Kitchen Garden Journal

Since the hurricane blew over there has been a sharp chill in the air and it’s got us thinking about soup. And eating a lot of it, too.

There are so many wonderful soups that one can create so simply from the colorful palette of autumn vegetables.  We love soups with beans. They are incredibly easy, and there are few better ways to enjoy the coarser greens like kale and escarole than tossing them into a rich bean soup. Just throw some onion and garlic in a pan, sauté for a bit and add some tomato puree and the soaked beans. Cover with water, bring to a boil, and away you go. No need to use stock because the beans make their own broth. Add the greens in the last 20 minutes so they don’t overcook.

Recently we’ve “discovered” a whole class of pureed soups that are based on water, sautéed onion, and potato. Add any vegetable you like to these three ingredients and you’ve got a simple soup that brings out its very essence. All you need is a few ingredients and an immersion blender and you can whip up an incredible variety of these soups in about a half an hour.

Perhaps the simplest of these is potato-leek soup. Just sauté the onion and leeks together, add cubes of peeled potato and water to cover, simmer until cooked, blend and finish with cream. Sprinkle a little chives or parsley and voila! Done.

Take this soup and substitute carrots for the leeks. Add a few slices of ginger if you like. Cauliflower makes the silkiest cream soup of them all. So easy. What about broccoli? Throw in some grated cheddar cheese after pureeing for the best cheddar-broccoli soup ever. Spinach? You bet. Go out and grab the last of the season’s sweet corn and use that, too. You can add some bacon at the beginning and leave it chunky if you like for delicious corn chowder.

Once you get the basic concept, it’s like a whole world is open to you.

It reminds me a lot of the recent Häagen-Dazs ice cream ad campaign. They have this new product line called “5” of ice creams made with just 5 ingredient s: milk, cream, sugar, eggs and fill in the blank. It’s a great concept. Less is more. Purity, simplicity, and variety.

For those of you who prefer written out recipes to descriptive ones, here’s a link to a classic Moosewood carrot soup with lots of variations.

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Put flour and salt in Cuisinart or Kitchen-Aid, then add butter in cubes, while processing, until the mixture resembles small peas. Drizzle in cold water while processing until the dough forms a ball. Lay on a piece of cling wrap and press dough into a disc. Wrap and chill in the refrigerator. Meanwhile, wash, trim and slice leeks. Saute in butter 15 minutes until soft and golden, and allow to cool. In a bowl, combine eggs, yolks, cream, milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir in leeks and reserve. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out dough and press into a 9-inch pie pan. Prick all over with a fork, cover with foil, fill with pie weights (dried beans, pennies, marbles etc.) and partially bake until dry – 10-15 minutes, removing foil for the last few minutes. Remove pie shell from oven and sprinkle cheese on the bottom. Pour in the leek mixture and sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Bake 30 minutes, until the center is set but still soft like Jell-O. Cool and serve.

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With the air inside the house so dry this time of year, fresh bread has a life of about 12 hours. Luckily, there are many things you can do with the stale ends, like this classic Italian peasant soup.

• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 medium leeks, thinly sliced, or 2 cups sliced onions    
• ¼  cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 1 quart whole peeled tomatoes
• 4 cups vegetable stock or water
• 2 ½  cups cubed stale bread
• 8 large basil leaves, cut in strips, optional
• freshly grated parmigiano

Heat the oil in a pot suitable for making soup and saute the garlic until just beginning to brown. Add the leeks or onions and saute until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper, and cook 10 minutes until soft. Add stock and simmer another 10 minutes. Add bread, cover pot and remove from heat. Let stand 15-20 minutes until bread is falling apart. Add basil, and serve with olive oil and freshly grated parmigiano. Tastes even better the second day.

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• 2-3 large leeks, cleaned
• 1 large bulb fennel
• 1 pound spinach or chard
• 2 cloves garlic
• 8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 eggs
• Smattering of herbs like parsley, dill, and mint
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• Small pinch cayenne powder
• Salt & pepper
• 1 package frozen phyllo dough or puff pastry
• 1/2 cup Olive Oil

Thinly slice the leeks and fennel across the grain.  Heat 1/4 cup of the oil over medium heat in your most capacious frying pan or wok, or in a large saucepan. Add the sliced vegetables and sauté until thoroughly softened, about 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, wash and chop the greens and blanch in boiling salted water for 2 minutes.  Drain, chill in cold water, wring out and reserve.  Chop the garlic very finely and add to the sautéing vegetables.  When they are ready, remove from heat and add the greens, crumbled feta, herbs, lemon juice, and eggs. Mix thoroughly and season with salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. 

Defrost dough according to package directions.  If using phyllo, place one sheet at a time on a large cookie sheet, brushing with the remaining oil between the layers until half the package is used.  Pour on the filling and spread it out evenly.  Cover with remaining dough, brushing each layer with oil, and bake at 350° for 45 minutes to an hour, until the top is golden brown.  Allow to cool slightly before serving.  Serve at room temperature the following day for lunch.

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Put flour and salt in Cuisinart or Kitchen-Aid, then add butter in cubes, while processing, until the mixture resembles small peas. Drizzle in cold water while processing until the dough forms a ball. Lay on a piece of cling wrap and press dough into a disc. Wrap and chill in the refrigerator. Meanwhile, wash, trim and slice leeks. Saute in butter 15 minutes until soft and golden, and allow to cool. In a bowl, combine eggs, yolks, cream, milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir in leeks and reserve. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out dough and press into a 9-inch pie pan. Prick all over with a fork, cover with foil, fill with pie weights (dried beans, pennies, marbles etc.) and partially bake until dry – 10-15 minutes, removing foil for the last few minutes. Remove pie shell from oven and sprinkle cheese on the bottom. Pour in the leek mixture and sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Bake 30 minutes, until the center is set but still soft like Jell-O. Cool and serve.

(Variation: Substitute 4 oz. goat cheese for Gruyere.)

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Last week our assistant grower, Aaron, who is a soup master, made this soup for crew lunch. It owes its velvety smoothness to the use of russet potatoes. Their high starch content makes for an extra-rich, thick soup.

•  3 leeks, thoroughly washed, trimmed and finely chopped
• 1 med onion, finely chopped
• 1-2 Tbsp Butter
• 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 cups vegetable stock or water
• 1/2-1 cup heavy cream or milk
• salt & white pepper
• chives or parsley, finely chopped, for garnish

Saute leeks and onion in butter in a large saucepan 4-5 min until translucent. Add potatoes and stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes or until everything is quite soft. Puree in a blender with the optional cream. Return soup to pot and season with salt and white pepper to taste. Served cold, it is vichysoisse; hot, it is leek and potato soup. Garnish with a sprinkle of chopped chives or parsley. 

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