Gourmet Meals in Crappy Little Kitchens (8 page)

Sara's Dill Tomato Soup

Yields 3 quarts (10 servings)

This delicious recipe demonstrates how you can easily deviate from a traditional tomato soup recipe with spectacular results. Try your hand at being creative. Change your herbs, take out the cream to make it brighter, or add summer vegetables or even pasta. All-but-the-kitchen-sink cooking really finds itself at home in the Crappy Little Kitchen. Use up the leftovers in the fridge, by throwing them in the soup!

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 yellow onions, chopped

1 garlic clove, smashed

Sea salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

¼ cup tomato paste

10 Roma tomatoes, chopped (may substitute 30 ounces diced canned tomato)

15 ounces crushed tomato, canned

4 cups vegetable stock

½ cup chopped fresh dill

1 cup heavy cream

¼ cup quartered kalamata olives

1
In a 12-quart stockpot, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. After the butter has melted into the olive oil, add the onion and garlic, and allow them to sweat slowly. This is when the heat gently draws out moisture from the vegetables. Season lightly with salt and pepper. You want them to soften, not brown.

How to Smash Garlic

Place a clove of garlic on a flat cutting surface. Lay the side of your chef's knife blade (slanted with the sharp side toward the cutting board, not up) centered on the clove. With the heel of your free hand, give one swift smack to the portion of the blade centered over the clove. When you raise the knife, you'll notice the clove is pulverized and its paper skin will lift off easily.

2
When the onions are translucent, add the tomato paste and allow it to melt evenly into the onions. Next, add the chopped tomatoes and crushed tomatoes, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the vegetable stock and fresh dill, and bring the soup to a simmer. Turn the heat down slightly and allow the soup to cook slowly for 30 minutes. Stir often to prevent the soup from burning on the bottom.

3
Take the pot of soup off the heat, and, stirring constantly, drizzle in the heavy cream and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm with a tablespoon of olives in the center of each bowl of soup.

Gazpacho Margarita, Ole!

Yields 3 quarts (10 servings)

The acid from citrus juice or vinegar gives traditional gazpacho that kick we savor, but I like to add tequila and lime juice to make it extra special. Anytime I can eat a beautiful healthy meal without turning on my stove, it . . . well, it turns me on!

1 English cucumber, medium dice

1 red onion, medium dice

6 Roma tomatoes, medium dice

1 green bell pepper, medium dice

1 jalapeno, seeded, small dice

2 garlic cloves, minced

40 ounces tomato juice

¼ cup extra gold tequila

cup fresh squeezed lime juice

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

2 limes, cut into wedges

1
Mix all the ingredients together, except for the salt, pepper, and lime wedges, and chill for several hours until icy cold. Lightly puree half of the soup in a blender, and then add the rest and puree both portions together. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

2
Serve cold with a lime wedge propped on the rim of each bowl of soup.

Tahitian-Style
Corn and Crab Soup

Yields 2 quarts (6 servings)

If possible, you can grill the corn on the cob, but in my Crappy Little Kitchen, I just roast it, because grilling on a crappy little fire escape is illegal! Don't forget the squeeze of fresh lime at the end, it adds a spark of freshness to the finished product.

6 ears of corn, freshly shucked or 3 cups frozen corn kernels

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

6 garlic cloves, chopped

6 shallots, chopped

1 stem lemongrass, smashed with your chef's knife

1 tablespoon peeled and grated fresh ginger

14 ounces lump crabmeat, save 6 nice size lumps for garnish

1 teaspoon shaved palm sugar or light brown sugar

4 cups vegetable stock

1 cup coconut milk, canned

Sea salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

2 limes, cut into wedges

1
Preheat your oven to 500°. Place your ears of corn on a sheet tray and roast them in the oven until all the kernels are bright yellow and some have begun to brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Allow them to cool completely and remove the kernels. If you use frozen corn, place the kernels directly on the sheet tray and roast as above.

2
In a 12-quart stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, and add the garlic, shallot, lemongrass, and ginger, stirring for 5 minutes. Add the roasted corn kernels, and, stirring often, allow the corn to cook for 15 minutes.

