Cauliflower and Asian Pear Soup with Ginger

October has been a funky month. Lots of new things are going on, all of which are exciting, but I just do not know where the time goes some days. And with the days getting shorter, I feel like I am racing it to sunset. I am a morning person, always more productive in those early hours than at night. When the sun sets, I set. Lately that means I have been sinking into the couch indulging in cookbooks and cooking magazines, soaking up all of the inspiration I can.

I often get asked where my recipes come from. I wish I had a concise explanation, but it is wonderfully complicated. I have been cooking for years, and after many failures (edible and inedible ones) in the kitchen, I have started to figure out what flavor combinations work. That experimentation combined with exploring new restaurants and reading all sorts of cookbooks, magazines, and nowadays, blogs, I have compiled a robust mental library of recipe templates- food combinations that may work, and it comes down to the actual testing and cooking of a recipe to get it just right.

I have a difficult time not modifying recipes I dog-ear. I think this little change would be better suited for my tastes, or I modify because I do not have the exact ingredients listed on hand and make some substitutions. That said, I know that recipe writers work hard at their job perfecting the measurements and ingredients that they believe will make their dish deliciously memorable. I do that here on the blog, but that does not mean that modifications to the recipe are not welcome. They are totally invited! After all, I am just trying to inspire people to get into the kitchen and have a little fun.

This brings me to this little soup combo. Cauliflower and Asian pear may not seem like the most natural combination, but think how well cauliflower pairs with something sweet like golden raisins or sweeter spices and curries. Asian pears lend a honey-like sweetness that I accentuate with just a bit of honey in the little relish that tops this soup for textural contrast. Of course, if you are vegan, maple syrup makes a fine substitute. Cinnamon and ginger are warming and subtle in the background. Potatoes thicken and smooth it all out without cream. The soup can be eaten without the relish, but it is quite yummy. So tasty, in fact, it could be doubled or tripled to serve atop lightly dressed lettuce leaves or mixed into cooked grains or even some lentils the following day.

Cauliflower and Asian Pear Soup with Ginger

Soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 Asian pear, chopped (other 1/2 used for relish)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 head cauliflower, about 2 lb., leaves removed and chopped into florets (1 cup florets reserved for relish below)
2 small Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 red chili, top removed, sliced in half and seeds removed but left mostly whole
3 cups water
salt and pepper, to taste
Cauliflower, Asian Pear, and Pepita Relish, for serving (recipe below)

Make soup. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 5-8 minutes. Add minced ginger, garlic, Asian pear, and ground cinnamon and cook for 1 one minute or until fragrant. Add cauliflower, potatoes, red chili, a generous pinch of salt, and stir. Add 3 cups of water, bring to boil, and reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 25 minutes or until cauliflower and potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, make the relish.

When vegetables are cooked, remove pot from heat. Remove chili from pot. (Don't forget this step or you end up with a hot sauce in soup form- trust me). Add mixture to blender (carefully!) and puree in batches, adjusting salt and pepper as necessary. Return soup to pot to warm through. Serve with relish and enjoy! Serves 4-5 people.

Cauliflower, Asian Pear, and Pepita Relish:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup reserved cauliflower florets, chopped finely
1 teaspoon honey (maple syrup, if vegan)
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/2 reserved Asian pear, diced
1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted until golden and puffed
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add cauliflower and pinch of salt saute until tender and golden, about 8-10 minutes. Add honey and vinegar to pan, and remove mixture from heat to cool. Mix remaining ingredients in small bowl, adjust seasoning, and add cauliflower when cool. Spoon atop soup or eat by the spoonful.  

