LOVING SPOONFULS
Green Olive Soup
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups pimiento-stuffed Spanish olives
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 teaspoon each dried oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme and marjoram, or 1/4 teaspoon herbes de Province without lavender
- 4 dashes Tabasco sauce
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¨ú cup dry white wine
- 1 4-ounce package soft goat cheese
- 1 2-ounce jar caviar
Soak the olives in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes. Drain and coarsely chop. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the olives, onion and garlic and sauté: until the onion is soft and transparent. Pour the mixture into a food processor. Add about half of the chicken broth and blend until fairly smooth. Return the mixture to the soup pot and add the remaining chicken broth, herbs, Tabasco sauce, black pepper and wine. Simmer the mixture over medium heat for about 5 minutes to reduce and thicken slightly.
To serve, ladle the soup into small bowls. Garnish each with a slice of goat cheese topped with caviar. Serves 4.
Red Lentil Soup with Apricot and Mango
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 3 to 4 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
- 1/2 cup dried mangoes, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups dried red lentils, rinsed
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 14.5-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes, chopped (with juice)
- 2 to 3 teaspoons cumin seed, roasted for 3 minutes in a 350 degree oven
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
- juice of 1 large lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Heat the oil over medium heat in large soup pot or Dutch oven and add the onion, garlic, chopped apricots and mangoes. Sauté: until all ingredients are soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the lentils and vegetable broth and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce, tomatoes, roasted cumin seed, thyme, salt and lemon pepper. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes more. If the soup is too thick, thin with extra vegetable broth. Add the lemon juice and adjust seasonings as needed. Simmer the soup for 2 to 3 minutes more.
To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle each with chopped cilantro. Serves 6 to 8.
Shellfish Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 or 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup bottled clam juice
- 1 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes (with juice)
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- 2 teaspoons anchovy paste
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- cayenne pepper, to taste
- ¨ú pound medium shrimp, shelled, deveined and cut into bite-size pieces
- ¨ú pound bay scallops, or sea scallops, halved or quartered if large
- 1 4-ounce can crab meat
- 1 3-ounce can smoked oysters, drained
- sour cream
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven until hot. Add the onion, carrot and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and simmer rapidly until evaporated, about 3 minutes. Stir in the clam juice, tomatoes, orange zest and anchovy paste. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer the stew over medium-high heat until the liquid is reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Add the shrimp and scallops and cook for 2 minutes. Add the crab meat and oysters and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. If the stew is too thick, thin by adding more white wine.
To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each serving with a dollop of sour cream and chopped parsley. Serves 4.
Recipes by Bev Fertig.
