Cabbage Roll Soup

When I was a kid, one of the things my dad looked forward to when visiting his parents was his mom's famous cabbage rolls.  We didn't live in the same city, so every couple of years when we would visit, you could be sure that cabbage rolls would be on the menu.  As excited as he was, I secretly hated them.  Grandma's house was the only place we ever ate them, and the sour cabbage was an assault on my undeveloped palate.

Since that time, I have grown and so have my tastes.  Cabbage rolls are now one of my favourite foods, but I don't have the time or patience to make them, and Grandma lives three provinces away (I don't think she's made them in quite a while, either).  One night, I had a mad craving for some cabbage rolls, so I called my mom to see if she had the recipe for Grandma's special sauce.  I thought I would buy some frozen cabbage rolls, and then just make some sauce to bake them in.  Imagine my surprise when I found out that Grandma's special sauce is condensed tomato soup and ketchup!

This recipe is my attempt to harness the taste of those famous cabbage rolls while skipping the labour intensive rolling step and making a few substitutions in order to increase the health factor.

This will serve 6 - 8 people.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp organic canola oil
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, shredded
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp sugar
1 bottle passata (crushed, strained tomatoes)
28 oz diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup barley (rice can be substituted)
1 1/2 cups sauerkraut
6 mild Italian sausages, cut into rounds
1 cup milk
salt, pepper

Directions:

1. Saute onion in canola oil with a pinch of salt until translucent and golden.  Add grated carrot.

2. Add paprika, garlic powder, sugar, passata, diced tomatoes, chicken stock, barley, sauerkraut, sausage. Bring to a boil.  Lower heat and cover.

3. Simmer until barley is tender and sausage is cooked through, about 30 - 40 minutes.

4. Remove from heat, add milk, and salt and pepper to taste.

5.  If you can leave it until the next day and reheat it, it will be even better.  Enjoy!

Shopping Tips:

1. Passata can be found in Italian markets, but I have also found it in grocery stores near the pasta sauce.

2. Make sure you buy plain diced tomatoes, not the ones that have added seasonings.

3. Sauerkraut comes in two forms: naturally fermented and pickled.  The way to tell the difference is to look at the ingredients.  If it is naturally fermented, the only ingredients will be cabbage and salt.  I prefer this kind because the natural fermentation process produced beneficial bacteria that aid in digestion and health gut flora.  The pickled kind will list vinegar as an ingredient.

This soup would make a great addition to any holiday table.  Bring it to a pot luck or serve it for Boxing Day supper.  It is easy to throw together and is better made ahead of time.

World Famous Soup

I don't have a better title for this because it is not your everyday kind of soup.  This is a soup that I invented many years ago that has withstood the test of time.  I have made it in France to rave reviews,  I have made it in England to rave reviews, and I have even made it in Edmonton to rave reviews.  It's not a chowder or a bisque, although it does have milk in it, so I'm left just calling it my "World Famous Soup".  Because it does not have a thickening agent, it is a light version of a broth - and that's what I like about it.

There are many variations to this soup, and if you don't like shrimp, you can leave it out.  I made it without shrimp for several years before thinking about adding it.  Now I add it every time.  My favourite time to eat this soup is after several days of pigging out over the Christmas holidays, but it shows up on the table at least once a month during the fall/winter, which is saying a lot because I hardly ever make the same thing twice...

This soup will serve approximately 6 as a meal.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp canola or olive oil
1 small white onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
4 medium carrots, sliced into crescents
6 potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
6 cups chicken stock
2 tsp dried dill
2 tsp garlic powder
1 lb shrimp (raw, thawed, and peeled), each shrimp cut into three pieces
2 cups milk (not skim)
salt, pepper

Directions:

1. Sauté the onion in the butter and oil with a bit of salt while you chop the celery and carrots.

2. Add the celery and carrots to the pot while you chop the potatoes.

3. Add the potatoes to the pot and sauté the lot for 3 - 4 minutes.

4. Add the chicken stock, dried dill, and garlic powder.

5. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are cooked through.