Late Summer Minestrone

My favorite soup of all time is my late grandmother's minestrone soup. Studded with everything from cabbage to white beans to potatoes to little pasta, it is a whole meal in a bowl. The best part is always topping it with a sprinkling of super sharp, aged Italian cheese- either pecorino romano or Parmigiano-reggiano. I could eat it anytime of year. It is light enough for summer but hearty enough for winter. It just makes me think of all of those visits to her house as a kid. The only problem is that it requires a whole grocery cart full of ingredients and half of your day. There is a reason it is so delicious and so coveted by my family. When you order a minestrone soup in a restaurant, however, it is always a bit of a surprise what you get. The only somewhat predictable things you can expect when your bowl arrives to the table are a tomato-based broth, some vegetables, beans, and pasta in a tomato-based broth. All the little details are up to the chef. At home, minestrone soup's versatility is what makes it so great for using up odds and ends of vegetables you have left in the fridge. You throw in some beans, some pasta, and some tomatoes and you have got yourself a minestrone.

This is a pretty low maintenance soup. In my version here, I love how the zucchini and macaroni noodles soak up the broth as it cooks. I used Swiss chard, sauteing the stems in with the onions, but any greens could do. The little something that gives this soup some real body and deliciousness is the finely grated cheese thrown in just before serving. In most soups that I am simmering for a long time, I like to throw in a rind from a hunk of Parmiggiano-reggiano, a trick I learned from my Italian host mother several years ago, but I wanted this to be quick. And instead of just sprinkling some on each bowl at the end like my Grandma would do, I mix it all together to create a rich broth flavor in no time. Sprinkle some fresh basil to give it a bright, fresh note at the end, and you have dinner.

My only cautionary note here is that the pasta will continue to soak up all of the broth as it is sits, so be sure to check the doneness of the noodles often to avoid overcooking them. This is a fabulous soup to make ahead of time and in large batches to freeze for those nights when a big bowl of soup is the only thing that will do.

Late Summer Minestrone

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
4 cups water or vegetable broth
2/3 cup whole wheat elbow macaroni
1 bunch of Swiss chard, washed, stems finely chopped and leaves cut in 1/2-inch wide strips
2 medium zucchini, washed and diced into 1-centimeter cubes
1 cup cooked and drained chickpeas (canned are fine although I used ones I had previously cooked and frozen)
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
1 large handful of basil, leaves cut in chiffonade
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and chard stems. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute about 8-10 minutes or until vegetables have softened and onions are translucent.

Add diced tomatoes and water to the pot. Bring to a boil and add pasta, chard, zucchini, and chickpeas. Stir to mix and allow to cook at low boil for 7-10 minutes or until vegetables are soft and pasta is al dente. Stir often during this time to ensure even cooking of the vegetables. Remove from heat. Pasta and vegetables will continue to cook a little more.

Add finely grated cheese to pot and stir until thoroughly combined, and broth slightly thickens and cheese has melted completely. Sprinkle soup with basil pieces. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with additional cheese and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil if desired. Enjoy!  Serves 4-6.

Corn and Coconut Chowder

This soup has only 6 ingredients...corn, onion, garlic, a chile, coconut milk, and a squeeze of lime juice. I am excluding the salt, pepper, and water of course, and yes, so I added a little basil oil, but even without the basil oil, this soup sings summer. The secret to coaxing such a rich corn flavor with so few ingredients is to make a quick corn stock. Just like you can make chicken stock from chicken bones, shrimp stock from shrimp shells, and vegetable stock from vegetable scraps, you can make corn stock from corn cobs. You can use the liquid yellow gold that results into a base for a soup like I did here, or into a risotto, or even a summer polenta dish.

The chowder is completely dairy free, but the coconut milk combined with the sweet corn makes for a match made in heaven. The chile's heat and lime's tartness cut the sweetness of the corn and coconut, snapping it back into savory territory. I reserve some corn kernels to briefly cook at the end to give the chowder texture, but you could puree everything together if you would like.

The basil oil is a breeze to make, and once you can make, you can find a lot of excuses to use it. Drizzle it on tomatoes and mozzarella, bread and cheese, on pasta or rice. You puree basil with olive oil and a little salt and voila! basil oil. I blanched the basil to keep it bright green before blending it with oil, but you could skip that if you did not mind the color change.

