Guest Post: White Bean Soup with Cheddar & Chive Biscuits!

It was cold when I got back to Logan after spending the holidays in the Northeast. Like, negative double digits cold. When it’s that cold out, there’s only one thing to do: make soup. Still reeling a bit from all the holiday eating – particularly lots of regional microbrews and an epic five course dinner on New Years Eve – I was in the mood for a soup that was on the lighter side but wouldn’t leave me hungry a couple hours after eating. I found some inspiration in my 500 Soups cookbook, and headed out to the grocery store. While at the store I saw that cast iron Dutch ovens were on sale for almost 40% off. I’d wanted one for a while, so I quickly grabbed a box and put it in the cart. It was a sign: I was meant to make soup tonight.

Now, I’m not going to lie: even though it was cold, my real motivation for making soup traveled over 2,000 miles to get here. Tucked in my suitcase were some very special souvenirs from a quick visit to Burlington, Vermont: two 2-pound blocks of Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar cheese. Best. Cheese. Ever. It even wears Lumberjack plaid!

This really is, in my humble opinion, the best cheddar cheese out there. I miss having it in my life since moving away from the Northeast. So before heading out of town, I stopped at the City Market Co-op in Burlington (another thing I miss from VT). The cheese was all I bought. The cashier made a comment about it being a lot of cheese, but understood after I explained that I now live in Utah and can’t get this variety out there. So now, at least until this 4 pounds runs out, this wonderful, crumbly, sharp cheddar is back in my life.

All the way back to Logan all I could think of was incorporating this cheese into a batch of hot, flaky biscuits. So really, I didn’t make the biscuits to go with the soup: I made the soup to go with the biscuits. It was fun playing in the kitchen after a couple weeks away, and the soup and biscuits made the perfect dinner for this cold, snowy evening. The soup is simple but flavorful, and filling without being heavy. And the biscuits? Tender, flaky,  cheesy, and just the right bit of salty. I may never make a plain biscuit again.

White Bean Soup

2 14-oz cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

4 cups chicken stock (substitute vegetable stock for vegetarian/vegan version)

1 14-oz can diced tomatoes

1 large onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

4 carrots, chopped

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, separated

2 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

3 Tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

8 oz smoked turkey sausage, sliced (can substitute kielbasa, salami, or other smoked sausage, or omit for vegetarian version)

In 6-quart Dutch oven or large pot, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil on medium heat. Add onion and stir. Cook until onions begin to turn translucent, about 2 minutes. 

Add beans, chicken stock, tomatoes (with liquid), celery, carrots, tomato paste, 1/3 cup olive oil, oregano, and sausage to pot. Add ground pepper and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer about 45 minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serves 6-8.

Biscuit Recipe HERE!

Me-So-Hungry-Miso-Soup

This recipe is easily adaptable to whatever veggies you have in your refrigerator. 

2 T canola oil
2 rounded cups, chopped onion
1/4 c chopped garlic, reduce if you like
1 big carrot, sliced
1 c sliced mushrooms
2 big handfulls chopped greens, I used kale
4 c veggie stock
2 T soy sauce
2 T white miso, dissolved in 1/2 c hot, not boiling water
1 block pressed, cubed firm tofu

saute onion in oil until golden and beginning to brown, add garlic, carrot, mushroom and saute until soft, if veggies dry out and begin to stick, add a splash of water. when all the veggies are soft, add stock, soy sauce, greens, miso and tofu. lower the heat. continue to cook on med/low for about 10 minutes to soften the greens.

enjoy!

creamy coconut carrot soup

Do you have a plethora of carrots and squash lying around? I've got the recipe for you!

7 c carrots, diced (unpeeled)
2 c onion, diced
2 c apple, any kind, diced (skin on)
2 tsp baking soda (yes, you heard me right)
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 T olive oil
1 1/2 T butter
1 1/2 T grated fresh ginger (freeze it, it's much easier to grate when it's frozen)
4 cloves (or to taste) garlic
1 1/2 T curry powder
approx. 1 - 2 quarts veggie stock (you can use chicken stock)
1 cooked acorn squash (approx. 2 - 3 c)
1 c milk, any kind
1 can coconut milk

First, cook the squash. Halve the squash, place face down in pan, cook on 400 deg. with about 1/2 inch of water in the pan until soft. approx. 30 minutes.

saute carrots, onion, apple in olive oil and butter for 10 minutes. add salt and baking soda, cover and continue cooking for about 5 - 10 minutes longer on med heat. the carrots etc. will be very soft. 

at this point, add ginger, garlic, curry and veggie stock to cover, bring to a simmer. you can let this simmer for about 15 minutes, but if the squash has a lot longer to cook, just turn the heat off and once the squash is done, you can continue cooking.

after squash is done, scrape out flesh, add to soup along with milk(s)*. bring to a simmer, use immersion blender and blend soup. 

*If the soup seems too thick, add more stock, if it seems too thin, add less milk. enjoy!

cabbage potato soup

Usually cabbage has gaseous consequences...but not this time! 

