Tagged: Soup

Chicken & Jasmine Rice Soup

Chicken and Jasmine Rice Soup is comfort food in simplistic form. The fragrant and nutty taste of the Jasmine rice in a chicken stock infused with garlic and scallions gives this chicken soup a Thai – Asian inspired taste.

This soup is will calm you and your tummy after a night of partying or when cold and flu season arrives!

Ingredients:

2 pieces of skin on, bone in chicken (leg or thigh)

1 and 1/2 cup of Jasmine rice

8 cups of water

2 stocks celery chopped

1 stock celery finely chopped

1 small onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic

1 to 2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 sprigs parsley

1 tbsp of chopped parsley for garnish

1 or 2 finely sliced scallions

crushed red pepper flakes optional

 

Instructions:

In a medium soup pan, place the water, seasonings, garlic, onion, 2 stocks celery, 2 sprigs parsley and bring to a boil.

Add the chicken and cook for about 45 minutes on medium heat.

Remove the chicken and the parsley from the pan and set aside.

Bring the soup to a boil and add the rice. Cook the rice for about 20 minutes on medium and reduce heat to low.

Remove the chicken meat from the bones and chop into small pieces. Add the chopped chicken to the soup along with the remaining chopped celery.

Cook for about 10 minutes on low heat. Taste the soup and add more salt if needed. If the soup has thicken to much for your taste or if it’s too salty add one or two cups of boiling water.

When soup is done, add the chopped parsley and scallions. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Lobster Corn Chowder

 

 

Don’t through away those lobster shells before making this delicious chowder with them!

I used my favorite wine; Vinho Verde to enhance the flavor of this soup instead of regular white wine. If this recipe seems difficult, believe me it’s easy.

This chowder is perfect for your Holiday celebrations! Your friends and family will go crazy and love you for it!

Save some Vinho Verde to serve along with it!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Lobster shells from 3 lobsters

Meat from 1 lobster or 1-2 cups

1 cup of Vinho Verde wine (or any dry white wine)

2 tbsp of Brandy (I used 1920 Portuguese Brandy)

2 cups fish or chicken stock

1 small onion cut in half

1 small onion finely diced

1 celery stalk

1/2 celery stalk finely diced

3 ears of corn

3 tbsp butter

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup of  flour

2 cups of light cream

1/2 gallon of whole or light milk

 

Instructions:

Remove any tomalley (green part) from inside the lobster.

Cut the kernels off the corn and reserve for later. Save the cob for the stock.

In a medium stock pot, place the lobster shells,corn cob, stock, Vinho Verde, Brandy, 1 celery, 1 small onion, and salt.

Cover, let the stock come to a boil, and continue cooking for 20 minutes on low  heat.


Remove the cooked onion and celery from the pan and discard. Add the milk and cook for another 10 minutes on low heat. Strain the broth through a fine stainer into a separate bowl to remove any lobster shells. Save the milk broth and discard the shells and corn cob.

In a separate heavy soup pan, saute the diced onion and celery in the butter until translucent.

Add the flour to the butter and cook for about 1 minute on low heat.

Add the reserved broth, cream, paprika, corn, and pepper to the soup.

 

Cook the chowder on low heat for about 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

Add the diced lobster and cook for about 5 minutes longer.

Add more seasoning to taste if desired.

*If you want the soup thicker, mix 1 tbsp of flour with a little milk, add to the soup and let the soup cook for about 5 minutes.

 

 

 

 

Sweet Potato & Broccoli Corn Chowder

When I owned a small cafe many years ago, I began making fresh home made soups for the customers. I calculated that during those years, I probably made over 3,000 pots of soup. If I was to add that figure to the soups I made at home through the years, the total amount is probably somewhere around 5,000!

Now that’s a lot of soup!

Today, the soup making continues and the title of; “The Soup Queen” bestowed upon me by my family, is well deserved!

Maybe I should follow the steps of the famous Seinfeld show’s “Soup Man” and open a soup restaurant?

But don’t worry I wouldn’t turn into a “Portuguese Soup Nazi” but maybe I call it; “Portuguese Soup Queen”?

