Balthazar’s Cream of Mushroom Soup
So last week when it was all chilly and brrrrrrr, I saw this vegan mushroom soup and knew I would be making mushroom soup to warm my bones. And it seemed perfect because having a new labmate who is vegan made me realize that my blog is not vegan friendly. In fact, I struggled to recall a single recipe admist all the POUNDS of butter, dairy, eggs, and cheese that is vegan. My tumblr is actually vegan-hostile. What better way to remedy this than by making something deliciously vegan?
Except then, of course due to my perfectionist nature, I had to hunt around for other mushroom soup recipes to see how the ingredients and ratios compare, which of course led me to this cream of mushroom soup which is decidedly not so vegan friendly. Well, this soup, with its hefty 2 (TWO!!!!) pounds of fungi, won me over and all thoughts of my first vegan tumblr recipe went flying out the window.
I know I could have made the vegan cashew cream to be the “cream” in my mushroom soup but…. I figured if I am going to try Balthazar’s Cream of Mushroom soup, I have to try it as written. And of course, it was delicious. Creamy and so very earthy, really the only way 2 pounds of mushed up cooked mushrooms can be earthy. Next time can be cashew cream vegan time.
Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Thankfully the sun is shining again here in Boston and it almost seems as if the whole soggy weekend never happened. Except that there is still plastic tarp, 5 gallon buckets, and residual drippage from the hole in the ceiling of our living room.
Oh, and this soup. It was warm and comforting when it was wet and cold outside, and yesterday, it was a bright and flavorful lunch. I’ve mentioned before how I love the comfort of soups and stews on cold and/or wet winter days, but even on an almost-spring-day like yesterday, I couldn’t wait to have this soup. I used to think tomato soup was kind of gross- who would want to drink spaghetti sauce?! And as with most dishes that I did not enjoy as a kid, I tasted one (from here) a year or two ago that not only completely changed my mind and caused me to seek out other tomato soups elsewhere, but also convinced me that I just HAD to try to make my own.
I have learned that home-made tomato soup (and tomato sauce) is totally different from the overly sugary and salty pre-packaged sauces and soups… it actually tastes like TOMATOES (shocker, I know… and even if your tomatoes are from a CAN. And now thinking about it, canned tomatoes actually taste better than the round red orbs trying to pass as tomatoes for most of the year at my nearest big chain grocery store, BUT I DIGRESS) and it really speaks to the whole “less is more” maxim. The tomatoes are naturally sweet and tangy, the red peppers add a taste of roastedness, and the fresh basil is just… so fresh.
If you make this soup, do yourself a huge favor and also make yourself one of these.
Outrageously good.
Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup
adapted from Use Real Butter
makes about 6 cups.
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 cup low salt chicken broth (or more, I tend to like my soup a little thicker, the original recipe calls for flour to thicken the soup which I did not do in my adapted version)
1 28 ounce can of whole and peeled or diced San Marzano tomatoes, including the juice
2 roasted red peppers (leftovers from a jar in our fridge)
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 sprig fresh thyme
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons of thinly sliced fresh basil, dill, or green onions, or any combination of the three (I used basil)
- In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the butter and oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic, stirring periodically until translucent and soft. Take care not to brown them.
- Pour in the chicken stock, tomatoes, peppers, sugar, and thyme. Bring the soup to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and let the soup simmer, covered for about 30 minutes.
- Remove the thyme sprig and let the soup cool a little before pureeing with an immersion blender or transferring it to a blender or food processor to the consistency you like. Season to taste with salt and pepper, add the fresh herbs and re-heat if needed.
Potato Leek Soup
After last week’s disappointing snow debacle, the weatherpeople redeemed themselves and successfully forecasted snow on Tuesday. All day I watched snow steadily fly past my window: wet flakes that melt as soon as they hit you, fast little flakes, and my favorite, those big fluffy flakes (the size of quarters!) that float up as they are falling down and never seem to reach the ground. We got a respectable amount of snow and it actually felt like a true winter day. That being said, snow days call for stomach-warming, soul-comforting foods, and this soup does just that.
