Kale, Sausage, and White Bean Soup

A weekend of overindulging combined with the first chilly fall day inspired this soup. We had some sausage on hand and I wanted to eat some kale. This is super tasty and warming - great with some crust bread and butter. Feel free to scale down, this makes A LOT. (Lots of future lunches...)

Lobster Corn Chowder

I made this for myself (and Jamie) for my birthday dinner - such a treat! It has such a great corn flavor, and the lobster makes it decadent and perfect for a special occasion. I went off a mix of two recipes - this from Ina and this from Martha - and tweaked them a bit. The result is a deliciously corntastic chowder. Ina uses heavy cream, so I lightened it up with a mix of corn stock, whole milk, and half and half. Yum!

Ingredients:

2 1.5 lb lobster 

2 tbsp butter

1 large yellow onion, diced and divided in two

4 cups corn stock

1 cup whole milk

1 cup half and half

4 strips bacon, chopped

4 cups corn (fresh or frozen)

1 russet or Idaho potato, peeled and cut into 1/4"-1/2" dice

2 stocks celery, diced

2 tbsp chives, minced, plus more to serve

pinch of cayenne

1/8 tsp smoked paprika

Directions:

Cook the lobster

Bring 8 cups water to a boil. Add lobsters and cook 15 minutes. Set them over a colander set in a large bowl. Take the meat out of the lobster over the bowl, reserving the juices and discarding any roe or tamale. Keep the shells. Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and put in a bowl. Refrigerate until you need them. 

Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup

The Indian spices in the soup really make it. I saw the recipe on NYTimes.com and thought it looked great. I tweaked it slightly, but it's a really nice, flavorful soup. Stirring in the buttery toasted mustard and cumin seeds at the end gives it a great bit of textured crunch. Next time, I might add some shallots and another chile, but it's still great as is. Feel free to use chicken broth instead of water if you prefer. 

Serves 4 (probably more)

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

This is a great winter warming soup. It's spicy, both in the sense that it's a little hot and that it has lots of great spices and seasonings in it. The coconut milk and garam masala make it a little Indian. The cool, tart yogurt is a great addition to the soup. Don't worry if you can't find nigella seeds. If you wanted to add a little protein, I think it could be great with some grilled shrimp thrown in at the bottom, or on top with the garnish.

Ingredients:

1 sweet onion, diced

2 tbsp coconut oil (or vegetable oil if you don't have it)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp ginger, grated

1 tsbp chili flakes

1/4 tsp coriander seeds

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp whole black pepper corns

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp chili powder

3 tbsp sriracha

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp cider vinegar

Roasted Vegetable Soup

Winter Sundays are always good soup days. For this Italian-inspired soup, I roasted a bunch of vegetables (mostly root vegetables) with fresh rosemary, chopped fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes. You can use whatever vegetables you want or can find, just be sure to have some starchier veggies in there like potatoes/turnips/parsnips. Using a food mill instead of a blender means that you don't have to peel the vegetables or fish out the rosemary, and it gives the soup a more rustic texture. I drizzled the top with reduced balsamic vinegar and some good extra virgin olive oil.

Ingredients:

1 red potato

2 small turnips (I did peel these because they put wax on them)

2 leeks, rinsed

3 garlic cloves

1 small floret broccoli, halved

2 parsnips, roughly chopped

3 carrots, roughly chopped

1/2 big yellow onion, peeled and halved

2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp roughly chopped fennel seeds

4 cups chicken broth

Directions:

Carrot Soup with Dukkah and Yogurt

This is a very simple soup that is jazzed up by the yogurt and dukkah. The dukkah adds a great spice and the cool, tart yogurt is a nice texture in the soup. 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into slices

1/2 qt vegetable broth

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp turmeric 

Pinch cayenne

Low fat greek yogurt

Thai Chicken Soup

This is a really light and flavorful soup. I recommend making your own stock, but store-bought is fine, too. 

