This soup is perfect on a chilly day when you want to warm up with something smooth and satisfying. There are no dairy products, yet the soup is rich and creamy. The secret is using hummus and cashews soaked in water which is a great trick if you’re trying to avoid dairy products. And using roasted garlic and cauliflower as your flavor profile give the soup a luxuriously deep, nutty taste.
Even though it’s spring, there are still some chilly days in Missouri, so this flavor-packed spicy soup is a great warm up. The prep time may look a little longer than your typical soup. However, I guarantee you’ll notice the difference in the deep rich flavor by roasting the meat and the mushrooms in the oven before adding them to the broth. And when I say warm up, I’m talking about both temperature and spice level. This one’s got a little kick to it!
This recipe has been in my binder for several years, and I’ve hesitated to post it mainly because of the emotional tie it has to me. I’ve named it in honor of my late step-father, Gene.
Every day can’t be a grilled chicken and veggie day. Sometimes you need to allow yourself to indulge a bit, this crab and brie chowder being one of them. It has that great traditional chowder flavor you grew up eating with hearty roasted potatoes and rich, thick broth however in this version the sweet, delicate crab meat and the creamy brie cheese elevate the soup to a luxuriantly decadent level.
A bowl of this chowder will definitely warm you up on a cold day!
Single digits on the thermometer outside means steaming bowls of rich, satisfying soup inside. Using the slow cooker for this recipe gets you out of the kitchen fast, and the reward is a deep rich broth with smoky caramelized onions. A big bowl of this soup topped with a quick toast of some bread, and creamy Gruyere cheese will warm you from the inside out and chase those bitter temperatures away.
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Shortly after my husband and I planted roots in Missouri, I started a Christmas dinner tradition of serving champagne camembert bisque as the first course. The silky richness of the cream and melted camembert cheese has such an incredible lusciousness; it takes a concerted effort not to have a second bowl and forget about the rest of the meal.
While taking the picture for this post, I realized it’s extremely challenging to get a good picture of a cream based soup. It could have also been the two glasses of champagne I sipped while making the bisque. (wink) So for this recipe, taste wins out over the visual, but I guarantee you’ll love it. Pair the bisque with some fresh baked bread, and you have the beginnings of a delicious holiday meal.
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My daughter wasn’t one of those kids to liked soup while she was growing up, however, whenever I make this bisque, she’s all over it! It’s crazy! It’s one of our family favorites and I can whip up a batch in less than thirty minutes.
Keeping the ratio of more zucchini than stock helps make the bisque thick and hearty, and the half and half adds a silky richness without the heaviness of cream.
I’ve always loved wontons and Chinese dumplings, but I thought they were really difficult to make. Then I made them for this soup, and I discovered something about myself. I LOVE making wontons! They tasted just like authentic Chinese wontons, except I used a small amount of minced habanero pepper (I know, shocker!), so they had a little kick. The broth was silky and flavored with a wonderful shitake mushroom umami, perfectly balancing the heat.
The trick to getting the wontons to cook without falling apart is to have the broth just beyond a simmer, but not quite a boil so the wontons ‘dance’ in the broth as they cook.
One more soup recipe for the season before the spring weather arrives and we all start thinking about salads and grilled meat. That and I’ve been having serious cravings for hot spicy food lately.
I decided to switch the heat source this week to jalapeño peppers since my family has mentioned several times they’re concerned about my supposed Sriracha “addiction.” (This is not a cry for help, by the way. No way am I giving up my Sriracha!)
As winter approaches and the temperature drops in Missouri, usually around early to mid-November, our weekly menu almost always includes soup. I’ve shared several of my favorite soup recipes in earlier posts, and this week I’m adding a new one.
Yep. This mid-west gal who is a blend of Hungarian, German, Swedish and French, decided to try her hand at Vietnamese cuisine. And it was really good!
My version of this recipe for Pho, also commonly called Vietnamese Noodle Soup, evolved as I researched traditional Vietnamese recipes. I added the thinly sliced carrots and radishes because they added beautiful color and a little crunch to the dish, and the chili-head in me had to include sliced jalapenos!
I was a little hesitant making the broth, mainly because I hadn’t had a lot of experience using star anise and cardamom, however once I tasted complex layers of the spices and how well they complimented the other ingredients, any remaining hesitation quickly disappeared. I’m giving myself a ‘Dang Girl’ on this one!