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato (cut into 1 inch cubes)

4 tbsp of butter

2 tbsp of olive oil

1 large celery stalk (chopped)

1 large onion (chopped)

1 pound of frozen or fresh Broccoli (chopped)

1 pound bag of frozen corn

2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

1/2 gallon of low fat milk

3 tbsp of flour

1/4 cup of milk or cream

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of pepper

 

Instructions:

Separate the broccoli into stems and florets. In a large heavy non stick soup pan, saute the onion, celery, broccoli stems and sweet potato in the butter and olive for about 2 minute on medium heat until the onion becomes translucent.

Add the stock, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.

Puree the vegetables with a hand held immersion blender until very smooth. *Add a small amount of milk if you find the mixture too thick to puree.

Add the milk, salt, pepper, corn and florets. Stir and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes stirring often so the soup does not stick.

In a small bowl mix the flour with the 1/4 milk or cream and mix until the flour is dissolved.

Add a few tablespoons of the warm soup to the flour to temper.

When the broccoli florets are cooked, add the flour and stir very well.

Cook the soup for an additional 20 minutes on very low heat stirring often.

Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper to your desired taste.

Cool and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days!

*Note: If you prefer a creamier style soup, puree the soup with immersion blender to your desired consistency.

 

Caldo Gallego – Galician Soup


Caldo Gallego is a hearty, nutritious, and inexpensive soup which originated in the western region of Spain which borders Portugal.

In most Spanish speaking countries and in Latin America this soup is a classic but it is just as popular in Portugal.

I hadn’t made this soup in a long time but after eating last week I decided to make it.

Here’s a photo of the lunch I had at Jose Garca’s Amada Restaurant at the Revel in AC,  last week.

Pictured: “Caldo Galego”, Grilled Baby Squid, Batatas Bravas, Grilled Chicken Sandwich

My family lived in Tras os Montes, along the northern border and we could see Spain beyond the horizon.

Spanish Peddlers often traveled through our local towns selling their goods and often stayed at our house which my mother ran as a small bed and breakfast type inn. She made this soup for these guests and for our family.

I was a young girl at that time who hadn’t learned my Geography, that’s why I never knew the true meaning of the world Gallego. I simply thought that it meant vagabond since my mother referred to the peddlers as “Gallegos”.

Through the years my mother learned how to speak Galician Spanish which fascinated me many years later when she watched the Spanish Soap Operas on Uni-vision and understood them perfectly! This map locates languages spoken in Galicia and Portugal.

Photo credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galician-Portuguese

 

Caldo Gallego

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of diced presunto, salt pork or baco

2 large potatoes cut into 1 inch cubes

2 cloves of garlic chopped

1 bay leaf

2 large cans of Great northern or cannelloni Beans (You may also use red beans)

8 cups of water or low sodium chicken broth

1 Ham bone (optional)

1 large onion diced

1 large turnip diced (optional)

1 large sliced chourica or linguica sausage

1 lb chopped collard greens (You may substitute with kale, mustard greens or kale)

2 tbsp olive oil

*Salt only if needed since the presunto has a lot of salt

Directions:

Saute the pork and chourica in the olive oil until slightly crispy then add the onions, garlic and bay leaf. Cook the onions until translucent about 1 or 2 minutes.
Remove the chourica to add later. Add the water or broth, potatoes, turnips, ham bone and the collard greens. (Note * if you use spinach only add it during the last 5 minutes of cooking time.)
Let the soup cook on low for about 1 hour. Add the beans and the Chourica, stir and cook for another 30 minutes on low heat to incorporate all the flavors.
Note*If you prefer a creamy style rather than chunky, cook the potatoes and turnips first before adding the collards.
Add the beans to the potatoes and turnips and puree with an immersion blender.
Add the collards and chourica last and let cook for 30 minutes longer.
Remove the bay leaf and add more olive oil as a garnish before serving.
This soup is even better served the next day! Enjoy!

 Caldo Galego: Photo credit: http://www.casateodora.com/menu/

 

 

 

Canja – Portuguese Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken orzo soup

Big Fat Portuguese Wedding Soup

When I first saw the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” with my friends many years ago, they laughed hysterically at the quirky customs, the outrages family members and the huge bridal party.

Although I did love the movie, I found nothing strange about it since I had lived through many of the same big crazy weddings many times.

In fact, I’ve probably been to over 100, “Big Fat Portuguese Weddings.” Some I attended as a guest, while others, as a waitress during my teenage years.

There is a large close knit Portuguese community in my hometown. It seems that there is literally a Portuguese wedding every week during the summer months where everyone is invited!

