Holiday Soup Ideas: Chestnut, Celery and Apple Soup with Roasted Chestnuts

Holiday Soup Ideas: Chestnut, Celery and Apple Soup with Roasted Chestnuts

It's been a few weeks since I was 'Seriously Soupy' - a combination of non-blogging priorities and sheer exhaustion have kept me away. But, I was recently inspired to return to my soup pot thanks to Emily (of Brooklyn Cookery) who told me about this delicious root vegetable soup recipe by Daniel Boulud. I didn't have the celeriac root so I substituted for celery and used Fiji apples instead of McIntosh. Emily made this soup before me and noted that she used less stock then the recipe asked for. She also added more heavy cream and some butter. I also wanted a thicker soup and used two cups of stock (instead of 4 quarts). I also roasted some chestnuts as a garnish, that when mixed into the soup, made the soup a very rich with a nice crunch. This is definitely one to try out over the holidays and one that is easy enough to vary depending on what ingredients you have at home.

Chestnut, Celery and Apple Soup, Adapted from Daniel Boulud's Recipe
From Daniel Boulud’s Café Boulud Cookbook, Daniel Boulud and Dorie Greenspan, Scribner 1999.
Makes 4 servings 

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 medium leek, white part only, trimmed, thinly sliced, washed and dried
2 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored and cut into ½-inch cubes
*4 celery ribs, cut up or from Daniel Boulud's recipe -10 ounces celery root, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
*Pinch of celery salt
3/4 pound peeled fresh chestnuts from 1 ¼ pounds chestnuts in shells, or 3/4 pound dry-packed bottled or vacuum-sealed peeled fresh chestnuts
2 quarts homemade unsalted chicken stock or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream

*Changes to the original recipe

Directions:
1) Heat the oil in a stockpot or large casserole over medium heat. Add the onion, leek, apples, celery root, bay leaf, thyme, nutmeg, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the onions and leeks are soft but not colored. Add the chestnuts and chicken stock and bring to the boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook, skimming the surface regularly, 35 to 40 minutes, or until the chestnuts can be mashed easily with a fork. Add the heavy cream and simmer 5 to 10 minutes more, then discard the bay leaf and thyme.

2) Purée the soup until smooth using a blender, food processor or hand-held immersion blender, then pass it through a fine-mesh strainer. At this point, you should have about 2 quarts of soup. If you have more, or if you think the soup is too thin – the soup should have the consistency of a velouté or light cream soup – simmer it over medium heat until thickened. Taste and, if necessary, adjust the seasoning. (The soup can be cooled completely and stored in a covered jar in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or frozen for up to a month. Bring the soup back to a boil before serving.)

* 3) Place a few chestnuts in a pan and let cook on a medium heat. Add some soup (about 2 tablespoons) and let the mixture cook with the chestnuts (about 5 minutes). Top the soup with the chestnuts and enjoy!u 

To serve: Reheat the soup, if necessary – the soup really needs to be hot – and ladle it into warm bowls.

What soups will you be making over the holidays?

Parsnip, Leek, and Apple Soup

Parsnip, Leek, and Apple Soup - Seriously Soupy

A simple soup recipe, this parsnip, leek, and apple soup was also the mystery soup at the soup party last week. Packed with fiber, vitamin C, and antioxidants, this delicious and healthy fall soup is a great way to use ingredients that you likely have at home that also takes virtually no time to cook. The result was a silky and creamy soupy that is perfect for those crisp fall days.

If you happen to be in Brooklyn this weekend, be sure to check out the Prospect Farm Harvest Fest for an afternoon of music, games, tours and a soup cook-off!

Sage Butternut and Apple Soup

Sage Butternut and Apple Soup by Sanura Weathers

Guest Blogger: Sanura Weathers of My Life Runs on Food

The beautiful thing about a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is that you never know what type of fruit or vegetable you will get. This week, the share included 10 pounds of three varieties of apples. The classic, green Granny Smith wasn't one of the options, and that's a favorite cooking apple. I have less passion for red apples. Noticing my disappointment, the organizer recommended the Macoun, being that it is both a tart and sweet apple. Can you imagine how it feels to carry 10 pounds of your least favorite apple home? Recipe ideas swirled around in my head. Like a fly swatter, most ideas were mentally rejected, because the recipes require green apples. However, my ignorance about red apples is now correct, for I'm eating humble pie (apples make a great pie). The Macoun apples are prized for their delicious taste in baking. The fresher the Macoun picked from the tree, the crisper the texture, which makes it a great baking apple. Since receiving the CSA share, almost every dish had apples, including soup.

