White Onion Soup

I am in an eternal search for elegant, yet simple and seasonal meals.  Quality ingredients and minimal steps guide me to recipes just like this.  One of my favorite cookbooks, Living and Eating by John Pawson and Annie Bell, is loaded with this exact mantra.  Every recipe I have tried has proven itself to be something worth repeating over and over and over.

Roasted Garlic and Broccoli Soup

Buying a giant bunch of beautiful broccoli right before we take off for a long weekend may not have been the wisest of decisions, or was it?? Now that my kitchen is filled with the smell of roasted garlic, and dinner is well on it's way to being finished, I'm thinking that my impetuousness was more of a stroke of pure genius.

Making veggie soups are simple, and a wonderful way to clean out that fridge. By adding roasted garlic, you turn an ordinary soup in to something a little more special. You might as well roast a few heads of garlic, while you have the oven on - they are great to have on hand. They should keep about a week in the fridge.

Roasted Garlic and Broccoli Soup

Borrowed from The Los Angeles Times

Serves 6 - 8

1 large, plump head of garlic

pinch of salt and pepper

drizzle of olive oil

1 large bunch of broccoli

2 TBLS butter or olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 large baking potato, peeled and cubed into 1 '' dice

6 cups chicken or vegetable broth

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375.

Slice the top 1/4 off the head of garlic. Drizzle olive oil over head of garlic, season with salt and pepper and place the top back over the head. Wrap in tin foil and roast until tender, about 45 minutes. Set aside to cool.

While garlic is roasting, heat oil or butter in a large pot, and sweat onions for about 5 minutes and add chopped broccoli florets and potato cubes. Add stock and bring to a boil.

Partially cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until potato is cooked thoroughly.

Once the roasted garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze the roasted cloves into the soup.

Season with salt and pepper.

Puree soup in batches, or (better yet!), use an immersion blender. Serve soup hot.

MMMM, MISO!

There is something that the Japanese have known for centuries, miso soup is a cheap, easy and an extremely health-supportive meal. In Japan, it is eaten on a daily basis, which might explain why the Japanese have lower rates of cancer, heart disease and high cholesterol than Americans.  Ideally, I have a pot in the fridge ready so that I can help myself each morning.  All I need are a few veggies, some tofu, some type of seaweed (wakame or arame), and maybe some noodles and I'm on my way.   Below is only a suggestion of what you can add to miso broth to make a hearty meal.  What is important is that you follow the directions on how to incorporate miso to the hot water while making your soup.  (Boiling miso will ruin it's beneficial properties.)

A word about miso:
Miso pastes are generally made from fermented soybeans, however others include fermented rice, barley or chickpeas. Each variety differs in flavor - some are intensely rich and salty, while the lighter miso pastes are sweet and mild. The health benefits of miso are quite profound. Studies prove eating a bowl of miso a day largely decreases the chance of breast cancer, due to its ability to regulate the hormone, oestrogen, which causes tumors to develop. Miso is also rich in antioxidants and healthy fatty acids. It is high in protein and Vitamin B12, (a vitamin many vegetarians and vegans lack).
Similar to yogurt, miso contains probiotics, or beneficial bacteria, which is necessary to maintain healthy flora in your intestinal tract. Miso contains the same active, live cultures found in yogurt, which is why it is extremely important NOT TO BOIL miso soup, as it will kill these cultures. If you are on antibiotics, a bowl of miso a day is ideal as it adds the healthy bacteria back to keep your intestines happy. (Antibiotics strip us of all bacteria - good and bad.).
Miso paste can be found in any health food store, Asian markets and sometimes in the dairy section of conventional grocery stores.

Miso broth with Soba Noodles and Baby Bok Choy
Serves 4

4 cups water
3 TBLS miso paste - (Yellow, white or red. Yellow is the lightest flavor, red is the darker, more salty)
8 oz. firm or silken tofu - cubed
1/2 yellow onion, sliced thinly
3 carrots, cut into half moons
3-4 shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
3 heads baby bok choy, bottom trimmed and washed
1 bunch soba or udon noodles
bunch of scallions thinly sliced for garnish
black sesame seeds for garnish

Spoon miso paste into a heat resistant cup or bowl and set aside.
Bring water to boil, add onion, carrot and tofu.
Boil for about 5 minutes, add shitake and bok choy, reduce to a simmer.
Add noodles and cook until done.
Add about 1/2 cup of simmering water into miso paste and stir well to combine miso into water. Pour this mixture into the soup and turn off heat.
Laddle into bowls and top with scallions and/or black sesame seeds.

Thai Chicken Soup

I am always happy to discover new twists on chicken soup and came across a recipe in a December '08 Sunset Magazine while at the car dealership, (long story!).  This, I tell you, is so good, so easy and so full of flavor.  To prove, not only how easy it is, but also how delicious, I made it last night for the family I work for and made it again today so I could have a big pot for the weekend.