Lists of the 300-500 guest’s addresses are handed down from generations to the next who follow the same traditions, customs and even serve the same menus.

A recent email request for the chicken soup that is served at Portuguese weddings brought back the memories from weddings attended long ago and the soup that is still on the menu.

An abundance of food is very important for any Portuguese wedding. Generally, the menus consist of a wide range appetizers such as Bolinhos de Bacalhau (Cod Fritters), Rissois de Camarao (Shrimp Turnovers), Folar (Meat stuffed bread) Roast Suckling Pig, Shrimp Cocktail, Cheese, Fruit, Presunto and other cold cuts, a soup course; Caldo Verde (Green Soup) or Chicken Noodle Soup, a fish course which varies from; Seafood Paella, Fish Fillets with Shrimp Rice or Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa (Salt Cod Casserole), and a meat dish with either; Roast Pork Loin, Roast Beef, or Steak.

Later in the evening a buffet is served similar to an “Italian Venetian” hour with many of these same items along with other traditional classics such as Feijoada (Bean stew), Dobrada (Tripe), and many other classic desserts and pastries to many to mention.

Here’s my recipe for “Portuguese Wedding Soup”. It contains a secret ingredient used by some of the caterers.

Keep it a secret if you wish, it’s up to you! Enjoy!

Portuguese Wedding Soup

Ingredients:

3 lb fresh Chicken (whole or cut into pieces)

12 cups water

1 large chopped onion

2 large celery stalks

2 large carrots

2 cloves garlic (peeled)

3 sprigs parsley

1 tbsp salt

1 /2 tsp freshly cracked pepper

1  – 1/2 cups ORZO pasta (or white rice)

(1/2 tsp crushed pepper flakes optional) 

 

Instructions:

In a large stock pot, place the water, onion, 1 stalk of celery, 1 carrot, salt, 2 sprigs parsley and garlic and bring to a boil. Add the chicken and let it cook on medium for 2 hours. (If desired: remove one chicken breast after 1/2 hour of cooking time, remove bones, dice the meat and reserve for later).

After 2 hours remove the chicken and vegetables. Strain the soup through a strainer to remove any scum or fats. *Note: (Discard the chicken and vegetables since they have lost their nutrients and con not be re-used). Place the pan with the broth back on the stove and bring to a low boil. Slice remaining carrot and celery into desired small slices.

(TOP SECRET-Restaurant TIP: For an even more Chicken flavored soup, add 1 or 2 KNORR Chicken Bouillon cubes to taste)…HUSH.. HUSH!!

Add the ORZO or rice to the soup and cook on medium for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add the diced carrots, celery and the reserved diced chicken to the soup and stir.

Let the soup cook on medium for additional 10 minutes. Remove the soup from heat. Season to taste by adding more salt if needed and add the fresh black pepper. Garnish with chopped parsley.

(*Note: – Some people like to add 1 mint leaf as garnish instead of Parsley) (*Note: Add crushed red pepper flakes to kick up the soup if you want a little heat. The crushed red pepper is great to relieve nasal congestion, but do not give to your younger children).

Serve, or store in refrigerator after the soup cools.  Enjoy!

Sopa de Feijão Verde – Portuguese Green Bean Soup

 

I’ve recently been asked to add more Portuguese soup recipes to this site. Today I made one of my family’s favorite’s to share with you.

This recipe for Sopa de Feijão – Portuguese Green Bean Soup, is a beautifully flavored and hearty soup that you can enjoy all year round!

When I make this soup in the summer, I normally use a heirloom variety of green beans from my vegetable garden known as Romanos – also known as Italian green beans.

The flat beans are superior in quality because they have a nutty, meaty taste and smooth tender flavor.

I love this variety of beans and use them in all of my recipes requiring green beans. They’re very easy to grow and require little maintenance other than lots of watering and a some miracle grow!

If you’re not familiar with this type of heirloom green bean ask some of your Portuguese friends who are gardeners and they can help you find some.

In the winter I buy the packages of frozen Italian green beans which you can find in the frozen vegetable section of your supermarket.

In my recipe, I use pasta instead of potatoes which many cooks usually use, but I’m not a big fan of potatoes!

If you prefer to use potatoes, just substitute 2 cups of potatoes instead of pasta but you’ll have to cook and puree the potato along with the vegetables.