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 lemongrass stalks, 1-2 hard outer layers discarded

2 large shallots, peeled and thinly sliced 

2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced 

2 tbsp vegetable oil 

2 quarts chicken stock

1 14oz can diced tomatoes, drained but reserving juice

2oz tamarind paste

3 tbsp fish sauce

2 Serrano chiles, thinly sliced

A little lime zest

Chicken Stock

Everyone always says one should make her own chicken broth. It's not always in the cards to have several hours to kill before you want to whip up some soup for dinner. This is why Sundays are great days for soup. I made this fantastic broth to go with a Thai Chicken Soup (recipe coming) that really depended on a flavorful broth. Yum! There was luckily a bit leftover so I poured the extra broth into a ziploc bag and popped it in the freezer to use on my next soup.

Makes about 3 quarts

Ingredients:

3 lb chicken wings

any extra chicken bones you've been storing in your freezer (or just get a few more wings or other chicken parts)

4 quarts water

1 onion, quartered

8 garlic cloves, skin on

1 celery rib, quartered

1 carrot, quartered

6 parsley sprigs

1 large thyme sprig

1 bay leaf

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a large stock put and bring to a boil, skimming any froth. Reduce to a bare simmer and cook, uncovered, for 3.5 hours, occasionally skimming any foam and fat. Pour the stock through a sieve lined with damp paper towels and discard solids. Skim any fat. 

Stracciatella Soup (Quick and Cheap)

I needed a quick, cheap lunch and decided on stracciatella with arugula. It took about 5 minutes start to finish and was practically free. It's perfect for lunch or a light dinner with some bread and salad. 

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 cups worth of chicken bouillon (or homemade or store bought if you have it)

1 big handful arugula or spinach, cut into ribbons

A few tbsp freshly grated pecorino

1 egg

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Bring the stock to a boil. Season with salt. Add arugula and cook until tender. Meanwhile, mix the egg, cheese, and a good grind of fresh pepper. Whisk the egg mix into the water so it forms ribbons. 

Serve immediately. 

Get Better Soup

I had a bad cold and started to feel a little flu-ish on Monday and went home from work. I made myself a soup that I thought might cure my cold and nausea. I think it worked as I soon felt better. It's cheap and easy and tasty. Maybe don't have it before a date...

Spicy Tomato Soup

This is a nice and cheap soup, and really easy. Great novice soup recipe (I'm looking at you, Alice!) I love Barbara Lynch and saw the recipe on Food52 and had to try it. Yum! It's very simple but really nice, especially with a gooey grilled cheese.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 big tsp red pepper flakes (or more or less, depending how spicy you want it)

1 1/2 cups water

2 28oz cans whole tomatoes with their juices

salt and pepper

big handfull of basil

Chipotle Butternut and Acorn Squash Soup

This is a great, warming soup. The two squashes are sweet and the chipotle is spicy and smoky. (You can also add more or less chipotle depending how spicy you want it - or smoked paprika if you don't want any spice.)

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken stock (I used this)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 onion, diced

1 celery stick, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp chipotle powder (or start at 1/2 tbsp and move forward)

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, and cut into 1" cubes

1 acorn squash, peeled, seeds removed, and cut into 1" cubes

1 yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into 1" cubes

1/2 cup whole milk

1/4 tsp cider vinegar

Roasted Root Vegetable Soup with White Beans

This is a great soup for a cold winter day. Roasting the veggies first makes them a little sweeter and adds more depth to the flavor. Feel free to change around the veggies if you have anything else that might work - a rutabega, more or less of various veggies - it's pureed, so you can really experiment. I added the white beans to make it a little creamier, but you can omit if you want.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 leeks, rinsed and halved, dark leaves cut off

3 cloves garlic

1 turnip, peeled and cut into pieces

1/2 a small butternut squash, peeled and cut into pieces

Leek and Potato Soup, with Kale and a Turnip

My mom always made leek and potato soup and served it with salad and buttery toasted pita. It's such a great dinner for a cold day. I wanted to make the usual soup, but I also picked up a turnip and a bunch of kale to change it up a little. I ended up making way more soup than necessary, so I'll be eating it for days. All of the ingredients cost $10. It's really tasty, and the kale gives it a nice green color (and some extra healthiness). Serve it with some pita toasted with butter and a salad.

