Souper Sunday - Sopa de Tortilla

This Souper Sunday recipe is a family favorite!  I got the original recipe from an old Martha Stewart show over 15 years ago.  Her guest was Rick Bayless.  He's an expert on Mexican cuisine, has several famous restaurants, and even has his own shows on PBS.  I love his take on Mexican food!  This soup is a great example.

We've made this recipe so many times over the years that we don't even need it to remember what goes the soup.  And, the base of this soup is so good that it works great as a starter for other soups.  It's incredibly flavorful!

This recipe seemed very involved and a lot of work the first time we made it.  But, after that, it seemed to be a lot easier.  It's very forgiving and very flexible.  Feel free to change things up to your liking.  Add more or less ingredients and garnishes.  For example, chunks of chicken are really good as well as finely diced and raw radishes (they add a surprising and delicious crunch and color...you can see some in my photo above).  In fact, I'm pretty sure I saw the radishes being used on the show but it's not in the actual recipe.  Otherwise, I can't imagine that I would have thought to use them.  I'd never heard of putting them in soup.  But, they sure are good!  So, I added it to the list of ingredients.  Here's the recipe!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 large tomato

2 tablespoons corn oil (canola or vegetable oil work fine too)

1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and halved lengthwise

1 teaspoon course salt, plus more for seasoning

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning

6 cups chicken stock

1 small bunch cilantro, leaves picked and stems reserved

1 small bunch oregano

4 yellow and blue corn tortillas (any color will do)

1/2 cup vegetable oil, for frying

1 to 2 dried Pasilla chilies, stemmed, de-veined, and left whole

1 avocado, cut into cubes

4 ounces freshly grated queso fresco (a delicious and unique cheese but we no longer use it to avoid dairy)

4 limes, washed and quartered

1 bunch radishes shredded or finely sliced

1. Heat oven to broil.  Line a small oven-proof skillet with aluminum foil.  Place the tomato in the prepared pan and broil, turning once or twice, until soft and just starting to char, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Remove from oven, peel, and place the tomato in the jar of a blender.  Hint:  If you'd like to add fresh, roasted, green chilies to the soup, this a good time to roast them.  See step 6.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of corn oil in a medium soup pot over medium-low heat.  Add the onion and the garlic.  Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.  Add onions to jar of the blender.  Puree the tomato-onion mixture until smooth.

3. Return soup pot to medium heat.  Add remaining tablespoon of corn oil and stir in tomato-onion puree, using a rubber spatula to clean out the blender jar.  Simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, 5 to 7 minutes.  It should be the consistency of a dark, thick ketchup.

4. Whisk in chicken stock.  Make a bouquet garni of the cilantro stems and oregano (I just tie a bunch of cilantro and oregano together with butcher twine. I don't worry about just using just the stems of the cilantro.).  Add the bouquet garni to the soup, and bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer.  Partially cover and simmer until the flavors have blended, about 30 minutes.  Season soup to taste with additional salt and pepper.  Hint:  This base works great to create a veggie or chicken soup...just add what you like.  An easy and delicious soup at this point is to just add some cooked spaghetti or pasta.  Be sure to add a squeeze of lemon to each bowl!  It's delicious!)

5.  Meanwhile, prepare the garnishes.  Crumble the queso fresco cheese.  Cut and slice or grate radishes.  Cut the tortillas into 1/4 inch strips, heat 1/2 cup of vegetable oil in a heavy bottomed skillet, over medium high heat, until the oil is shimmering and hot.  Carefully add the tortilla strips, standing back as the oil might splatter. Fry until the strips are crisp and brown, 20 to 30 seconds. Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels. Season the hot strips with salt and pepper.  Hint:  We always make a more tortilla chip strips than the recipe calls for because they're super yummy!

6.  In the same hot oil, quickly flash-fry the pasilla chilies, 3 to 4 seconds.  Remove from the oil and place on a paper towels to drain.  Let cool slightly.  Chop the chilies into bits and use as garnish.   The flavor is interesting and unique.  Hint:  Fresh green chilies, like Anaheims, are a delicious alternative.  Roast them in the oven when roasting the tomato.  Roast until they are charred (turning as needed), put them into a covered container or plastic bag for a few minutes....the steam will make it easier to peel off the skin.  Peel, remove stem, seeds, and white ribs, slice and chop into small strips or pieces. 