Corn and Coconut Chowder

4 corn cobs, husked with silk removed
1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red chile, seeded and chopped
1/4 lime, juiced
1/2 cup coconut milk (I used homemade which is full-fat, but lowfat could probably work too)
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
sea salt and pepper to taste
Basil oil, optional (recipe below)

Remove kernels from 4 corn cobs and set aside. Break corn cobs in half. I find this easiest to do with my hands.

Make the corn stock. Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 5-8 minutes or until softened. Add chile to onion mixture and and cook 30 seconds. Add corn cobs and 2 cups of water, snuggling corn cobs under water as much as possible. Bring to boiling, then reduce heat to simmer. Allow to cook for 30 minutes.

Remove corn cobs from stock and discard or compost. Reserve 1 cup corn kernels and set aside. Add remaining corn kernels and salt to pot and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Allow mixture to cool briefly and then add to blender. Add lime juice coconut milk to blender and blend mixture until mostly smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile cook remaining corn kernels in now empty pot with a splash of water until just cooked, about 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Ladle soup into bowls and spoon reserved cooked corn kernels over top. Drizzle with basil oil, if desired. Enjoy! Serves 2-4.

Basil Oil:
1 cup basil leaves
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste

Blanch basil oil for 10-20 seconds in boiling water. Cool immediately in ice bath. Drain and pat dry. Add to blender or food processor and add extra-virgin olive oil. Blitz until desired consistency is reached. Add a pinch or two of salt to taste. Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
*You can skip the blanching step, knowing that the basil oil will not be quite as bright green due to oxidation. The flavor, however, will not be affected.

Three Greens Soup with Crisped Chickpeas

This soup is very green and the very thing my body has been craving in this cold weather. It's vibrancy and nutritional density wake my body back up, even fooling it into thinking we're much closer to spring than we really are. It takes no time at all to make and relies mostly on frozen vegetables, which are wonderful to keep on hand when you think you may be snowed in. I chose to thicken the soup and tone down the vegetal flavor with cashews that simmer gently right along with the rest of the vegetables before everything gets blitzed smooth. A squeeze of lemon juice brightens it all up at the end. And to top it all off, we've got some crisped chickpeas. Lemon zest and some dried spices perk up some cooked garbanzos and a little time in a skillet makes them addictingly crunchy.

Three Greens Soup with Crisped Chickpeas

Soup:
2 T. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
4 1/2 c. (16 oz.) frozen broccoli, no need to thaw
2 c. (8 oz.) frozen green peas, no need to thaw
1 1/2 c. (6 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, no need to thaw
2 T. miso paste (I used yellow, but any type will do)
2/3 c. raw cashews
2 1/2 c. water
1 t. salt
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste

Chickpeas:
1 T. olive oil
scant 2 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 15.5oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. dry mustard
1/4 t. paprika
1/4 t. garlic powder
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 t. salt

Begin with the soup. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the diced onions and garlic, reduce heat to medium and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the onions soften and start to turn a little golden along the edges. Add the frozen vegetables, miso paste, cashews, water, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, and reduce heat to simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, prepare the chickpeas. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Dry the chickpeas thoroughly with a kitchen towel or paper towels. This is really important so that the chickpeas can really crisp up as oppose to steam. Toss the chickpeas in a bowl with the cumin, dry mustard, paprika, and garlic powder. Add to the skillet, and stir to coat the chickpeas with the oil. Allow chickpeas to crisp and brown in spots, tossing occasionally. After about 20 minutes, remove the skillet from the heat, toss the chickpeas with the zest of 1 lemon and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Set aside.

After the vegetables have softened, puree the mixture in a blender, food processor, or using an immersion blender. I find that the blender gives the best results, but I usually have to do it in batches. Return the soup to the pot. When your desired smoothness is reached, add the juice of 1 lemon to the pot, stir to combine, and taste to adjust for salt and pepper. Top the soup with crisped chickpeas and enjoy! Serves 4-6 people.