recipe revisited — quick black bean soup

the following recipe is perhaps one of the tastiest, not to mention quickest and easiest, soups you'll ever make. i posted the recipe for it here, along with two others, quite some time ago but never posted any pictures to go with it. i was prompted to revisit the recipe when i saw it published yet again recently in our daily newspaper. the best part about the recipe is that it uses canned ingredients in order to make it a 'no fuss' recipe — all you need are cans of diced tomatoes, black beans and corn.

with winter well on its way - soups are probably on the minds of many people. this one is full of flavour and healthy, not to mention having almost no bad things (fat!) in it. it is also vegetarian and vegan. of course, you could always throw in some ground turkey at the beginning of the recipe to give it some more protein.

as a note to the recipe, the chili powder used in this recipe is the kind which is sold here in the supermarkets. in other words, it is on the milder side and is a mixture of cumin, coriander, paprika, red chilis, salt & pepper. it is more of a mexican / southwestern type of mixture and NOT an indian one. i add some red pepper flakes to make it a bit hotter but much depends on how hot your mixture is and how picant you like your food.

served with some fresh corn tortillas and guacamole, it makes for a nice and easy lunch or dinner.


quick black bean soup

makes 8 to 10 servings

recipe by anne lindsay

ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 tsp mild chilli powder, or to taste
pinch hot red pepper flakes
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes (or use whole tomatoes & pulse in food processor)
2 c vegetable [or chicken] stock or (2 tbsp stock powder + 2 c water)
1 19 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 1/2 c corn, canned, frozen or fresh
3 tbsp packed, coarsely chopped coriander

salt and sugar, to taste

method:

in a large pot, heat oil over med. heat and cook onions chilli powder and red pepper flakes for 5 to 8 minutes.

add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil and lower heat to med-low and cook, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes.

you can puree 2 cups and return it to soup if you want a thicker soup.

stir in the coriander. add salt and sugar to taste & serve.

enjoy!

fermented things — no. 1 {beet rossl}

before refrigeration, food was mainly preserved in one of three ways: it was either salted, dried or fermented — the exception to this being those who lived in extreme northern climates who were able to keep items frozen. that method, however, was not as stable as the aforementioned. as refrigeration became commonplace, the need for some of these practices of food preservation decreased or become unnecessary. on the other hand, many of the foods we love can only be prepared by those methods — the most important being fermentation.

fermentation, the complex chemical conversion of carbohydrates involving temperature and microorganisms, can be either intentional or accidental (ummm, what's that growing in the jar in the back of the fridge??), turning sugars into acids. some cultures seem to have more forms of (everyday) fermented foods than others; the most obvious seen in both chinese and japanese cuisines. there is also the belief, by some, that fermented foods are good for us.

in jewish cuisine, one of the oldest and most ubiquitous forms of fermentation is done with vegetables. besides pickling cucumbers, east european jews, like the people in the countries in which they lived, also fermented beets which resulted in something called rossl. in eastern europe, this was always prepared in homes around the holiday of purim, exactly four weeks before passover. the resulting beet rossl, a dark red and sour mixture of beet and beet juice, was (and still is) used to make soups, in addition to other things.

after 4 weeks of fermenting, the beets and its juice is ready to make (passover) borshcht. this is the real {i.e. authentic} ingredient used in this soup; those who didn't have it just added either sour salt (citric acid crystals) or lemon juice. at the moment, i'm not posting a recipe here for borshcht (see here for something similar) — i'm just showing you the easy way to prepare this beet rossl which some people still make today. though not nearly as popular as it used to be in years gone by, people do really annually prepare it as they have for centuries to this day. it's really no work at all; the fermentation does it all for you!


beet rossl

after a few weeks of slow fermentation, the result is a tangy deep magenta liquid and its pickled pieces of beetroot. both the liquid and the beets are used in a variety of ways — mostly, however, for soups like borshcht, be it a vegetarian or meat version.

makes enough for 2 or 3 soups

ingredients:

3 very LARGE beets or 4 to 5 medium ones
9 c cold water (little more than 2L)

method:

