Posted Jan 7, 2011
You’ve survived the darkest days of the year, the holiday party treadmill and a lapsed diet laden with more sugar than Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.
The overdoing and indulging, the drinking and the partying of the holiday season are history. In their place, you can hear the distant strains of coughing and sniffling, sneezing and wheezing. Ah-choo!
It’s time to take stock, literally. Arm yourself with a freezer full of nourishing soups and you’ll be soothed and smiling like a kid on Christmas morning again.
“By the time the sun starts to linger longer each day, you’ll already feel well taken care of,” said Kay Baumhefner, chef-instructor of the Come Home to Cooking School in Petaluma.
To help folks get ready for the post-holiday stress syndrome, Baumhefner offered a class in December on healing winter soups, with recipes aimed at purifying and restoring the balance of body and soul.
First off, Baumhefner showed the class how to make Flu-Shot Soup, a soothing blend of garlic braised in a chicken stock with aromatic vegetables and pureed rice.
The name of the recipe says it all.
“If you eat this, you won’t get the flu,” she said, only half joking. “So it’s the best of 18 worlds.”
The spices include bay leaf, thyme, basil, sweet paprika, cumin and clove. Because the soup is pureed, it goes down easily and feels good on a scratchy throat.
“It’s a creamed soup without the cream,” Baumhefner said. “And the spices build your immune system and clear out congestion.”
To bring a smile to your lips, Baumhefner suggests topping the Flu-Shot Soup with a zesty dollop of lemon-herb butter, made with parsley, thyme, sea salt and lemon.
For a purifying and cleansing soup, Baumhefner recommends cooking up a double dose of Brothy Mushroom Soup with Greens. You can add some nutritious Italian farro to thicken the broth slightly, or ladle the soup over mounds of creamy polenta.
“Make a big pot and put it in the freezer for the winter,” she said. “It’s perfect for a stormy night. Just slice up some bread and bring it out of the freezer. It’s really satisfying.”
For this brothy soup, Baumhefner likes to use the small, tender leaves of winter greens, which are rich in calcium and iron.
“The tender leaves feel more like a baby’s ear than an elephant’s ear,” she said. “I like to use red chard and dinosaur kale.”
For the mushrooms, she advises going to a farmers market for high-flavor porcinis, shiitakes and chanterelles. But you could also use mild crimini mushrooms.
“You can enhance the flavor of the mushrooms you’ve selected by adding herbs and spices that complement them,” she said. “For example, juniper berry and sage give a woodsy accent to porcinis, allspice is nice with shiitakes and nutmeg is lovely with chanterelles.”
Of course, the key to this simple soup is to start with high-quality, homemade chicken stock — the penicillin of the culinary world.
Once you’ve detoxified your system with the mushrooms and greens, you’ll be ready to indulge your family and friends with big, brothy bowls of Baumhefner’s Seafood Stew, studded with tasty crustaceans and fish.
“It’s not unlike a bouillabaisse or a cioppino, depending on where you take it,” she said. “It can be more soupy or more stewy.”
Baumhefner likes to crank up the heat in the stew, adding smoked bittersweet paprika to the aromatics, plus chiles and a pinch of cayenne.
“The heat is purifying,” she said. “And the smoke just makes you happy.”
For the seafood, she advises using firmer-fleshed fish such as salmon, halibut, sea bass, rockfish, snapper, cod or monkfish. Prawns work well, as do mussels and clams. And this time of year, who can resist Dungeness crab, fresh from briny Pacific?
To save time, you can make the stew base ahead of time and freeze it, then invite your friends over to help pick the meat out of the cooked Dungeness crab to add to the base. Then just heat up the stew, being careful to add the seafood in succession, so the stock stays hot and each variety of seafood is cooked for the appropriate time.
The stew also can be given a variety of twists that will transform it into a completely different dish. For example, you could also turn it into a chowder by substituting butter for the olive oil and adding potatoes and heavy cream. Or you could just serve it as a plate full of steamed mussels, with pernod added to the broth.
For an extra tasty touch, Baumhefner suggests topping the stew with a rich dollop of basil pesto, garlic aioli or romesco sauce. Served with a salad and some crusty bread, it’s a big bowl of love guaranteed to warm your soul.
“Picture this dish with a bitter greens and citrus salad,” she said. “Then go with something chocolate for dessert.”
Baumhefner promises that this delicious dinner will help steady the course of your journey into 2011.
“If you’re ever read a children’s storybook called ‘The Maggie B.’ (by Irene Haas), then you already know how beautifully a good seafood stew can both nourish and secure things,” she said. “It will make sure your boat only rocks the nicest little bit.”
“Aromatic vegetables are braised and then cooked with chicken stock and rice until everything is tender enough to puree smooth,” Baumhefner said. “It’s simply made.”
Flu Shot Soup
Makes 8 servings
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium-large onion, thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1-2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
2 large heads garlic, clvoes peeled and left whole
1-2 teaspoons sea salt (preferably grey)
1 teaspoon dried thyme and basil
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika and ground cumin
Pinch ground clove and white pepper
1 small bay leaf
1/2 cup diced or crushed tomato
1/2 cup dry white wine
8 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade)
1/2 cup basmati rice
Sea salt and white pepper, to taste
For lemon-herb butter:
4-6 tablespoons soft butter
1 lemon, zested finely and juiced
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
Big pinches sea salt, white pepper and freshly grated nutmeg
In a large, heavy skillet over medium-low heat, cover and braise the onions in the oil and butter until translucent (10 to 15 minutes).