3
Add 12 ounces of crabmeat, palm sugar, vegetable stock, and coconut milk to the pot, and allow the mixture to come to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and cook the soup for another 45 minutes. Remove the lemongrass.

4
Use your blender to puree the soup, and then strain the soup into a pot over low heat. You'll need to do this in batches. Discard what is left in the strainer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the bisque hot, with a lump of crabmeat in the center, and squeeze a lime wedge over each bowl.

Wish I Was a Little
Bisque Taller

Yields 3 quarts (10 servings)

The dry sherry in this recipe adds a subtle dimension to this soup, elevating it to its gourmet status (feel free to substitute brandy if that's what you have).

1 pound medium shrimp, shells on

1 tablespoon plus ½ cup unsalted butter

½ cup minced yellow onion

1 garlic clove, minced

Sea salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon tomato paste

½ tablespoon Spanish paprika

¼ cup all-purpose flour

6 cups fish or vegetable stock

1¼ cups heavy cream

¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 tablespoons dry sherry

1
Set a large and a medium mixing bowl in front of you. Standing over the large bowl, peel the shrimp and drop the shells into the large bowl while placing the shrimp meat in the medium bowl. Run your paring knife down the back of the shrimp to expose the vein. Use the knife or your fingers to remove the vein, and throw it away.

2
Put your 12-quart stockpot over medium heat, and add 1 tablespoon of butter. When the butter has melted, add the peeled shrimp and cook them on both sides until they are pink and just beginning to curl. This should only take 3 to 4 minutes—please do not overcook them. Overcooked shrimp are tough and rubbery and ruin a gourmet meal. Carefully remove the cooked shrimp with your tongs, and set them aside.

3
Heat the rest of the butter in the pot, and when it's melted, add the shrimp shells. Cook them, stirring occasionally, until they are bright red, about 10 minutes. Add the onions and cook for another 5 minutes, and then add the garlic to cook for 1 minute. Season them lightly with salt and pepper.

4
Continuously stirring, add the tomato paste and paprika and cook for 2 minutes. Add the flour to make a roux, and cook for about 6 minutes while stirring constantly.

How to Make a Foolproof Roux

A roux is a mixture of flour and fat (in this case butter) that is cooked slowly over low heat and is used to thicken mixtures such as soups and sauces. The trick to making a roux successfully is to measure carefully (there is science going on here after all) and stir it rigorously. All the flour must be incorporated into the fat or it will not only be lumpy but it may also separate later on.

5
Gradually add the stock, stirring vigorously or the soup will be lumpy. Once all of the stock is incorporated, bring the soup to a very low simmer, and cook for 45 minutes, occasionally skimming any foam off the top with a large spoon and then stirring gently.

6
Using your blender and strainer, puree the soup (shells and all. These will be discarded when strained from the soup in the next step), and then strain it into another pot. Put the pureed soup over lowmedium heat and stir in the cream, Worcestershire, cayenne, and sherry. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm with a cooked shrimp floating in the center of each bowl and freshly cracked pepper.

Not-for-Chickens
Chicken Soup

Yields 1½ quarts (8 servings)

My good friend Maria makes a wonderful tomatillo and chipotle sauce in which she simmers chicken. Far too spicy for the likes of me, I decided to mellow it by turning the sauce into a soup, and this soup has become the most requested one in my repertoire. Using precooked chicken turns it into a one-pot wonder!

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups large diced red onion

4 carrots, large dice

1 green bell pepper, large dice

1 red bell pepper, large dice

3 garlic cloves, chopped

Sea salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

15 ounces diced tomato, canned

1 cup Latin Salsa Verde (p. 218)

4 to 6 chipotle peppers, canned in adobo sauce (medium to very hot) and finely chopped

3 tablespoons adobo sauce from can

8 cups vegetable stock

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 whole roasted chicken, shredded

8 pieces corn bread (about 2-inch squares)

1
Place a 12-quart stockpot over medium to high heat and add the vegetable oil. When it begins to smoke, add the red onion, stirring until it begins to soften. Add the carrots, bell peppers, and garlic, season lightly with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Then cover to sweat the vegetables for 5 minutes. Remove the lid, making sure all the water drains back into the pot, and sauté the vegetables 10 minutes, stirring often.