Category: Gourmet Food

Turkey Corn Chowder with Herb Dumplings

11/24/2014

Day 24 of 30 Soups in 30 Days...home stretch!

This title is a bit misleading -- when most people think of chowder, they think of creamy, fat-laden and sometimes goopy stuff, not suitable for everyday eating but maybe, just maybe, an occasional indulgence.

But not this one. With less than 300 calories per serving, and zero cream, this is an everyday staple, perfect for the last day of a camping trip when you have various small bits of this and that leftover. While the recipe calls for specific vegetables, feel free to substitute whatever you have on hand. I hate carrots and green beans, so they're absent from this soup -- but if you've got 'em, use 'em.

This soup can also be easily altered for vegetarian diners by replacing the turkey with tofu and the turkey stock with vegetable stock. Almond milk or soy milk may be used instead of the regular milk, and the butter may be tossed in favor of vegetable oil. The parmesan may also be omitted -- just add a bit more flour to compensate, or your dumplings will be especially sticky.

If you don't hike or camp with fresh herbs, substitute 1 T dried herbs for the 1/4 cup fresh ones in the dumplings.

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Pesto Antipasto Soup

11/23/2014

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Day 23 of 30 Soups in 30 Days...

This one is a little odd, but it's a perfect way to serve antipasto on a camping trip if you don't want to mess with cheese, crackers, and meats. Only the stock requires refrigeration, so if you freeze it before leaving, you won't have to worry about it at all. You can also skip the immersion blender step, if you'd rather make this entire thing at your campsite.

Be sure to rinse the olives and peppers before adding them to the pot, though -- our first crack at this recipe was a total failure because it tasted like vinegar and nothing else! Rinsed, though, this soup takes on a rich, Italian flavor, perfect for a first course either at home or in the woods.

We have mutant basil plants growing in the yard, so every fall we make a year's worth of pesto concentrate (which is homemade pesto, with a fraction of the oil). We freeze it into logs, and then slice off as much as we need. When adding it to recipes, I don't add extra oil; but if using it as a stand-alone pesto sauce, I'll mix equal parts pesto base and olive oil. Feel free to use jarred pesto sauce in this recipe, but try to squeeze out as much excess olive oil as possible...you could even use that oil to saute the onions.

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Wild Mushroom Soup

11/21/2014

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Day 22 of 30 Soups in 30 Days...

We don't do cream-of-anything soup here. I'm sure it's because when I was a kid, my mom used to make this dish she called "Chicken Spaghetti," which everyone else in the family loved, but even now just the memory of the smell of it cooking makes me throw up a little.

It consisted of cooked chicken, a few cans of cream-of-something-unidentifyable soup, curry powder, cooked spaghetti, and slices of velveeta cheese on top that, rather than melt, turned black under the broiler. Maybe some canned chilis, too -- I don't remember. I never ate it.

Anyway, I still remember the sound that an emptying can of cream-of-garbage soup makes, thanks to this dish. Scarred for life, I am.

So this soup is NOT cream of mushroom. It tastes like it might have cream in it, but it doesn't. The last thing I want to do on a camping trip is worry excessively about keeping my cream cold enough, so we don't even go there.

The creaminess is due to a little trick I discovered -- gently sauteed chopped onions and cauliflower, when blended thoroughly with an immersion blender and a little stock, creates a wonderfully creamy texture, nearly equal to any cream-based soup I've tasted. Of course this little substitution doesn't work when you're making something like pumpkin pie, but try it out the next time your savory recipe calls for cream.

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Roasted Red Pepper Soup

11/20/2014

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Day 21 of 30 Soups in 30 Days...

This is another favorite around here, especially considering the ridiculous crop of red peppers that grew in the garden this summer (and frankly won't stop growing. Did we get tomatoes this year? Hardly. Are the red peppers so abundant that I have to wonder if the neighbor's satellite dish is creating some sort of concentrated radioactivity, aimed right at the pepper bed? Definitely.)

