Books for Cooks

Grab A Spoon!

By Holly Rowland

SOUP’S ON!
75 Soul-Satisfying Recipes From Your Favourite Chefs

By Leslie Jonath and Frankie Frankeny
A Chronicle/Raincoast Book $ 25.95

About half of these recipes are brand new and have been donated to this palate-tempting cookbook by some of the world’s most respected chefs and cooking teachers such as Joyce Goldstein, Jacques Pepin and Martin Yan. A portion of the royalties goes to NextCourse, a nonprofit organization that educates women in the San Francisco County Jail on nutrition and cooking on a budget. The other half were previously published by Chronicle, whose cookbooks include A Beautiful Bowl of Soup and The Book Book of Soups and Stews. There is nothing more heart warming and soul-satisfying than a great bowl of soup on a chilly day. Something that we would have really appreciated this past summer! There is nothing more soul-destroying than a bowl of tasteless, watery OR gummy soup.

This book also contains recipes for all the stocks you need plus a marvy recipe for Store-Bought Broth Made Better! There are recipes for every season of the year, and both family and friends will bless you for making this cookbook your own.

It has been most difficult to choose just one recipe from the exciting line-up of soups and stews, so I am going to give you two. Starting with a mushroom one as our Island has such a wide variety of fabulous, fresh mushrooms. You can use simple button mushrooms or a combination of wild mushrooms such as chanterelles and porcini

FALL MUSHROOM SOUP —Serves 4

4 tablespoons (unsalted butter)
1 small onion, diced
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup beef stock or broth
2 cups half-and-half
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 bay leaf
salt and freshly ground pepper
*I use Campbell’s “25& less salt” Beef Broth in the box.

Method: Melt the butter in a heavy sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, add the onion and sauté until golden. Add the mushrooms and sauté until brown. Stir in the flour, and then slowly stir in the stock, stirring constantly.

Heat the half-and-half in a saucepan over low heat or in the microwave. Add it to the mushrooms along with the nutmeg, bay leaf, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer over low heat until the flavours meld. About 10 minutes. Do not boil. Remove the bay leaf and serve in warmed bowls.

CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP in Puff Pastry. Serves 6

10 to 12 tablespoons (5 to 6 ounces) unsalted butter, divided
1 large ( about ½ pound) yellow onion, sliced
6 garlic cloves
1 ½ teaspoons whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 bay leaf

1/4 cup tomato paste
*2 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and quartered
salt and ½ teaspoon ground **white peppercorns
4 cups heavy cream
1 pound puff pastry sheets
1 egg plus 1 tablespoon cold water

*When fresh local tomatoes are out of season, I use canned diced tomatoes
** I never use white peppercorns, only black peppercorns, it tastes better.

Melt 8 tablespoons butter in a large soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion, garlic, peppercorns, thyme, and bay leaf, cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Do not let the onion colour. Add the tomato paste and lightly “toast” the tomato paste to cook out the raw flavour, then add the tomatoes and 1 cup of water, if needed (use only if tomatoes are not ripe and juicy). Simmer over low heat until tomatoes and onions are very soft and broken down, 30 to 40 minutes.

Puree by passing through a food mill ( or use a blender in batches, then strain). Return soup to pot. Add the cream and the salt, pepper, and 2 to 4 more tablespoons butter to taste. Bring the soup to a simmer, then remove it from the heat. Allow the soup to cool for at least 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

Divide the soup among six 8-ounce oven-proof soup cups or bowls. Roll out the puff pastry to ¼ inch thick. Cut out 6 rounds slightly larger than your cups. In a small bowl, beat together the egg and 1 tablespoon of cold water. Brush the dough with the egg wash and then turn the circles, egg wash down, over the tops of the cups, pulling lightly on the sides to make the dough somewhat tight like a drum. (try not to let the dough touch the soup.)

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly paint the tops of the dough rounds with egg wash without pushing the dough down. Bake until the dough is golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Do not open the oven in the first several minutes or the dough may fall. Serve immediately.

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