Ingredients:
5 medium-sized potatoes (any kind you want), peeled and chopped into 1" cubes
3 large leeks, rinsed and thinly sliced
1 turnip, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
2 tbsp butter
1 bunch kale, rinsed and ripped into pieces

Pea Soup (another Ina)

Another Ina recipe here. I wanted a simple but homemade lunch for us on Sunday and this looked great. It's easy and a great lunch (I've been eating leftovers for days).

Serves 6
Ingredients:
Good olive oil
2 lb frozen peas
4 cups chicken stock
2 large shallots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 slices prosciutto or serrano ham

Directions:
In a big pot, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium and add shallots, sautéing for 3-5 minutes until soft and starting for brown. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add stock, peas, 2 tsp salt, and 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Quick Cioppino

After a long weekend of staying up late and eating junk food (fried chicken from the Dutch on Sunday morning with Alice), I thought Jamie and I needed some soup. I saw this recipe for a quick cioppino on Epicurious and it looked perfect - I altered it slightly with adding in some clams and letting the wine cook down a little bit. It's pretty healthy and has a really hearty, stew flavor from the red wine. It's great as a winter meal with some toasted sour dough bread and you get so many nice, chunks of seafood. And I got to use my beautiful, new Le Creuset pot, so I was a happy little housewife.

Ingredients:

1 fennel bulb, halved and sliced

1 medium onion, halved and sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 bay leaves 

1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

Minestrone

On a cold fall day, what beats a big bowl of minestrone? I'm not talking Progresso. Homemade minestrone is hard to mess up, and sooo tasty and warm, and healthy! This make A LOT so feel free to cut back. (Probably enough for 8 people.) Cooking it with an old Pecorino rind gives the broth an amazing flavor, and topping it with a fresh dab of pesto gives it a little zip. I also like to grate a little Pecorino on top. I'm having two friends over tonight to help me with the leftovers. Mm mm mmm.

Ingredients:
1 qt chicken broth
2 tbsp olive oil
3 pieces turkey bacon (you can use pancetta, too), diced
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 large leek, rinsed and thinly sliced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 large celery stalks, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 small zucchini, diced
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes and their juice
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Fresh Cold Tomato Soup

Hope you're not sick of tomato recipes yet! I saw this Cold Tomato Soup recipe in the Times and thought I'd try it with a few changes. It's simple, fresh, and a great way to use these amazing tomatoes before it gets cold. I had my friend Chelsea over for dinner and this was a a great, light dinner - perfect for the humid night. Would also be great for lunch.

Serves 2-3
Ingredients:
3-4 cups tomatoes, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
3 tbsp basil, chopped
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 pinch red pepper flakes
2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

Ramp, Stinging Nettle, and Sunchoke Soup

This soup just oozes spring. I've been totally going overboard with ramps - I made them with duck, made them into pesto, topped them with olive oil and grilled them... I'm drinking the cool aid. Before they go out of season, I wanted at least one more try.

I went to the farmers market yesterday hoping for veggies. I'd been eating a little unhealthily this week, so I needed it. I grabbed some stinging nettles, ramps, and sunchokes all at the same stand and thought it would make a great, springy soup. It did! Very easy to make and takes about 45 minutes. It's a beautiful bright green and goes really well with a parmesan twist from Amy's Bread (or a roll or baguette or any other bread). I can't wait to eat it again for lunch! The sunchokes thicken it up a little, the ramps give it an earthy smoothed out bite, and the nettles are super springy. It tastes great and you feel like you're being healthy. Just don't touch the nettles with your hands until after they're cooked!

Corn chowder with chiles and monterey jack

Sitting on the dramatic cliffs on the Hudson near Poughkeepsie, NY is the Culinary Institute of America. I used to go with my parents for lunch every time we played Vassar in squash. The food is amazing at their various restaurants, and pretty reasonably priced because it's being made and served by students. I definitely recommend it. Because we loved it so much, my mom bought be The Culinary Institue of America Book of Soups. Every soup I've tried has been delicious. I had a bag of corn that I'd frozen last summer and wanted to finally use it, so I tried this chowder from the book. It has a great flavor and a slight kick and is much lighter than normal corn chowder. This makes 8 servings.