Most of the soups I had while growing up were either home-made derivatives of chicken broths with asian adornments (lotus roots, winter melon, tofu skin) or cream of mushroom soup from the red labeled can. It was not until I moved here and experienced a New England winter that I realized the merit (the brilliance!) of creamy, hearty soups. Like this one. When the weather chills you to the bone, there is no vehicle of heat that can travel to the very tips of your fingers and toes (for me, always the first to get cold and last to get warm) as quickly and efficiently as a wonderful bowl of soup.
I really liked this particular soup because it was simple, creamy, and comforting. Andreas asked, “So it’s basically like mashed potato soup?” Ummm.. well… yes… yes it is!
I made a big batch over the weekend, and had enough to last me through the week as part of my lunch or mid-afternoon snack, perfect for the snowy Wednesday. Oh and did I mention I am totally smitten with croutons in soup? Move over saltines, there’s a new carb condiment in my life! The contrast of the crunchy and the creamy is so satisfying to me. Maybe a little disruptive if you are sitting in a lunch-time talk, eating your soup and crunching away happily on your croutons while someone is presenting, but whatever, he had a microphone!
Potato Leek Soup
adapted from Alton Brown, Food Network
4-6 servings
4-5 leeks, white and pale green parts, finely sliced and rinsed free of sand
14 ounces, approximately 3 small yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced small (I used 4 potatoes)
4 cup vegetable broth (I used chicken stock)
1 cup heavy cream (I only used 1/2)
1 cup buttermilk (I omitted, and added a dollop of greek yogurt when to my individual servings for that bit of tang)
heavy pink of salt, plus additional for seasoning
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon white pepper (i only had black)
1 tablespoon snipped chives (or green onions)
- In a large pot (6 quart saucepan) over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the leeks and a heavy pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Decrease the heat to medium-low and cook until the leeks are tender, approximately 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the potatoes and the vegetable broth, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and gently simmer until the potatoes are soft, about 30-40 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and puree mixture (using whatever tool you like best: immersion blender, blender, food processor. I used my food processor and had to blend in 3 batches.) until smooth or to the consistency you desire. Add more liquid (hot water, cream, stock) if a thinner consistency is desired. Add the cream and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning. Sprinkle with chives and serve immediately, or chill and serve cold. I also grated a bit of parmeggiano reggiano into one of my servings of soup… omg.
Croutons here, I sprinkled a bit of gruyere cheese over the bread bits in the last 5 minutes of toasting them and it was super tasty. I also saw some recipes where you could add a dollop of sour cream, bacon bits, crispy fried shallots, etc.
Bourride
I have generally always been afraid to try new things: mostly due to an intense fear of failure and embarassment, underscored by insecurity and indecisiveness. This is something that stems back from my childhood; my parents always characterized me as having “a cautious nature.” As I grew older and gained confidence in myself, I began to progress from trying little things (making new friends in college) to bigger things (moving to a totally unfamiliar city across the country for graduate school), to even bigger things (rock-climbing, and more recently- patent law).
However, the one place where I have always been eager to try new things is the kitchen! This may be due to the fact that my hunger for tasty foods always outweighs the fear of failure. That’s where this soup comes in… it was a brand spanking new endeavor for me. We first tasted this soup at Ten Tables, where we celebrated my birthday with their amazing 3 course tasting menu, and it knocked our socks off. It became my goal to re-create it.
Bourride is a Provençal fish soup that is thickened with aioli (a zesty garlic mayonnaise). It was rich, yet not too heavy due to a bright lemon-y finish, with seafood so fresh they were sweet, and tasty little bits of polenta and earthy kale. I searched for recipes online but none encompassed all the aspects of the soup that we had tasted, so I combined a few recipes and relied heavily on improvisation to achieve the final product.
The entire dish was a challenge because never before have I:
- Cooked mussels.
- Cooked monkfish (though I watched an Iron Chef America battle featuring this as the secret ingredient; these guys are seriously “monsters-of-the-deep” ugly!).
- Cooked kale.
- Made aioli (by hand, no less).