As with all my other camping soups, this one requires only one pot over one burner, though you may want to roast your peppers over that burner first. Otherwise, they may be roasted at home in the oven (500 degree broiler, spray with olive oil, turn them every couple of minutes until charred), or over a flame (using tongs, roast them until bubbly and charred, turning regularly). When you're finished, it's best to peel and seed them right away, as soon as you can safely touch them -- waiting too long makes peeling more difficult. HOWEVER, if you're going to make this entire soup at your campsite, skip the peeling and just pull out the seeds.

It's best to make this at home, so you can use an immersion blender to create the smooth texture we love. If you'd rather do this at your campsite, the texture will be chunky, but the taste is still quite wonderful. Take along a few extra roasted peppers, as they're excellent dipped in the soup and eaten on their own.

This is a vegan dish to boot -- but feel free to substitute chicken or turkey stock for the vegetable stock, if keeping the recipe vegan is not important to you.

(And pardon the lousy photo...it's finally raining here so we have no natural lighting inside, too much water outside!)

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Coconut Turkey Soup

11/20/2014

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Day 20 of 30 Soups in 30 Days...

So we have a gigantic lemon grass explosion in our yard -- but do I ever remember to use it? No. This soup is probably the only thing I use that lemon grass for -- I think I need to fix this issue.

If you don't have access to lemon grass, either come over and take all you want, or -- and this is probably easier, considering the gigantic dog who protects our yard, the house, "her" swiss chard plants, etc. -- grocery stores carry a version in a tube in their produce sections. It's already cooked/smashed/grated/ground, and is a good substitute for the real thing.

Shrimp can be substituted for the turkey, although at this time of year (at least in our house), leftover cooked turkey is usually in abundance. This entire soup may be made either at home or at your campsite.

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Zucchini Soup with Roasted Shrimp

11/19/2014

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Day 19 of 30 Soups in 30 Days...

(And in case you're wondering, no, my family isn't quite ready to mutiny over the fact that all we've been eating for the past two weeks is soup. They're getting close, though...)

This is an old favorite of ours -- super healthy, super low fat, but still very rich and satisfying.

We love this one because it feels like a cream soup -- and in case you haven't yet noticed, we're all about skipping dairy, especially when we're camping. The less I have to refrigerate, the better.

We've actually never eaten this soup while camping, I must admit -- but it's a standard at our house, and it's perfect for a winter trip if served hot, a summer trip if served cold (and really, this soup is awesome chilled). If you take this on an outing, it's best to make it at home and either refrigerate it or freeze it, since it requires an immersion blender to finish.

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Curried Golden Lentil Soup

11/17/2014

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Day 17 of 30 Soups in 30 Days...

Whew. Barely made it in time with this one...

Of all the soups I've posted so far this month, this one is definitely kid #3's favorite. In fact, to be honest, no one else in the family even got to eat this soup today -- he scarfed it all. ALL. THE WHOLE THING.

This is a terrific take on your standard (but by no means boring) Indian dal recipe, in soup form. I overcook the lentils on purpose, giving the soup a very luscious, smooth texture. If you prefer your lentil soup a bit chunkier, just hold on another week 'til I post my French Lentil Soup, which is hearty, chewy, and full of texture.

And the greens in the photo? Those are baby cilantro sprigs from our greenhouse, NOT fennel! Aren't they adorable?! We've never been able to grow cilantro well here, but this year it's absolutely going bonkers in the greenhouse and the taste is amazing (ok, disclosure time: although I love to say, "We have a greenhouse," [hear it in a highbrow British accent] in reality it's a tiny little metal and plastic thing that one person can barely stand in...but it does the job, and this fall I'm loving all the herbs coming out of it. And the best part? So far I haven't killed anything, so that's a step in the right direction).

If making this for a camping trip, the entire recipe may be done on-site; however, I find it easier to cook the lentils and vegetables at home to save on stove fuel. Seal cooked and pureed vegetables, freeze, and finish the rest of the soup at your campsite.

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Italian Sausage & Farro Soup

11/16/2014

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Day 16 of 30 Soups in 30 Days...

