Beef, Cabbage & Beet Borscht

Now I know.  There are 2 types of people in this world:  Those who love beets and those who are absolutely repulsed by them.  I had no idea this little root would get such a reaction.  I happen to love beets. So when I found a hearty beet soup recipe in my William Sonoma cookbook, I thought it sounded heavenly. Little did I know, I would offended some of my family and friends by trying to serve them beets.  But it turned out they were split about 50/50 on their love and hate for beets, so my hard work was somewhat appreciated.

I also had no idea that this meal was such a cultural staple.  I had never heard of this soup as my knowledge of Eastern European cuisine is lacking at best.  I usually try to stay away from recipes with a strong cultural tradition behind them, since a recipe in a book can never be as good as someone's grandma's recipe.  But my curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to try this out, hoping it does justice to a traditional Borscht, but having nothing to compare it to in order to fully judge.  Bottom line, if you like beets, you will like this soup.

I also did not read the directions ahead of time to realize the time commitment involved in making this soup. It literally took me 3 days.

Evening 1: I cooked the beets by simmering for about 45 minutes.  After simmering, I saved 2 cups of the bright red cooking liquid and refrigerated overnight.  I stored the beets in the refrigerator separately.  Tip: use gloves while scrubbing and handling the beets.  You will thank me later if you don't know why now.

Evening 2: I cooked the beef.  I sauteed the cubed beef in oil for about 5 minutes.  I then added the leeks and carrots and sauteed in the same pan for another 5 minutes.  Once the veggies were soft, I added the beet liquid, beef, tomatoes, cabbage, water, tomato paste and dill.  This simmered for about 1 1/2 hours until the beef was deliciously tender.  I then added the beets, vinegar, brown sugar and salt and pepper.  By this time, it was way passed dinner time so I let cool and stored the soup in the refrigerator. The recipe actually indicated the soup tastes better the second day, so I didn't feel too bad about waiting one more night.

As you can see below, Nugget did not like the fact that I was in the kitchen so long.  But she did like eating up any veggies that may have fallen on the floor!

Evening 3:  By this time, I was determined to finally complete and sample my soup.  I reheated it over medium heat and added more seasoning to taste.  I removed the dill sprigs and was finally able to sample the Borscht.  I garnished with sour cream and chopped dill and served it to my family.  Unfortunately, it turns out they don't like beets.  Luckily my foodie girlfriends volunteered to be my taste-testers and they helped me eat the Borscht and didn't let any go to waste.

I did like the soup, but once I realized how many family Borscht recipes there are out there, I started to think I could have made improvements here and there.  Next time I will use a beef broth base rather that just the cooking liquid from the beets.  I think this will give it a more savory flavor.  And I may add more tomatoes as their flavor was covered up by the beets.  I'm curious to hear your thoughts on a Borscht recipe????  Any suggestions?

Oh, and one more tip:  Before you make this soup, be sure to ask you family if they eat beets!

Ingredients:
6 beets / $2.49 per bunch / $4.98
3 Tablespoons olive oil / from home
3 pounds stewing beef / $3.99 per pound / $9.22
2 leeks / $2.99
2 carrots / from home
1 can diced tomatoes (14.4 ounces) / $0.79
1 head green cabbage / $0.99 pr pound / $1.46
2 tablespoons tomato paste / $0.99
6 dill sprigs / $1.99
5 tablespoons red wine vinegar / from home
1/2 cup brown sugar / $0.89
1/2 cup sour cream / $0.99

Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 2 hours
Servings: 8-10
Taste: 4 stars
Prep: easy but time consuming
Cost: $24.30 ($4.05 per serving)

Carrot soup with Tahini and Roasted Chickpeas

I'm always on the lookout for interesting new soup recipes using flavors new to me combined with ingredients I know (and Love) very well.  So when I stumbled upon a recipe for this carrot soup by Smitten Kitchen, I pinned it for a rainy day.  It's still 70 degrees out side (at the time I made this soup) in November, but I felt like it was time to test this recipe anyway.  I was intrigued by this recipe since it has some of my favorite ingredients in it and when the original recipe described it as "deconstructed carrots dipped in hummus" I knew I had to try this.

The ingredients seemed as they would be easy to find, but I still went to Whole Foods since I was in the neighborhood and I wasn't sure if the tahini and pita bread would be available at the regular grocery store.  Since I had many of the ingredients, this Whole Foods visit didn't cost a fortune.  But I lost the receipt, so my cost per serving calculation is approximate in this post. :(

The first step was to sauté carrots, onion, garlic, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper flakes in olive oil for about 15 minutes.  While that was going, I toasted the chickpeas and drizzled and sprinkled them with olive oil, salt and cumin in a 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until brown, tossing occasionally.  After the veggies were brown, I added the broth and let simmer for 30 minutes.

