zuppa toscana

1+ hour

2 tablespoons olive oil
1- 1.5 lb spicy italian sausage, ground
1 small white onion, diced
3 tablespoons fennel seed
3 tablespoons mustard seed
1.5 tablespoons sea salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 large russet potatoes, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
6 cups broth, chicken or vegetable
4+ cups water
1 cup half and half
3 cups kale, chopped

in a large pot add oil and sausage browning both sides slightly before adding onion. add fennel, mustard, salt, pepper, cayenne, red pepper and garlic and coat meat and onions with spices. saute 3 minutes. add potatoes, coating as well. add broth and 4 cups of water. if you like a thinner soup you may more water. bring to a boil and turn heat down to simmer for 30 minutes or longer. about 10 minutes before serving add half and half.

place 1/2 cup of kale in the bottom of each bowl and top with soup. serve. yum.

this is my favorite soup and a staple around here. it is fairly spicy. they cayenne gives a nice little burn on the back of the throat so if that is not your thing, eliminate some of the spice.

roasted winter squash and apple soup

2.5 pounds of wintersquash such as butternut, kabocha or acorn, peeled, seeded and cut in to 2 inch pieces
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 granny smith apples, cored and quartered
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and red chili powder to taste
5 cups of vegetable stock, plus some to thin to desired consistency

preheat oven to 400. in a large roasting pan toss squash, apples, onion and garlic with olive oil to coat. season with salt and red chili powder. roast, stirring every 10 minutes until fork tender, about 40 minutes.

put half of the vegetables and half of the stock in a food processor and puree until smooth. return pureed mixture to pot. repeat with remaining veggies and broth and return to pot. (at this point, you could also let it cool and freeze or refrigerate it for later.) simmer over low heat adding spices and additional broth until you get the soup to your desired taste and consistency.

serve with a dollop of walnut pesto or plain yogurt.

recipe adapted from Andrew Weil and Rosey Daily's The Healthy Kitchen.

faux pho tom yum

20 minutes start to finish

if you couldn't tell by the title, i am unsure what to call this. each time i modify it slightly and it turns in to a new soup from another asian country.

4-5 oz rice noodles or rice sticks
3 T peanut oil
10 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1-2 t crushed red pepper
1 pound chicken breast
72 oz chicken stock
5 T fish sauce
2 large tomatoes, diced (optional)
8 oz mushrooms, quartered (optional)
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped for garnish
fresh basil leaves chopped for garnish
3-4 green onions, thinly sliced for garnish
sri racha sauce for garnish
hoisin sauce for garnish

add noodles to a bowl of very hot water and let soften until you need them. mince garlic and ginger. set aside. remove fat from chicken and slice in very thin strips, about 1/8 inch thick. heat a pot or large saute over medium high. add peanut oil, garlic, ginger and crushed red peppers and stir constantly for one minute. add chicken and stir fry for a minute longer. add stock and fish sauce. increase heat to high and bring to a boil to cook the chicken through. while the soup is coming t0 a boil, dice tomatoes and quarter mushrooms. add to pot. let boil until slightly softened or cooked to your desired tenderness. turn off heat. it will be very hot. i burn my mouth EVERY time....quick learner, right? chop herbs and onions.

to serve, place a serving of noodles in the bottom of bowl, ladle in soup and top with cilantro, basil and green onion. if you like, top with hoisin and sri racha sauce. this is so good on a cool day. it makes me happy.

***note: hoisin sauce has a flavor similar to anise. sri racha is a very hot chili sauce. add sparingly until you reach the taste you like. also , if you are not so keen to spicy flavors, you can limit the red pepper. we like it SPICY.

tom yam kung

40 minutes

9 cups water
4" piece of lemongrass
3 large slices dried laos root (galangal)
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
6 makrut leaves (kaffir lime leaves), chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
10 oz shelled shrimp
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons nam pla (fish sauce)
1 lime, juice of
2 red or green chilies, chopped
6 chives or 4 green onions, sliced
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro root, chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, chopped
2 teaspoons tom yam paste from jar
1 teaspoon salt
1 lime, quartered for garnish (optional)
additional makrut leaves for garnish (optional)

in a large soup pot bring water to a boil. add lemon grass, laos root and peppercorns to a large tea ball or cheese cloth to contain the spices. Add makrut directly to water. Simmer for 20 minutes. heat oil in a large skillet. add shrimp and stir fry until pink. add shrimp to soup and simmer additional 10 minutes. add garlic and cilantro root and simmer for 2 minutes or until the shrimp are done. stir in fish sauce, juice of one lime, green onion, cilantro leaves, tom yam paste, salt and chilies. garnish with makrut and lime if desired. serve hot.

you will need to venture to your local asian market for this dish, but you should be able to find everything you need there. it is a very simple and rewarding dish. i find myself craving this quite often when the weather is chilly.