Garnishing with Citrus

Garnishing with citrus. Maybe not that first idea that would come to mind when finishing off a soup, but one that actually has numerous possibilities to enhance a soup and I'm not just talking about making your soup look pretty. The citrus family—oranges, limes, lemons, etc make up a group of acidic fruits that can be squeezed directly into a soup in order to balance certain ingredients and flavors in your soup, as well as solely for decorative purposes. I found a very detailed tutorial from TLC Cooking as featured on How Stuff Works about Citrus Garnishes. I tried the citrus peel, garnish loop and the scored citrus slices. Check out how they came out and the step-by-step tutorial from TLC Cooking:

Reprinted from How to Garnish by the Editors of Easy Home Cooking Magazine as featured on TLC Cooking:

Candied Citrus Peel 

 

To candy citrus peel garnishes:

• Wash fruit; dry thoroughly. Cut strips of peel from fruit with vegetable peeler.
• Place the strips of peel on cutting board. If necessary, scrape cut side of peel with paring knife to remove white membrane.
• Cut peel into very thin strips. 
• Combine equal amounts of sugar and water in small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon. Boil 3 minutes. You will need about 1-1/2 cups each of granulated sugar and water for each piece of whole fruit. 
• Carefully add strips of peel to boiling mixture.
• Reduce heat to low. Simmer 10 to 12 minutes or until peel turns completely translucent. 
• Place wire strainer or sieve over bowl. Spoon strips of peel into strainer or sieve; drain thoroughly. 
• Add additional sugar to a re-sealable plastic food storage bag. Add strips of peel; seal bag. Shake until strips are evenly coated with sugar. Remove strips from bag; place on waxed paper to dry thoroughly.  
• Garnish as desired.

Citrus Knots

To tie citrus knot garnishes:  

• Wash citrus fruit; dry thoroughly. Cut strips of peel from fruit with vegetable peeler. 
• Place the strips of peel on cutting board. If necessary, scrape cut side of peel with paring knife to remove white membrane. 
• Cut strips into 3-1/2 X 1/8-inch pieces. 
• Tie each piece into a knot. 
• Garnish as desired.

 Citrus Loop
 To make citrus loop garnishes:  

• Wash citrus fruit; dry thoroughly. Place fruit on cutting board; cut crosswise into thin slices with utility knife. 
• Cut each slice in half crosswise. 
• Carefully cut each half slice between peel and fruit with paring knife to loosen peel from fruit, cutting about three-fourths around the inside of the peel. (Fruit should remain attached to about one-fourth of the length of the peel.) 
• Holding free end of peel, carefully curl it under, tucking it up against attached part of peel. 
• Garnish as desired.

Scored Citrus Slices

 To score citrus slice garnishes: 

• Wash citrus fruit; dry thoroughly. Cut a shallow groove into the peel with citrus stripper or tip of grapefruit spoon, cutting lengthwise from stem end to other end. 
• Continue to cut grooves about 1/4 inch apart until completely around fruit.     
• Place fruit on cutting board; thinly slice crosswise with paring knife.
• Garnish as desired. 

* I did not have a citrus stripper or tip of grapefruit spoon, so I attempted to do my best with a small knife. This resulted in a thicker and a bit messier model than the TLC one.
 

Soups that Work with Citrus Garnishes

Limes:

• Black Bean Soup
  
• Corn Soup
• Tortilla Soup
• Avocado Soup
• Pumpkin Soup
• Coconut Soup
  

Lemons:

• Chicken Rice Soup
  
• Lemon Orzo Soup
• Fish-based soup
  

 Oranges:

• Carrot Soup
• Butternut Squash Soup
• Apple Soup
  
  
  
  
  
  
  What type of citrus garnishes have you used and on what type of soup?
  Seriously Soupy Serena
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Lime Shrimp/Jasmine Rice Soup

 
I have been wanting to cook with fish, or really any ingredient other than chicken, beans, and veggies. Although I do love those foods, I think I am starting to love them a bit much, as they are making an appearance in virtually every soup that I create. Not saying that I won't go back to them, but it's time to mix things up a bit by using food combinations and ingredients that I would normally stear away from. During my weekly venture to TJ's (Trader Joes) I found some frozen shrimp, which seemed like a fool-proof fish to use in a soup (perfect for my first soupy/fishy venture)! I then scoured the Internet for recipes of what would go well with shrimp. I saw a lot of coconut, chicken broth, lime, and lemongrass being used, which gave me the footing for an idea of how to create my own lemongrass/corn/lime/shrimp soup. Here's what I did:

