Cuisine of the Far East…of Canada

A few months ago we were planning to have Katie’s Dad over for lunch and I was trying to think of something interesting to serve. I definitely wasn’t feeling brunch options or anything that would require the full effort of a dinner. Perusing my go to recipe index, otherwise known as Michael Smith’s website, I came across his recipe for Clam Chowder. This hearty soup was just what I was looking to make for lunch, a nice filling soup that would pair well with the fresh bread I had previously made.

 

 

 

 

Recipe: Maritime Clam Chowder

The Evolution of a French Onion Soup

I have only made French onion soup once before, but with a beef stock made from the leftovers of Christmas dinner sitting in the freezer, I wanted to use it in a good soup. As usual I turned to Chef Michael Smith for help and found this recipe for French Onion Soup on his website. I substituted beef stock for the chicken stock he called for in his recipe, replaced the gruyere cheese with a mix of cheddar and mozzarella we had on hand and used dried thyme instead of fresh for ease. The carmelized onions add a robust sweet flavour to this soup and add the body of the flavour. As you can see the ingredient list is pretty sparse so using a good stock is key to this delicious soup.

Wonton Soup

I few weeks ago I made wonton soup as outlined on the Food Network website. I have been seeing a lot of recipes lately using wonton wrappers and I was curious to try them out for myself. Overall I found that assembling the wontons was a little finicky but not too time consuming. Besides the wontons the rest of the soup was really easy to make and came together quite quickly. While I had never had wonton soup before Katie said it tasted just like ones she had at restaurants. I would recommend the recipe to anyone, the only unique tool I used to prepare the meal was my food processor to blitz up the wonton filling.

I think wontons would make a nice appetizer on their own and I have seen recipes where they steam and then fry them to crisp them up that sound delicious. I will post more if I get around to making wonton centric recipes.

Minestrone Soup & Whole Wheat Bread

Tonight's dinner is home-made minestrone soup with home-made whole wheat bread. I can't wait to try both! I made the soup, which is full of healthy veggies and chick peas, and did it ever smell delicious when it was cooking! The recipe says to cook in a crock pot but ours was too small so I chose to simmer it on the stove instead. It takes some time to chop all the veggies, but otherwise was super easy to make. Perfect for a fall meal! Check out the recipe below, and watch for the bread recipe, which Mike will be posting soon!

Herby Minestrone

Makes: 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extravirgi-n olive oil
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick
2 celery ribs, sliced 1/2 inch thick
2 yellow bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and halved
3 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1 teaspoon chopped fresh savory
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
4 cups beef or vegetable broth
1 can (about 15 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup 100% vegetable juice, such as V8
1 can (about 28 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
Juice and finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preparation
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and bell peppers, and saut‚ until the vegetables lose their raw look, about 3 minutes. Add 2 cloves of the garlic and the herbs and cook for another minute. Transfer into a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker.

Add the broth, chickpeas, vegetable juice, diced tomatoes, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Cover the cooker and cook for 3 to 5 hours on high, or 6 to 10 hours on low.

Stir in the parsley, the remaining garlic clove, and the lemon juice and lemon zest. Serve, garnished with grated cheese.

What Else
Minestrone improves with age; for the best flavor, prepare a day or two ahead. Or cook overnight, refrigerate until dinner, and reheat on the stove top. Feel free to alter the vegetables to fit what you have on hand.