Soup and Bread Marathon, 2/3-2/4/10: Part 1

Sheila moving merch

I pulled up at Sheila’s around 2 last Wednesday, and after she let me in we just looked at each other and sucked in a shared deep breath.

“You realize our trip starts now,” I said.

Sheila: “Oh, totes.”

The jeep was already awash with the toasty aroma of fresh-baked bread; a trio of technicolor tarts from Rae balanced on the back seat. On top of that we packed in a new batch of Soup and Bread aprons, stacks of signed prints from Paul, Soup and Bread cards, a shoe box full of miscellany, a pile of spanking clean tablecloths, and our own anxious asses.

Off to the Hideout!

Tart!

That night’s Soup and Bread was a joy. For one, we had a ridiculous surfeit of bread, thanks to the combined generosity of bakers at La Farine, Crumb, and the Illinois Institute of Art culinary school. We also had not one but two people keeping things humming in the back room – and I can’t thank Celeste* and Devon enough for their calm organizational genius. And, of course, we had seven ace soup makers, all of whom who all brought their A-game.

In the crocks:

L-R: Andrea, Cleetus, Norma

Savory — but light! —  lamb-black bean chili from Forkable’s Andrea Newberry.

Smoky red lentil soup served with dukkah, an Egyptian blend of nuts and spices, from the Kitchn contributor and My Vegetable Blog proprietress Joanna Miller.

A complex and piquant chipotle and cumin black bean soup from Gemma Petrie, the Pro Bono Baker.

A simple but exceedingly flavorful yellow winter vegetable soup from former Vella Cafe co-owner Melissa Yen (although, wait, do Granny Smiths count as a winter veg?).

Rich cream of mushroom soup with leeks and pancetta from the City Provisions team of Cleetus Friedman and Lorna Juett.

Blurry Kent (L) and Rob (R)

A vibrant potato-butternut-leek soup from Roommate impresario Kent Lambert.

Creamy and satisfying zuppa di spinaci e ristotto (or, yes, “spinach and rice soup”) with Pecorino and/or Parmesan from Bloodshot Records’ co-owner Rob Miller.

Donations from this week – a tidy $393 – go to the Franciscan Outreach Association in Wicker Park. And, best of all, this week has been so crazy backwards that almost all the recipes are already up on the blog.

Postsoup cocktails lasted just long enough for me to get anxious about my empty suitcase. I don’t know when everybody else went home, but I was in bed at the almost-vaguely-reasonable hour of 1 AM.

Less than 24 hours later I was scrubbing pots surrounded by nearly naked strippers.

Coming up next: Brooklyn!

* Speaking of Celeste, she’ll be selling tasty pastries and other sweets — as well as Soup & Bread Cookbooks — this Saturday at the free Wine + Sweets + Love tasting at Juicy Wine Co., at 694 N. Milwaukee. It’s from noon to 4 PM. Linzer cookies! Mini chocolate cream pies! Hand-rolled truffles! What more could you want? Other than, you know, free wine?

Chipotle and Cumin Black Bean Soup

From Gemma Petrie

Serves 6

[Ed: Combining chipotle and black beans would never have occurred to me. Until last week. Gemma has written this up over on her blog, Pro Bono Baker, as well. And, for the record, between her, Andrea, and Joanna I'm feeling a little sheepish about my photo skills.]

Ingredients

16 ounces dried black beans, rinsed and picked over

water

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 red onions, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced

4 teaspoons ground cumin

2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped*

salt and black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 cup sour cream (optional)

cilantro (optional)

Preparation

In a large pot, bring the dried beans and 7 cups of water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, adding more water if necessary. Cook until the beans are tender. Salt to taste (salting earlier will cause the skins to toughen).**

In a second large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat and add the onion and bell peppers. Cook until tender and beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin and chiles and cook for 1 minute. Add the prepared beans. Cover and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in the lime juice. Serve with sour cream and cilantro to garnish.

*This soup is spicy.  Reduce the chiles for a milder soup.

**Beans can be prepared a day or two ahead.  Allow to cool at room temperature and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you prefer to use canned beans, substitute 7 to 8 cups. Do not drain.