Ingredients:
1 bag of frozen shrimp (fresh would also be a great option)
6 cups of Organic Imagine lemongrass and corn broth (I used an entire package)
2-3 cups of water 
1 yellow onion, chopped up
1/2 a clove of garlic, chopped up
2 cups of Jasmine rice
1 can of Bamboo shoots
2 stalks of chives, chopped up
3-5 limes (I used 5)
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
pinch of sea salt (can modified based on your preference)
pinch of black pepper
pinch of garlic salt
pinch of red pepper
Serves 8

Directions:
Bring water to a boil and add the broth. Cut up the onions, garlic, chives, limes, and lemon juice and add them to the boiling water for 20 minutes (or so). At this point I tested the mixture and found it to be very "limey" that was very overpowering. I took out the limes, added more water, the seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic salt, and red peppers) and the shrimp and let that cook for another 10-15 minutes. Add the rice and bamboo shoots, testing out the flavors. I ended up adding more salt and pepper and a little more water (1 cup)-it was still very limey!!! Pour soup into a bowl with some cut up lime segments and enjoy!

P.S. This soup was certainly an adventure in flavors I have never worked with. I didn't realize what a punch the limes would give, so for next time I would use less (maybe 3?), but using spices (and more water) helped the soup a lot, resulting in a rich and hearty soup that actually took virtually no time to create (1 hour total). It was so yummy and I also loved how the Jasmine rice and shrimp seemed to work perfectly with the flavors of the soup. No longer fearful of using ingredients outside of my comfort zone, I wonder what I will try next? Oxtail, lamb, a medley of fish...maybe not just yet, but these baby steps are surely making this process fun and allowing me to expand my growing soupy catalog.

What type of shrimp soups have you created?

Seriously Soupy Serena

Citrus Barley and Chicken Soup

 Citrus Barley and Chicken Soup—Adventures with Barley-Part One

Citrus Barley and Chicken Soup

You may be asking yourself, what exactly prompted me to make a chicken soup with citrus? Well, basically the answer to that would be barely. I love this hearty grain and I especially wanted to test out a soup with it since one of my dearest, but not so nearest friends-Creative Flutter created a recipe using it as well. So instead of featuring one barley recipe this week I thought it would be interesting to feature two recipes that used a similar combination of ingredients, but that were prepared in two totally different ways. Where the citrus part came from, I haven't the faintest idea. I did know that I wanted to create a twist on a chicken soup and lemon chicken in a soup sounded interesting to me, so that was it. I then decided to include oranges, cranberries, and lemons as the base of the soup, hoping to create a tangy/semi-sour/savory soup with a zip without having any idea if this was even possible! Although I didn't know what the concoction would turn into, I enjoyed the process of trying to figure out the right level of citrus/sour, while attempting make it well, taste good! Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this tangy and refreshing little citrus soup, although other people (Lonnie Feldman-occasional soupy writer) begged to defer by stating "I don't get why these flavors are put together." Oh well, to soup his own. Be sure to check out another variation of a chicken and barley soup tomorrow by the extraordinary Creative Flutter. Until then, here's how to create your own citrus soup:

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
6-8 cups of water
2-3 cups of barley
1 zucchini, cut up
2-3 oranges, cut up into thick strips
2 lemons, cut up into thick strips
1/4 bag of fresh cranberries
1 leek, cut up
1 yellow onion, diced into squares
1 stalk of celery, cut up
1/2 bag of carrots, cut up
1 parsnip, cut up
dill, bunched together by string
parsley, bunched together by string
approximately 1 tablespoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of pepper

Directions:
Essentially, you are beginning by making a chicken broth. I used Grandma Fay's recipe, but added leeks (had them on hand) and used a whole chicken (as opposed to chopping it up like I did in the past). Let the broth cook for about 2-3 hours, checking on it periodically. I found I had to keep the flame low and add some more water.  Then, cut up and add the oranges and lemons to the pot. While the soup is boiling, start boiling another pot of water (approximately 2 cups) where the cranberries will cook. While they cook the cranberries will make a popping sound as the berries release, so it's best to keep this pot covered as it cooks. I also didn't include the cranberries in the soup pot because I didn't want to add a red color to the soup, but if that doesn't bother you then no additional pot is required. When the cranberries are finished (approximately 10 minutes) add it to the soup pot, along with the barley and let that cook for another 30 minutes. I also added additional carrots, zucchini, and onions since they got very soft after cooking for 2-3 hours. This is completely optional though. Then add salt, pepper, and taste. The soup will be tangy, which is the intent, but if you prefer something a little more subtle, you can add more water and salt to dull some of the citrus. You can also opt to use less lemons/oranges if you like. Lower flame and enjoy!!!

P.S. Although I used chicken, there is no reason why you couldn't omit that part and use a veggie stock. Remember most recipes can be made vegetarian, you just have to tweak them a bit...

Seriously Soupy Serena