*you need an impeccably clean glass jar and lid; make sure it's dry before using.

peel the beets under running water, taking care not to get splashed as the beet juices stain terribly. remove each end first.

cut the beets into chunks.


place them in a sterilized and immaculately clean glass jar (~ 10 c / 2L + size).


fill the jar with water to cover. i usually fill it up so i will have quite a bit of liquid. the water must, at the very least, cover the beets by 2 inches (5 cm).

let the beets sit on a kitchen counter with the lid just sitting on top of the jar. DO NOT SCREW IT ON as the gases that form have no place to go. within a day, there should be foam on the surface. this is the fermentation process in progress. if you have a very warm kitchen, it could start as early as 8 to 12 hours.

remove this and discard it. you MUST use a completely clean spoon to do this each and every time so as not to contaminate (the fermentation of) the beets.

keep removing anything that you see on the surface on a daily basis.

eventually the fermentation will stop after a few days.

usually within 2 weeks, the beets and the juice will start to taste noticeably more sour. this is what you are aiming for — it should be sour (in a good way!). you can taste it to see, it's perfectly safe.

the juice and the beets will be ready to use after four weeks.

to use the results:

for the beets:

grate the beets by hand or do it in a food processor. you can just dice them up too — follow the directions of your recipe. be careful, it stains!


for the beet juice:

this is used in place of some, or all, of the liquid content of the recipe. because the liquid is soured already, you won't need to add lemon juice ..... unless, of course, the results are not sour enough for your taste.

most likely, you will not find any recipes which call for "rossl" specifically unless you are using a very old cookbook or a family recipe. this shouldn't deter you from making this and using it!

enjoy!

summer soups — no. 1

the past several days, where i live, have been miserable. with the humidity factored in, we reached 40 C — conditions completely unbearable and leaving one feel as though s/he was about to melt. being on an island, surrounded by water, only makes things worse during our summer heat waves. for all you people who think canada doesn't get hot, think again! the only antidote for horrendous weather like this is cold food. iced coffee, popsicles and ice cream, now there's a good diet!

on the more healthy end of things, the following is a light soup, perfect for the warmer weather of the now-upon-us summer days. this pleasingly green hued purée of zucchini and leek can be served either hot or cold. excuse the air bubbles created by the blender while puréeing in the picture below, the weather was too hot to wait for them to dissipate!


cream of zucchini and leek soup

serves ~ 6 to 8 people

ingredients:

4 small zucchini (~ 5 to 6 inches)
1 leek (or medium onion)
1 small potato - floury kind, not waxy
1/2 apple, peeled and cubed *optional
2 large cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp coriander powder, heaped
1/4 tsp dill seeds
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
salt to taste (depends on your stock)
1/2 tsp sugar

2 to 3 tbsp regular olive oil

4 c stock (chicken or vegetable) or 4 c water + 2 tbsp stock powder

optionals:

1 c milk, cream or soymilk -- or more stock
chopped herbs of your choice: italian parsley, coriander or dill

method:

vegetable prep:

cut ends off zucchini, keeping the peel on. cut the zucchini lengthwise and then again in half to equal for pieces. cut these pieces into small (1/2 inch) chunks.

clean the leek well and then slice it in 1/8 inch pieces. use the white and light green portion only and discard the dark green part. if using onion, cut it into thin slices.

peel the potato and cut to the same size as the zucchini pieces. if using, cut the peeled apple to the same size. mince the garlic

cooking part:

heat a soup pot on medium heat and add 2 - 3 tbsp of the olive oil. add the zucchini potatoes & apple and sauté for 10 minutes. keep stirring to prevent sticking.

after 10 minutes of cooking, add the leek and garlic. add the pepper, coriander powder, and dill seeds.

sauté for another 8 minutes or so.

add the stock, or water and stock powder. bring to a boil and then lower heat to medium low. cook uncovered for 20 minutes. stir as necessary.

taste the mixture and add salt and sugar as necessary. i can't really say how much as it depends on what your stock is like.