6. In the meantime, peel the shrimp and cut each one into three pieces.

7. When the vegetables are cooked, add the shrimp to the pot and cook until they are pink, about 1 - 2 minutes.

8. Add the milk and heat through, about 1 - 2 minutes.  Do not boil.

9. Add salt and pepper to taste.  You will probably have to add about 2 tsp of salt - it's a big pot of soup and the potatoes will counteract it. Enjoy!

Shopping Tips:

1. Although it is slightly more expensive, I buy the loose carrots and celery unless I have another recipe in mind that will use the leftovers.  I find I save more money that way than buying the cheaper stuff and throwing it out.

2. I use red potatoes for this recipe, but white ones or yukon gold are fine as well.  Even baby potatoes work.  Don't use russet potatoes, though, because they are baking potatoes and are too floury.

3. I have tried this recipe with fresh garlic and fresh dill, but it doesn't taste as good.  Usually, I am all about the fresh ingredients, but in soup, the rules are a bit different.  If you want to garnish it with fresh dill as well as the dried, that would be a good idea.


Options:

1. If you don't have time to thaw the shrimp, put them in a colander and run COLD water over them for five to ten minutes.

2. You can add frozen corn to this, or even substitute the corn for the shrimp if you want.

3. If you want a vegetarian soup, you could use vegetable stock instead and omit the shrimp.

4. If you want to add flour to the butter to thicken the broth, you can, but I really enjoy the lightness of it as it is.


Leftovers:
1. This will keep in the fridge for about four days, but it never lasts that long in my house!

If you try it, let me know what you think.  Don't forget the step at the beginning about sautéing the vegetables, though.  It makes a difference to the taste.

Mushroom Tortellini and Soup

I really like the taste of homemade pasta, but the time and effort involved in making it usually makes it prohibitive.  This recipe is for cheater's tortellini, which cuts out the step of making the pasta by using fresh Chinese wonton wrappers, and just leaves you with the step of making the filling.  I really appreciate knowing exactly what has gone into my filling as well as the ability to be creative and make whatever combinations I want.

This week's recipe is really two recipes in one because you can serve the tortellini as pasta or in the soup, and you can also make the soup with store-bought pasta, if you prefer.  Making it with store-bought pasta is a really fast way to whip up a simple soup for a weeknight supper.  From this recipe you will get about 40 tortellini, and the soup will serve about 6 people.

Cheater's Tortellini Ingredients:

1 package fresh Chinese wonton wrappers
3/4 pound mixed mushrooms, not button mushrooms
2 shallots, finely chopped
5 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves stripped from the stem
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper
1 egg
flour

Directions:

1.  Cut the mushrooms into small pieces.  Saute the mushrooms and the shallots in the ollive oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat.  Do not add more oil, as the mushrooms will release some of their moisture and will not stick. If they do stick, add a few drops of water.  Also, do not add salt at this point because you want the mushrooms to brown, not steam.  If you add salt, it will draw the water out of the mushrooms.  Once the mushrooms have enough colour (about 15-20 minutes), then add salt, pepper, and thyme leaves.

2. Cool the mushroom mixture and then either chop it finely in a food processor or cut it more finely with a knife.  You don't want a paste, just very fine pieces.

3. Add the ricotta to the mushroom mixture.  Add more salt and pepper as necessary.  You will probably have to add quite a bit of salt as the ricotta does not have much.

3. In a small bowl, make an egg wash by whisking the egg with 1 Tbsp water.

4. On each wonton wrapper, use you finger to put a line of egg wash on two joining sides.  Then, put 1 tsp of mushroom mixture in the middle of the wrapper.  Fold over the wrapper to make a triangle.  Put more egg wash on one corner of the wrapper and fold the opposite corner over top to make a tortellini shape.

5. Put the tortellini on a baking sheet dusted with flour to keep the tortellini from sticking to the sheet.  You can freeze them on the sheet and then transfer to a plastic storage bag if you are not going to use them all at once.

Tortellini Soup Ingredients:

1 package tortellini, or 24 tortellini from the above recipe
2 litres chicken stock
1 Tbsp light miso
1 - 2 large leeks
1 bag of baby spinach, chopped
1/2 cup of fresh basil, chopped
grated parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot, saute the leek in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

2. Add the chicken stock, miso, and tortellini, and cook for about 5 minutes or according to package directions.  Add the spinach and basil and the end and stir until it wilts.

