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Umami Vegetable Soup

December 1, 2016

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If you follow my Snap or Instastories, you saw me make pull this soup together last night. I’ve been looking to finish up all the vegetables and herbs that I bought as a part of my Thanksgiving groceries, herbs that I don’t use very much apart from that day (sage, thyme, rosemary). In the version I made last night, I threw in the last of my turkey leftovers, but it didn’t add much to the soup, so the version here is without meat, and it’s delicious!

There is So. Much. Umami aka The 5th Flavor. From the rehydrated porcini mushroom stock, to the mushrooms, to the soy sauce. Hence the name. I didn’t want to just call it mushroom soup! There’s so much more! And then tang from the Ume Plum Vinegar – my FAVORITE ingredient these days to add flavor to pretty much anything. It just gives a nice fresh zip to foods, without overpowering like most vinegars.

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My vegetables were on the smaller side: the carrots, celery, even the size of the mushroom package. So 8 cups liquid in total worked for me. Currently the soup can feed 4 adults. If you want to stretch the recipe to feed 6 comfortably, use larger carrots, celery and onion. Add another potato and 2 cups liquid – either stock or water.

Can easily be made vegan by using all oil, no butter, and water instead of chicken or turkey stock.

Ingredients

  • 4 average dried porcini mushrooms
  • 4 cups boiling water
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 carrots, diced small
  • 2 celery stalks, diced small
  • 1 small onion, diced small
  • 1 clove garlic, finely minced
  • 8 oz or 1 standard package cremini (baby bella) mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • salt and pepper
  • 3 tsp ume plum vinegar
  • 1 large russet potato, cut into cubes
  • 4 cups chicken/turkey stock or water
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

Directions

  1. In a large glass measuring glass or bowl, place dried porcini mushrooms. Add hot water and allow to hydrate until ready for use.
  2. In a large stock pot, melt butter and oil over medium high heat. Add onion, celery and carrot. Cook 4-5 minutes until soft. Add mushrooms and garlic. Cook together for another 2-3 minutes. Tie the thyme and bay leaf together with kitchen string. Add to the vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste (I added about 1 tsp salt and half tsp pepper) and stir. Then place a wire mesh sieve over the pot and add the porcini stock, straining out the rehydrated porcinis (their flavor can be strong). Also add the vinegar and stock/water. Stir to combine.
  3. Cover, raise the heat to bring to a boil, then reduce heat so it simmers for 15 minutes. When the potatoes have cooked through the soup is done. Add parsley, adjust seasoning, and serve.

Leave a Comment · Labels: American/Mediterranean, Recipes, Side, Veg Tagged: clean eating, eat clean, healthy, mushroom, recipe, soup, umami, vegan, vegetarian, winter

Mexican Chicken Noodle Soup

April 13, 2016

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The first thing I do when someone sneezes in the house, is submerge a chicken in a pot of boiling water to make chicken stock for soup. That’s a normal, knee-jerk reaction, right?

Ok, perhaps I exaggerate. But there’s just something about the thought of clear, warming chicken noodle soup that makes me feel like it will banish all the ickiness of a cold away. And while the classic has a special place, this tomato paste and spice spiked version will carry you over from your sick days to your top o’ the mornin’, heel clickin’ days. Because for some reason, the weather is still dipping below freezing here in NYC in the middle of spring and the kids have caught strep throat while the hubby and I work our way through the common cold. Un-believable.

Back to the soup. It was the perfect dish for my crusty-bread obsessed husband to dip his baguette into. It was the only thing my preschool aged son has ever declared his love for, apart from trains and well, me. And it was one of the few items I did not have to struggle to finish from the fridge as a leftover.

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If I make my own chicken stock, I usually boil away chicken with veggies (onion, garlic, carrot, celery), aromatics (parsley, dill, thyme, bay leaf) and seasoning (salt, whole peppercorns). However, unlike most, I take the chicken out about an hour into the process, strip the meat off the bones, and re-submerge the carcass. That way the bones continue to flavor the stock for about 2 more hours and I don’t have to waste the meat. Does that make me crazy?

If you are using store bought stock, it comes together SO fast. When I don’t have homemade on hand (which is quite often) I use Saffron Road Halal Artisan Chicken Stock. Awesome flavor and deep golden color. You can tell it’s not just one of those salt water in a box chicken stocks. And if you want to make this vegetarian, use vegetable stock and chickpeas in lieu of the chicken. The tomato paste and spices are magical in how they liven up pretty much anything.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced small
  • 2 carrots, diced small
  • 2 celery stalks, diced small
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp each of cumin, coriander and paprika
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt plus more to taste
  • 1/4 to 1/2 tsp crushed red chili flakes
  • 14 oz crushed tomatoes (if you have a 15 oz can that’s fine)
  • 8 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup shredded chicken
  • 1/4 lb spaghetti or noodle of choice
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Directions

  1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery. Saute for 4-5 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the garlic and spices (cumin, coriander, paprika, salt and pepper). Cook for 2 minutes more, allowing the vegetables to get more tender and the spices to toast up a bit.
  2. Add the tomatoes, broth, chicken and pasta. Cook for 9 to 10 minutes, depending on the package directions of your pasta.
  3. Add the cilantro and taste for seasoning.

Leave a Comment · Labels: American/Mediterranean, Dinner, Main, Side Tagged: broth, chicken, chicken noodle soup, chicken soup, comfort food, healthy, homecooking, homemade, low fat, mexican, noodle, sick days, soup, spices, stock, tomato paste, weeknight, weeknight cooking, weeknight dinner

American, Bangladeshi. Savory, sweet. I don't discriminate and neither should you.

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