Adapted from bon appetit

1/2 c sour cream
1 T lemon juice
1/2 t grated lemon peel
1/4 stick butter
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 lbs large diced yukon gold potatoes
1/2 head green cabbage, 1/2 inch dice
3 c onion, diced
1/2 head garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
6-8 c veg stock


mix sour cream, lemon juice and zest, put in refrigerator. saute cabbage and salt and pepper with 1 T butter and 1 T olive oil until cabbage is tender, 8 min or so. transfer 1 c to a separate bowl and reserve for garnish. add rest of butter to pan with cabbage, add onion, when onion is soft, add potatoes and garlic, saute until garlic is slightly cooked, add bay leaf and veg stock. simmer until all the veggies are tender, approx 20-25 min. remove bay leaf and puree with hand blender. add reserved cabbage and serve with a dollop of sour cream mixture. yum. I really like this soup and I hope you do too!

minestrone

Adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe here. 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 medium carrots, diced

3 large celery stalk, diced

1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary, or 1/4 teaspoon dried

Coarse salt and ground pepper

28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped a bit

3 small red potatoes, diced

2 c (cooked) white beans, I used great northern

4 garlic cloves, minced

½ c pesto

Parmesan cheese

In a large pot, cook onion, carrots, celery, red-pepper flakes, rosemary, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in oil. Cook 5 to 8 minutes, add tomatoes cook for about 3 min, add potato, beans, and 2-4 c water (depending on how thick you like your soup and on how watery the tomatoes are). Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are cooked through. Season with salt and pepper, stir in garlic and pesto just before serving. Serve sprinkled with parm. cheese. yum.......(you could also add some diced kale or cabbage to this to increase the greenery to your liking...)

Quinoa Corn Chowder

Quinoa Corn Chowder adapted from http://lornasass.com/recipes/appetizers-and-soups

3 T butter
1 1/2 c diced leeks (white and light green parts) - you can use onion, but I really liked the taste of leeks here and I usually don't 'splurge' on leeks...
1 c diced celery
1 c diced red bell pepepr
1 tsp salt
3/4 c quinoa
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4 c corn, either canned, fresh or defrosted
1 c milk, any kind
3 T minced parsley
s + p

Cook leeks, celery, bell pepper and salt in 2 T butter. saute for 5-10 minutes until soft. Add 3 c water, bring to boil and stir in quinoa and thyme, drop back down to a simmer and cook for 10 min. covered. In blender process 3 c of the corn with 1 c water. Add this to the soup along with corn kernels after it has cooked for 10 minutes. simmer for another 3-5 minutes or until the quinoa is done. When it is done, there will be no starchy white dot in the center of the grain. Stir in the milk, the remaining 1 T of butter, and parsley. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. This soup will thicken as it stands so you may need to add milk to thin it out.

enjoy!

potato soup with sauteed mushrooms and rustic croutons

2 T butter
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 large diced onions
1 tsp salt
2 lbs new potatoes, quartered
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp Italian seasoning mix (combo of dried oregano, parsley, rosemary...)
1-2 cubes veg stock seasoning or 1 large spoonful if you buy it in bulk
8 c water
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper


in large pot on med heat, saute onions and salt with butter and oil until soft, 8-10 min or so. add spices, cook for a minute to release spice flavors, then add potatoes, cook for another minute, then add veg stock, water and bay leaves. 


cover and simmer for approx 10-15 minutes until potatoes are soft when pierced with knife. puree with hand blender AFTER taking the bay leaves out. add salt and pepper to taste.


while the soup is simmering....


croutons
2-3 c torn up rustic Italian bread, if it's dried out...great!
3 T butter
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt


in a cast iron skillet, melt butter, add bread and spices and saute on med/low heat until the bread is toasty


mushrooms
sliced mushrooms
butter


the proportions are totally up to you, just saute the two together in another skillet and by the time the soup is done, your toppings will be too!

Smoky Spanish Tomato Soup

Smoky Spanish Tomato Soup      Adapted from this site

Approx. 80 oz of whole or chopped tomatoes, undrained
1 large onion, chopped
2 c red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 c olive oil
1 tsp sweet paprika
2-3 T smashed garlic
1 t cumin
1/2 c bread crumbs
sour cream


Cook onion and oil in wide, heavy pot with 1/2 t salt. Saute until soft, approx. 15 minutes. Add drained tomatoes, (reserve liquid), another 1/2 tsp salt and paprika. Saute until tomatoes are cooked through, add garlic and cumin, cook for a couple minutes, then add reserved tomato juice. This will be thick and you might need to add some water or veggie stock. I added water and it came out great. 
Stir in bread crumbs and using a hand blender, blend in the pot, or blend it carefully, in batches in a counter-top blender. Top with a dollop of sour cream. This really makes all the difference! 

Roasted Vegetable Autumn Soup

(This picture does not do this recipe justice, try it, it will warm you right up on any winter day)


Roasted Vegetable Autumn Soup
Adapted from this recipe


1 small blue hubbard or butternut squash 5lbs
4 apples, halved, cored
2 yellow onions, peeled, halved
3 T olive oil
2 quarts vegetable stock
1 inch knob ginger, peeled
1 1/2 c milk (1% or 2% or nonfat)
1/2 c half and half or heavy cream
1/4 c parm cheese
salt and pepper


Halve squash, remove seeds, stringy stuff. Place in large roasting pan with halved onions and 3 T olive oil. Roast for 1 hr at 400 degrees. During last 20 minutes of roasting, add halved apples. If you wish, you can refrigerate the vegetables at this point, if you want to make the soup at a later time. 


Heat stock in large pot. Scrape squash from shell and add to stock with (roughly chopped) onion and apple. Grate in ginger, heat slowly. When heated through, blend with hand blender or in small batches in a counter top blender. When finished, add milk(s) and half and half or cream. The original recipe calls for 2 c heavy cream, so you can use heavy cream if you are looking to put meat on your bones, but I'm not! Season with salt and pepper and top with parm cheese. enjoy!