Cream of Mushroom Soup With Leeks and Pancetta

From City Provisions

Makes 9 cups

[Ed: Soooo rich and delicious. It must be the bacon grease.]

What you need

1 cup heavy cream

4 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 1/4 pounds crimini sliced

1 1/4 pounds button, sliced

1 1/4 pounds shittake, sliced

4 large leeks, white and pale green parts only, cut into 1/4- inch dice

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

6 cups chicken stock

3 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 pound pancetta, baked and diced

How to make it work

In a cold saute pan, cook pancetta until crispy. Remove bacon and set aside. Add butter to bacon fat.

When butter is melted, cook mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

Stir in leeks, cover, and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle with flour, and stir until flour is evenly distributed. Stir in stock, then salt, pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon thyme. Bring to boil, stirring often, then add the cream.

Reduce heat to low and simmer about 20 minutes. Garnish with crispy pancetta and fresh thyme leaves.

Potato-Butternut-Leek Soup

From Kent Lambert

[Ed: Boo! I didn't get to taste this one, but it sure was a pretty color. Says Kent, "The roasted butternut/coriander combo is from a recipe in the Veganomicon, I thought it would taste real good as a component of potato leek soup."]

Ingredients

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped into 3/4″ pieces

1 tablespoon crushed coriander

1 tablespoon

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 pounds potatoes, peeled, pared and chopped into 1/2″ pieces (I used a combination of purple potatoes and yellow new potatoes)

4 leeks, finely chopped

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon or so rosemary

1 teaspoon or so thyme

1 teaspoon or so rubbed sage

1 tablespoon or more salt

1 gallon vegetable stock

chopped parsley

Preparation

Place the squash pieces in a roasting pan, drizzle the olive oil over them, and toss them with the coriander and salt. Roast in a preheated 375˚ oven for an hour or more, until soft and a little bit caramelized. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the leeks, potatoes, spices, and salt and sauté, stirring frequently, until the leeks are translucent and the potatoes are starting to brown. Add the soup stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes or so, until the potatoes are starting to get soft. Add the roasted squash. (Note: if you happen to have squash puree on hand, ie. as a leftover side from Thanksgiving dinner, you could just add it with some crushed coriander a few minutes after this point.) Continue to simmer for another few minutes or until the squash is totally soft. Puree the soup using an immersion blender, or transfer in batches to a regular blender and carefully puree it that way. (If using squash puree, add it after pureeing the potatoes and leeks and stir until the orange streaks have vanished.)

Add more salt, if needed.

Garnish each serving with chopped parsley. A touch of lemon zest or juice with each serving brightens the soup nicely as well.

Smoky Red Lentil Soup With Dukkah

From Joanna Miller
(Soup recipe adapted from the New York Times; dukkah adapted from The Kitchen)

[Ed: Joana posted an excellent recap of her soup making process over on My Vegetable Blog, from whence I stole the gorgeous photo, so I'll just add to the chorus of love for the dukkah. I want to put it on everything now!]

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 quart vegetable stock

1 cup red lentils

2-3 carrots, peeled and diced

juice of 1 lemon

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Mix in garlic and cook for another 2 minute.

Add tomato paste, cumin, salt, pepper and paprika. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add stock, lentils and carrots. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Once it’s bubbling, reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Once lentils are cooked through and carrots are fork-tender, remove from heat. Using an immersion blender, puree soup completely. Stir in lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Serve topped with a spoonful of dukkah, if desired.

Dukkah

1 1/2 cups hazelnuts

1 1/2 cups pistachios

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup coriander seeds

1/4 cup cumin seeds

zest of 4 lemons

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Toast all nuts and seeds in separate batches. Reserve 1/2 cup hazelnuts and 1/2 cup pistachios. Combine remaining ingredients in food processor and pulse until finely ground. Pour into a bowl. Add the reserved nuts to the food processor and pulse until just roughly chopped. Mix into the finely ground mixture by hand.

(Adapted from The Kitchn)

Lamb and Black Bean Chili

From Andrea Newberry

Serves many, many

[Ed: Andrea provides background and troubleshooting tips for this over on her blog, Forkable.]