- Made a dish where the main components were ingredients I had never worked with or cooked before.
So as you can see, there were several steps at which utter failure was highly imminent… and yet… somehow it all came together. It was so rewarding, not only to my stomach but my psyche as well, because this soup totally rocked and we both felt like we were right back at Ten Tables.
Bourride with Monkfish and Mussels
makes about 4 dinner-sized servings
2 lbs. mussels
1.5 lbs. monkfish fillet
2 leeks, sliced and rinsed
1 bunch of kale, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup white wine
5 cups fish stock (I did not make my own, I found a fish stock concentrate at Whole Foods that I mixed into 5 cups of boiling water- can’t remember the brand, but it was in the canned section by the canned sardines and anchovies)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 sprigs thyme (fresh)
zest from 1 lemon
1 egg yolk
salt and pepper
1 cup home-made aioli (recipe as follows)
1 cup polenta (recipe as follows)
- Rinse and scrub mussels. Discard any mussels that are broken.
- In a large pot or dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium heat. Cook leeks and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add white wine, mussels, and thyme sprigs. Let liquid come to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer (low), and cover for 5 minutes.
- Mussels should be cooked in about 5-8 minutes (mine were done in 6), all mussels should open. If ones do not open, throw those away. Transfer cooked mussels to a separate bowl, to prevent from overcooking.
- Add fish stock, kale, and polenta and simmer, covered for 30 minutes or until kale is tender (I had no idea how long this would take; I originally started with only 2 cups of fish stock and by the time the kale cooked, half of the soup had boiled off!). In the meantime, sear and cook the monkfish and prepare the aioli.
- In a medium saucepan, heat one tablespoon of oil on high heat. Sear the monkfish fillets, about 2-4 minutes on each side until nicely browned. Then add to the soup while simmering, and cook until just cooked through. Depending on the thickness of the fillets, should take about 8-12 minutes. Remove cooked fish until soup is ready.
- Once aioli is ready, mix in another egg yolk. Then add 1/2 cup of simmered soup into aioli mixture and slowly mix. Then slowly add the aioli mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, to the simmering soup. The soup should thicken a bit to become more creamy.
- Continue to reduce soup at a simmer until it tastes good to you. Add salt, lemon zest, and pepper to the soup.
- Add the mussels and monkfish back into the soup for a few minutes and serve.
Aioli
5 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 egg yolks (at room temperature)
juice from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
pinch of salt
I originally tried doing this in my 9 cup food processor… it did NOT work. I think the area was just too big for the yolk and mustard to form a proper homogeneous emulsion. The aioli broke (separated to look a bit curdled and oily), and I made the mistake of adding a bit to the soup hoping that the soup would fix it… it didn’t. Little oil/egg droplets rested on the top of the soup- definitely not the effect I was looking for. Lesson learned. I got over my fear and just decided to make the aioli as the recipe suggested.. whisking by hand. It was super easy and came together in less than 5 minutes! Once I added all the successful aioli the soup thickened beautifully, AND the droplets from the failed aioli attempt disappeared (whew!).
- Separate egg yolks (save the whites! You can freeze egg whites!) and whisk. Add mustard and whisk until the emulsion is homogeneous.
- Slowly dribble olive oil into the egg yolks while whisking briskly. The aioli should come together within a minute or two; the consistency should be similar to mayonnaise.
- Add the minced garlic and lemon juice to flavor the aioli.
Polenta (makes about 2 cups)
1 cup yellow cornmeal, stone ground (or polenta)
2 1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup heavy cream
pinch of salt
- Begin preparing before the soup. Bring 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan.
- Add polenta or cornmeal and whisk briskly to dissolve. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, whisking continuously. Add the heavy cream and continue to whisk and cook for another 5 minutes until the polenta is soft and no longer gritty. The texture should be pretty thick and paste-y (pretty solid).
- Transfer the polenta to a plate and let cool to room temperature. Add half of the polenta (about 1 cup) to the soup by the spoonful and let dissolve into soup. It will slightly thicken the soup but some solid bites of polenta goodness will remain in the soup.
