Category: Soup of the Week (Page 19 of 25)

One of our favorite ways to beat the Phoenix heat in the summer is to drive about eight hours north to the southwest corner of Colorado. Last year, we were up in this area and stopped by Purgatory at the Durango Mountain Resort. We took the chair to the top of the mountain, hiked around to enjoy the breath-taking scenery, dipped our toes in a cool mountain stream, rode the alpine slide down the hill for a bit of a thrill, and dined on the patio at Purgy’s. Chef Charley Curtis was kind enough to provide us with this recipe so that we can relive this memory any time.

Ingredients

• 2 oz Dried Black Trumpet Mushrooms
• 2 Tablespoons Minced Shallot
• 2 Tablespoons Minced Garlic
• 1 Teaspoon Butter
• 1 Teaspoon Minced Fresh Thyme
• 1 Cup Cognac
• 1 Cup Chicken or Vegetable Stock
• 1 Quart Heavy Cream
• ¼ Cup Blonde Roux
• Fresh Nutmeg To Taste
• Salt/White pepper To Taste

Method

1. Heat butter in heavy saucepan, add shallots and garlic and sweat until translucent. 
2. Add cognac and ignite, being careful to avoid fireballs throughout cooking area
3. Allow to reduce by 1/2 then add chicken stock, thyme, and dried mushrooms
4. Simmer 15 minutes then add heavy cream, bring just to a boil and simmer 45 minutes
5. Pass liquid through chinoise or very fine sieve, pressing on mushroom mixture to extract all liquid, reserve mixture
6. Return liquid to simmer
7. In separate small sauce pan prepare the roux by melting butter and slowly whisking in flour until smooth and incorporated, cook until very light golden brown, whisking constantly.
8. Whisk roux into soup and reduce by ¼
9. Pass soup through chinoise again and season with salt and white pepper to taste.
10. Serve soup with a tablespoon of reserved mushroom mixture and grated nutmeg on top

Check out the Wine & Mushroom festival at Durango Mountain Resort

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About Charley Curtis and Durango Mountain Resort

Graduate of Scottsdale Culinary Institute in 2000, Charley was the personal chef for the Dave Matthews Band. As Executive Chef  at Durango Mountinan Resort, Charley is the driving force behind the most dramatic improvements to Purgatory’s food offerings in 20 years. He is an exceptional chef and a great team player. Charley’s behind-the-scenes contributions allow the resort to provide their guests with the best service possible.

Just eight hours from Phoenix, AZ, Durango Mountain Resort, Purgatory Village offers just about everything you’ll need on your visit to the Rockies and a great summer time escape from the heat with beautiful vistas and loads of summer activities including mountain biking, the alpine slide and summer festivals including the upcoming Mushroom and Wine Festival. Th classic Purgy’s  restaurant, located in the Purgatory lodge, has been stylishly updated.  Let the friendly and fun service staff wine and dine your lunch needs on the patio while enjoying the beautiful mountain views.  Purgy’s Restaurant will serve you up indoors in the new state of the art facility with the same great service and food selections. Click here to learn more about the great summer activities.

At intotheSoup.com, we talk alot about enjoying life and eating well. There are many ways to accomplish this. Chef Sara is passionate about teaching people how to eat well by providing  organic raw vegetable based foods. Here she provides us a raw Thai Cococut soup. Check it out and feel better for it.

Ingredients:

• 2 young coconut milk & meat
• 1/4 cup coconut butter
• 1 jalapeno (seeds removed)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2-inch ginger root
• 1 t lemongrass
• 1 lime freshly juiced
• 1 t agave nectar
• 1 cup chopped Thai basil
• 1 T white miso
• 1 T Tamari

Preparation:

1. Remove the meat and milk from the coconut shell.
2. Place in a blender with the rest of the ingredients.
3. Blend until creamy and smooth.

Note: If you can’t find Thai basil then use 1/2 regular fresh basil 1/2 fresh mint.

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About Chef Sara

Chef Sara Siso is a Raw Food Master, Coach, Author & founder of the 3 Weeks Back to Health Program. She’s also a personal chef with many clients in the Scottsdale and Phoenix area. Chef Sara teaches, and lives by, raw vegan foods of all kinds.  She’s been a vegan herself for 13 years. She’s lived in Arizona for 3 years where she teaches classes in raw vegan food and the health benefits. She teaches at her own home and her clients’ homes. Her interest in the healing power of food began when she learned her sister had cancer.  She got trained in raw vegan at the alternative medicine facility in the world, Hippocrates Health Institute. During her education at HHI, she witnessed remarkable transformations of people’s health, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Chef Sara focuses on creating tasty foods that will keep it interesting while maintaining the health benefits.  Foods like sushi, gazpacho, and even pumpkin pie are on the menu when Chef Sara cooks. Learn more by clicking here 

The week of July 17th & 18th, we are all Celtic all the time. Well, at least much of the time. This is because of the Arizona Highland Celtic Festival in Flagstaff. In honor of that, Richard Ferguson who is one of the event organizers and Vice President of the Clan Ferguson Society of North America, provided us not one, but two traditional Scottish soups – Cullen Skink and Cock-a-Leekie.

