Crab and Vegetable Soup from the kitchen of The Careless Cook

 

Crab and Vegetable Soup from the kitchen of The Careless Cook

 

Like crab?  Me, too.  BUT, I get tired of recipes doing everything to turn such a wonderfully delicious protein into goop that absconds with the flavor and adds calories like a farmer stacking hay!

 

The Very Careless Cook has a delicious answer.  How about adding a pile of crab to vegetable soup? I asked myself.

 

As I’ve said many times, when you make one of my recipes, you are the cook, the chef, the ruler of your kitchen. This recipe is no exception.  Don’t like one of the vegetables I savor?  Make some changes.  But, please don’t forget the crab.  It makes the meal.

 

Now let get started….right after you pour yourself a nice dose of a chilled white wine, or perhaps you already have some prosecco waiting in the fridge?

 

Surely you know the unavoidable temptation of chilled prosecco. If you haven’t tasted it, I shan’t spoil the elegant surprise.

 

Soon as you see the word, shan’t, you know I’ve spent a good deal of time in Britland. I’ve also noticed the Brits don’t hold the French in the high esteem that we Americans favor, especially in the kitchen.  The blokes hasten to tell us that herb has an H in it, and should not be neglected when pronouncing it.  Same with ‘fillet.’  Yes, they again use all the letters. Instead of fill-a, they say fill-it.

 

Had enough? I sympathize.    Take another sip and let’s go!

 

Crab and Vegetable Soup from the kitchen of The Careless Cook

 

Ingredient suggestions!

 

1 pound can of pasteurized crab claw meat

12 oz Brussels sprouts, cut in halves

14 oz shredded green cabbage

1 can chickpeas (I prefer to use those in a jar)

8 oz broccoli flowerets

2 stalks celery, split and sliced thinly

1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and then sliced ¼ inch wide crosswise

1 onion, peeled and chunked

1 package sliced various colored bell peppers

2 generous handfuls of small, unpeeled  potatoes, cut in half

3 or more slices of preserved lemons, diced (you can go to stores or Amazon or make them yourself – see Special Note)  Believe me, once you’ve used some, you won’t be without them

2 quart boxes of vegetable stock 

4 cups boiling water

4-6 large cubes of vegetable stock

2-3 tablespoons Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste.

a good spay of olive oil

Puttin’ It Together

 

Spray a deep soup pot with olive oil.  Add the celery and onion and stir from time to time until the onions are translucent. Add the peppers, zucchini and allow to cook a little longer.  

 

Mix in the Brussels sprouts, cabbage, chickpeas, and Italian seasoning. 

 

Pour in the stock, salt and pepper.  

 

Add the potatoes.

 

Let the soup come to a boil.

 

Add the water and the vegetable stock cubes to cover the vegetables.

Cook until all vegetables are soft. Add the preserved lemon and stir well.

Lastly, add the crab meat, stir and serve.

 

Voila! 

 

Short work, high flavor!  We made a pot and ate it for supper three days running.  No complains! Just calls for more!

 

Special Note:

Preserved lemons.  Why?  Preserved lemons have a smoother flavor than raw lemons and add a bright taste.  I use them in stews and salads and anything else that suits my fancy.

Recipe:  five lemons washed and ends cut off (save the ends). Slice the lemons thinly and put them in a clean jar adding some salt with each layer.  Now use those ends and squeeze the juice into the jar.  Take any blunt kitchen tool and lightly mash the jarred lemons just enough to release the juice.  When you’re finished, make sure the jarred lemons are fully covered in juice.  If not, add more lemon juice.

 

Put a top on the jar and put the jar in the refrig for a month!

Tuscan Bread Soup, Ribollita

 

Tuscan Bread Soup, Ribollita

 

Lately, my three faithful readers may have noticed…sobriety is a key to whether they noticed or not….that I’ve dwelt on Italian food, and with good reason.

 

Far and away, the most important point is that Italian cuisine stands proudly shoulder-to-shoulder with French cuisine in the ever important Stroud taste test, but with one important factor that tips the scale.

 

Let’s see…hummmm….how many clichés and trite phrases so far?  I count four, but I’m just getting started.  Whoops, there’s one more!

