While many cast French Onion Soup as fine dining restaurant fare, it really is easy enough to make this soup at home. Read on for my recipe, hints, and tips for making this Classic French Onion Soup in your own kitchen. Yes, you really can make fine restaurant-quality food at home and your kitchen will have the intoxicating aroma of a French bistro! Continue reading Classic French Onion Soup Recipe
Sometimes, nothing but a soothing old-fashioned soup will do and it doesn’t get more classic than this comforting Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup. Continue reading Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
The humble carrot, often the last of the vegetables to be harvested from the garden in autumn, makes a fabulous base for a smooth Cream of Carrot Soup. With its superb flavor, color, and luxuriously smooth texture, this soup is a winning combination and can be made year-round. Continue reading Cream of Carrot Soup
Today’s featured recipe from my kitchen is Roasted Parsnip and Pear Soup. The combination of the somewhat nutty flavor of the parsnips pairs well with the sweetness of the Bosc Pears. They balance each other well in this savory soup. Continue reading Roasted Parsnip and Pear Soup Recipe
Nothing beats homemade soup! True comfort food – a bowl of hot soup, especially on a cool fall or cold winter day, warms the tummy and the soul. This Cream of Broccoli and Cheese Soup fits that bill nicely. Continue reading Classic Cream of Broccoli and Cheese Soup
When days are cooler, or downright cold, there is nothing better to warm the tummy than a bowl of comfort soup. One of the soups I place in that category is homemade Roasted Butternut Squash Soup. Full of flavour with a lovely velvety texture, Roasted Butternut Squash Soup has a rich natural golden-yellow color that can’t be beat! This is a showstopper soup on both the taste and appetizing color fronts, the latter of which is drawn from the orange, fleshy pulp of the squash. Continue reading Classic Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Every year we try to grow two or three new vegetables in our garden. Here, on PEI, we have a very short growing season and so, whatever we grow, must be suitable to that climate. One day, in late June, I was at John’s Greenhouses in Summerside and they had trays of very healthy looking celery starter plants. On a lark, I bought a tray of six plants and transplanted them. Never, in my wildest imagination, could I have contemplated how well they would grow! With leaves on stalks intact, they grew to be 30″ tall. The celery had a nice crisp bite to it but, seriously, how much celery could we eat raw?
I began thinking about what I could do with the celery and how I could process it into something else. Thus was born my recipe for Cream of Celery Soup which has now elevated itself to one of my favorite cream-based soups.
I have made and tested this recipe several times (well, you know, we did have a lot of celery in the garden!), adjusting the ingredient amounts and perfecting the method. This process results in me publishing a recipe for a tasty soup I am delighted with. It also enables me to share my lessons learned and tips for successfully making this soup.
Ingredients
Use the freshest celery you can find for this recipe. Chop it finely because celery takes a long time to soften during cooking – the smaller the pieces, the faster it will cook. I use both onions and leeks in this recipe as they each contribute their own unique flavor to the soup. They may come from the same family but their unique flavour qualities add levels of complexity and depth to the celery soup. Always use freshly minced garlic in this recipe – it will have more flavour than a bottled version. Either chicken or vegetable stock may be used as a base in this soup. I typically use chicken stock.
To get that silky smooth texture for which great cream soups are known, use a combination of whole milk and cream (18% MF). Fat-reduced and skim milks do not do well in this soup. This soup can be made entirely with whole milk but using cream for a portion of the dairy content in the soup will yield a richer and smoother soup. Also, this soup will freeze well if whole milk and cream are used. In fact, I make this soup as part of my batch-cooking menu and freeze it in individual portions. It’s great for work lunches.
I add shredded cheddar cheese to this soup. Celery and cheese have long been great partners so why not pair them in a soup. I also add a couple of tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese to the soup as well.
I love my herb garden and make good use of it. It’s important to choose herbs for this soup that will pair well with the other ingredients. I have chosen dill, parsley, and either rosemary or thyme. Only add these to the late stage reheating of the soup, after it has been puréed, and the milk and cream added. Softer stemmed herbs such as dill and parsley tend to wilt and become discolored if they are overcooked. While the more woody rosemary or thyme can withstand a bit more heat, I tend to add them all at the same time, near the end of the cooking process. The amount of seasoning is always a personal preference. My strategy in herb usage is that they should enhance, not overpower, the dish. I recommend using the amounts I have indicated in the recipe the first time you make the soup – the herb quantities indicated are considered modest amounts. Then, the next time you make the soup, adjust the quantities of the herbs according to your personal preference.
Method
Celery takes a long time to soften during cooking. Melt the butter in the saucepan and give the celery the benefit of a head start of about 5 minutes cooking before adding the onions, leeks, potato, and garlic. Cook the vegetables until they are softened – about 15 minutes. Then, add the thickener (regular or gluten-free flour) followed by the liquid stock (chicken or vegetable) and continue to cook the mixture for 30-35 minutes. The goal is to ensure the vegetables are thoroughly cooked and softened and that time has been allotted for the flavors to blend.