This recipe is very easy to prepare since it’s made with the staple ingredients you already have in your kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 large chopped onion

3 large chopped carrots

1 stalk celery

1 large clove garlic

3 tbsp olive oil

1 large bay leaf

1 can white northern beans

1  9 oz box (Romano – Italian) green beans

8 cups water

2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable if you prefer)

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 tbsp any tomato sauce or 1 small ripe tomato

2 cups small Penne or (substitute potato if you prefer)

 

Instructions:

In a large soup pan, saute the trinity (onions, carrots and celery) in olive oil until translucent. Add the chicken broth, garlic, water, tomato, and seasonings. Bring to boil and cook on medium until vegetables are tender.

Remove pan from heat. Remove the bay leaf and add 1/2 of the can of white beans. Puree the soup with an immersion blender to desired consistency. I like the soup a little chunky but its up to your taste.

Place the soup back on the stove on medium heat. When it comes back up to a boil, add the pasta, green beans, and remaining white beans.

Cover and let it simmer on medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. Add more seasoning if desired.

Enjoy with some delicious home made bread.

Here’s the recipe:  Portuguese Pão de Milho !

 

Butternut Squash & Carrot Soup


E-mail

Harvest Butternut Squash & Carrot Soup – Western Mass Women Magazine

by Maria Dias, Contributing Writer


I love the beauty of the fall harvest season in Western Mass. Soon, I’ll be following my family’s tradition by making our annual trip to the local farms in the Hadley area where I buy my Potatoes and root vegetables that I use all winter long.

Did you know that you can store potatoes and butternut squash to last through the winter? Just place them into a brown paper bag or cardboard box and store in a cool basement, or in your garage. (Be sure the temp doesn’t reach freezing.) My favorite winter vegetable is butternut squash because it’s so versatile and it stores so well.

I always have some on hand for Thanksgiving to make this easy and delicious butternut squash soup.

I’m sharing the recipe with you today because I know you’ll love it and it will become your fall tradition like mine.
There are many reasons to add butternut squash to your daily diet.

 

Butternut Squash
Low in calories: One cup of raw butternut squash only has 63 calories.
Dietary Fiber: There are 3 gr. of dietary fiber in every serving.
Vitamin A: One serving has 298 %of your daily recommended value.
Vitamin C: One cup serving has 50 % of your daily recommended value.
Omega-3 fatty acids: Fights high cholesterol and high blood pressure
Minerals: One serving has 14 % of your daily recommended value of manganese, 12 % of magnesium and 14 % of potassium.

 


 

 


Seafood Corn Chowder

This week, I was craving a clam bake at one of my favorite restaurants; Jasper White’s Summer Shack which makes the best Lobster in New England.  His lobster bake is served with 1 whole lobster, steamers, potatoes, corn on the cob, a hard boiled egg, and Portuguese Linguica…. It’s a classic New England clam bake.

Since summer is still months away,  I decided make Seafood Corn Chowder to satisfy my craving.

I’ve created this chowder by combing two soups;  the classic corn chowder, with my favorite soup, Lobster Bisque. The  first time I tried  the bisque it was served with a sniffer of brandy on the side and from that day on, I was hocked!

So, I gave this  soup a Portuguese ethnic twist by using the classic Portuguese Brandy, 1920 which  tones down the sweetness and gives this soup a mellow…smooth taste! Save some brandy to have with an espresso for dessert.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 lb bay scallops

1 lb shrimp (cut into small pieces)

1 lb chopped clams ( canned if desired)

1 lb lobster cut into pieces (if desired)

1 med onion (chopped)

1 clove garlic (chopped)

1 stalk celery(chopped

2 scallions9 (chopped)

1 lb carrots (chopped

1 16 oz bag frozen corn

1/8 cup olive oil

2 tsp butter

4 cups chicken broth

6 cups 1% milk

1 cup cream

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 tsp chopped parsley( garnish)

1/2 cup flour

1 oz 1920 brandy

Instructions:

In a large soup pan, saute onions, celery, scallions, garlic and carrots in olive oil for about 5 minutes until golden but not browned.

Add chicken broth and cook veg. for about 10 – 15 min, or until carrots are tender.

vegpuree

Puree all the vegetables with blender until it’s a smooth consistency. Then press the soup through a fine food strainer to catch the veg threads.