If you have 45 minutes, I suggest making this soup with chicken breasts (or thighs) with bone in, skin removed.  If, however, you are short on time, go ahead with boneless skinless chicken breasts and a few cups of chicken broth.  I am going to give you the long version.  To skip this method and cut cooking time in half, just bring broth (2 cups), coconut milk (2 cans), garlic, ginger and lemongrass to a boil, add mushrooms.  Simmer for about 5 minutes.  Add raw, cubed chicken, cook covered for about 15 minutes, add sugar, vinegar, fish sauce, salt and pepper and garnish with cilantro and lime wedge. (Toss lemongrass).  For an extended and deeper flavor version, see below:

Thai Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai)

Adapted from Sunset Magazine, Dec. 2008.

Serves 4-6

1 drizzle canola 0r extra virgin sesame oil

4 Organic chicken breasts, or 8 thighs - bone in, skin removed

2 1/2 cups water, approx.

3 Tbls chopped fresh ginger, divided in half

2 Tbls chopped fresh garlic, divided in half

1 stick fresh lemon grass*, cut into a few pieces

salt and pepper

2 cans coconut milk

8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced

8 oz. shitake mushrooms, sliced

1 Tbls sugar

1 Tbls Thai fish sauce

1 Tbls rice wine vinegar

cilantro for garnish

lime for garnish

*Lemongrass may be difficult to find, if you can't find it, no problem, just be sure to have lime wedges.

In a large pot, heat oil to med heat and add ginger and garlic, season with salt and pepper. Allow to sweat, but not burn, about 5 minutes, stir occasionally.  Add chicken and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and cover for about 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.

Remove chicken and place in bowl to allow to cool.  Once cooled, remove all meat from bones, discard bones and shred chicken, set aside.

Reserve broth, remove any excess fat.  Discard ginger and garlic.

Wipe pot out and reheat, add another drizzle of oil and add the second half of ginger and garlic, once again, allow to sweat, not burn.  Add coconut milk and broth.  (You should have about 2 cups of broth).  If you have to, add water or store bought broth.  Bring to a boil and add mushrooms, simmer and add sugar, vinegar and Thai fish sauce.  Add chicken and heat gently. Serve with cilantro sprigs and lime wedge.

For the Soul...

I've been hearing more people around me with the sniffles lately, summoning that flu season is here. And what better for that than a hot bowl of home made chicken soup? Here is a very easy and quick recipe which has depth and rich flavor. I always buy organic chicken thighs with bone in and skin removed, (ask your butcher to do this for you), to enhance to flavor of the broth. This should take about 40 minutes start to finish.

Chicken Soup
serves 4 - 6

1 - 2 TBLS olive oil
6 Organic chicken thighs (bone in, skin removed)
1 cup sliced onion
3 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
1 -2 cups washed, and cut green beans
approx 6 cups filtered water
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper

In a large pot, heat olive oil and add sliced onions. Saute for a few minutes, until soft. Add chicken thighs and carrots, celery and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Allow carrot and celery to sweat for about 5 minutes on med- low heat. Add water and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken and set aside to cool. Reduce heat and skim fat off the top of soup. Add green beans, season again with salt and pepper, bring to a simmer. Once chicken is cool enough to handle, remove chicken from bone and pull into nice pieces. Discard any fat or inedible pieces. Return chicken to pot and reheat gently.

Summer Gazpacho

Summer is officially here which means I can start enjoying tomatoes again. I like to slice them and top with thinly sliced red onion and blue cheese, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and sea salt. This really hits the spot on a sizzling summer day. Hot days also call for cold soup, of which gazpacho is probably the most well-known. I found a really simple recipe which doesn't call for any bread as some will. Allow the flavors to incorporate. The beauty here is that this soup gets better with time. Consider topping with avocado if you so desire.

From The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, 1999.
Serves 4-6
1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
4 plum tomatoes
1 red onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
23 ounces tomato juice (3 cups)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not over process!

After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.

Yvette Roman Photography ©, 2008

Roberto's Cauliflower and Poblano Soup

There's nothing I like more than someone handing me a recipe and telling me to give it a shot. This soup recipe comes from Roberto, a friend that I met at a dinner party a few months ago. We quickly learned that we both have a passion for cooking and once I tried one of his mini ginger cupcakes, it was clear that this guy could find his way around the kitchen! So, when he forwarded this recipe to me, I knew that I would have to try it.

I bought the creamiest white cauliflower at the Farmer's Market, thinking about how the roasted poblano would affect the final result. I imagined a creamy looking soup with a hint of green running through it. It turned out to be almost exactly what I expected. I think next time I will add one half of a peeled potato to it to give it a little more body. I had a ripe avocado which I just served along side with a squirt of lemon and salt. Yvette and I shot these pictures and then ate outside on a hot day and it was perfect!

Roasted Cauliflower & Charred Poblano Soup

1 head cauliflower cut into florets
1/2 peeled white potato cut into cubes (optional)
2 tb olive oil
1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tb heavy cream
1 poblano chillis - roasted and pureed


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Toss cauliflower florets with olive oil and black pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet. Bake covered with foil for 30 minutes. Make a few slits on the foil before the tray goes into the oven.