The mixture needs to be puréed until smooth, either in a blender or food processor or, alternatively, via an immersion blender. I typically use the blender for this and I let the soup cool for about 30-40 minutes or so before putting the hot mixture into the jar of the blender. I have learned the importance of blending part of the mixture first and then adding the remainder of the mixture while continuing to purée it as, otherwise, it is very difficult to get a smooth soup. Because celery has a “stringy” component to it and because, sometimes, no matter how much blending, there can always be little bits of the vegetables that have not puréed completely smooth, I recommend straining the puréed mixture through a medium mesh wire sieve into a clean stockpot to get rid of any unpuréed residue. This will result in a smoother textured soup.
Once the puréed mixture is transferred to a clean stock pot and the milk/cream blended in and heated, the cheeses and fresh herbs can be added.
Never boil a cream soup; instead, gently heat it just until the cheeses have melted.
Serving
This soup should be served hot. It can be garnished with croutons, slivered almonds, croutons, fresh herbs, or a sprig of celery leaves. Serve it in small quantities as a starter to a meal or in larger bowls as a tasty lunch or light supper. The soup is great served with homemade biscuits, rolls, or bread.
Making this cream-based soup is a great way to make use of fresh celery.
[Printable recipe follows at end of posting]
Ingredients:
¼ cup + 1 tbsp butter
8 oz celery, chopped fine (apx 2 cups)
2½ oz leek (white and green parts only), sliced thin (apx. 1 cup)
2 oz onion, finely chopped (apx. ½ cup)
4 oz potato, peeled and diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 cup flour (to make it gluten-free, use 1/3 cup of 1-to-1 gluten-free flour)
2 cups warm chicken stock
2/3 cup whole milk
2/3 cup 18% cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese
¾ tsp fresh dill, minced
1 tsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
¼ tsp thyme or rosemary, finely chopped
Celery leaf, croutons, or slivered almonds for garnish (optional)
Sprinkle of nutmeg for garnish (optional)
Method:
Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to just below medium and add the leek, onion, potato, and garlic. Cook until vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes, stirring often.
Sprinkle flour onto vegetables and stir for approximately 1 minute. Add chicken stock. Cover. Bring to a boil. Add the bay leaf. Cover and reduce heat to simmer and cook for 30-35 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Cool for 30-40 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Transfer mixture to blender or food processor, starting with a good half of the mixture, puréeing, and then adding in the remainder and continuing to purée until smooth. Strain puréed mixture through medium mesh wire sieve, into clean stock pot, to remove any bits of ingredients that have not completely puréed.
Add milk, cream, salt, and pepper to the mixture. Heat over medium heat. Do not boil. Add the grated cheddar and parmesan cheeses along with the fresh herbs. Stir until cheese melts. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with a sprig of celery leaf, croutons, or slivered almonds and a sprinkle of nutmeg.
Yield: 5 cups, approximately 4-5 servings (1 to 1¼ cup/serving)
Delicious homemade Cream of Celery Soup with layers of flavor. Perfect as a starter to a meal or for a light lunch or supper.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Today, I am sharing my newly-developed recipe for Ham Lentil Soup that is made from a leftover ham bone, broth, and ham. Continue reading Ham Lentil Soup Recipe
One of my all-time favorite soups is made with the most unlikely vegetable – cauliflower. I first had this soup on a cold, rainy night in a small café in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, many years ago. We were looking for light fare and cauliflower was the soup of the day. I must admit, the thoughts of cauliflower in soup was not at all appealing to me but the menu was limited so this is what was ordered. Continue reading Roasted Cream of Cauliflower Soup
For many years, I have been making this hearty soup known as Goulash. It’s a well-filled soup and is a very filling one! Good any time of the year, this soup is especially tummy-warming on cold days. Continue reading Rich and Hearty Goulash Soup Recipe
This Creamy Winter Root Vegetable Soup is perfect for those cold winter days when the body and mind crave comfort food.
I make a lot of soups and freeze many of them in single servings so that they are quick and easy to pull out for lunchtime or, for those who are in the workforce, to place in the lunch bag on weekday mornings. The soups arehealthy and nutritious, not to mention tasty. I like to have a variety of different soups on hand that includes those that are broth-based and hearty vegetable along with those that are cream-based or puréed.
The recipe I am sharing today is a new recipe creation that is a cream-based vegetable soup. It’s the perfect soup for winter because it uses what we often refer to as winter, or root, vegetables. These are ones that are traditionally harvested late in the fall and they store and keep well over several months – think of potatoes, rutabaga, carrots, and parsnip, for example.