Cullen Skink

The name of this soup comes from the fishing village of Cullen, in Morayshire. “Skink” is a soup made from a shin of beef; however, in this case, it is made with smoked haddock.

Ingredients

•     A large smoked haddock (weighing around 2 lb)
•     1 medium onion, finely chopped.
•     1½ pints milk
•     2 tablespoons butter
•     8 oz mashed potato
•     Salt and pepper
•     1 bay leaf
•     Chopped parsley
•     Water
•     Triangles of toast (as an accompaniment)

Method

Cover the smoked haddock with water, in a shallow pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, turning once. Take the haddock from the pan and remove the skin and bones. Break up the fish into flakes, return to the stock and add the chopped onion, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Simmer for another 15 minutes. Strain, remove the bay leaf but retain the stock and fish. Add the milk to the fish stock and bring back to the boil. Add enough mashed potato to create the consistency you prefer (don’t be afraid to make it rich and thick!). Add the fish and reheat. Check for seasoning. Just before serving, add the butter in small pieces so that it runs through the soup.

Serve with chopped parsley on top, accompanied by triangles of toast.

Cock-a-Leekie Soup

This traditional soup, with prunes included in the ingredients, is mentioned as early as the 16th century. It is often served at Burns Suppers or St Andrew’s Night Dinner (30 November) as well as an every-day soup in winter. Some people omit the prunes though!

Ingredients

•     1 boiling fowl, about 4lb, including legs and wings
•     1lb leeks (about 12) cleaned and cut into 1-inch pieces
•     4 pints stock or water
•     1oz long grained rice
•     4oz cooked, stoned prunes
•     One teaspoon brown sugar
•     Salt and pepper
•     Garni of bay leaf, parsley, thyme
•     Some recipes also have 3 chopped rashers of streaky bacon

Method

Put the fowl and bacon in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and remove any scum. Add three-quarters of the leeks, (green as well as white sections), herbs (tied together in a bundle), salt and pepper and return to the boil. Simmer gently for 2-3 hours, adding more water if necessary.

Remove the bird. Some thrifty chefs use the bird as another course, others cut the meat into small pieces and add them back to the soup (certainly it should have some pieces of chicken in it when served). Add the rice and drained prunes and the remaining leeks and simmer for another 30 minutes. Check for flavour and serve with a little chopped parsley.

Serves 6/8 people.

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We had the privilage of interviewing Chef Kirsten Seltzer for our Whose Cookin’ Now article. She just rocks. Down-to-earth, tough and rooted in family. She attributes her love for cooking to her  Grandmother who spent 50 years in the biz. This is her Grandmother’s turtle soup.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds of chopped turtle meat
• 1 cup of finely chopped onion
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped, optional
• 3 tablespoon of cooking oil
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• one 6 ounce can of tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs of parsley
• 1 sprig of thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon of whole allspice
• 1 tablespoon of whole cloves
• 1 lemon, sliced

Wash the turtle meat thoroughly and set aside. Sauté the onion and garlic in oil, then add the flour and brown lightly. Add the tomato paste and simmer for 3 minutes. Add 2 quarts of boiling water, bay leaves, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper and turtle meat. Tie the allspice and cloves in a cloth bag and drop into the mixture (crab or shrimp boil bags can also be use).

Simmer for 1 hour or until turtle is tender. Remove the spice bag. Add the  lemon and simmer for 5 minutes longer. Let stand for 1 hour. Sherry to taste maybe added when served, if desired. 6 servings

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Read more about Chef Kirsten Seltzer in Whose Cookin’ Now. Click here.

Chef Benard Guillas friended me on Facebook. We started talking about our favorite common subjects, food and travel. He’s currently promoting his first book, Flying Pans: Two Chefs, One World. I took a sneak peek online and realized I just had to talk to this guy. After checking out his book, I have the travel bug again. For now, I am happy to try his Chilled Carrot Tangerine Velouté w/ Rock Lobster Salad inspired by his voyage to Tahiti. Try it yourself and enjoy. Also, check out the special offer for his book below.

Ingredients

Serves 6

The Soup

• 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 bulb fennel, chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds chopped peeled carrots
• 1 cup diced peeled sweet potato
• 1/4 cup sweet vermouth
• 1 cup tangerine juice
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1/8 teaspoon hot chile powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• pinch saffron threads
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup carrot juice
• to taste sea salt and ground white pepper

Add oil to stock pot over medium heat. Add celery, fennel, carrots, and sweet potato. Cook 5 minutes, without browning, stirring often. Add vermouth, 1/2 cup tangerine juice, vegetable stock, chile powder, sea salt and saffron. Cover. Simmer 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Remove from heat. Stir in cream. Working in batches, puree in blender until smooth. Strain through fine sieve. Refrigerate until well-chilled. Whisk in carrot juice and remaining tangerine juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Vanilla Oil

• 2 vanilla beans
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons hazelnut oil

Cut vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape seeds into small mixing bowl. Whisk in vanilla extract and hazelnut oil. Reserve vanilla pod for another use.

Rock Lobster Salad

• 2 quarts water
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 6-ounce rock lobster tails
• 2 tablespoons hazelnut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla oil
• 1 tablespoon sweet vermouth
• 1 teaspoon minced chives
• 1 tablespoon  julienned mint leaves
• to taste sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Boil water and salt in large pot over high heat. Drop in lobster tails. Return to simmer. Cook 5 minutes. Transfer to ice bath. Remove shell. De-vein. Cut into small cubes. Transfer to mixing bowl. Combine with remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper.

Presentation

• 1/4 cup alfalfa sprouts

Ladle soup into chilled shallow bowls. Place lobster salad in center. Top with sprouts. Drizzle vanilla oil over soup.

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Special Offer:

Get a signed copy of Flying Pans: Two Chefs, One World and free shipping by going to  www.twochefsoneworld.com. When ordering the book, mention Into the Soup, and your name.

About Chef Bernard Guillas

Brittany-born Bernard Guillas is Executive Chef of the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club and landmark Marine Room restaurant in California.  He is an avid culinary traveler who can share tales from seven continents.  He has been featured in Food Arts and “Great Chefs of the World” TV series and was awarded “Chef of the Year” by Chef Magazine.

Soup Photo by Gregory Bertolini

In addition to being one of the best known and most respected chefs in Arizona, Michael DeMaria is a great all around guy. We sat with him and chatted in his restaurant for several hours and the time flew. He is a great business man and an avid fly fisherman. We knew we hit it off when he showed us his fishing pics and we recognized Pagosa Springs, Colorado. His new restaurant in Scottsdale is Heirloom and this is his Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho with Grilled Prawns.

Ingredients

• Heirloom Tomatoes – 3.5 lbs
• Cucumbers (peeled) – 1 lb
• Yellow onion (dice) – .75 lb
• Garlic (peeled) – 3 ea cloves
• Cilantro – 1 head
• Lemon zest – 2 lemons
• Lemon juice – 2 lemons
• Salt & Pepper – To Taste
• E.V.O.O. – ½ cup
• Sparkling Water (Soda water) – 1 cup

Using a blender or stick blender, puree all ingredients except EVOO and Sparkling water until smooth.  Once all ingredients are blended, slowly add the EVOO to emulsify it into the soup.  Repeat with the Sparkling water.  Adjust seasoning as necessary with salt, pepper, &/or lemon juice

Grilled Prawns

2 each U-10 shrimp (Mexican white, Mexican brown). Brush shrimp with blend oil and season both sides with salt and pepper. Place on grill/broiler. Cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side until the shrimps flesh is no longer translucent.

Soup Garnish

• Red onion (small dice) ¼ cup
• Heirloom tomato (small dice) ¼ cup
• Cucumber (peeled, small dice) ¼ cup
• Green Bell peppers (small dice) ¼ cup
• Grilled prawns (diced) 2 ea

Mix even amount of all ingredients together in small bowl and season with salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice.  Place on top of soup for garnish.

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About Michael DeMaria

Michael DeMaria is one of the most respected Chefs in the Valley of the Sun. Some highlights of his carrier include a 3-year Apprenticeship Program: “School of Hard Knocks” 5-Star Arizona Biltmore Resort, Phoenix, Ariz., 1978; 12 years with Westin Hotels, 1981; Line Cooking, Banquet Cooking, Sous Cheffing; a stint at the California Culinary Academy, San Francisco, Calif. as Chef Instructor, 1989; working as Chef Garde Manger/Bangquet at the  San Francisco Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, Calif, 1991; opening the renowned Lon’s at the Hermosa Inn, Paradise Valley, Ariz. as Executive Chef, 1993; Executive Chef at the Royal Palms Resort, Phoenix, Ariz., 1996; Owner of Michael’s at the Citadel, Scottsdale, Ariz., 1997-2007, M Catering, Phoenix, Ariz., 2001- present and his newest venture – Heirloom, An American Restaurant, Scottsdale, Ariz., 2009. Click here to learn more.