Seafood Chowder

The winds of winter have been howling the last few days so my soup pot made another appearance on my stove-top.  I was so warm and cozy watching cooking shows with my kids that I didn't even think about what to make for dinner. Then I saw corn chowder being made on TV and I that got me thinking of some comforting chowder for dinner. I was lucky enough to have the ingredients for a wonderful Seafood Chowder and ran into the kitchen to make it.  Since I decided at almost 4PM in the afternoon to whip this soup up and post it as a recipe for the blog I was rushing to get it done fast so I could take my pictures before the sun set. I was really lucky this soup came together in less than 30 minutes.  Then I bundled up and I headed outside with a steaming bowl of this wonderfully fragrant soup to take my photos on the deck.  There there I was freezing like a popsicle snapping pictures of this hot bowl of soup and wishing I could have jump into it to keep warm (and probably looking quite ridiculous to my neighbors).  Yes.. I agree, I'm a little crazy when it comes to getting my "glamor" shots for my recipes. I'm certainly glad I had made a steamy bowl of chowder to photograph because freezing outside was all worth it when I came back inside and got to warm up with this yummy soup.   I highly recommend the soup.. I don't highly recommend going outside on a 30 degree day with 20mph winds to snap photos of the soup. :)

 



Ingredients:
2 cans of minced clams in their juice
1lb mild white flaky fish  cut into cubes(I used cod)
1/2 lb of cleaned shrimp
6 slices of bacon (diced)
1 medium onion minced
1 green bell pepper minced
2 large carrots minced
2 stalks of minced celery
1/2 tsp of dried thyme
4 cups of chicken broth
3-4 cups of water
2 cups of diced white potatoes
chicken bullion as needed
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp red chili flakes (or to taste)
1/3 cup of all purpose flour
2 cups of half and half

Note: I recommend you take the tails off the shrimp before adding it to the soup.

Directions:


In a large soup pot, fry up your bacon until crispy.  Drain the bacon and set it aside.  Reserve the bacon drippings to fry the vegetables.








I recommend you use a food processor and "chop" your carrots, onions, bell pepper and celery to a fine dice. I wanted the vegetables to give flavor and give some "body" to the soup without actually having to be eaten in bite size pieces.

Add these vegetables to the bacon drippings in the pot and fry until softened.



Next add your dried thyme, salt, pepper, chili flakes and flour.  Cook for 2-3 minutes while stirring.








Now add your two cans of clams with their juice.  Cook for a minute.









Now add your water, chicken broth and diced potatoes.  Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are almost tender.  You will want to season the broth again because the potatoes will absorb some of the salt.  I used the chicken bullion above to season the broth.   When the potatoes are almost cooked through add your fish. 





Finally add the shrimp and  2 cups of half and half.  Allow to boil for 2-3 minutes.  Taste for seasoning one last time and your soup should be done. 
Serve hot. Enjoy.











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Seafood Chowder

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Split Pea Soup with Ham

After days of being spoiled by mild temperatures we finally had cold weather with some snow showers.  Dreary weather always makes me crave soup so I pulled out the soup pot to make a comforting one pot meal to warm us up.  I decided to make split pea soup because I had baked a honey baked ham over the weekend and it would be a great way to use up the ham bone and some of the leftover ham.  The first time I made this soup for my family I called it "swamp soup" and my kids were thrilled to dig in because the thought of eating something "gross" seemed so fun and intriguing to them.  Ah.. the joy of being a child.   They never questioned me what made the soup so swampy green (the of peas and vegetables) and I was thrilled to see them ask for seconds helpings.  Although it doesn't look like the most "appetizing of soups", it doesn't taste anything like a swamp... thank goodness.  My recipe makes a large pot of soup so you can have soup for a few days or freeze the leftovers for another day.

Ingredients:
3 stalks celery diced
3 large carrots diced
1 onion diced
2Tbs of canola oil
1Tbs of dried thyme
1Tbs of dried parsley
1 bay leaf
2-3 cloves of garlic chopped
1lb bag of dried green split peas
4 cups of chicken stock
7 cups of water
1lb of diced lean ham
black pepper to taste
red chili flakes to taste
salt to taste





Directions:

Heat oil in the soup pot and add your diced carrots, celery and onions to saute for a few minutes. Then add thyme, parsley, bay leaf, garlic, black pepper and red chili flakes. Do not add salt yet (see notes).
Notes:There are coupling reasons not to add salt:
1. If you are using the ham bone it will give off a lot of salt while cooking.
2. Too much salt now will slow down the dried peas from cooking.



If you have a ham bone, this is a great time to use it. If you do not have a ham bone you can skip this step.  Add dried peas. Rinsed the peas with water and pick through them to make sure there are no stones.



Add 4 cups of chicken stock (or water/bullion equivalent) and 7 cups of water to the pot.  Simmer all the ingredients on medium high heat for about 30-45 minutes with a tight fitting lid. You will know when your soup is getting done because the peas will break down and the soup will get very thick and creamy.

Once the soup looks ready remove the ham bone and the bay leaf.  Puree the soup with an immersion blender or use a regular blender and do it in batches.

 

 
Now add your dice.  If you had a ham bone, remove all the ham off the bone and dice for the soup as well. Add the ham into the pureed soup. Do not add the ham before you puree the soup or you will puree the ham too.  Soups on!! Enjoy.







Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

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Split Pea Soup with Ham

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Italian Escarole, Bean and Meatball Soup

I watch a lot of cooking shows because I love to keep learning as much as I can about cooking and ingredients. One ingredient (of many) that I have seen and never tried was escarole.  Escarole is a leafy green that is related to the Endive family and works great in soups.  So when I saw a beautiful bunch of escarole at my gocery store I knew I had to take my chance to try it out and use it in a soup.  This is an Italian style soup that I rounded out with some cannelleni beans and ground chicken meatballs.  I made this for lunch on a cold winter's day and it made a perfectly satisfying meal for the veggie and meat lovers. Throw in some crusty bread and you have a meal that would make anyone happy.

Ingredients:


For the meatballs:
1lb ground chicken
2 slices of bread soaked in 1/4 cup of milk and crumbled
1tsp dried basil
1tsp dried oregano
1tsp dried parsley
1egg
red chili flakes (to taste)
seasoning salt to taste
2 cloves of grated garlic
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese

Directions for meatballs:
Mix all ingredients together and make your favorite size meatballs. Heat 2Tbs of canola oil in your soup pot on medium high heat and brown the outside of the meatballs until golden brown. Then remove the meatballs from the pan to start making the soup.





Ingredients to make the soup:
1 leek(optional)
1 medium onion
1tsp dried basil
1tsp dried oregano
1tsp dried parsley
red chili flakes to taste
seasoning salt to taste
3 cloves of grated garlic
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
4 cups of water
4 cups of chicken stock
1lb of chopped escarole
1 (15oz) can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans

Directions:


In the oil leftover from browning the meatballs, add your chopped onions and leeks.   Saute for a few minutes. Then add your chili flakes and garlic and saute for another minute.



Next add dried basil, oregano and seasoning salt and saute for 30 seconds.  Then add the chicken stock and water.  Bring soup to a boil.



Add your chopped escarole and the cannellini beans and browned meatballs. Boil for 5 minutes and allow the meatballs to finish cooking.  When they are floating in the pot, they are cooked.


In the last few minutes of cooking and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.  Stir well and taste for seasoning. If you soup is saltier than you like, because of the Parmesan, add a little more water.   Serve hot and Enjoy. You can also serve it with bread, over rice or pasta.



Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

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Italian Escarole, Bean and Meatball Soup

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Creamy Cauliflower and Leek Soup

My mother and I went to the market yesterday and we got a great price on some beautiful heads of cauliflower and perfect looking leeks.  Well, if you've been here before, you know I can't resist a good deal.  I bought several heads of cauliflower and few bunches of leeks.   Yes... that means you will be seeing my array of cauliflower dishes and some leek dishes thrown in there for the next week.  If you like to buy vegetables in bulk, when they are on sale, you can always steam them and put it in freezer safe bags to store them for future use.  If you cook as much as I do, you will find a way to use every bit.    Now onto this soup.  It was cold and rainy today so making soup was in order.  Cauliflower and leeks make a perfect combination for soup so with the main ingredients at home in bulk, I really had no excuse not to make this delicious soup.  My young daughter helped me taste test and this is the recipe we came up with together.  So, blame it on her if you don't like it... just kidding. : ) Actually we both ate it for lunch and were happy with our soup that was done in less than 30 minutes.  




 Ingredients:
1 head of fresh cauliflower chopped
2 cups of fresh leeks chopped
8 cups of chicken broth (or water/bullion equivalent)
1 tsp of dried thyme
1 tsp of ground cumin powder
few grates of fresh nutmeg (or small pinch of ground)
black pepper and salt to taste
red chili flakes to taste
1 cup of half and half or heavy cream
2 Tbs of flour
4-5 strips of bacon
1 medium onion chopped
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
fresh scallions to garnish

Note:  This is not a vegetarian recipe. If you want to make this vegetarian, just skip the bacon step and use canola oil.  Then substitute the chicken stock for vegetable stock. 



Tip about washing Leeks: 
Since leeks grow through the dirt, a lot of grit is in between the layers.  The best way to wash leeks is to chop it first and loosen the layers.  Then put it into a bowl of cool water and swish them around to let the grit fall to the bottom of the bowl.  Then scoop up the clean leeks that are floating on the top and leave the grit and dirt at the bottom of the bowl.



Directions:


Fry up your diced bacon until crisp. Drain onto a paper towel and reserve until later as a garnish. Reserve 2-3 Tbs of bacon drippings to fry your vegetables.







Add your chopped onions, leeks and cauliflower to the oil. Saute for a few minutes.  Then add your ground cumin, dried thyme, chili flakes, pepper, salt and some flour.  Saute for another minute.


Add your chicken stock and bring pot to a boil.  Cook for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are very soft.  Then add your cup of cream or half and half and Parmesan cheese.





Use and immersion blender and puree soup until smooth. You can also do it in batches in a regular blender or food processor.  Taste for seasoning and serve hot.  Garnishes with bacon bits and scallions.


Note:  **if you like creamed soups an immersion blender is really useful and I recommend getting one. :)  






 
Enjoy.




Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

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Creamy Cauliflower and Leek Soup

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