Zesty Chicken Tortellini Soup

Earlier this week both of my guys were sick. It’s been miserably cold out here (well, for California, anyway) and colds seem to be everywhere. I know how comforting chicken soup can be when you’re sick, and I know some that are convinced that chicken fat holds natural antibiotics. I think that special food always makes me feel better when I’m sick. Because it’s high in vitamin c, I “snuck” some parsley in. I wouldn’t say it added much to the flavor, but it was nice to think of my soup having extra cold fighting powers. Because my toddler has been sort of picky lately (the horrors!), and especially so when he is congested, I decided to make this chicken soup more tempting with tortellini and do a sort of play on tortellini en brodo. A version of the dish with a hearty soup as its staple. And just for fun and because it always helps to clean out the sinuses, a bit of a kick with crushed red pepper flakes. The tortellinis worked to convince him to eat the solids out of the soup, carrots, chicken and all. He had great fun holding the bowl in both hands and slowly slurping the broth.

Perhaps the best thing about this soup is that it comes together quickly. Surprisingly, you can still build some excellent flavors in that short amount of time.

Thankfully, my guys are all better. It was probably just rest and time. But I would like it believe it was my soup. That magical chicken tortellini soup.

Chicken Tortellini Soup




2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 cups mirepoix
2 Tablespoons minced Italian parsley
2 Tablespoons olive oil
8 cups low chicken broth
16 ounces cheese stuffed tortellini
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons herbed salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Cut chicken into 1” pieces. Heat your soup pot over medium heat. Add olive oil, then mirepoix, parsley, crushed red pepper 1 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper.

2. When mirepoix has been cooked through, add garlic and saute for one minute, stirring constantly. Add chicken stock, chicken, remaining salt and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed.

3. Add tortellini. Cover and cook until tortellini is tender, up to 10 minutes.


Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Balsamic Roasted Zucchini & Summer Squash Soup w/ Ginger Yogurt

Spring has sprung and our corner of the world is blossoming before our eyes. The allergy sufferers are in misery and the skies have opened up a torrential downpour on us, the better to nourish spring's buds. All this is to say that it is soup weather once again. This soup weather calls for a lighter, squash-based soup which is perfected by a dollop of savory ginger yogurt. Glazing the squash in balsamic and roasting it with onions gives the soup a surprising depth of flavor.

I served this along with my smoked trout and citrus salad and some fabulous zesty lemon & thyme chicken drumsticks.

Zucchini & Summer Squash Soup

For roasting the squash:

3 Medium Zucchinis, quartered lengthwise
4 Medium Summer Squash, quartered lengthwise
1 Medium yellow onion, quartered
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped off & woody stems discarded
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

For the soup base:

1 Bayleaf
1 leek, chopped finely
3 carrots, chopped finely
2 stalks celery, chopped finely
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 Teaspoon olive oil
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups water
salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste

For the yogurt:

1/2" x 1" piece of ginger, peeled and grated
3/4 cup unsweetened greek yogurt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a mixing bow combine all roasting ingredients, then toss to coat. Spread squash and onions in a shallow baking dish in a single even layer. Roast for about 25 minutes, or until completely squishy (the more you overcook your squash, the smoother the consistency of the soup). You may want to remove the onions before 25 minutes are up; start checking on them every 5 minutes at 15 minutes.
2. While the squash and onions are roasting combine the yogurt and ginger and chill in the fridge in a covered container until the soup is ready to serve.
3. When the squash and onions have been roasting for 15 minutes, melt the butter for the soup base in a large heavy-bottom skillet (or whatever you intend to make your soup in); add in olive oil, leek, celery, carrots, salt, pepper and bayleaf and saute until tender over medium heat.
4. When the zucchini and summer squash have roasted until their melting point, remove from oven and allow to cool somewhat. Puree onions and squash in a blender until completely smooth.
5. Add chicken stock and water to your mirepoireau* in the pan and bring to the beginnings of a boil.
6. Mix in pureed veggies and cook another 3-5 minutes, or until all ingredients have reached the same temperature.
7. Serve with a dollop of ginger yogurt and garlic rubbed crostini.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe and I welcome your feedback!