In the same CSA share as the apples, was a welcoming medium-size butternut squash. There were initial thoughts of turning it into a fall soup incorporating apples as a natural sweetener. sage, a fresh herb grown abundantly in my urban garden, would contrast the sweetness of the soup. It's a difficult herb to use in the summer. Perhaps, the aroma is too strong and heavy. However, it pairs well with heavier ingredients, such as butternut squash. Using the typical fall spices, such as cinnamon and nutmeg, parsnips, and a drizzle of fig vinegar, an early fall soup was made. Like pie, this humble soup is savored and is the perfect soup for the cooler months ahead. Enjoy!

Sage Butternut and Apple Soup 
Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove; minced
1 butternut squash; peeled, seeds removed, and chopped into 1/2 inch chunks
3 cups Macoun apples; peeled, cored and chopped
2 to 4 parsnips; peeled and chopped (or use carrots)
1 quart chicken stock
1 tsp. honey or dark maple syrup
1/8 cup white wine
1 cup fresh sage; divided; plus more for garnish
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
Salt and fresh black pepper; to taste
Crushed red pepper; to taste
(Optional) Fresh, organic cream
Fig or balsamic vinegar 

Directions:
1. Add onions to warm olive oil over medium heat in a pot. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, crushed red pepper, salt and black pepper, and garlic. Stir for 30 seconds.
2. Add the butternut squash, apples, parsnips and 1/2 cup sage to the onion mixture
3. Add the chicken/vegetable stock, honey and wine. Bring the pot to a boil. Adjust seasoning.
4. Reduce temperature and cover pot with a lid. Soup should slowly simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
5. When the vegetables are soft, turn off the heat. Move pot to a cooler area on the stove or another area in the kitchen. Let soup cool for 20 to 30 minutes.
6. Add the second half of the fresh sage to the soup. Working in batches, place soup in a food processor and pure until smooth.
7. Return soup to the pot and reheat to a slow simmer. (Optional: Add cream and bring soup back to a simmer) Adjust seasoning.
8. Ladle soup into individual bowls. Drizzle with fig (balsamic) vinegar.

Note: Before returning the puree back to the pot, strain the soup if a smoother texture is preferred.


To read more recipes by Sanura Weathers, be sure to check out her healthy food blog: My Life Runs on Food.


Do you have a soup that you would like to contribute to Seriously Soupy? Email me at seriouslysoupy@gmail.com for more details!

Leftover Bean Soup aka White Bean Puree Soup

 White Bean Puree

As I mentioned, I participated in the First Annual Souperama! this weekend where I entered my roasted eggplant and white bean soup. It didn't win, but I had an incredible experience meeting 15 other soupy lovers-professional chefs, caterers and people who simply just love soup (I'll be posting more about that exciting event tomorrow and Wednesday). After the soup was done, I miscalculated the amount of beans I needed where I ended up with over three cups of cannelloni white beans. Now, I could have either made some sort of white bean puree, placed them in my cupboard and saved them for another use, but true to soupy form I decided to keep cooking and use the beans for a soup. Similar to the beans in the cupboard soup concept of using what I had, I added in some carrots, edamame, along with the leftover broth and some seasonings-creating a simple soup whose ingredients can be altered based on what you have and your  taste preferences. Enjoy and be sure to check out tomorrow's posts of the Souperama!

Ingredients:
3 cups of white beans (approximately)
3-4 cups of water
1 container of Pacific Vegetable Broth
1 onion, cut up
1 clove of garlic, minced
10-15 baby carrots
1 cup of edamame
3-5 bay leaves
pinch of tumeric
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
bunch of fresh basil
bunch of fresh mint

Directions:
Soak dry beans until shell loosens up (about 2-3 hours) and start boiling water. Add the garlic, onions and white beans and let cook for 45 minutes to an hour. While the beans are cooking, add water to a separate pot and when boiled add the edamame and let cook for 10 minutes. Drain the water with the edamame, let cook and de-shell, placing the peas in the pot. Add the carrots, seasonings (tumeric, basil, salt and pepper) and let cook-testing the taste and adding more water (if necessary). When beans are soft, turn off the flame and blend the ingredients together. Enjoy

P.S. I used a hand blender to puree the soup, which left it semi-chunky. If you are seeking a smoother consistency, I would suggest to use a blender.