Toasting chickpeas

To make the tahini sauce, I whisked together tahini, lemon juice, salt and water until smooth. Then I toasted the pita bread in the oven with a light brush of olive oil and a sprinkle of sesame seeds and salt.  The last step was to puree the soup with my hand blender and garnish and serve.  

I served my bowl with a spoonful of roasted chickpeas and a dollop of tahini with a side of pita bread.  What a pretty meal!  As for the taste, I am still on the fence.  The coriander, cumin and tahini were flavors I'm not used to and they are very overpowering.  I did enjoy the soup, but with the strong flavors, I think it would serve as an appetizer rather than a meal.  The family wasn't around to sample this, and I didn't have a chance to get a second opinion.  But overall, I'd say it was prettier than it was amazingly delicious.  However for someone used to these flavors, I'm sure it would be a lovely surprise.  In fact, I did a little research and found several similar recipes for carrot-tahini soup, so this must be a winning combo.  What do I know?

New York Times Carrot Tahini Soup Recipe

Eats Well With Others Carrot Tahini Recipe

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil / from home

2 pounds carrots, peeled, diced / Whole Foods / $3.00

1 large onion, finely chopped / from home

6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed / from home

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander / from home

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin / from home

1/2 teaspoon salt / from home

4 cups vegetable broth / Whole Foods / $2.59

15 ounce can cooked chickpeas / from home

3 tablespoons tahini paste /  Whole Foods / $5.99

2 tablespoons lemon juice / Whole Foods / $0.99

Pita bread / Whole Foods / $4.99

Sesame seeds / from home

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 50

Servings: 6

Taste: 3 stars

Prep: easy

Cost:  Approximately $17.56 ($2.92/ serving) (approximate)

Mercury News Article on Portuguese Kale Soup

Well isn't this ironic:  A few days after my blog post, the San Jose Mercury News published a recipe on Portuguese Kale Soup.

This recipe is quite different, most notably calling for chorizo rather than linguisa.  I think people are familiar with the Mexican chorizo we associate with eggs and breakfast burritos, but I think they are referring to the hard-to-find Spanish chorizo that is featured in the White Bean soup and Black Bean soup from past Souper Challenge posts.  I loved the spicy linguisa in my soup, so I wouldn't recommend substituting.  Also, the Merc did not call for tomatoes and I love tomatoes!

Which recipe would you rather try?

Welcome Back Post: Portuguese Kale Soup

Well after a little summer hiatus, I am back to blogging.  Nothing like easing into Fall with some comfort food, even if it is still 80 degrees outside.  So for my first blog of the new season, I have a special treat.  I'm bringing in my second guest souper chef to help me learn more about soup making.

My boyfriend has been talking about his famous Portuguese soup for over a year now.  Finally, I got him to make it for me.  Even though this recipe is a throwback to Old World Portugal, its main ingredient happens to be the trendiest green among the health conscious right now: KALE.  Mmmmmm. People just can't get enough kale right now.  To tell you the truth, I haven't jumped on that bandwagon and this kale-heavy recipe is just a coincidence, but if it helps me get a few extra hits, all the better.

I don't have much of a shopping story this time as the ingredients are fairly easy to find, and many can be found in the canned veggie isle of your market.  But a note about the kale.  I first learned about this soup when my boyfriend showed me this big green plant in his dad's garden.  He said it was Portuguese kale and made for a delicious soup.  After some research I learned that the kale my boyfriend's family grows in their garden is called Tronchuda Beira and is a flatter, sweeter kale that is very heat-tolerant and works very well in soup.  For this recipe, we only had access to the traditional, crinkly kale, but it came pre-cut and washed in a bag, so that made up for any disappointment for not having the traditional ingredient.

Portuguese kale, Photo from www.ReneesGarden.com

No onto the simple directions.  We sauteed chopped onion and potato in a little oil until warm.

Potatoes & onions

Next we added the garlic, bay leaves and kale, seasoned with pepper, covered and let wilt for about 2 minutes.  We added the chicken broth, a few extra cups of water and additional ingredients and brought to a boil.

Kale

As you see, we used the regular, curly kale.  Maybe we got a sweater one, but it was not bitter at all.  Past soups I've made with kale were not very good as leftovers because they got too bitter and overpowering, but somehow we got lucky this time.  Still, I'd love to try this recipe again with the Portuguese kale.

Linguica

My boyfriend did the grocery shopping this time since this was his special recipe.  He chose a spicy linguica since he knows I like the heat.  The flavors from the spicy sausage really added to the broth so that the soup does not need many additional spices.  We don't like to cook with salt, so the sausage also added a salted flavor without adding additional salt.  But, warning, HOT linguisa means HOT linguisa, so if you are sensitive to spicy foods, opt for a milder sausage.  And if you like the heat, you are in for a treat!