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ground lamb

1 medium onion chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 large 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped

1 cup dry red wine

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon sugar

3 15 ounce can black beans, drained

salt to taste

hot sauce to taste

Preparation

In cooking pot, saute lamb, onion, and garlic.

Add tomatoes, red wine, and seasonings up to sugar and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for 2 hours.

Add black beans and simmer for 30 more minutes.

Season with salt and hot sauce to taste. Done! Garnish with cilantro and fresh jalapenos.

Yellow Winter Vegetable Soup

From Melissa Yen

Serves 8-10 (or 15!)

[Ed: Melissa coaxed all the rich, full flavors out of this deceptively simple pot of carrots, sweet potatoes, and rutabaga. Really satisfying.}

Ingredients

3 carrots, coarsely chopped

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 rutabaga, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped

10 cups chicken stock

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 stick of butter, softened

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

6 green onions, chopped

1 teaspoon paprika

Preparation

Place the carrots, sweet potatoes, rutabaga, and apples in a big pot and cover with chicken stock. Stir in the salt and pepper. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.

Cook until vegetables, are very tender, about 25 minutes.
Drain and reserve the stock. Return the cooked vegetables to the pot.

Add the butter, nutmeg, rosemary. Roughly mash veggies with a potato masher until chunky.  Return the stock to the pot and bring to a low simmer. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle into individual bowls. (ed. note.–where else would you ladle it???) Garnish with green onions and paprika.

Soup and Bread: Brooklyn, in pictures.

More here. Words to come soon enough, after I’ve gotten several days more sleep.

Soup cooks 2/10/10

We’re kickin’ it old school at Soup and Bread this week, with the return of some soup-savvy veterans from 2009. On deck are:

Sound Opinions producer Robin Linn (best known for last year’s hit, Wild Mushroom Soup, found on page 90 of the cookbook)

Chicago Reader food writer Mike Sula (Kimchi Chigae, p. 16)

Food on the Dole’s Hugh Amano (Cabbage and Kielbasa Soup, p. 21)

Artist and high school teacher Susannah Kite Strang, (Dubiously Bulgarian Tomato Soup With Couscous Dumplings, p. 96)

Dinner is Solved personal chef Roger Greene (Deli-Style Sweet and Sour Soup with Shredded Flank Steak, p. 8)

and our favorite documentarian, the Vegetarian Librarian Kelly Reiss* (Spring Vegetable Soup, p. 98)

What will they make this time around? Can they avoid the sophomore slump? Tune in and find out on Wednesday, February 10, at the Hideout.

*Go  here for an awesome video account of Kelly’s soup-making adventures last year.

Memaw’s Yeast Rolls

From Cara Tillman

[Ed: Cara, who's making soup on March 3, brought whipped these up from her grandmother's recipe on a whim last week. Says she, “They're based on a basic bread recipe that southern cooks have been making for many years, and they can be tweaked to suit different dietary needs and preferences. Last week, I did not use milk or butter in the rolls, I just used a bit more water and vegetable oil instead.” Unfortunately they were scarfed up before I got to taste them, or take their picture -- so you're just going to have to make your own.]

Ingredients

1 cup warm water

1 pkg yeast

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 egg

1/4 cup melted butter, cooled (or vegetable oil)

5-6 cups all-purpose flour, or enough to make dough stiff

Preparation

Mix yeast and sugar in a large bowl. Briefly work these two ingredients together with your fingers, as sugar helps activate yeast. Add warm water and stir. Let this mixture rest for about two minutes, until the liquid bubbles and foams slightly, an indication that the yeast is active. Add milk, butter (or other preferred fat), and egg. Stir. Incorporate 1 cup of sifted flour into the mixture and add salt. Continue adding flour until the mixture is stiff (three to four cups). Cover with a towel and place dough in a warm, dry place to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Punch risen dough and knead for one minute, incorporating just enough extra flour to make sure the dough isn’t too sticky to work with your hands. Pinch dough into 2-3 inch balls and place in a greased 9×13″ baking pan. Allow rolls to rise until doubled again, about 1 hour. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 11 minutes (or until golden).