7.  It's time to serve it up!  We like to set all the garnishes out for everyone to add them as they like to their own bowls.  Then, ladle the hot soup on top, squeeze a wedge or two of lime into the bowl (we even toss the wedge(s) into the bowl for extra flavor), top with tortilla chip strips and enjoy!

A super delicious soup with super possibilities!  Give it a try!  Let me know what you think!  And, I'd love to hear about ways you change it up or use it for other kinds of soups.  Buen Provecho!

Souper Sunday - Gluten Free, Dairy Free, and Versatile Cream Sauce

I tried something a few months ago that has opened up a lot of cooking possibilities.  I made a cream sauce with cauliflower!  Sounds a little weird but it's surprisingly good and very easy to make.  It's an incredible substitute for creamy sauces since I can't eat dairy anymore.  And, it's a lot more healthy! 

It's made by simply cutting up and steaming a head of cauliflower until it's soft, putting it into a blender with milk (we use coconut/almond but any milk or unsweetened milk substitute will work) and blending it until it's smooth and creamy.  I season it during the blending process.

If I'm making it to use as an Alfredo sauce, I season it with garlic, salt, pepper, and a dash of cayenne to add an extra level of flavor and some warmth but not enough to make it spicy hot.  Here's a picture I snapped a couple of nights ago when I used it like Alfred sauce and layered it with sauteed spinach with onions and red pepper flakes, gluten free pasta, the sauce, some diced tomatoes, and baked and crumbled prosciutto.  It was delicious!

I've also seasoned this amazing sauce with lemon juice and had it with rice, veggies, and chicken or fish.  It's delicious with lemon!  It gives it a light, bright, fresh flavor.

Another way we like to use this sauce is to make one of our old favorite chowder recipes.  The recipe originally called for a cream sauce made with lots of milk and cheese.  Since I can no longer eat dairy, this has become and amazing substitute and we don't even miss the cheese or dairy.  It's that good!  This isn't the best picture but to give you an idea of how good it is....hubby raves about it every single time, has seconds, thirds, and gets every drop out of the bowl that he can.

The original recipe was called something like, "Cheddar and Ham Chowder".  Here's my new version with no milk, no cheese, and no gluten....

4 cups of peeled and cubed potatoes

1 cup of sliced carrots

1 small to medium onion chopped

2 cups of fresh or frozen corn cut off the cob

Put all of the above ingredients into a large pan/pot and add just enough water to cover the veggies.  You can also add celery, if you like.  I leave it out because we don't like it.  Cook until the veggies are fork tender. DO NOT drain the water when it's done.

In a separate pan, steam a large head of cauliflower that's been rinsed and cut into large chunks.  Cook until soft.  When it's done, add it to the blender with enough "milk" to blend it smoothly.  I also add a bit of "butter" (I use Earth Balance spread) and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, a dash of Cayenne, paprika and a bit of chili powder.  I also add some Turmeric because it makes it look cheesy with the red of the chili powder and paprika and it's a healthy spice.  Use the above ingredients in amounts that work for you and your taste.

When the sauce and veggies are ready, pour the sauce into the pot that has the veggies and water and stir it together.  Also, add ham that's been sliced into bite sized pieces.  One of those flat, round slices you get at the store that's wrapped in plastic is the perfect amount.  Cook it all on low heat until the ham is heated through.  Double check to see if the chowder needs any additional seasoning.  Enjoy!

I'm so excited about this delicious, creamy, cauliflower sauce and I'm trying to think of other ways I can use it.  I think it would be great in other soups like clam chowder!  Can you think of other ways to use it?  I'd love to hear about them and I'd love to know if you try it and what you think.

Souper Sunday - Pumpkin, Sausage and Mushroom

Since the weather cooled, I've been back to making soup again.  I've been making some of our favorites and trying new ones.  As I've posted them on Instagram, I've gotten requests for the recipes.  So, I've decided to do a little blog series and post a recipe each week.

This recipe is a new one for us.  I saw it being made on a TV show and it looked so easy and good that I wanted to try it out.  In my usual way, I went for it without an actual recipe.  I just got the ingredients I remembered seeing on the show and made it like I remembered seeing.  I love cooking that way.  It's not so fussy, it's more creative, and it's more fun!  Luckily, things usually turn out good and this did too.  It was hearty, rich, creamy and delicious.