3. Taste for seasoning and serve the soup topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

Shopping Tips:

1. If you are lucky enough to have a farmers market where you can buy fresh mixed mushrooms like I do, that is the best place to get a good mix that will taste delicious.  If not, you can buy a mix from the grocery store, or just use cremini mushrooms.  Do not use button mushrooms because they do not have as much flavour, and they hold a lot of water, so it is difficult to brown them nicely.

2. If you can't find shallots, you can use finely chopped white onion.

3. You can use either regular or light ricotta cheese.  You could even use goat's cheese, if you want.

4. Miso is a fermented soy bean product, is high in protein, and has many health benefits.  I buy shiro miso and use it in many soup dishes.  It is a subtle flavour, but it really rounds out the flavours in soup and gives it added depth.

Options:

1. There are a wide variety of options for the cheater's tortellini.  Instead of mushroom, you can use roasted butternut squash, sauteed kale, or even roasted red peppers.  You could also make the "pasta" into other shapes such as ravioli.

2. You could also add white beans to the soup to make it a more substantial meal.

3. Kale can always be substituted for the spinach.

When I first made this recipe, I actually didn't have a lot of time, so I cooked the mushrooms while I was making another meal, and then froze them.  Another day, I made the mushroom/ricotta mixture and stuffed the tortellini, and then froze them.  Finally, after an afternoon of raking leaves, I quickly threw together the soup together on the third day.

Sausage, Kale, and Sweet Potato Soup

Fall is definitely here, so it is time for soup!  Soup is actually one of my favourite parts of fall.  It's easy to make, there are an infinite number of variations, it freezes well, and it tastes even better with a piece of crusty bread.

This soup is my favourite way to eat sausage because you can enjoy the flavour without eating a lot of it. It's also one of my favourite ways to eat kale because it melts nicely into the background against the spicy sausage and the sweet potato.  If you're not sure about kale, try it in this recipe, and I guarantee you will like it.

This recipe is an adaptation of a Williams Sonoma recipe, and it serves 6 - 8.

Ingredients:

2 lbs sweet potato (about 2 medium)
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lb spicy Italian sausage
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp fresh thyme
2 litres chicken stock
1 bunch kale
salt, pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Cut the sweet potato into 1/2 inch cubes.  There is no need to peel it.  It is more nutritious to leave the skin on, and it is a real pain to peel it.  Toss the sweet potato cubes with 1 Tbsp of the olive oil, spread in one even layer on a baking sheet with parchment paper.  The parchment paper keeps the sweet potato from sticking to the pan.  Sprinkle with salt and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

3. In a large soup pot or dutch oven, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil and brown the sausages on all sides.  When the sausages are browned, remove from the pan and set aside on a paper towel lined plate.  It is not necessary for them to be cooked through.

4. Sauté the onion with a sprinkle of salt until translucent.  Add the garlic and thyme and sauté for another minute.

5. Slice the sausage into coins and return them to the pot.  Add the chicken stock, heat to a boil, and cook on a low simmer for another 10 minutes.

6. Remove the kale leaves from the inner ribs and chop into one inch pieces.  Add to the pot with the roasted sweet potato and heat through for about 2 minutes.

7. Season with pepper and additional salt, if needed.  I added about another teaspoon of salt.

Shopping Tips:

1. It is important to use a good quality chicken stock because you will really taste it in this recipe.  If I am not using homemade, I prefer to use an organic boxed variety.

Options:

1. I really encourage you to try this with kale at least once, but you can make it with spinach if you prefer.

2. You could make this with chicken sausage, but it is really best with something spicy, so add some crushed red pepper flakes when sautéing the onions.

3. For an even healthier vegan version, omit the sausage altogether.  Instead, use a can of drained and rinsed white beans and the following spices:
     1 tsp paprika
     1 tsp oregano
     1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
     1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Don't forget to use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock if you want this to be vegan.

The hot afternoons and cool evenings make it a perfect time to dust off the old soup pot.  Happy September!