 

Ok, back to the important factor:  Italian recipes are one hellova lot easier to make.  Tuscan Bread Soup is exactly what I mean.  Sure, there’s some dicing to do and not much of that. And best of all, the ingredients are probably in your kitchen already, but if not, it’s still only a very quick trip to the grocers.

 

Tuscan bread soup is also very adaptable. Want it vegetarian style?  Just sub vegetable stock for chicken stock. Gotta be adaptable.  After all, this was a dish for the poor, featuring stale bread.

 

One more thing, what does Ribollita mean in English?  It comes from the Italian verb ribollire, to boil, or to boil again.

 

But, I know you’re hungry, so let’s stroll into the kitchen, pour ourselves some vino and sharpen the chef’s knife.

 

Ingredients

 

1½ cups of split, then thinly diced carrots

3 cups thinly diced celery

3 cups finely cut onions  (I used a large sweet onion)

2 cans cannelloni beans, rinsed

1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes (I used Polpa di Pomodoro brand.  Grown in the U.S., but very similar in taste to Italian tomatoes)

Bits of kale leaves (about 8 cups), torn off the stalks.  Some prefer to chop, but I prefer to tear by hand to prevent collateral damage, especially if I’ve been drinking heavily.

2 32oz cartons organic chicken broth

5 slices of pumpernickel bread, lightly toasted and torn into bits

Sloshes of olive oil as needed

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Sprinkle some grated Parmesan on top, it you must. I didn’t.  This soup has a wonderfully robust flavor all by itself.

 

You’ll note, there is no garlic in this recipe. After a lovely trip to northern Italy, I found out that in the northern regions seldom are onions and garlic used in the same dish.

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2017/04/lunch-with-daniela-cinque-terre-part-ii.html

I already hear the question:  Why pumpernickel and why toasted? Didn’t the Italian peasants use white bread?  Yes, they did use white bread, BUT, latest nutrition advice I’ve read says rye flour is better for you.  If you disagree, don’t worry.  I’m married.  I ‘m used to it. As for the ‘toasted’ part, I’d run out of wine waiting for the bread to go stale and a light toasting does the job just as well.

 

Another question came up:  How much is a ‘slosh’?  Well, it’s right between a little bit and WHOOPS!

 

Puttin’ it Together:

 

Slosh some olive oil in a large pot at low to medium heat.  Add the carrots, celery and onion and cook them slowly. There should be just enough oil for the vegetables to slightly glisten, but not swim for their lives. 

 

When the onions are limp (about 7 minutes), add the beans, tomatoes, kale and broth. Turn the heat up slightly and cook another ten minutes. You want the kale leaves well cooked and tender. 

 

 Add the torn bread. Stir well, breaking up the bread and allowing the soup to thicken.  Cook until it’s the thickness you like.  If you overdo it, just add more broth.

 

Add salt and pepper to taste. 

 

Salute!  Cin Cin! (chin chin)  In Italian and France, Cin-Cin means something like Health or Cheers.  

 

Note:  Where did the expression Cin-Cin come from?  I don’t know.  Nobody else does either. Fu-git-aboudid and have another glass of delicious Italian vino.

 

Butternut Squash Super Soup

 

Like all thinking people, I have my prejudices.  They’re special.  I treasure them.  That’s particularly true with food.  I regard health food as a waste of good manners and a grand reason to embrace fasting, with starvation as a viable alternative.  

 

So when the bell of hunger tolled loudly at the famishing hour of 3 p.m. my first, second, or third thought was not the local heath food store.  I pictured dried tofu dressed up as impoverished chicken fingers, a gluten-free waste of the baker’s art, and plates of salt free kale braised with raw cabbage juice, with Saint Nibbler, the patron saint of emaciation, chuckling with glee.

 

However, my great hunger, and addled brain ravaged by a lack of sustenance, and a further lack of all alternatives, drove me to swing into the parking lot of a health food store.

 

Yes, the menu echoed my every prejudice and then I spotted butternut squash soup.  I like butternut squash, and prayed it hadn’t been sautéed with milk of goat-weed, or the bark of the monkey pod tree.