The original recipe called for breakfast sausage (I'm planning to try that version tonight) but I had some ground pork and used that.  I fried it up with some finely chopped onion (drain fat as necessary).  Then, I added some finely chopped garlic and sliced mushrooms and continued cooking until the mushrooms were done.  I seasoned this mixture with salt, pepper, a little cumin, chili powder, paprika, and a dash of cayenne.  Next, I added a can of pumpkin and mixed it in and then a can of coconut milk and stirred until everything was combined and creamy.  I heated it through and served it up with a sprinkling of toasted pumpkin seeds on top.  It's super easy, quick, gluten free, dairy free and Paleo!

Here's the ingredient list:

Breakfast Sausage

Onion

Garlic

Mushrooms

Canned or Fresh Cooked Pumpkin

Coconut Milk

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds (optional)

Season as needed with Salt and Pepper

If you use ground pork instead of sausage, you'll need additional spices.  I used what I had but you could add some that are more traditional in sausage...like fennel seeds.  Here's what I used:

Salt

Pepper

Cumin

Chili Powder

Paprika

Cayenne - Just a Dash

It makes at least six nice sized servings.

I'm curious how people cook.  I've met people who only feel comfortable having a recipe with exact measurements and I've met people who like to just get creative and use recipes as inspiration.  I fit more in the second category and will only occasionally use a recipe exactly as written.  I've learned to cook a lot of things by watching TV and just going for it.   How do you cook?  Are you comfortable cooking without recipes and getting creative in the kitchen?  Or, are you more comfortable having exact measurements?  And, do you have a favorite soup recipe?  If so, is it from a recipe...maybe a family recipe?  Or did you come up with it?  I'd love to know!  :-)

Hot Soup on a Cold Day

Mmmmm...hot soup on a cold day is so good!

When it's homemade it's even better!

I love tomato soup and have started making it from scratch.  I'm amazed at how fast and easy it is to make.  And, blown away by how delicious it is...better than any pre-made soup from a can!

Even my husband likes it and he never liked tomato soup before.  

To make it, I finely chop some fresh garlic (a small clove or about 1/4 teaspoon or so) and put it in a pan with a bit of olive oil.  I turn the heat on low to medium...just long enough to let the garlic flavors bloom (smell really good) but not toast and turn brown.  I turn off the fire and carefully (it might splatter) add a 15 ounce can of tomato sauce.  Then, I add a can of milk (I use unsweetened coconut milk), a dash of pepper and some finely chopped basil.  If I don't have fresh basil I use two cubes of frozen basil I get at Trader Joe's.  I love this stuff!  It tastes fresh and it's super convenient...

Sometimes, I add a dash of Cayenne for a little extra yum.
Then, I just leave it over a medium heat, stirring occasionally until it's hot.

I love having tomato soup with a grilled sandwich.  I used to love it with grilled cheese but I no longer eat dairy.  So, two slices of Rudi's gluten free bread, a thin spread of Earth Balance spread (buttery side down in the pan), and some lean turkey or chicken grilled in a skillet until golden brown on both sides is just as good.  I like to put a dollop of mustard on my plate to dip it in.  Yum!
Sometimes I even dip my sandwich into the soup. Double yum!

Since I'm posting about dairy and gluten free food...some people who follow my blog have asked

about health issues my daughter was going through at the beginning of the year and the results of the "Total Elimination Diet".  One blogger even sent me sweet, long email asking about it.  I tried several times to reply and had a hard time getting it to go through.  I'm not sure if she ever got it.  I hope so. If not, please know that I tried.  Since then, my computer completely crashed and I lost that email and all my email addresses.  So, I'm not even sure who sent it.  I'm sorry.

My daughter is doing great.  It turns out that she has a gluten sensitivity.  It's been a tough change because so many foods have gluten in them.  In a lot of ways we've had to almost completely change how we eat.  It's all for the good though because we eat very few pre-made/processed foods now.  We mostly eat things we make from scratch and LOTS of veggies.

My daughter is feeling a lot better.  Hubby and I eat mostly gluten free and like how we feel.  My daughter and I even noticed that eliminating gluten improves our overall mood and sense of well being.  I've lost weight and dropped to my goal and holding.  I think that's due to reducing carbs and that healthy, gluten free eating makes us feel more satisfied with what we eat and we don't have the urge to snack as much.  I can't believe we're coming up on one year since we started this.

Thank you for thinking of us and asking how it's going.  :-)