Then stir in the rest of the aromatic vegetables, herbs and spices, cover and slowly braise until everything is golden and very tender (about 30 minutes).
Uncover to stir in first the tomato, simmering to evenly coat and blend the flavors, and then the wine, scraping the sides and bottom of the pan to deglaze.
Meanwhile, in a large soup kettle or stock pot, bring the chicken stock and rice to the boil; then add the cooked vegetables, and as soon as the combined mixture has returned to the boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, lid askew, until the rice is falling apart tender (45 to 60 minutes).
Make the Lemon-Herb Butter by first beating the lemon zest into 4 tablespoons soft butter, gradually adding the juice and more butter as needed to combine, and finally stirring in the fresh herbs and spices. Taste for acid-salt balance.
Puree the soup with an immersion blender until completely smooth and silky, adding more hot chicken stock if needed to thin out a bit.
Taste carefully for seasoning, ladle into warm bowls and garnish wtih a spoonful of Lemon-Herb Butter to serve.
“This is a nutritiously purifying soup to cleanse your soul and lift your spirits,” she writes. “I only add the farro because i’m wild about it with mushrooms and it grounds the broth with a little thickening and extra protein.”
Brothy Mushroom Soup with Green
Makes 8 servings
1 pound mushrooms (porcini, shiitake, chanterelle, crimini), trimmed and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
6-8 grinds black pepper
1 medium-large red onion, thinly sliced
2-4 large cloves garlic, pounded or pressed
1-2 teaspoons sea salt (preferably grey)
1/2 cup rinsed Italian farro (optional)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon regular balsamic vinegar
8 cups flavorful chicken stock (preferably homemade)
1/2 pound tender braising greens (chard, kale, spinach) cut in a fine chiffonade
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
In a large stock pot or soup kettle, bring the chicken stock up to the boil, then turn down to low to keep hot, lid askew.
On another burner heat a large, heavy saute pan over high, and then add just the mushrooms to it. Stir around as their moisture is drawn out to evaporate away.
Once they are dry and starting to stick to the pan, stir in the oil, butter and pepper, and continue to cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender and a deep golden brown (15 to 30 minutes). Do not crowd the pan or rush the process.
Then reduce the heat to medium, add the onion and cook, stirring, until it is tender and beginning to caramelize, but not turning dark brown (10 to 15 minutes).
Stir in the garlic, salt and optional farro just to evenly coat. Then stir in the wine and balsamic mixture, scraping around the sides and bottom of the pan to deglaze it. Transfer this mixture to the hot pot of stock, stir around, and simmer, lid askew, to marry and intensify the flavors while the optional farro cooks (20 to 30 minutes).
Add the braising greens and simmer, stirring several times, until just tender, but still a bright green (5 to 10 minutes).
Taste carefully for seasoning and serve.
“Understanding the simple basics for capturing the essence in this soupy-stewy seafood concoction will set you up for endless variations on the theme” she writes. “It’s yours to play with.”
Seafood Stew
Makes 8 servings
4-6 tablespoons olive oil
1/8- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2-4 whole chiles de arbol (optional)
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
1-2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1-2 bulbs fennel, thinly sliced
1-2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
2-4 leeks, white part only, thinly sliced
1-2 red bell peppers, roasted just to peel/seed and thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
6 full sprigs fresh thyme, bundled (or 1 teaspoons dry)
4-6 cloves garlic, peeled and pounded or pressed
2-3 teaspoons sea salt, preferably grey
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
Pinch ground allspice
1-2 teaspoons smoked bittersweet paprika (optional)
2 teaspoons loosely packed saffron threads (optional)
2 cups diced or crushed tomato (or 14.5-ounce can)
1 cup dry white wine
6 cups hot water (or crab cooking water)
1-2 pounds seafood meat (such as shrimp, clams, mussels, rock fish, crab and grilled salmon)
Final touches:
Grey salt, to taste
Cayenne or black pepper, to taste
Lemon juice, to taste
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
In a heavy, deep (6-7 quart) wide-bottom pot (12 to 14 inches) over medium heat, infuse 4 tablespoons of the oil with the red pepper flakes and optional chiles de arbol.
Add the onion, carrots, celery, fennel, leeks and red peppers, stirring and adding the remaining 2 tablespoons oil as needed to evenly coat.
Add the bay leaf and thyme, reduce to medium-low and cover to cook, stirring periodically, until translucent but not brown (about 15 minutes).
Remove and discard the thyme sprigs and optional chiles de arbol; then stir in all the garlic and spices to evenly coat. Cover and cook until all the vegetables are tender and golden (about 10 minutes).
Stir in the tomato and raise the heat to medium; simmer briskly until juices are syrupy (about 10 minutes).
Stir in the wine, scraping all around the sides and bottom of the pan to deglaze; bring to the boil, then add the hot water (or crab cooking water) and bring just to the boil again. Reduce the heat to medium low to simmer briskly until the broth is flavorful, adding more water as needed. Taste carefully and adjust the seasoning as desired.
Add the seafood in successions (depending on how long each variety needs to cook) and cover to simmer-steam until just done. Taste again for seasoning, stir in the parsley, and serve.
You can reach Staff Writer Diane Peterson at 521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com
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Copyright © 2011, The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif.
