(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . What's For Dinner? v.18.17 - Soup's On! [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-10-28 So even after zenbassoon wrote about gumbo last week (or “gumbo”, if you prefer), I was still undecided as to whether I would do a diary on French food or another one on soup—which I thought might be a little repetitive. Then the weather turned cold and rainy and my mind was made up—soup it is! (No need to fret, though; the French food diary, like winter in Game of Thrones, is coming. Maybe I’ll do jambalaya one of these days, as a sequel to zen’s gumbo diary.) I love soup. For me, it’s the perfect winter food. Most of my soup recipes are fairly simple in terms of ingredients and preparation. Plus, I work from home, from 7 to 3, so it’s easy for me to start early for recipes that have to cook for a couple hours or more (although I’m only posting one long-cooker tonight). And you can’t ask for easier leftovers to make—even if you don’t have a microwave, like me. One general note—I prefer to use low-sodium broths (and not just for soup), probably because Mom used less salt when she cooked, so that’s the way I learned. So I recommend them, if you’re not already using them. This first one is my favorite. The tomato sauce gives it the perfect flavor and consistency and works so well with the beans and bacon. BEAN AND BACON SOUP 1/2 pound smoked bacon, drained, cooked, and diced 1 large brown onion, finely diced 1 large carrot, finely diced 2 stalks celery, finely diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 c chicken stock 3 15-ounce cans white beans, drained and rinsed salt and black pepper to taste 1 t mixed herbs (I generally use 1/4 t each oregano, basil, parsley, thyme) 1 cup tomato sauce finely chopped parsley to garnish (optional) Cook the bacon. Remove from the pan and drain. Discard all but 2 T of the bacon fat. Add onion, carrot and celery to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat until they begin to soften. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add broth, beans, mixed herbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to slow simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes. Remove half of the soup to a blender and puree. Return it to the soup pot along with the tomato sauce and 3/4 of the bacon. Simmer for a further 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. Ladle into heated bowls and garnish the top of each serving with some of the remaining bacon and a bit of parsley if desired. This one is a close second in terms of favorites. Note that with two quarts of liquid, this recipe makes a LOT, so you might want to consider making a half batch, or even a quarter batch, depending on how many you’re cooking for, and how much room you have in the fridge for leftovers. LENTIL SAUSAGE SOUP 1/2 pound sweet* Italian sausage (*as opposed to hot, unless you prefer the hot) 1 large onion, chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped 1 T minced garlic 16 ounces dry lentils 1 c chopped carrot 8 c water 2 14.5-ounce cans chicken broth 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes 1 T garlic powder 1 T chopped parsley 1/2 t oregano 1/4 t thyme 1/4 t basil 1 t salt 1/2 t pepper Cook sausage; add onion, celery, garlic and sauté until tender and translucent. Stir in lentils, carrots, water, broth, tomatoes, seasonings. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until lentils are tender. This last one is easy to make vegan, simply by leaving out the pancetta (or using non-meat bacon), and using vegetable broth instead of chicken, maybe adding more/different vegies—some diced parsnip and/or tomato, or throw in some frozen spinach near the end. A little bit of potato would work, too. (I was going to include a vegetable soup recipe in addition to this one, but four seemed like a bit much, and anyone who’s interested in making veg soup has a recipe already.) ITALIAN BARLEY SOUP 1 medium onion, finely diced 2 stalks celery, finely diced 2 small or 1 medium carrot, finely diced 2-3 ounces smoked pancetta or bacon, cut into small dice Salt and pepper Olive oil 8 ounces barley 6 c chicken broth Sauté onion, carrot, celery in olive oil, seasoning with salt and pepper and taking care not to let them brown. When vegetables have softened, add pancetta and sauté 1-2 minutes. Add barley and sauté 1-2 minutes. Add broth to cover generously. Simmer covered for 45 minutes or until barley is tender, stirring occasionally and adding water or broth as needed to reach desired consistency. Generally, I like to make biscuits—drop or regular—from the Betty Crocker cookbook when I’m having soup for dinner. A nice green salad is the other usual accompaniment, and a cold beer for counterpoint—Shiner Bock, Allagash White, Tangerine Wheat. Would love to know what your fav soups are. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/28/2201398/-What-s-For-Dinner-v-18-17-Soup-s-On?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/