This is an easy soup to make and it blends a number of wonderful flavours that include both celery and leek. It’s very lightly spiced and is a silky smooth soup that I would put in the comfort food category. The great thing about this soup is that none of the nutrients from any of the vegetables is lost. The vegetables are all cooked in the chicken broth and then the whole mixture is puréed so all of the goodness of the vegetables is maintained.
I find recipes that simply call for ingredients in quantities like a small parsnip or 2 medium-sized potatoes or 1 large carrot are not very helpful, particularly for less experienced cooks. I have, therefore, tested out this recipe and carefully measured the weights of vegetables to be used for best success. One of the most used (and most useful) tools in my kitchen is my digital scale and I use it all the time. I highly recommend that every cook invest in a good quality digital scale.
I miss my herb garden in winter. However, dried herbs work really well in this winter soup. Because, for presentation purposes, I don’t want any specks of herbs to appear in this soup, I make a small herb packet out of cheesecloth to contain the herbs while the soup cooks. The cheesecloth has a sufficiently open weave that the soup mixture is infused with the flavour of the herbs as it cooks. It’s very easy to remove and discard the herb packet before the soup is puréed.
Different vegetables take different cooking times so this soup starts with those that take the longest – rutabaga, carrots, parsnip, and celery. Give them about 15 minutes headstart before adding the leek and let it cook for 10 minutes then add the potatoes which take the least amount of time to cook.
I make good use of my immersion blender for cream and purée soup making. However, you can certainly use either a blender or a food processor to purée the vegetables. I generally allow the soup to cool for 30-40 minutes before using my immersion blender and, sometimes, if I am in a hurry, I put the soup pot in a sink full of cold water for a few minutes to speed up the cooling process. I know some people do use their immersion blenders in really hot soup. I recommend you check your instruction manual for your immersion blender to see what it says about using the blender in hot liquids.
I recommend that whole milk be used in this recipe (or, alternatively, you could use a milk-cream blend for a richer soup). I have tested freezing this soup and find it freezes well for me; however, it is very important that at least whole (not skim, or partly skimmed) milk be used if you intend to freeze any of the soup. Using a fat free or low fat milk will result in the soup breaking down when frozen and it just does not hold its structure when it is reheated. I know that some people frown on freezing puréed and cream soups but I have been freezing them with great success for many, many years.
When making the roux (the butter and flour) for the cream base, make sure you stir the roux while it is blending to prevent it from scorching. Add the milk slowly to the roux, whisking it constantly to prevent lumps from forming. It’s quite unappealing to have lumps in what is supposed to be a silky smooth cream soup.
Adding some shredded cheese to this soup makes a richer soup and certainly enhances the flavour. While a basic cheddar cheese could certainly be used, my preference is to use a shredded cheese blend such as mozzarella, provolone, and parmesan.
Ingredients:
3 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
½ tsp dried basil
¼ tsp. dried fennel
1/8 tsp dried marjoram
½ tsp dried parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
5 oz rutabaga, diced
5 oz carrots, sliced
2 oz parsnip, thinly sliced
2 oz celery, sliced
7½ oz leek, white and light green parts only, sliced into ¼“ slices
7 oz potato, diced
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1½ cups whole milk
Salt and pepper to taste
¾ cup shredded cheese blend (e.g., mozzarella, provolone, and parmesan)
Method:
Bring chicken stock to a boil in medium-sized soup pot.
Cut small 4”-5” square of finely woven cheese cloth. Make the herb packet by placing the bay leaf, basil, fennel, marjoram, and parsley in the center of the cheese cloth. Gather up ends of cheesecloth, tie tightly with kitchen string, and add the herb packet to the chicken stock along with the garlic, rutabaga, carrots, parsnip, and celery. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium low and cook vegetables for 15 minutes.
Add leek and cook 10 minutes then add potatoes and cook vegetables 15 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
Remove from heat and discard the herb packet. Purée mixture until smooth using an immersion blender or food processor.
Melt the butter in separate medium-sized soup pot over medium-low heat. Stir in the flour to make a roux, stirring constantly to blend the two ingredients and to prevent scorching. Gradually whisk in the milk until mixture is smooth. Increase heat to medium and continue to whisk milk mixture until it is thickened to desired consistency then add the puréed vegetable mixture. Stir mixture until heated then add the cheese, stirring until cheese is melted and blended into soup. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with croutons, a sprinkle of parsley, and a drizzle of a good quality finishing olive oil, if desired. Enjoy!
Yield: Apx. 5-6 servings
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Ingredients
Instructions
Cool fall and cold winter days always put me in the mood for good old-fashioned homemade soup — dinner in a pot and it smells sooooo good simmering away on the stove. So, my soup pot today contains Hamburger Soup in the making. Continue reading Hamburger Soup
