about 5 minutes and then added the beans.  By this time, my moth was watering.  A tad bit of salt and pepper finished this off and it was ready to serve and enjoy.

Sage, Mushrooms, & Garlic

Usually the family is skeptical of my recipes, but they ate this one up.  Not a trace remained.  A definite winner!  I took leftovers for lunch for 2 days and enjoyed every bite!

Ingredients


2 oz dried porcini mushrooms / $5.84 / Whole Foods
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil / From home
1 clove of garlic / from home
Sage leaves / $1.99 / Whole Foods
1 cup Canned diced tomatoes / $2.49 / Trader Joe's
7-8 cups chicken broth / $2.49 / Smart & Final
1 cup Tagliatelle pasta / $3.39 / Whole Foods
1 can Cannellini beans / $0.99 / Whole Foods
Salt
Pepper


Prep time: 35 minutes
Cook time: 15 min
Servings: 8
Taste: 5 stars
Prep: easy
Cost: $17.19 ($2.14 per serving)

Soup 28: Fall Brodo with Acorn Squash

Still a little behind on my soup blogging since I made this months ago, but this soup can be made all winter long.  This recipe was appealing because of the all the awesome garnishes. Bacon. Cheese. Need I say more?
The recipe stressed a high quality broth, so I jazzed up the canned stuff.  I let 6 cups broth simmer with celery, carrots, onion, parsley and thyme for half an hour.

Short-cut chicken broth

While that simmered, I prepared the veggies for the soup.  I halved the acorn squash, cleaned out the seeds and peeled and cubed the squash.  I then chopped the chard, discarding the stalks.  So far, easy!

Acorn squash

And then my favorite part.  I cooked the bacon until crispy, and set aside the bacon for garnish.  I used a bit of the bacon grease to saute the chopped onions until browned.  I then added the stock and squash and pasta and simmered until tender, about 15 minutes.  A note about the pasta, I used mini bow tie pasta, and it worked perfectly.  I wanted the veggies to play a larger part in this soup than the pasta, but the regular size would work fine too if that is what you have in your pantry.  The last step was to add the chard and cook for 1 or 2 minutes more.  Oh, and season with salt and pepper, of course.

Serve immediately with crumbled bacon and Parmesan cheese

This soup was a great winter meal.  It was hearty and satisfying and was a great combo of flavors.  Savory bacon and cheese with bitter chard and the sweetness of the squash.  Yummy.  The ingredients were quite affordable, too.   My only complaint is that the soup really should be served and eaten immediately and makes only for so-so left overs.  The pasta and squash really absorbed the liquid and became quite overcooked after reheating.  The taste was still good, albeit a smidge bitter from the chard, so I still had the leftovers for my lunch, but overall, this was much more enjoyable right out of the pot.

1 1/2 pound acorn squash / farmer's market / $3.00
1 bunch Swiss chard / farmer's market / $2.00
6 slices bacon / Safeway / $3.69
1 cups chopped onion / from home
8 cups chicken broth / Smart & Final / $2.49
1 cup bow tie pasts / Safeway / $2.49 (mini bow tie works best)
salt / from home
cayenne pepper / from home
1/2 Parmesan cheese / from home


Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 45 min
Servings: 6
Taste: 4 stars
Prep: easy
Cost: $13.67 ($2.28 per serving)

SOUPER BOWL!

I wish I could take credit for this.

If you love soup as much as me, please join Grantland on Facebook for the Souperbowl.  32 soups go head to head to find out which is the best!  There are just a few days left if you would like to cast your vote.

Can you guess what I chose on Day 4 between:

Ramen & Lobster Bisque

French Onion & Wonton

Tortilla & Hot & Sour

Clam Chowder & Chicken Noodle