All ingredients

Last step, we covered the soup and let cook on medium heat until the potatoes were cooked (about 15 minutes).  We ate the soup with a yummy sourdough baguette.  I usually pass on the butter, but the boyfriend insisted I add butter and dip into the broth.  Yummmmy!!!  The soup was both spicy and earthy, filling but healthy.  Delicious.  We both had 2 bowls and a bowl for lunch the next day.

Portuguese kale soup

Ingredients
2 Tablespoons Olive oil / from home
3 medium potatoes / $2.06 / Lucky's
4 cups chicken broth / $3.99 / Lucky's
2 bay leaves / from home
1 diced medium onion / $1.49 / Lucky's
4 garlic cloves garlic, finely chopped / $2.59 /Lucky's
1 lb kale, chopped, stems removed / $2.99 / Lucky's
1 lb linguisa sausage  / $4.99 / Lucky's
1 can (14 oz) garbanzo beans, drained / $1.49 / Lucky's
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained / $0.98 / Lucky's
2 bay leaves / from home
pepper / from home

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 8
Taste: 5 stars
Prep: easy!
Cost:  $20.58 ($2.57/ serving) 

Souper Ramen Challenge

This might be the most exciting soup experience ever!!!  It's a post that has been about a year in the making; all thanks to my good friend, Justin.  I've known Justin for several years but more recently I have known him as owner of Powered by Pork, a popup based in the East Bay that serves a fusion of Mexican and Vietnamese foods.  Justin has been a follower of Souper Challenge for quite sometime and he has challenged me, and himself, to make authentic ramen for all of you!  Challenge accepted!

Only, this was less of a challenge for me, who got to sit back and relax and more of a challenge for Justin, who worked the whole day & night before on the broth and then came to my house to complete the final touches (and feed me).

Embarrassingly, even Justin's guests worked harder than me for this soup!  A big THANK YOU and welcome to my new friends Sandy and Jason, who brought their ramen making and taste-testing expertise to help us keep it authentic.

With that, I will let Justin share his experience, and most importantly, his recipe with you in his own words:
---

Ingredients
10 lbs pork neck bones
2 pork shoulder blades
1 onion
2 shallots
3 scallions
3 carrots
2 inch knob of ginger
~15 cloves of garlic
12 inch piece of konbu
1 package of dried shiitakes (4 ounces bag perhaps?)
drippings from my pork shoulder, consists of pork jus, fish sauce, white soy sauce
*large handful of bonito ~1/2 cup

Flavorings
White soy sauce
sesame oil
fish sauce
white pepper
Toppings
 ramen noodles (not sure where else to put this)
chopped scallions
soft-boiled egg (in theory)
nori

Process
Neck bones were roasted in batches, fist for 300F for an hour and then 400F for another 45 minutes.  My oven is far from calibrated, so it's a bit of a guessing game.  It's also why I turned it up.  The marrow was dissolving, but there wasn't maillard reaction I wanted.
While that was happening, I heated up the stock pot and placed the konbu and a bag of dried shiitakes in to the bowl for about an hour and then removed them.
I deglazed the pans with sake and threw them in to a stock pot with the aromatics over high heat, then lowered the heat when I was about to go to sleep.
Every so often I would check the water level and would refill the stock pot as needed.  Somewhere in the middle of the night I removed all the bones and strained the broth.  I was planning on salvaging whatever meat that could be gleaned from the neck bones, but that was far too tedious of a chore.  The bones would shatter and mix in with the meat. I transferred the bones without the meat into a pasta insert and put that back into the stock pot.
I might have added an onion to the bones.

---

Above was the prep that I didn't see.  Once at my house, Justin was hard at work again preparing all the fixings.  We tried to soft boil some eggs... Maybe next time.  And Jason prepared our noodles in batches.  Justin tricked out the broth with a variety of ingredients.

And then we ate.

And how was it? Delicious! Just ask Ed!

And how did the expert taster rate it:  Pretty good for a first try.  And based on the feed back, Justin has some lessons learned to share.

ALWAYS add bonito/hon dashi to ramen.  Earlier tonight I made some ramen from the leftover broth and added a large handful of bonito.  I felt like it made a huge difference and will always add it to my ramen.
I would have liked to have parboiled the bones before roasting them.  I feel it would have produced a cleaner, clearer broth.
As Mrs. Matsui advises, season in layers.  Adding just a bit of salt to the aromatics and bones would have pulled more flavor out of them.
After I boiled the konbu, I read somewhere that konbu should be cooked from 120 - 150 and not a full boil.  It apparently excretes a slimyness that is unpleasant.  I didn't detect that as I was going, but who knows.  Personally I feel that every time I see a recipe that calls for konbu, it isn't nearly enough time to extract all the flavor out of it.
When using Sun Noodles for ramen, use the Shoyu noodles over the pork ones - they're not nearly as tasty

Thank you all who ate and helped.  A special thank you to my guest chef, Justin Lanska for my first bowl of homemade ramen!!!  What an awesome treat!!!

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)