*Your soup base; get it? n_n

Roasted Artichoke Bisque with Spicy Crab Meat, Lemon Infused Olive Oil and Parmesan Crisps

When I originally wrote this recipe a huge banner over my local health food chain proclaimed it to be "crab season", which got my creative juices flowing, although inside the store the price per pound was less than inviting: 35 USD/pound for lump Dungeoness Crab meat (separated). I purchased the smallest amount I thought I could cook with and prayed my roasted artichokes would step up to their daunting task and serve as a satisfying star of the dish alongside the figurative scene chewer--fresh crab meat. If you also live in a place with extremely expensive crab meat I suggest structuring the soup the same way I have and perhaps planning to serve it while entertaining, since the finished product is impressive and not inexpensive to make! If you live in an area where crabs are abundant and cheap I suggest flipping the main ingredients and googling how to make crab stock. Had I "world enough and time" (to make the hour plus drive to the area where an abundance of small family seafood markets drive the price of crabs down to a more manageable one) I would have made the dish this way; sadly, seafood prices in my area are conspiring against this possibility.
Roasting the artichokes in lemon infused olive oil and serving the finished soup with droplets of the infused oil really allowed the flavor of the artichokes to shine. The parmesan crisps also added a sort of golden umami--a richness and depth of flavor. I used Ina Garten's recipe for the crisps, which can be found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/parmesan-crisps-recipe/index.html (thank you, Ina--you rock!)

Roasted Artichoke Bisque with Spicy Crab Meat and Lemon Infused Olive Oil

Makes 4 - 6 servings

3 Tablespoons lemon-infused olive oil, plus >1 Teaspoon for drizzling*
3 globe artichokes or 4 violetta artichokes (globe tend to be larger), cleaned, trimmed and halved (leave on the stems, but trim off the dried up ends; face them, essentially)
1/4 lb. jumbo lump crab meat
1/2 Teaspoon sriracha
1/4 Teaspoon smoked paprika1/4 Teaspoon regular paprika
1 bay leaf
6 black peppercorns, gently crushed
1 sprig fresh thyme, just the leaves stripped from the stems
1/2 Teaspoon sriracha, or hot pepper sauce of choice
Juice of 1/2 lemon
4 Tablespoons butter
1 shallot, pureed
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1 leaf of fennel bulb, pureed
1/2 cup mirepoix
(Optional) 1/2 a baby leek, cleaned and sliced finely
2 cups vegetable stock or water
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Faranheit. In a wide pot of boiling water squeeze lemon juice and parboil cleaned, trimmed artichokes for 5 minutes. Remove artichokes from water, toss in 3 Tablespoons infused olive oil and roast in hot oven for about 30 minutes, or until outer leaves fall away from the stem with little resistance, when tugged, or when the flesh of the heart is fork-tender. Since you'll be pureeing the artichoke flesh, you'll want them to be slightly overcooked when they're done roasting. Remove leaves and set aside to cool. If you can keep from scraping the delicious artichoke from the leaves they make a cute garnish. Set artichokes aside to cool. When artichokes have cooled, remove hair from chokes with the tip of a spoon and set artichokes aside.

2. Melt 2 Tablespoons of the butter and 2 - 3 drops of infused olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot (this will be your soup pot) and add fennel, mirepoix, shallot, optional leek, 1/2 bay leaf, thyme leaves and half of the crushed peppercorns. Sautee over medium heat until tender. Remove the half bay leaf.

3. Puree cooled artichokes and add to pan with mirepoix & etc. Add in vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and add cream and turn heat off when the cream has reached the same temp as the other ingredients and is incorporated. Taste and add additional salt, if needed and freshly ground black pepper.

4. To finish soup: in a smaller heavy-bottomed saucepan pan melt the remaining butter along with 2 - 3 drops of the infused olive oil over medium heat. Add paprika, smoked paprika, half a bay leaf and the other half of the peppercorns. Stir to coat and cook for 90 seconds to toast spices. Mix in sriracha, then add crabmeat and stir to coat. Cook until crabmeat is heated though, less than 4 minutes, then remove the half bay leaf. Ladle bisque into bowls and top with 1/4 to 1/6 of the spicy crabmeat (depending upon how large a serving you want). Rest parmesan crisps vertically along the edges of the bowl (see photo), or use them however you like as garnish. Drizzle each bowl with just a few drops of lemon infused olive oil and serve.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and I welcome your feedback!

*the kitchn has an excellent article on how to make infused olive oils, which can be found here: http://www.thekitchn.com/fancy-flavors-how-to-infuse-ol-103225; I accomplished mine the quick 'n' dirty way, by adding lemon zest to a lovely Italian extra virgin olive oil I had on hand (this method won't keep for more than 24 hours, so if you're planning to use this oil for more than one recipe I suggest going about it the traditional way, as in the link above).

Mushroom Barley Soup

My Grandparents came for a visit and to attend the Bat Mitzvah of a close family friend. They arrived a full day early and I wanted to offer them lunch. I knew they'd enjoy my mixed field greens salad with smoked trout and a mustard/lemon/thyme vinaigrette, but what to serve with it? My mother mentioned soup and that's how I hit upon the idea of making my grandfather's favorite, mushroom barley soup and this recipe was born. Cooking the barley in beef stock and fresh thyme really adds an extra dimension of flavor.

Mushroom Barley Soup



7 cups organic beef stock
3 cups water
1 bay leaf
14 oz. mirepoix*
3 cloves of garlic, minced or put through a press
3 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
4 to 6 black peppercorns
1 large and 3 medium sprigs of thyme
12 oz. sliced crimini or button mushroom caps
1 cup pearl barley
salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Mix barley, 1 cup of water, 3 cups beef stock, whole peppercorns and large sprig of thyme to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, on medium low heat for 30 to 40 minutes.
2. As the barley is cooking, put your soup pot on the burner and turn the heat to medium. When your pot bottom is nice and hot add olive oil, then butter. Pull the thyme leaves off of the medium sprigs and toss in thyme, mirepoix, bay leaf, salt and ground pepper. Saute for 5 minutes, or until onions begin to soften, then add garlic and mushrooms and saute for another 5 to 10 minutes. Cover and allow the mushrooms to sweat, stirring occasionally, for another 20 minutes.
3. When the barley is cooked through, add the remaining 5 cups of beef stock to the mushrooms and veggies in the soup pot, as well as 2 cups of water and the barley, sans the whole peppercorns and large thyme sprig.
4. Fish out the bay leaf, then serve with crusty bread and enjoy.

*I get this from Trader Joe's already chopped and measured, but if you like to do it yourself just make 1 3/4 cups total.

I hope you like this recipe and I welcome your feedback!

Soup Weather: Potato Leek

Winter isn't half over, and for many of us that means months to go of extreme weather conditions and bitingly cold temperatures. This is the time of year you'll hear the phrase "soup weather," spoken plaintively and sincerely. Indeed, warm liquids--particularly more hearty and nourishing fare like soup--are excellent balms to chapped hands and cold toes in this harsher season.

For me it was as much convenience as a desire to beat the cold that had me concocting a recipe for Potato Leek soup--one batch makes up to 10 servings, and I made this dish on the last day of the year, knowing I might not be in a mood to cook the next day. I cannot overlook that there were other factors that put me in mind of this particular soup, namely childhood nostalgia, and a love of the wild onion-y flavor of leeks, paired with the sweet, earthy starch of potatoes.



If you decide to puree your soup and are so inclined you could top your soup with a dollop of dill creme fraiche (mix 1 part chopped fresh dill to 3 parts creme fraiche).

Potato Leek Soup
Makes 8 - 10 servings

5 medium - large leeks, cleaned with the dark green parts discarded, sliced 1/2" thick
6 medium yukon gold potatoes, cut into roughly 1" cubes
1 small onion, julienned
1 quart organic vegetable or chicken broth
2 medium cloves of garlic, minced or put through a press
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, woody stems stripped off
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 Teaspoon Salt, or more to taste
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup cooking sherry
1 quart (4 cups) water
1 cup cream

1. Put your soup pot on the burner and turn it to medium, add butter and when the butter is melted, add leeks, onions, garlic, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and some pepper. Saute on medium heat until leeks are translucent, about 15 minutes.
2. Add cooking sherry and let cook for another 10 minutes.
3. Add potatoes, water and stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for roughly 45 minutes, until the potatoes are soft enough to break apart with a nudge. Adjust for salt and pepper
4.Using a handheld mixer on low speed, or (once it's cooled down enough to handle) a food processor, puree the soup. If you'd rather go low-tech you can also force it through a fine mesh sieve instead. Add the cream, stir to incorporate and serve, garnished with a tiny pinch of thyme leaves.*

*Cook's note: I prefer mine not to be pureed, since I love the mouthfeel of the occasional soft potato and silky leek. For presentation's sake, you should know that if you choose not to puree your soup you may want to leave out the cream (this was my mother's method, growing up), as it will separate and look strange; however, it will still taste delicious, particularly if you stir the soup up before portioning it out. That being said the dill creme fraiche is quite strange as a condiment in non-pureed soup.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and I welcome your feedback!