Seriously Soupy Serena

Leftover Bean Soup Aka White Bean Puree Soup

Detox Soup Recipe

Detoxing is a pretty popular buzz word that actually just means "cleansing the body." Although I am not advocating detox diets or drinking virtually next to nothing in order to cleanse,  I think there is something to eating less every now and again, which can include starting a meal with say, a soup. Like tea, this detox soup can be enjoyed every day before meals or as a light snack that can fill the body up, while providing essential nutrients. And after the non-stop holiday eating season that sounds just perfect right about now. Here's how to make a tasty and quick detox soup:

Detox Soup - Seriously Soupy

Detox Soup

Ingredients:
2 cups of water
1 apple (I used gala)
5-6 baby carrots, cut up
2 fresh basil leaves
1 piece of ginger, shaved of its skin and cut into squares
1 tablespoon of lemon juice (I would prefer to use a fresh lemon, but this is what I had)
drizzle of honey, optional
* I made a smaller batch of soup, since this is what I had on hand. This made one cup of soup, but I would triple the ingredients if I was making my normal six servings recipes.

Directions:
Pour water in a pot and let boil. Cut up an apple, removing the skin and place in the pot. Add the carrots, ginger, lemon ,and basil and cover. Cook for 15 minutes, blend with a hand mixer and top with honey (optional).

Pretty simple and easy. For next time I would opt to use mint instead of basil (I had basil in the house, so it seemed like an interesting choice) and maybe a little less ginger.You can also vary up the recipe by using other "cleansing" fruits, such as using pineapples, mangoes, or papaya to create a tropical variation of the soup.


Seriously Soupy Serena

Holiday Soup Redux Part One—Hanukkah: Apple/Carrot Soup topped with Latke Fritters

I realize that I am a little late on the Hanukkah soup bandwagon, however I decided that I wanted to write a soup recipe article on how to turn a traditional holiday meals into a soup. So, without leaving any holidays out I am taking a "better late than never" approach with this soup for Hanukkah. As a three-part article (part two-Christmas and part three-Kwanza), this soupy features a twist on the potato latke that I converted into an apple/carrot soup topped with latke fritters.

Apple/Carrot Soup with Latke Fritters

Part One-Apple Soup

Ingredients:
3 pounds of apples (I used Gala)
2 cups of water
1 cup of chicken broth
1 cup of apple cider
1/2 bag of carrots
1/2 of yellow onion, chopped up
1 parsnip
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of sugar
pinch of salt

 

Apples, Carrots, Parsnips, and Onions Cooking

Directions:
Add stock, water, and apple cider into a pot and let boil. Peel the apples and cut them into squares, making sure to remove the core. Cut up the parsnips and carrots into squares and add them and the apples to the pot and let cook for 30-45 minutes. Add nutmeg, cinnamon and sugar and let cook for another 10-15 minutes, making sure to check that the apples are soft. Add salt to taste. Turn off the flame and grind all the ingredients together with a hand blender to make an apple/carrot puree. I left it semi-chunky, but ended up adding a little more apple cider at this point to release more of the apple flavors. Set aside as the latke fritters are prepared.

Puree of Apple Soup

Part Two- Latke Fritters, adapted and modified from www.epicurious.com

Since latke's aren't a soup-based component I decided that using a recipe as a base for this experiment would be helpful. I included the link above, however it was modified based on my experience.

 

   Mash of potatoes and onions

Ingredients:
 5-6 potatoes
1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup olive oil
sour cream for garnish, optional
2 cups of cold water

Latke's Sizzling

Directions:
 Peel the potatoes and grate them. Place them into the bowl with water as they are grated. When finished drain the potatoes very well and set aside. Peel the onion and chopping up into small squares. Place in a small bowl and blend finely with a hand mixer. You can also chop the union up until it gets very small, but I found that the hand blender gave me a better consistency. Blend the potatoes and onions together, making sure to drain as much liquid as possible. Add the egg and salt to the bowl and mix. Place oil in pan over a medium heat and let it warm up. With a teaspoon scoop the latke mix and place on the pan (since this is for smaller fritter-type latke I used a teaspoon for more traditional ones a tablespoon should be sufficient). Reduce the heat and let cook for 5-10 minutes or until both sides are brown. Pour the soup into a bowl, top with 2 latke fritters, add sour cream (optional), and enjoy!

The soup turned out really well-if I do say so myself! I really enjoyed the fusion of apples and carrots with the potato latke that created a subtle taste that was slightly sweet and spiced. It also was basic enough to create any time of year, or even varied up with an apple/squash or an apple/turnip medley, along with the yummy fritters!

Seriously Soupy Serena

You can also check out this handy book about the history of latkes and various methods of preparation.