It’s cold and there is nothing heartier than a simple soup. This was actually the first time that I have made a soup with barley in it, but it is indeed a great grain to cook with. Nice and hearty, very flavorful.
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Soups
This soup is amazing. It’s a little different than my “usual” fish chowders, but yet also really similar. When I am developing recipes, I usually compare three or four and then start experimenting. The things that were identical between the three recipes that I looked at were Atlantic white fish (cod, halibut, etc), shrimp/prawns, leeks and … saffron. Really, saffron? Turns out, it is a great addition to the soup. And the color is amazing. This is definitely a recipe going on repeat!
Appetizers/Starters, Dinner, Lunch, Soups
Roasted Hokkaido Pumpkin Bisque with Curry Toasted Chick Peas
Hokkaido pumpkins seem to be more popular in Germany than they are here in my neck of the woods of Greater Boston. For a while, they were very trendy and one of my aunts in Germany really loved them. They also go by the names Kuri Squash and Baby Red Hubbard Squash. Either which way, they have a nutty, peppery flavor which I enhance with curry and a pinch of nutmeg. If you can’t find a Hokkaido Pumpkin, you can also use butternut squash to make this soup.
My dad used to make next-level soups. They were amazing. Number one by far was his New England Seafood Chowder, but second was his Mushroom Soup. Of course, first, he would forage the mushrooms, then spend hours painstakingly cleaning them, and then came the soup making. For a few weeks some summers, he would make and sell this Mushroom Soup (either Chanterelle or Porcini or both) at a farmer’s market and people would come watch him make it. He would sell out in under an hour.
This Mushroom Medley Soup pays homage to that soup. This is likely one of the best savory things that I have made all year (ok, ok, it’s only January 3rd…. let’s count last year as well). This is the most flavorful, hearty, homey and delicious thing to come out of my kitchen in a whole. And given the arctic temperatures outside, today was the perfect day to make it.
Catching up on something that I made for “red week” in my Cook/bake-a-long this week: Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Bisque. It’s really hearty but tart and “spring like”. As usual with creamed soups, it’s really hard to photograph, so I tossed in a few garlicky croutons. This recipe makes a whole bunch so it will feed a crowd and/or freezes well.