Recipes

Curried Green Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3-6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium union, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp good curry powder
• 1 large (or 2 medium) potatoes, cubed
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 cups chopped green tomatoes (4-6 large tomatoes or a bunch of small ones)
• 1 large (or 2 small) apples, cored and chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• Additional parsley and curry powder for garnish

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic, onion and curry powder. Cook, stirring often, until onion begins to soften, about five minutes. Add potatoes, stir to blend, and brown slightly. Add stock. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes until potatoes are tender.

Stir in the tomatoes, apple, basil and parsley; cover, and continue simmering for 10-15 minutes more.

Remove from heat and use a wand blender or food processor to blend until fairly smooth. If you want a silky soup free of bits of peel, pass it through a coarse strainer and return to burner if necessary to reheat. I didn’t bother; the peel is tender and adds some texture. Stir in cream. Taste; add salt and pepper if you like.

To serve, ladle into bowls, and garnish with a drizzle of cream, a sprinkle of curry powder and a sprig of parsley. Serve hot.

Cooking from the Market

Green and Red Tomato and Corn Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 4 green tomatoes, chopped
• 4 red tomatoes, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels
• 7 cups vegetable broth
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a stockpot heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, saute until soft.
2. Stir in the cumin powder, tomatoes and corn. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in vegetable broth, reduce heat to low and cook until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

allrecipes.com By: Lalena

Carter's Select Gazpacho

• 1 cup Carters Select Salsa (Regular or Hot)
• 2 cups Carters Select Bloody Mary Mix
• 2 cups cucumbers peeled, seeds removed, and chopped
• 1 cup Fresh tomato, seeds removed and chopped

Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender. Process to desired consistency. Refrigerate until cold.

Carter's Select

Super Simple French Onion Soup

• 2 cups of sweet onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil 
• 2 cans of undiluted beef consommé (not beef broth)
• A dash of Worcestershire sauce
• Swiss cheese slices
• French bread, toasted

Sauté the onions in the olive oil on medium heat until they're tender, then remove them from the heat and stir in the beef consommé. Add the Worcestershire sauce, and stir thoroughly. If the resulting mix seems a little strong for your taste, you can thin it with beef broth.

 

Next, pour the soup into individual oven-proof serving bowls, and top them with the Swiss cheese. Pop them into a 300-degree oven until the cheese is melted. Top it with toasted French bread, and serve.

Cold Zucchini and Summer Squash Soup

2-3 tbsp olive oil and maybe some butter, if you have it and aren't afraid of it
1 medium onion, sliced or chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced or crushed, your choice
6-9 medium zucchini or summer squash, or a mix
4 cups broth
sour cream, for garnish

*You'll need a blender or an immersion blender for this. Because you will be blending everything smooth, it doesn't matter how well you slice or chop the vegetables—great, right? But, large chunks still probably aren't a good idea because that will affect cooking time. What I'm saying is: do a mediocre job at chopping, but not a sloppy one.

In a large pot over medium heat, cook the onions and garlic in the olive oil and/or butter until they're brown. It sounds pretentious but, if you are patient and cook the onion until it's really brown and delicious, that taste will infiltrate the rest of your soup and it's totally worth the extra time.

Add zucchini and summer squash, toss with the onions. Add the broth and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, cover, lower heat to a simmer, and cook 10 minutes, until zucchini are tender.

Let cool to lukewarm and blend. Serve lukewarm or cold. Garnish with sour cream—it's kind of great because the soup is somehow, mysteriously, creamy and the sour cream adds a nice tanginess.

Also, I found I didn't need to add any salt to this, but I think it's because the store-bought broth I used had salt already. If using homemade, don't forget.

My grandmother sometimes puts very small meatballs in her soup, Bon Appetit suggests shrimp. I added sausage so that it was more of a meal; this wasn't a bad idea either.

Two Kitchens

Okra Stew

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped (or even leeks are nice)
• 2-3 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 1/2 pounds okra, stems trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 jalapeno cheddar sausages, or a sausage of your choice
• 1 can of diced tomato, or fresh 
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 dried bay leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Dash of Worcestershire sauce

What next?............

Prep the sausage: If you sausage comes in a casing run your knife along it gently to break the case and peel off. Then saute in a touch of oil to bring out the flavor and brown it nicely. Remove it from the pot and set aside. Drain off any access oil.

