Soup Club

[warch]

First rule of Soup Club...no one talks about Soup Club.

Well not really. I hope thats not the case.
I have some pals and we have started taking turns each month hosting a tasty peasant soup or stew based meal. Soup is tasty, cheap, healthy, diverse, and makes your house smell good.
I thought it might be interesting to explore the topic here.

This entry was killer, beloved by all present. And pretty darn quick and easy.

Shrimp Soup
serves 4 hungry folks.

BROTH:
1 tblsp olive oil
2 medium onions thinly sliced
2 large carrots thinly sliced
1 stalk celery thinly sliced
3 garlic clove (or more!) minced
bit of pepper, bit of salt
3 14 oz containers chicken broth
Saute veggies 7-10 minutes until nearly tender. Add chicken broth. Cover, bring to boil and remove from heat.
(Broth can be made ahead, or you can just keep going...onto soup)

SOUP:
A batch of the broth above
2 15 oz. cans chickpeas (Wolf, a chance to hit up that coworker)
1 14oz can stewed tomatos
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
1 bunch fresh greens- collards or kale chopped
3/4 lb or a bit more raw medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, (cut in half if you like to fuss)
In large pot, add to broth all ingredients except greens and shrimp. Cover, and bring to boil. Add greens and reduce to low. Simmer 15 minutes until greens are tender. Stir in shrimp. cover and simmer 2-3 minutes or just until shrimp are cooked. Season with salt and pepper.

Crusty good bread for sopping. You will not wish to leave any trace.
Have you had any good soup lately?

[wolf]

grrrr ... damn you warch.

I need this soup. NOW. right this minute. It's approaching 2am. the store is closed. I cannot get any of the ingredients.

(*rumble*)

You've made me VERY hungry, and I don't think jellybeans are gonna cut it right now.

[Skunks]

I have problems with soup. See, I love the idea of soup. Good taste, good smell, and my sister won't eat any ("soup's a liquid, not a food!"). However, soup requires some sort of non-spoon consumable utensil--bread, crackers, whatever--and I always end up eating at least as much bread or whatever as soup. I suppose it's not a horribly travesty. It just irritates me to have a bunch of leftover soup and no bread.

Mmm...Soup. Mayhaps I will cobble together some soup tomorrow.

The trick, Skunks, is to purchase a <b>bowl</b>. A <b>bowl</b> is what happens when a plate and a glass love each other very much. It can be tilted, to consolidate all remaining broth in one area, and then a spoon can be used on the majority of said broth. Once the spoon has done its work, the <b>bowl</b> can be used like a glass, to slurp away the last bit.

[warch]

Skunk does raise a valid point. Good bread management is an artform. Mr. Warch is very methodical and has drawn praise from onlookers. He sees three, four moves ahead...

[perth]

heres a very quick, very simple one, but tastes great. apologies in advance when it comes to measurements, im not really an 'exact measurements' kind of guy.

1 clove garlic (two if you like)
1/2 an onion (i like yellow onions)
little bit of olive oil
1 big can of crushed tomatoes
3-4 cans of beef (or veggie, i imagine) broth
italian seasoning
1 can kidney beans
1 can white corn
1 package 3-cheese tortellini

saute the garlic and onion in the olive oil, reduce heat and add the crushed tomatoes and beef broth. add some italian seasoning (the premixed kind is fine) and let it simmer for a bit. drain and rinse the beans an corn, add to the soup. let it simmer some more. add the tortellini and let it cook until the tortellini is cooked through.

i thoroughly enjoyed this soup when i made it with crap ingredients. im going to try it again with fresh herbs, tomatoes, and better quality tortellini. ive also thought of adding some of that leafy green veggie you see in a lot of italian soups (kale i think).

~james

[warch]

Kale rocks. Kale loves olive oil and garlic. I am a total kale fan these days. It is mighty tasty and mighty good for ya. If you have a yard, plant some dinosaur Kale out there. Its also extreemely cool lookin'.

Jenni and I make a mean veggie chili. I'll have to get the recipe from her and post it. She sets out the cans, I do the dirty work and add some stuff of my own, and voila! Mmmmmmmmmm. Even Giles, who hates vegetables, said it was really good.

[Pete]

Got that Griff? Kale

[warch]

Griff...Griff... Aw, hes droolin over at the beer thread. Griff! Kale!

Pete, this may call for some covert operations.

[hot_pastrami]

You might also be thinking of cavolo greens... that's what Olive Garden uses in their Zuppa Toscana. Mmmm... zuppa toscana.

[perth]

pastrami wins! thats the stuff i was thinking of. but ill try kale too.

~james

[hot_pastrami]

Heh... I did a search on Cavolo greens, and I get a hit that says "the ruffled cavolo nero (also called dino or dinosaur kale)"

So, I can't take credit... someone else was right first.

[Pete]

Originally posted by warch
Griff...Griff... Aw, hes droolin over at the beer thread. Griff! Kale!

he he Thanks, Warch. I'll go look for 'im o'er there.

[hot_pastrami]

Cream of Garlic Soup

• 2 pounds onions, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 cups garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1.5 quarts chicken stock
• 1 bouquet garni (parsley stems, thyme sprigs and bay leaf, tied together)
• 2 cups stale French bread, torn into 1/2" pieces
• 1 cup half and half (or 1/2 cup whole milk with 1/2 cup heavy cream)

In a 4-quart, heavy-bottomed pot, saute the onions and garlic in the butter and oil. Stir frequently over low to medium heat until the onions are a deep golden brown, about 30 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bouquet garni and bring to a boil. Stir in the bread cubes and simmer for 10 minutes, until the bread is soft. Remove the bouquet garni and puree the soup in a blender, carefully! Remember that hot liquids can splash up in a blender; you can use one of those hand-held blenders and puree it right in the pot if you like. Strain the soup through a medium strainer, reheat and whisk in more chicken broth if the soup is too thick for your taste. Add the half and half, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
8 servings