We ate this soup last night and it was fabulous -- again, perfect for camping because it requires very little preparation, one pot over one burner, and just a few ingredients.

Don't immediately dismiss this soup simply because it contains the B word (as in Brussels sprouts). In fact, if you don't tell people ahead of time, they just might not guess what those greens are anyway. If you really, really hate Brussels sprouts, substitute kale or spinach, but be warned -- the Brussels sprouts stay much firmer than any other greens, giving this soup a nice texture and slight crunch that you won't find if you use something else. So try it before you decide it's gross.

Farro is a terrific grain for soups, because it stays firm, with a nice, nutty flavor. It's sometimes called spelt, incorrectly; all spelt is farro, but not all farro is spelt (feels like the SAT, right?). Spelt is the firmest of the farro grains. If you have the choice, buy farro. If not, go ahead and get spelt, but be aware that 20 minutes may not be sufficient cooking time.

Farro does not typically contain the wheat proteins to which some people are allergic, making it a terrific alternative; however, there is some confusion over whether or not farro is actually gluten-free or wheat-free, and it seems to depend on the grower, oddly enough; so don't automatically assume your farro is gluten-free or wheat-free unless the manufacturer or distributor claims it to be so. There is a type of gluten in farro but it differs significantly from the gluten in wheat, so true celiac sufferers should still avoid farro; but those who are allergic to wheat usually find it to be safe. Farro and wheat come from the same triticum family, so technically farro is a wheat. But not really. Whatever. Do your homework.

Serve this with nice, whole grain bread -- it's a tad oily, thanks to the sausage, and when dipped in the soup, the bread really cuts through it and absorbs any residual oil quickly.

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Fish in Crazy Water (Pesce All'Acqua Pazza)

11/15/2014

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Day 15 of 30 Soups in 30 Days... Yay! Half way there!

Last night I ran across an old blog I used to write, and I was reminded of this terrific soup recipe. Here it is, reprinted, with a little of the original blog post from 2011.

So this is probably a good time to review Naming Techniques. Dishes with the word “crazy” in the title automatically make them more appealing to our kids. I can’t overuse this tactic or it’ll get old, and in this case I didn’t even have to be creative about it — that really is the real name of the dish. But think about it…can you think of any gross food whose name includes the word “crazy?” I can’t.

The second thing this light soup has going for it is the fact that it is served on a huge slice of sourdough bread. Sourdough bread has become somewhat of a staple in this house, particularly for kid #2. I could probably serve cat food but as long as it comes on sourdough bread he’d at least try it.

This recipe is not my own -- it's from The Best Italian Classics, published by Cooks Illustrated. The link to purchase this awesome book is below. The photo is also not my own, though when I first came across it in 2011 I could not find a proper attribution. I still can't locate it, so I'm not using it on the printer friendly version, either.

When camping, it's best to only prep the vegetables and onion at home -- if you prep anything at all. We've had this over a camp stove, with no preparation ahead of time, and it's a quick, simple, and amazing dish to have both in the woods and at home.

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Camping French Onion Soup

11/14/2014

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Day 14 of 30 Soups in 30 Days...

We love good French onion soup here. We also love camping. Unfortunately, the very best part about this particular soup is the crouton and melted cheese on top, something that has been pretty impossible to make work while camping.

Until now. I thought of this a couple summers ago when cooking for a closing work party crew at the end of camp; the goal is to create as gourmet a dinner as possible using up leftover food without having to purchase anything additional, and that particular summer included about 15 pounds of extra grated cheese. We made about 200 herbed frico (basically, just a piece of fried cheese) and topped them with all sorts of things as part of a rather large wine and hors d'oeuvres hour spread (yes, we may be dirty mountain women, but we eat and drink very, very well). Seeing about 50 frico cooking at once on the huge, vintage camp griddle was quite a sight, and I realized that this little food gem is way underutilized yet so easy to make in the backcountry.

If you make this while camping, feel free to cook the onions at home first to save on stove fuel. At your campsite, reheat the onions with a little sherry before adding the garlic, and the rest of the recipe may be done easily over a camp stove.