Add the  cream and the milk (reserve one cup milk) Add the corn, butter salt & pepper and cook for 10 min on med heat (stir often not to stick).

milk&puree

corn

Add the scallops, shrimp, clams, & lobster  and cook for 5 min.

Shrimpscall

Mix the 1 cup of milk with the flour and make a slurry. Then add a little of hot soup to the milk and flour mixture.

Stir until the flour is dissolved.  Add the flour mixture to soup slowly and keep stirring.

Let the soup cook for about 10 minutes on low heat…keep stirring and don’t let it over boil which will cause it to burn.

(If soup is thin, mix a little more flour mixed with milk in a small bowl.

Add 1 tablespoon of the soup to the flour,  then pour the mixture into the soup and let it cook 5 minutes or until thickened.)

Add the 1920… let it cook for a 5 more minutes… and remove from heat.

Let soup sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy the soup and hold on a few more months, summer will be here soon…

DSCN0864

 

Broccoli & Cauliflower Corn Chowder


Dear friends,
Get your family to eat their veggies with this sweet and savory soup. I put some chopped red pepper to brighten up the colors. I used low fat dairy to reduce calories, but if you want to use whole milk and cream you’ll get the same great flavor. This will give you about 10 bowls of soup,if you want to make less just cut the recipe in half. I came up with this recipe for my mom, who had undergone surgery, leaving no appetite. This soup brought her strength back. It’s packed with iron, calcium and vitamin C. Enjoy!

Recipe:

Ingredients:


2 lb bag chopped frozen broccoli (use fresh if you desire)
1 lb bag frozen cauliflower
1 lb bag frozen corn
1 large onion chopped fine
1 clove chopped garlic
1/2 small red pepper
1 tbn salt
1/2 tsp blk pepper
4 cups chicken or veg broth
1/2 gallon low fat milk
1 cup low fat half & half
1/2 cup shredded cheese( any kind)
1/2 cup shredded sharp Parmesan, or Pecorino cheese
1/4 stick margarine
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup flour

In your nonstick or heavy soup pan, saute onions & garlic in the olive oil and margarine for about 5 minutes until the onions are cooked but not browned.

Add chicken broth, broccoli, cauliflower & salt. Cook for about 8 minutes until veg are cooked and remove pan from heat.

Remove about 2 cups of the veg florets, chop them coarsely and set them aside.

With an immersion blender puree the veg until they are mashed but not too dissolved.

Set aside 1 cup of the milk. Add remaining milk, cream, chopped pepper, blk pepper, and corn. Cook on med heat for about 10 minutes.

In a small bowl mix flour with the one cup of milk untill creamy, then slowly add 1 cup of the warm milk to the flour mixure.

Slowly add the flour mixture( slurry) to the soup and stir well. Add the chopped flowerets to the soup and mix.

Reduce the heat to low heat and let the soup simmer for about 1/2 hour stirring the soup regularly.

Try not to turn the heat up past med, or the soup will overspill and burn. Add more salt or pepper to taste.

Let the soup cool and store it in the fridge.If it thickens too much just add a little warm milk, or cream when you heat it up.

 

 

 

365 Days of Soups

Hi everyone, I’m so excited to share with you what I’ve been working on for this year. It’s my new blog:

My new soup blog!

365daysofsoups.blogspot.com

My Mother always taught me that nothing warms your soul,  like a bowl of homemade soup.

So, beginning on Valentine’s Day, February 14th 2010, I’m going to share a soup recipe with you, every day, for the next 365 days.

I’ve decided to post the very same 365 recipes for soups that I’ve cooked over the last 33 years. Some of these recipes I learned from my mother who always had a warm pot of soup simmering on the stove for her family. Others were created by me, on a whim early at 6 o’clock in the morning when I challenged myself to come up with something new for the lunch special at our family’s Hometown Deli where I lovingly made two home made soups everyday for almost three years.

My recipes are easy to prepare, economical, and you can find the ingredients in most local supermarkets so don’t worry about having to drive all over the city or ordering  them through expensive online retailers.

Are you ready to take the challenge and try all of them?

I’ll post your name on my soup kettle wall of fame each time you contact me that’s you’ve tried one.

Here’s a pic of the first classic……….mmmm

P.S. I’m still working on the site, so be patient and the soup will come.

DSCN0208 Classic Chicken Noodle soup