Borscht with Bison and Goat Cheese...or...Vegan Borscht

We were first introduced to this amazing soup by our fabulous and much missed neighbors.  2 winters ago, not too long after we moved in to this wonderful old corner property, we had a pretty good snow storm.  At 0 dark hundred, I poured out of bed, slapped on my glasses, popped on my ridiculous big green woolly hat (with ear flaps and a braid out the top) and got started on our 160+ feet of sidewalk.  I wasn't even a quarter of the way done before a similarly bespectacled & hatted chick showed up with a shovel professing that she's from Utah and loves to shovel snow.  Turns out she lived across the street and followed up her heroic shoveling with a dinner invite - Sunday night for some beefy borscht....and so a chapter began.

I've adapted Marcy's killer recipe just a little bit - and offer some easy ways to make it vegetarian (sub meat for mushies) or vegan (um...leave out the meat, cheese and butter).  This soup is killer on a frigid winter night, I'm also going to revisit in the spring to take a swing at a light sweet spring beet version of it too - so check back!

Yield: 6-8 servings
Total Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients:
6 medium fresh beets, tops and roots trimmed, scrubbed clean
4 T olive oil
2-3 lbs bison stew cubes, cut into spoonable pieces and lightly seasoned with S&P (or portebella or beef or lamb)
2 leeks, carefully cleaned and finely chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 T tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes with liquid
1/2 - 1 head cabbage, chopped
10 cups water
2 t dried rosemary  or 2 T fresh rosemary
5 T cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
1/3 c packed brown sugar or wild honey
S&P
4 oz soft fresh goat cheese

Method:

• Place the beets in a large sauce pan, cover with water by at least one inch, lightly salt and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook until fork tender, about 40-60 minutes, depending on size.  Skim the foam off the top of the water as necessary. Once cooked, drain (reserving 3 cups cooking liquid), cool, peel and dice into a spoonable size.
•  In a large, heavy bottomed soup pot, heat 1 T oil until rippling, add 1/4 of the meat or mushies and brown on all sides.  Remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon, and repeat the process until all meat or mushies are cooked.
• Add leeks and carrots, sweat until soft and beginning to color.  Stir frequently an scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  
• Add tomato paste and incorporate well. Cook 2 minutes, add garlic and rosemary.  Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
• Add beet juice, meat or mushies, maters, cabbage, and water.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a low simmer and cook mostly covered until the bison melts in your mouth....about 90 minutes. 
• 5 minutes before serving, add beets, brown sugar / honey, vinegar and S&P to taste.  
• Serve in warmed bowls topped with a disk of goat cheese, a sprig of fresh rosemary and a grind of pepper. 

Serve with crusty chewy bread and sweet farm butter.  Fantastic with Trabiche Oak Cask 2008 Malbec.  Enjoy with or after a green salad with a nice bright vinaigrette and sliced radishes. 

Chicken Corn Chowder

This is one of those soups that can be as rich or as light as you prefer it to be.  In the spring and through the summer, a light puree of corn, tomato & green onions with some quick grilled chicken is amazing; by fall you can splash in a little milk and add some potatoes to your puree for depth and body; come winter, start with a nice medium roux, use up left over slow roasted roasted chicken and maybe top with some good smokey bacon and cheddar. 

This version is nice for the early fall days we've been having, silky and creamy without the butter and bacon.  Give me a shout later in the season if you'd like some help making it richer and deeper.

Yield: 8 servings
Cook time: 90 minutes

Ingredients:
olive oil
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 small potato, peeled and diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 t thyme
1 t oregano
1 t celery salt
1 bay leaf
1 bag frozen sweet corn
1.5 boxes low sodium chicken stock
1 c milk
smoked tabasco
sliced green onion to garnish


Method:

• heat 1 T of oil in your soup pot over medium heat, salt & pepper the chicken on both sides and, cook in two batches until just done. No need to get color on the meat, it can give the soup a weird texture
• pour out rendered fat, add potatoes cook 3 minutes, its ok to get some color on them, but you're not looking to fry them, really just steam / sweat in the chickeny goodness that's left in the pot.
• add mirpoix (2 parts onion, one part celery, one part carrot), sweat until all vegetables are tender, about 10-12 minutes, add garlic and herbs (not bay leaf)
• add 1/2 stock and 1/2 of the corn, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover slightly and cook 10 min
• remove the soup from the from heat, and puree.
• return the soup to medium / medium high, add bay leaf, stock, milk, bring to a boil. partially cover and simmer 30 min
• dice and add chicken, add as much whole corn as you prefer, warm through
• season with a small amount of smokey tabasco, garnish with green onions.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I don't really have a story for this one...its sooper easy, healthy, light and delicious.

Yield: 6-8 entree servings
Cook Time: 30-60 minutes, depending on your chop speed.

Ingredients:
2 T vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, small dice
2 ribs celery, small dice
1 poblano pepper, very small dice
1 banana pepper, very small dice
1 pepper in adobo (canned, in with the latin foods), minced with sauce
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T oregano
2 t good quality chili powder
1 T ground cumin
1 t red pepper flakes if you still want more heat
8 oz (or the whole can, who cares?) fire roasted chopped tomatoes and liquid
1-2 boxes low sodium chicken stock
1 bay leaf
several dashes smoked Tabasco
1 cup black beans, cooked
1-2 cups, grilled chicken thighs, chopped
1 cup corn, fresh or frozen
1 lime, juice and zest

Garnish:
broken corn chips
shredded cheddar
chopped scallions

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat until rippling. Add onions, celery and peppers. Sweat over medium about 10 minutes or until beginning to soften. Add a small amount of salt and the garlic, stir and continue cooking 1-3 minutes, careful not to scorch the garlic.
2. Add dry herbs and spices, toast all together for a couple of minutes, then add tomatoes, stock, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and add tabasco. Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes and adjust seasonings.
   
