Sunday Soup Day

This weekend, I made two different winter soups.  I wanted something that Matteo would be able to eat as well, so I made a vegetable stock from scratch, without salt, and used it as the base for both batches.  The first was leek + red potato and the second was red lentil + turnip.  To make the broth, I chopped up whatever vegetables I had on hand {onion, celery, carrot, parsley, ginger} and boiled them in plain water for about 30 minutes.  To make the leek + red potato soup, I sauteed a shallot and four cloves of garlic in a little olive oil and butter and then added a chopped leek, three stalks of chopped celery, three diced red potatoes, some black pepper and enough vegetable stock to cover.  After it came to boil, I let it simmer for another 30 minutes and then pureed it in a blender {making it baby friendly; chunky would be yummy, too!}  I added a tiny bit of milk in at the end and brought it back to a simmer before serving.  For the red lentil + turnip soup, I sauteed an onion and four cloves of garlic in about two tablespoons of olive oil.  Then I added the chopped turnip, two stalks of chopped celery, one chopped carrot, some minced ginger and a pinch of ground coriander and continued to sautee.  Then I added about two cups of canned, salt-free tomatoes, one cup of red lentils and enough vegetable stock to cover.  After it came to a boil, I continued to simmer until the lentils were tender {just over 30 minutes}.  I pureed this batch, too, reheated and served.  We added salt to our individual portions, which was fine.  Matteo ate them both, but he definitely preferred the leek + red potato {actually, I think we all did--it was very rich and velvety!}  

Sunday Soup Day: Roasted Cauliflower Soup

This Sunday's soup was creamy cauliflower, adapted from the Tyler's Ultimate cookbook by Tyler Florence.  It was super easy and yummy!  In a big saucepan, I brought a quart of milk with a little salt to a simmer and then added a head of cauliflower, cut into florets, 1/2 a chopped onion, a stick of butter, a bay leaf, and four thyme sprigs from the garden, snapped in half.  Then I let everything simmer in a covered pot for about 15 minutes.  When the cauliflower seemed cooked through and the ingredients looked like they had mingled well, I just poured everything right into the blender to make a fine puree'.  Finally, I put it back into the pot, added a little drizzle of olive oil and let it reheat until we were ready to eat.  We decided the soup would be better with a little parmigiano, so I made a parmigiano-thyme "cracker" by broiling shredded cheese mixed with thyme on a sheet pan until it was golden brown and lightly crispy.  Then I broke it into smaller pieces and floated them on top of the soup.  It added another layer of flavor and texture to the whole dish.  A little sourdough bread and buon appetito!

Sunday Soup Day: Zuppa per Settembre {September Soup}

Now that Matteo is nearly five months old and will be eating solid foods soon, I've been thinking more about the kinds of family food traditions we'd like to put in place.  I've decided to revive my old graduate school habit of making soup on Sundays.  Yay for Sunday Soup Day!  I love the idea of having something simmering on the stove all morning, making the house fragrant and then having a warm meal to share as a family.  Soups are also a great way to use up the leftover vegetable odds and ends that we accumulate during the week.  This Sunday I made "September Soup."  It's the perfect prelude to fall with warming ingredients, like paprika and red onion (I also added half of a green chile from the garden for a little extra heat), and the perfect postlude to summer because it's a great way to use up herbs and that final tomato harvest.  I used a mix of roma, cherry and plum tomatoes.  For dinner we paired it with some crusty bread and a pat of lemon herb butter.  Yumm.