Prep the Okra: You will want to remove the stem and tip of the okra and cut into 1/2" lengths.

Everything else: Add fresh oil into the pan. Add chopped onions and saute until light golden brown, add your garlic and saute for another 1 or so. Then add 1/2 cup of dry red wine and reduce it by half. Once reduced add your okra, tomatoes, thyme, and bay leaf. Add S&P as needed and a dash of Worcestershire. Cover and reduce to a simmer and cook for 10mins. At the 10min mark add the sausage back in for another 5. Viola! you are done! 

I like to serve this over brown rice, yummy crusty bread or my husbands favorite cornbread!

L.K. - Austin, TX

Summer-Squash Soup with Parsley-Mint Pistou

For squash soup
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 medium onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 lb yellow summer squash, halved and thinly sliced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 yellow-fleshed potato (1/2 pound), peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
4 cups chicken stock or reduced-sodium chicken broth

For pistou**
3/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
1 large scallion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon salt

Make soup: Melt butter in a 6- to 8-quart wide heavy pot over moderate heat, then cook onion with salt, stirring, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add squash, carrots, potato, and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, then simmer, partially covered, until vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool soup, uncovered, 10 minutes.

Working in batches, puree; soup in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids) and transfer to a bowl. Return purée to cleaned pot and thin with water if desired; simmer 3 minutes. Season with salt.

Make pistou while vegetables simmer: Pulse mint, parsley, and scallion in a food processor until finely chopped. With motor running, add oil in a stream, then add water and salt, blending until incorporated.

Swirl 1 tablespoon pistou into each bowl of soup.

smittenkitchen.com

Watermelon and Crab Gazpacho

Ingredients:

• 2 pound(s) ripe tomatoes, cut in quarters
• 1/4 cup(s) packed fresh basil leaves, plus additional for garnish
• 1/4 cup(s) red wine vinegar
• 5 cup(s) cubed seedless watermelon (from about 3 pounds watermelon with rind)
• 2 small cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup(s) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil, for toasts
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 small (4-ounce) zucchini, finely chopped
• 1 small (4-ounce) loaf French bread, cut into 8 slices
• 1 cup(s) lump crab meat, picked over

Directions:

1. In food processor with knife blade attached, pulse tomatoes, basil leaves, vinegar, 4 cups watermelon cubes, 1 clove garlic, 1/3 cup oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper until pureed.
2. Set medium-mesh sieve over medium bowl. Pour watermelon mixture through sieve, pressing on solids to extract all liquid; discard solids. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to overnight. Place chopped zucchini and remaining 1 cup watermelon in another bowl; cover and refrigerate overnight.
3. To serve, cut remaining clove garlic in half. Lightly rub cut halves on bread slices. Brush remaining tablespoon oil on bread slices. Toast in toaster oven or broiler until golden brown and crisp.
4. Divide soup among 4 serving bowls. Top with zucchini, watermelon, and crab. Garnish with basil leaves. Serve gazpacho with garlic toasts.

Good Housekeeping

Leek and Fennel Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 large leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
• 4 large stalks celery, thinly sliced
• 3 large white onions, peeled and halved
• 1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 8 cups water
• 2 cubes vegetable bouillon

Directions

1. In a large saucepan or soup kettle over medium-low heat, place the olive oil, leeks, celery, onions, fennel, potatoes, salt, and pepper, and cook and stir until the onions are translucent and the vegetables have begun to soften, about 10 minutes.
2. Pour 8 cups of water over the vegetables, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and drop in the vegetable bouillon cubes. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the cubes, until the vegetables are tender and the potatoes have begun to thicken the soup, about 30 minutes.

allrecipes.com By: Fiona G.

Spring Vegetable Soup

Ingredients
-1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
-2 medium leeks (white and light green parts only), halved lengthwise cut into 1/4 inch slices, rinsed well, and drained
-coarse salt and ground pepper
-5 cups low sodium chicken broth (I used vegetable broth)
-1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cute into 1/2 inch cubes
-1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and halved
-4 cups parsley leaves (from 1 bunch)

1. In a medium pot, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high. Add leeks and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until leeks are soft and lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add broth and potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are barely tender, about 10 minutes. Add green beans and cook until crisp-tender, about 6 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine parsley leaves and 1 tablespoon oil and process until finely chopped. Remove soup from heat and stir in parsley puree.

(Everyday Food)