 

As you may or may not know, butternut squash is also known as butternut pumpkin in Australia and New Zealand.  After all, it is the same family as what we call pumpkin.  Another name for butternut is crook necked squash.  

 

This squash’s natural home is in the heartland of Argentina, near the Andes.  Well, I thought, what’s good enough for the indigenous people of the  Andes….

 

I must admit, the butternut soup was not a good choice.  It was a superb choice! Silky smooth and with flavor galore, I forgot all about my hip flask of Spanish brandy and concentrated on my agile dexterity with a spoon.

 

After lunch, I strolled up to the chef, who was working away on eye of newt and muskrat melon, and asked if I could have the recipe.  He eyed me cautiously.  “Yes, but first you must fill out a comment card and include words like Stupendous, Handsome, the flower of manhood, would rather eat his food than chase willing women.” 

 

Hey, no problem.  I can lie with the best of them! But, it’s been a while.  What exactly is a willing woman?

 

On to the matter of delicious, tongue-tantalizing soup.

 

Ingredients:  (Butternut squash comes in a variety of sizes, so you may have to adjust the ingredients.)

 

1 mid-sized butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 sweet onion, chopped

2 stalks of celery, thinly sliced

1 large carrot, or a handful of baby carrots, chopped

4 cups of either vegetable or chicken stock (I used chicken)

Salt, pepper

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup (or more) heavy cream

1 cup of shelled and salted pumpkin seeds

¼ cup olive oil

 

Spices according to taste, but start with these, then add more if it suits you:

1 teaspoon each: cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg, 

 

Puttin’ it together:

Put the vegetables in a large stew pot with a lid, and pour in the chicken or vegetable broth.  Place the pot over medium heat, cover and bring to a boil.  Turn it down to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are soft.

 

Add the salt and pepper and spices.  Mix thoroughly.

 

Use an immersible blender, or standing blender to blend to a creamy consistency.  Now add the heavy cream and stir.

The final touch:  fry the pumpkin seeds in the olive oil.  When you serve the soup to your ravenous guests, add a spoonful of oil and pumpkin seeds on top.  I warn you, when you serve this soup, you may get proposals of marriage.  Offer glasses of white wine instead.  It’s less expensive.

 

Ham and Cauliflower Soup: Simply Delicious

Where I live, it’s still sturdy soup weather.  Mornings and evening send a chill to the bone.  I sport scarves and gloves, along with designer sweaters and Gucci winter jackets.  Baloney, I’m not living in Paris!

But, I do wear all those accruements, minus the labels. Ok, go ahead and call me a whimp.  I’ve been called worse by red-faced men wearing uniforms and carrying weapons.  Fortunately, the fine wasn’t much and now I always remember my driver’s license.

But, what I really want to introduce you to is the result of playtime in my kitchen, with limited ingredients.  Turns out you can do a lot with a little and in this case it turned out more than a little delicious.  Served this soup to a captive audience, but I did untie one hand so she could use a spoon.  ONLY KIDDING!  I untied both hands.  STILL KIDDING! 

This is another of my fave low carb recipes.  Too often low carb translates to very high fat.  Not in this case.  Lean protein, a dash of heavy cream, a bit of butter, and the rest is vegetables.

Here it is: Simply Delicious Ham and Cauliflower Soup

1 Pound sliced lean ham, roughly cut into 1/2 inch squares, more or less

½ Pound freshly sliced mushrooms

1 Stalk of Celery, diced

12 Oz frozen cauliflower

6 Cups of organic chicken broth

Several drops of Liquid Smoke flavoring (Careful!  This stuff is powerful.)

¼ Cup heavy cream (optional, but I had it handy)

Olive Oil

Butter

Salt and pepper

Several sprigs of fresh thyme (I used 6 small sprigs), or 1/4 teaspoon ground thyme

Melt a pat or two of butter in a large saucepan, add a dash or two of olive oil, and sauté the diced celery and sliced mushrooms until they are soft.  Add a teaspoon of salt.

Add the chicken broth, sprigs of thyme, and Liquid Smoke.  Bring to a boil.  Add the cauliflower and half the ham.

