POTS AND PANS CITY BLOG

Roasting the vegetables before adding to the soup pot really adds to the flavor of this wonderfully tasty soup. The mild roasted garlic taste adds a new dimension of flavor as well. This soup is great for vegetarians as well, as it is made with vegetable broth instead of meat based broth.

Ingredients:

• 4 medium red potatoes
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1 head garlic
• 1 TBSP. olive oil
• 1 can (14 ½ oz.) vegetable broth
• 1 TBSP. flour
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• 1 cup half & half cream
• Croutons

Preheat oven to 375° F. Peel and cube the potatoes. Place potatoes on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick vegetable oil. Sprinkle the onion and rosemary over the potatoes. Peel away the outer skin of the head of garlic leaving the skin on the cloves intact. Snip off the pointed top with sharp kitchen scissors, leaving the bulb intact but exposing the garlic cloves. Place the garlic, cut side up, on top of the potatoes. Drizzle the olive oil over everything. Cover with tin foil. Place the baking tray in the oven and bake, covered, for about 50 minutes or until the garlic cloves feel soft and the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and cool slightly.

In the bowl of your food processor, squeeze the garlic bulb to remove the soft insides. Add the potatoes, onions and half of the vegetable broth, all of the flour and the pepper. Cover and blend until smooth. Pour this into a medium stockpot. Stir in the remaining broth and the ½ & ½ cream. Cook and stir over medium heat until the soup thickens and is bubbly. You can add in a little more half & half cream to get the consistency of the soup you like. Serve hot in bowls with crunchy croutons on top.

Here is a great recipe for the famous Italian Wedding Soup. The term “wedding soup” is actually a mistranslation of minestra maritata (‘married soup’) which is a reference to the fact that the green vegetables (the spinach) and the meat (the meatballs) go well together. It has a light soup broth, but is still satisfying with the addition of the meatballs.

Meatballs:

• 1 onion, diced
• 1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 lb. ground beef
• 1/4 lb. ground turkey

Combine all above ingredients and place on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes. Remove from oven.

Soup:

• 10 cups chicken broth
• 1 lb. fresh spinach, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 2 TBSP. grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper

In a large pot over med-high heat, bring broth to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to medium. Add meatballs and spinach. Simmer approximately 8-10 minutes. In a small bowl beat eggs and Parmesan cheese together. While stirring soup gently, slowly drizzle egg mixture into soup. Stir gently with a fork. Thin strands of egg will form in soup after about a minute. Spoon soup into bowls and garnish with extra Parmesan cheese.

Summer is coming and so is the hot weather. Nobody likes to cook in the heat of summer. A really hot meal on a hot day is almost as unpopular. It could be that a cool, easy to prepare summer soup is just what you need.

Below are 3 recipes for soups that can be made in your food processor or blender. If you have the ingredients on hand, none of them take more than 10 minutes to make. They are all delicious, nutritious, and really refreshing on a hot day. While the recipes all suggest you use a food processor, you can get very good results by using a blender or hand blender too.

These are all very simple recipes, so don’t be shy to modify them and get a taste that your whole family can enjoy.

Here are the recipes.

Summer Vegetarian soup
This is great tasting soup with a touch of Italy included. It is super easy to make and very healthy. It is particularly good on a hot summer day

an avocado – skin and pit removed of course
4 Roma tomatoes – they may not be quite juicy enough (see below)
Basil to taste (Thai basil is really good in this)
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Process
How easy is this soup? Simply throw everything into your food processor and mix until it is smooth. If you find that it is more like a smoothie than soup, simply add more liquid (or swap one of the Roma tomatoes for another more juicy variety). Pour into bowls, garnish as you wish (minced chives are nice) and enjoy.

Sensational Salsa & Black Bean

This soup is a very simple soup that takes just a few minutes to prepare. It can be served hot or cold, but always benefits from being heated.
Roughly 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
2 normal sized cans of black beans (any brand is OK, but try for low salt)
1 1/2 cups soup stock (Just use chicken, beef, or vegetable bullion)
1 cup of your favorite salsa (chunky makes a heartier soup)
1 teaspoon cumin (best to use fresh ground in the soup and you can sprinkle seeds on top too)
1/4 cup of sour cream
1-2 green onions chopped fine

Process:
Put the beans, salsa, cumin, and soup stock into a food processor (a blender is OK too). Puree the mixture until it is creamy in texture. Pour the mixture into a mid-sized pot and heat on low-medium until it is completely hot. This allows the flavours to merge. If you are going to serve it cold, move it to the fridge to cool off till it is time to eat. To eat it hot, simply serve into bowls and garnish with the onions and some of the sour cream.

MANGO SOUP

Mangos are simply divine. They are great as a fruit, mixed into drinks, added to salads. They also make a really good cool summer soup which is explained below.

Ingredients:

1 large RIPE mango (it will be soft, no squishy, to touch)
2 cups chicken soup stock (make your own or use bullion if you must)
1 TBSP lemon grass (available in most Asian markets, it looks like long greenish reeds when you buy it)
1 TBSP ginger – Freshly chopped is best
Ground chili peppers to taste
1 cup yogurt (2% plain is best)
2 TBSP cilantro (chinese parsley) chopped fine

Process:
Chop mango and put in food processor. Mix briefly and then put in the ginger, lemon grass, chili and 1/2 cup of soup stock. Mix again till everything becomes very smooth. Move the soup into another bowl (be sure it is large enough) and mix in first the rest of the stock, and then the yogurt. This is best served cold, so put in fridge till you are ready to eat. Then put into bowls and serve with the cilantro as the garnish.

As the temperature starts to go up give these soups a try. They are all very simple and will add a new delicious and healthy dimension to your summer diet.