Saturday, August 27, 2011

Cream of Parsnip Soup

A good, hearty fall and winter soup.  The addition of honey makes for a nice and subtle sweet touch.



Ingredients

2 T butter
1 onion, finely diced
5 parsnips, peeled and diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups stock
1 T honey
2 bay leaves
pinch of cumin
pinch of cayenne (optional)
1 c cream

Instructions

1) Heat butter in soup pot over medium heat, and cook onion until soft and transparent.
2) Add parsnips with a little salt and pepper, and cook for 4-5 minutes.
3) Add stock, honey and bay leaves, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Cook gently for 25 minutes until the parsnips are soft. Add spices, if you want.
4) Discard the bay leaves, combine with cream, and puree until smooth.

Thai Mushroom-Coconut Soup

This is a variation on a Thai classic known as Tom-Kha-Gai.  For a vegetarian version, you can use mushrooms alone or add tempeh or quorn pieces (sauteed lightly in oil.)


Ingredients

1 can coconut milk
2 c broth
1" piece ginger (or galangal if you have it), thinly sliced
2 stalks lemon grass (dried is okay), chopped into chunks
4 kaffir lime leaves
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
juice of 2-3 limes
3-4 T fish sauce
2 T brown sugar
1 large green onion, sliced
1/4 c coriander, chopped

Instructions

1) Heat coconut milk and broth, and bring to a simmer.
2) Add ginger, lemon grass, and kaffir lime leaves.  Simmer for 10 minutes.
3) Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes.
4) Add lime juice, fish sauce, and brown sugar and remove from heat.
Serve with coriander and green onion.

Greek Baked Lima Beans and Spinach

This recipe comes from the New York Times, and is a healthy and flavorful dish.


Ingredients

2 cans lima beans, drained well
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds spinach, rinsed and chopped
1/4 c fresh dill, chopped
1 T chives, snipped
1/2 c feta, crumbled
1 c vegetable broth

Instructions

1) Lightly oil a large baking dish, scatter with drained beans, and cover with ~1 cup of broth.
2) Preheat oven to 350F.  Wilt spinach in the microwave (Place in a large glass dish with a small amount of water at the bottom, and microwave on high.)  After wilting, squeeze out as much excess water as possible.
3) Over medium high heat, fry garlic in 1 T oil for 30 seconds.  Then add spinach, dill and chives, and stir until combined, about 1 minute.  Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
4) Spread spinach over beans, sprinkle with feta, then drizzle with remaining 1 T olive oil.
5) Bake 30 minutes until sizzling.  Serve warm or cold.