let cool for about 15 minutes and then place in batches in a blender and purée until smooth (i've tried this before with an electric hand (wand style) blender and the consistency is not fine enough).

taste again and further adjust, if needed. at this point, you can add the 1 cup of milk or cream or soymilk if you like a finer texture. you can thin it with a bit more stock also.

garnish with chopped herbs. dill is a good choice.

enjoy!

kitchen essentials — basic vegetable broth

one of the essential items in any good kitchen is stock [broth], be it from an animal source — like chicken, beef or fish — or from vegetables. a vegeterian stock is easier and faster to make than one like chicken and can almost always be used in any recipe you are making, especially if you follow kashrut.

the following recipe will take about one hour to cook and leave you with a very good tasting vegetarian stock which can be used right away or divided up and frozen in either half cup or one cup portions (some people like to freeze their stock in ice cube trays). freezing your broth is a good idea as you always have some on hand.

an advantage to making your own vegetable broth is that you can decide what flavours you like and control the level of salt and seasonings. in addition, this particular one which i found years ago in some book someone lent me (name of it now long forgotten!), and uses up common vegetables we often have, many of which are laying around in the vegetable bins of our refrigerators.

you can use whichever vegetables you want but be wary of those which are said to leave bitter aftertastes or distinct strong flavours. this also goes for various herbs like parsley (leaves vs stems controversy). people have differing opinions about this topic. go with what you think tastes good and those which you like. different countries have different parameters for which flavours are "good" — in the end, it's a matter of personal tastes. an interesting thing about this recipe is the use of caraway seeds. believe it or not, it makes for a great enhancement and does not leave any distinct caraway (i.e. strong) taste.

an important thing about making this stock provide maximum flavour is the way you prepare your vegetables. this was not part of the original recipe but something i incorporate into most stocks i make which are vegetable based. since most of the flavours are sealed within the vegetables themselves, just throwing them in the soup pot whole or even large chunks does little to extract their essences. cutting root vegetables (the main ingredients in this recipe) lengthwise to expose the most of their inner surface allows for maximum amount of extraction; cross cutting onions and garlic almost to the root ends does the same thing and allows them to be fished out later in their whole state. as a final note, this recipe adds the cleaned skins of the onions to give the stock its golden colour. remove the outer loose skins and wash them well and them wash the skins which cling to the onions before cutting them as mentioned above (keep them attached!).


all purpose easy vegetable stock

makes ~ 8 cups (2 L)

ingredients:

vegetables:

2 large carrots
3 stalks celery
1 good and ripe tomato (leave whole)
2 large parsnips (essential!)
2 medium/largish onions
1/2 head garlic cloves (keep attached)

seasonings/herbs:

2 tsp salt
1/2 - 1 tsp sugar
20 black peppercorns
1/2 - 1 tsp caraway seeds
2 bay leaves

parsley (italian flatleaf type)
small amount of dill, if wanted

method:

wash all your vegetables well and prepare them.

from the carrots, celery and parsnips, remove the root tops. you can peel the carrots and parsnips if they need it or you prefer them that way (if you want to keep them for another purpose later, them peel them).

cut the celery into large chunks and set aside.

cut the parsnips and carrots lengthwise. make sure to do this! then cut them into large chunks and set aside.

take the loose skins (if any) off the onions and wash them and set aside. then take the onion with remaining skin still attached and cut it with a cross cut ALMOST to the ROOT end to keep it whole. set aside.

keeping it whole (attached), clean off the garlic. with a small paring knife make slits in all the garlic buds through the skins, and set aside.

if you are using other vegetables, decide what's best on how to prepare them.

measure out your seasonings and herbs and set aside.

in a large pot, place the vegetables and the seasonings EXCEPT the fresh herbs.

add 8 cups of water only and bring to a boil.

cook the stock on medium low covered for the first 30 minutes.

add the fresh herbs and cook for another 30 minutes.

remove the stock from the stovetop and let it cool down until it's warm.

strain the stock through a FINE sieve and either reserve or discard the carrots, celery or parsnips. the onion and garlic will be for the garbage.

