Category: Soups

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 scallion, chopped
• 2/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped, divided
• 3/4 pound chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 1/4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 3/4 pound fish fillets (halibut, cod, sole, red snapper or sea bass), cut into chunks
• 3/4 pound large shrimp

Heat butter and olive oil in a heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, celery and carrots; sauté about 6 minutes or until tender. Add bay leaf, thyme, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, turmeric, scallion and half the parsley. Gently cook for 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add tomatoes and stir to combine. Add potatoes and stock; bring to a boil. Lower to simmer and cook, covered, about 10 minutes until potatoes are tender. Add fish and cook, uncovered, about 3 minutes. Add shrimp and cook about 2 minutes more until shrimp is pink and fish is cooked through. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. Garnish with remaining parsley. Makes 4 servings.

Shrimp, Mussel and Clam Chowder

• 1 bag mussels (about 4 pounds)
• 1 cup fish stock
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 small bunch thyme
• 32 manila or countneck clams
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 pound potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 pound chopped clams
• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Place mussels in large pot with fish stock, wine, bay leaf and thyme. Cover and bring to a simmer, simmering about 5 minutes or until shells open. Discard any mussels that do not open. Carefully remove mussels and set aside to cool.

Repeat with clams (in same water) until they open, about 5-7 minutes (discard any that don’t open). Remove clams and allow to cool. Strain liquid and reserve (reserved liquid may have shell pieces or sand, so let settle and then ladle off the top, leaving silt and shells at bottom to discard). Once cool, remove mussels from shells; set aside. Leave clams in their shells.

Heat butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery and garlic; sauté until soft, stirring often. Stir in flour until well mixed. Add reserved stock, cream and potatoes, stirring to combine. Bring to a simmer to thicken, stirring constantly, then reduce heat to medium low and cook 20 minutes, stirring often, until potatoes are tender.

Add shucked mussels, in-shell clams, chopped clams, shrimp, crumbled bacon and parsley. Cook another 2 minutes until chopped clams are just firm and shrimp turn pink. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 6-8 servings.

• 2.5-pound sugar pumpkin or butternut squash (or 2 cans pumpkin puree)
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled whole
• 3 cups vegetable or chicken broth/stock
• 1 cup water
• Salt and pepper
• 3/4 cup cream
• Black olives, for spider garnish

Cut pumpkin, scrape out seeds and cut flesh into chunks of about 1 or 2 inches. Place pumpkin, onion, garlic, broth and water in a pot and bring to a boil, uncovered. Reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes or until pumpkin chunks are tender.

Remove pot from heat and, using an immersion blender, blend until smooth (if using a tabletop blender, let mixture cool first). Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle soup into individual bowls and add circles of cream. Lightly pull a knife or toothpick through the cream to make the web. Garnish with olive spiders and serve. Makes 4-6 servings.

• 2 tablespoons coconut or vegetable oil
• 6 baby bok choy, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 5 ounces white button mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons ginger, minced or grated
• 2 tablespoons red curry paste
• 4 cups chicken or fish stock
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 (14-ounce) can regular coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 pound large shrimp, deveined and peeled
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/4 cup green onions, sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
• 2 big handfuls bean sprouts

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add bok choy and red bell pepper; sauté about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms; sauté another 3 minutes. Add garlic and ginger; sauté just until fragrant. Stir in red curry paste. Stir in chicken stock, soy sauce, fish sauce, coconut milk, brown sugar and black pepper; bring to a simmer. Add shrimp and cook just until they turn pink, about 3-4 minutes (do not overcook or they will be rubbery). Remove from heat and stir in lime juice, green onions, basil and bean sprouts. Serve hot. Makes 4 servings.

• 5 cups water
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 4 lobster tails
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
• 1 teaspoon fresh chopped tarragon
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 6 cloves garlic, minced and divided
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• Extra dash salt, pepper and cayenne, to taste

For the lobster stock, fill a large pot with 5 cups of water. Stir in 1 teaspoon sea salt and bring to a boil. Add lobster tails, cover with lid and boil 5 minutes or until bright red. Remove lobster tails, reserving liquid stock. Once lobsters have cooled enough to handle, remove meat from shells; set aside. Return lobster shells to pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 15 minutes. While stock is simmering, chop meat into bite-size pieces and refrigerate.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, celery, thyme and tarragon and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add bouillon, salt, pepper and cayenne. Stir in 4 cloves of the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Mix in tomato paste and cook about a minute to coat vegetables. Sprinkle with flour and cook another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in wine, simmer and let reduce to half. Stir in 4 cups of the lobster stock, reduce heat and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid has thickened, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool about 10 minutes. Place in a blender or purée with an immersion blender until smooth. Return to medium low heat and stir in heavy cream.

Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté remaining minced garlic for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add chopped lobster meat and season with an extra dash salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Lightly sauté for 1 minute, stirring occasionally, until lobster meat is just warmed through. Mix lobster meat into bisque and serve. Makes 4 servings.

Score points with these soup, stew and chowder recipes that aren’t too tough to tackle.

Sirloin Steak Soup

• 2 pounds boneless beef sirloin steak
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped onions
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 pounds small red potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 3 cups carrots, diced
• 1 (1-pound) bag frozen peas or cut green beans
• 2 tablespoons chopped dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 10 1/2 cups beef broth
• 3 tablespoons steak sauce 

Cut beef into 1/4-inch strips; cut strips into 1-inch pieces. Heat oil in stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook beef in oil 4-5 minutes or until brown. Add onion and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until meat and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Serves 6.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 carrots, peeled and quartered
• 2 onions, peeled and quartered
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme (or 1 tablespoon dried thyme)
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 4 cups water

Heat oil in a large stockpot. Add sweet potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic and thyme and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add lemon zest, juice, stock and water; cover and simmer 40 minutes or until soft. In a food processer, process soup until desired texture is reached. Garnish with thyme and serve. 

• 3/4 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined (reserve shells)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup dry sherry
• 5 cups water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 large stalk celery, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon long-grain white rice
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add shrimp shells and cook, stirring frequently, until the tails turn pink, about 2 minutes. Add sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until most of sherry is evaporated. Add water and bay leaf, bring the mixture to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Let simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes. Pour shrimp stock through a strainer into a bowl and press gently on the shells to release extra liquid. Discard shells and bay leaf.

While stock is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring frequently, until cooked through (3-4 minutes). Move to a bowl and set aside. In the saucepan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, carrots, celery and onion. Cook until the onion and celery are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in shrimp stock, rice, tomato paste, cayenne pepper and salt. Cover the saucepan and simmer the mixture until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Reserve 4-8 shrimp for garnish and stir the remaining shrimp into the soup. Allow soup to cool 10 minutes. In a blender, puree the soup until smooth. Return soup to saucepan and stir in cream. Reheat on low. Serve in bowls and garnish with whole shrimp. Serves 4.