3. Add chicken and beans, warm through, about 8 minutes. Add corn and cook until just heated through.
4. Finish soup with lime juice and zest, adjust salt, pepper and other seasonings to taste.
5. Ladle soup into warm bowls, top with a raft of chips and sprinkle with cheese and scallions. Plunk a couple of black beans and corn on top for prettiness.
   

Drink:
Dos Equis Amber or
Aged Tequilla with a splash of soda and a wedge of lime.

Vegetarian Cassoulet

This spring has been a little more fickle than others in my recent memory. We've had some sparkling blue sky days with temps in the low 80's and we've had plenty of cold, grey, rainy days like today. Tonight I wanted to have a nice big bowl of comfort food for dinner, but my fridge is packed with spring delights - so I went the route of a hearty stew made with light springy flavors and textures.
Springtime Vegetarian Cassoulet
Yield: 6 entree servings
Prep Time: 2 hours plus 3+ hours for bean soaking if you are using dried beans.
75 minutes with canned beans
Ingredients:
1.5 c. dried chick peas, rinsed, picked over and soaked for 3 or 1 14 oz can, drained and rinsed
4 T. olive oil
1 yellow onion, on the smaller side, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped (same size as onion)
1 rib celery, chopped (same size as onion)
4 c. low sodium veggie stock, chicken stock or water
1 t. fresh thyme, minced or 1/2 t. dried
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
2 medium sized red potatoes, washed and diced to the size of a chick pea
1 large leek (white and light green parts only), rinsed, and chopped
8 large white mushrooms or 2-3 portobellos, rinsed and chopped into 2 inch chunks (they will shrink a lot in the oven)
1 c dry white wine or dry vermouth
2 c fresh asparagus, cut into one inch pieces
10 - 15 leaves of fresh basil, shredded
1/2 pt or so of grape or heirloom tomatoes, halved
S&P

Method:

1. Heat 2 T olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and celery, cooking until they have a little color - about 8-10 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
2. Add stock, chick peas, thyme, and bay, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until beans are tender - 60-90 minutes. (10-20 min is fine if you are using canned beans)
3. In the mean time, heat oven to 400*. Toss potato and onion in remaining olive oil, spread in a single layer in a roasting pan or skillet, season with a small amount of salt & pepper and roast in the oven until lightly browned. Maybe 40 minutes. Add mushrooms, leeks and whole garlic cloves and roast another 10-20 minutes until garlic is golden and soft. (if you are using canned beans, start with this step, then go back to step 1)
4. Remove potato mixture from the oven. Using a spatula, transfer all to a plate. Place roasting pan on stove top (make sure its stove top safe!!) and deglaze the pan with the white wine. Reduce wine and bits until only a couple of tablespoons remain.
5. Add beans mixture and potato mixture to the roasting pan and bring to a simmer. The stew should not have a whole bunch of extra liquid like a soup, this is much closer to a loose casserole than a soup. Simmer on stove top until flavors come together and all veggies are tender - about 5-15 minutes.
6. Add the asparagus and tomatoes and simmer 2-5 minutes until just tender crisp. Stir in the basil and serve in warmed shallow bowls.

A nice grating of cheese over the top is a lovely way to finish off this dish. Serve with some fantastic bread or just some crispy lavosh.

Ginger Carrot Soup

I'm a huge carrot fan ... in fact, when I'm in the zone I can easily eat 5 lbs in a week. I eat so many carrots that my eyes have improved 2 levels in the past year. Seriously. But here's the catch...I only like them raw. My mom tried a million variations on cooked carrots and I rejected them all. Until I futzed my way into this soup recipe. This is a dish that I crave year round...give it a try, you'll be surprised. Really.

Carrot Soup

Yield: 4 mains, 6 starters
Time: 60 min to 3 hrs, depending on the flavor you're seeking. Shorter for bright and fresh, longer for sweet and earthy.
veg, vegan, gluten free...but fun to garnish with bacon!

Ingredients:

1-2 T veggie oil or olive oil

1 lb carrots, peeled & thinly sliced

2 large leeks, white and tender green parts thoroughly washed* & thinly sliced

1 red potato, peeled & diced sugar cube sized

2 cloves garlic, peeled & minced

1-2 inches of ginger root, peeled & minced

5-6 cups veggie broth or water

s&p...maybe some thyme or dill if you're into that?

Method -

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a medium sauce pan
2. Add carrots, cook until just tender - 5-10 mintues
3. Add leek and potato, cook until potato is soft 5-10 min
4. Add garlic & most of ginger, cook 5 min
5. Add salt, pepper, liquid, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
6. Partially cover and simmer for as long as you like. At least 20 min. Once everything is good and soft, remove from heat and let cool a bit. Blend until super smooth with an immersion blender in the pot or pour carefully into a blender in batches.
7. Return to heat - add more broth if needed - the soup should not be brothy thin or too thick like a veggie puree. Return to a boil and reduce to a simmer, add remaining ginger if you like. Also throw in some oj if you want somethin a little sweeter. Partially cover and cook until you get the flavor as deep and rich as you like.

Other thoughts...you could easily take this to the east by adding some basic Indian spices and serving with lentils or garnishing with roasted chick peas. OR - go way thicker and serve as a puree with pork or roast whole fish.

* to wash a leek....cut off the root end and cut off the tough dark green tops. Split the leek long ways down the middle and fan out the layers under cold running water. There is usually a TON of grit and dirt in there. If you intend to fry or sautee (as opposed to throw in a soup or sweat with other veggies) place cut side down on a super absorbant tea towel or paper towel (promise me you'll re-use the paper towel for something...) to wick the water out of the layers.