Now comes the fun part.  When the cauliflower is cooked, pick out and discard the sticks of fresh thyme, then use an immersible blender to blend everything into a thick liquid.  Turns out I don’t have an immersible blender, so I put a couple of cups at a time in a countertop blender and poured the results in a bowl, until everything was liquid. 

There is a drawback to putting scalding soup in a countertop blender.  As I found out.  Stick to blending one or two cups (at most) at a time.  Safer and less scalding.

Put the liquid soup back in the large saucepan, stir in the cream and the rest of the ham.  Add a dash of freshly ground pepper, if you want.

Voilá!  Pour the wine, serve your guests.  Another warning.  You’ll dream about this ham and cauliflower soup and wake up wanting it for breakfast.  So, make enough!

Mexican Soup – Corn, Chicken, and Chiles

Yes, it's soup, and a thick one.  And yes it does involve Mexican style ingredients, but there are a few American twists.  I don’t grind my own corn with a Molcajete.  I buy the bags of masa, and I used some fresh chile substitutes.   Ya que! (so what)  Olé, Amigo! Put another shot of tequila down your parched throat. Wash it down with an icy Corona.  Now grab a spoon, and if your hunger gnaws like a starving rata, don’t be the last in line!

So what if this soup ain’t ‘xactly comin’ from south of Brownsville.  Damn, it’s good! And good food don’t need no stinkin’ pedigree!

Ok, amigos, let’s git down to it!

The fixins:  (makes about 8 bowls of soup, about 16 cups)

3 green onions, mostly the white parts, sliced in thin rounds

2 smallish red onions, peeled and sliced down the middle (roots intact)

1 large whole jalapeño

1 15 oz jar roasted red bell peppers (or roast 2 of your own!), cut in ½ in strips

1 oz can fire roasted mild green chiles (don’t drain)

12 oz frozen corn kernels, thawed

2 chicken breast halves, each split into thin fillets

6 cups chicken stock (plus a cup or two more for thinning the soup)

3 tablespoons masa, or use fine corn meal

Queso Fresco cheese, crumbled for topping (or another semi-soft mild white cheese)

1 Tablespoon coarse salt, or to taste

Serve with fresh tortilla chips (see below)

In a dry iron skillet (or oven broiler), put the sliced green onions and red onion halves and jalapeño.  Leave them in the pan and turn them until they are charred pretty much all over.  The green onions will char first, so remove them and leave the rest until they are nicely charred.

 

The mixture in the food processor

Put half the thawed corn kernels in a food processor.  Cut the root ends off the red onions and add them to the blender, along with green onions.  Remove the seeds from the charred jalapeño, slice and add it to the blender.  Also add the undrained can of mild, diced green chilies.  Add two cups of chicken stock and blend until smooth.  Put the blended mixture in a large, deep-sided pan.  (Big enough to handle the chicken, more corn, roasted red bell peppers, and at least four more cups of chicken stock!)

Meanwhile, put two cups of chicken stock in a medium sized saucepan.  (When I use commercial chicken stock, I usually add a cube or two of chicken bullion to make it richer.) When the stock boils, put in the chicken filets and cook until tender, about 10-12 minutes.  Remove the chicken filets and use two forks to shred the meat.  Add the stock from the saucepan and the shredded chicken to the soup .  Stir and bring to a boil.  Add the rest of the corn kernels, the sliced red bell peppers, salt, and the final two cups of chicken stock.  Reduce to medium heat and stir.  Cook for another 10 minutes.

Mix the masa into three tablespoons of cold water to make a paste.

Stir the masa paste into the pot of soup and stir until thickened.  If the soup gets too thick, add more chicken stock as needed. Reheat as needed.

Ladle the soup into bowls and dot with bits of Queso Fresco.

To make the fresh tortilla chips:  why would you use Doritos when these are so easy???

1 package corn tortillas, halved and the halves cut into thirds

Heat 2-3 inches of vegetable oil to 350ºF (180ºC)

When the oil is hot, add the cut tortillas in small batches and just cook until the grease barely bubbles.  Take the chips out immediately and put them on a paper towel to drain.

Add salt as desired.

Is your Spanish improving?  Well, down another shot, grab another Corona chaser and get into the spirit of this thing!