Friday, February 13, 2009

speaking of soup . . .

so my Spanish friends often make what they call pure' - - where they boil up potatoes and carrots, zucchini, leeks and other vegetables of the sort, and then they blend it all together to make a nice smooth, creamy soup. I have made this, and enjoy it, but to tell you the truth, I like my soup to have chunks. every once in a while when I make my chowder I get it just right, so that the potatoes are soft, but not falling apart
the broth is thin, but it also has some sort of substance.
do you know what I'm saying?
but if I get it right, it's really quite by accident.
do any of you have to perfect formula?

6 comments:

Megan @ SimplyThrifty said...

I wouldn't necessarily say this is a "perfect formula" recipe but it's good and creamy with chunks in it. The parmesan cheese really adds good flavor to the soup. It can easily be modified with other veggies but maybe it'll help you on getting the veggies cooked right. http://everydaymealstoshare.blogspot.com/2008/10/parmesan-corn-chowder.html

Hope it helps. :)

carol said...

I do have what I think is the perfect formula - my new friend Lisa's winter soup recipe.....I'll post it somewhere. I just cooked it today as a matter of fact.

Unknown said...

I like some chunks too...not too fond of a complete puree', although I try it all the time, hoping I'll like it this time. For my chowder I do saute' the potatoes and onions and a bit of bacon first with a tiny bit a water, for maybe 15-20 minutes, and then really the soup doesn't have to cook very long because the potatoes are already almost ready!

carol said...

Let me at least give you the basic principle. Lisa decided to eliminate potatoes and replace w/ pasta to avoid mushiness of a soup recipe she liked. It was also her idea to add sugar snap peas. It is delicious and creamy, but definitely not a chowder. It DOES have lots of chunks:

Lisa's winter vegetable soup

1)saute 2 cups onion in 4 TBSP butter until soft but not brown. Add 6 TBSP flower and saute

2) Pour in 6 cups ckn broth and add seasonings (basil, bay leaf, salt, white pepper) and simmer

3) Saute (in separate pan) 2 julienned leeks, 3-4 julienned carrots & 6 button mushrooms (I leave out mushrooms)until soft but not brown in 4 TBSP butter. Add to soup

4) Add shredded chicken from rotisserie chicken (or same amount of any kind of chicken cooked ahead of time), 2 handfuls sugar snap peas, 1 cup chopped celery and 1/2 cup heavy cream

5) Meanwhile have cooked 1/3 box of penne pasta. Add pasta immediately before serving (or dish into bowls and serve soup over it). Reserve pasta water for thinning broth if desired (I never desire this

Naomi Smith said...

awesome.
awesome.
awesome.
you girls are great. thanks!

carol said...

Oh - Lisa says - she doesn't always put the full amount of carrots, leeks, mushrooms in the soup. She sometimes freezes them and saves them to add in to the next batch.