at this point, taste the stock and adjust the seasonings (i.e. more salt/sugar).

use as necessary or freeze the rest.

enjoy!

winter comfort

barley, or hordeum vulgare, is something we canadians know a lot about ...... considering we produce some 12 million tonnes of it in our prairie provinces, we should! this important little grain has its original beginnings as a wild variety in the levantine areas of middle east and became one of the first domesticated grain crops for both human and animal consumption. as an ancient grain, its use was extremely important in the production of beer and other fermented drinks, and the staff of life — bread (citations back to ancient egypt).


the role of barley [שערה] in judaism is also important. it is one of the seven species [שבעת המינים] which play an integral part in our religion's harvest festival celebrations and are symbolic of the state of israel. barley has figured greatly in ashkenazi soups such as bean and barley, beef and barley, mushroom barley and many other interpretations. these soups are more or less a kind of winter-ish fare and considered a kind of comfort food since barley can be on the heavy side. much of that, however, depends on who is cooking it and the recipe used. but then again, i doubt there are many yiddishe mammas (jewish mothers) who rely/relied on a recipe for these soups! i imagine whatever was available got thrown in.

barley isn't just a jewish or middle eastern thing. it is found in many other cuisines and cultures. it is ground into flour and used in many recipes which have roots in the UK (scottish barley cakes, for example) or northern europe and extends its use all the way into parts of the mediterranean and asia.

barley can be used in a variety of ways — from whole grain preparations to baked items using the finely milled flour. look here for an array of ways to use this grain from the alberta barley commission.

as a final note, there are two types of barley: pearl and pot. pearl barley has the tough outer coating removed and cooks faster than the unpolished pot barley. both can be used for the following recipe however i prefer using the polished (pearl) type grain.



double mushroom barley soup

barley soups are nourishing and hearty. this one, a meatless version, is on the lighter side of those thick pottage type ones. it uses 2 types of mushrooms and some modern flavourings like dark soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. it results in a dark and luscious soup broth, packed full of savoury goodness from the earthy nuances of the mushrooms and dried herbs. the soup freezes well and is good for any time of the year, not just winter!

makes ~ 8 to 10 servings — can be halved.

ingredients:

10 -12 large dried shiitake mushrooms
4 medium sized carrots
1 lb (500 g) white mushrooms or a mixture you like
3 tbsp light olive oil
2 good sized onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried sage (don't omit)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1 to 2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp dark soy sauce (not japanese type)
1 tbsp balsamic or red wine vinegar

1 c pearl barley (not pot barley)
6 c stock (vegetable or beef or chicken)*
3 c water
4 c baby spinach or similar

*you can use stock powder or cubes instead.

method:

place dried shiitakes in a bowl and add 1 cup of boiling water. let sit for 30 minutes.

while mushrooms are soaking, assemble your mise-en-place for the soup.

cut up the onion and the garlic and set aside. peel and slice the carrots on the diagonal in 1/4" slices. set aside for later.

clean the mushrooms and slice them in 1/4 inch pieces. they should be fairly thick. set aside.

measure out the spice and the condiments.

squeeze the mushrooms over the soaking water and place on a chopping board. DO NOT DISCARD the water.

remove the hard stems and slice thinly. strain the liquid and keep aside for later.

in a large soup pot, add the oil and heat on medium until hot. add the onions and garlic and sauté until softened; this will take approximately 5 minutes.

add the carrots and both types of mushrooms and cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes. stir every 5 minutes.

once the mushrooms are softened and there is barely any liquid left, add the dried herbs, tomato paste, soy sauce, mushroom water and vinegar. stir well.

add the barley and the stock and water. if using broth cubes, you can add them now. if the cubes are very hard, crumble them first.

for this sized soup, i use 4 cubes as seen below in the pictures. how much you add all depends on the directions of the product you're using.

mix well and cover. cook over low heat for about 1 hour. stir every 10 minutes or so.

after one hour, add the rinsed spinach. you can chop it beforehand but make sure there are no tough stems. they must be removed.

cook for 5 minutes. taste and adjust salt and pepper.

this soup freezes well.