Meanwhile char the poblano chili. I have a gas stove and do this stove top. If you have an electrical range, you could roast it on the oven. Once the chili is charred, place it in a paper bag and close the bag. Leave it to steam in the bag for 20 minutes. The steam would make it easier for the charred skin to slip off. Remove the seeds and stem and puree in a food processor with 1/4 cup of water. Set aside.

Place the baked cauliflower in a pot and bring to a boil with the 3 cups pf vegetable broth and potato, if using. Turn heat down and simmer for 15 minutes.

Puree cauliflower with either a hand held blender or pour the ingredients in a blender. Be careful when blending hot vegetables . What I usually do is put a towel over the blender and fore go the cover. I place my hand over the towel before I start the blender again.


Pour soup back in the pot and add pureed poblano and cream. If the soup is too thick add a bit more stock to bring it to a desired consistency. Heat until warmed through. Do not boil. Serve this soup with organic blue corn chips with cotija or goat cheese. Drizzle some very good extra virgin olive oil right before serving.





Yvette Roman Photography©, 2008

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Roasting vegetables in the winter is a way to deepen the flavor and add a heartiness to every meal. My favorite winter soup is roasted butternut squash. As we are winding down this cold season, the squash are on their way out, however, the flavor of this squash was delightful and sweeter than I expected. It's so simple, all you need on hand is home-made vegetable broth. If you want to really add richness, take the time to make the vegetable stock first, using a few cubes of the butternut squash. Cooking is all about layering flavor each step and this is a way to accomplish that complexity of flavors. You will notice a much richer, full bodied soup. The end result is velvety, hearty with virtually no fat. Top it with roasted pepita seeds for a nice, crunchy texture.

For directions on making stock, see my post on homemade stocks - in this case, just add about a cup of 1 inch-cubed, and peeled butternut squash to the pot.

Heat oven to 400.
1 large, or 2 medium size butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper
4 cups home-made vegetable stock
Roasted pepita seeds

In a large mixing bowl, drizzle olive oil over squash and toss to coat.
Lay squash out on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper.
Roast in oven for about 30 minutes.
Make sure to rotate sqash every 10 minutes to get an even carmelization.
Transfer roasted squash to blender (you may have to do this in batches) and add enough stock to half-way cover squash. Blend - add liquid if needed. You want a velvety texture, keep adding stock until desired consistancy.
Top with roasted pepita seeds.

Yvette Roman© Photography 2008

Kitchen Sink......

Each week, I save all ends and what-not from unused vegetables to give to the family. They take it to their vineyard and add it to the compost pile, or feed it to their chickens. As I was filling up the compost container today, I noticed a interesting combination of toss-outs -- carrot, onion, celery...... A classic culinary combination lies before me and it hits me, why am I not using these throw outs and making vegetable broth? I buy that awful boxed stock all the time!! Channeling the days where I would NEVER buy boxed stock, I quickly rumage through everything and throw it into a pot filled with water. I added fennel stalk, garlic and parsley stems. Finding a few fresh garlic cloves, a pinch of whole black peppercorns and salt, I turn it up and get a rolling boil. I'm feeling like a genius, my grandmother would be so proud of me!

NOTE: Making any stock is simple. Always start with carrot, onion and celery (known as mirepoix in the culinary world), and water. Add any common vegetable, staying away from any cruciferous vegetable, (cabbage family including broccoli, brussel sprouts, dark leafy greens, cauliflower, etc), as they can leave a bitter after taste. If you are planning on making a particular soup, like butternut squash, for example, make your stock and add some of the butternut squash you plan to use in the soup. This creates a deeper layer of flavoring and though subtle, can really make a difference in the end product.
Always cover the stock as it simmers. The longer you cook, the better the flavor, but 30 minutes will do - up to 2 hours. Be sure to add salt and whole peppercorns.
Store in a container with a tight fitting lid for up to 10 days and cool entirely before storing.
Shrimp stock : mirepoix + water + shells from peeled shrimp
Chicken stock : mirepoix + water + whole chicken, fat trimmed and cavity emptied. Skim fat from time to time.

Corn and Lobster Chowder

This is WAY too easy for how incredibly good it is. Lobster is expensive, you may want to substitute shrimp or a hearty white fish (cod, halibut, scallop) in its place. Be sure to serve with crusty, toasty bread. Serves about 4.

1 TBLS butter
1 chopped onion
1 1/2 cup fresh corn
1 potato, peeled and diced
2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh salsa
1 lb cooked lobster meat
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 diced jalapeno
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
lime wedges for garnish

In a large pot, saute onions with butter on med-low heat until soft. 3-5 mins.
Add corn, potato and broth, bring to a simmer. Add lobster, cream and jalapeno and salsa.
Return to simmer for 5-7 minutes and add basil. (If you are using a substitute fish, add RAW fish along with corn, potato and broth - bring to simmer and cook 5-10 minutes). Serve with toasted crusty french bread and lime wedges.
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine