Fish Chowder with Wine and Bacon

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This is one of my favorite soups of all times. It’s so light and full of flavor, and I crave it on early spring days or cool summer evenings. It makes me think of lunches at small cafes at the Bulgarian seaside, or a well earned meal after hiking for two days in northern Minnesota. The beauty of this soup is that the fish is the star, and it is gently poached in the flavorful broth. I absolutely love the texture and the mild flavor of the Whitefish, and I think that it is the perfect fish for this soup. When cooked gentility in the broth, the Whitefish becomes buttery and velvety, and it’s such a wonderful compliment to the rest of the ingredients in the soup. 

I absolutely love Julia Child, and the original recipe of this fish soup is from her show “In Julia’s Kitchen With Master Chefs” with Jasper White. The original recipe was made with homemade fish stock. I modified several parts of the original recipe per my taste, and instead of homemade fish stock I used clam juice and water for the base of the soup. I found that calm juice flavors the broth just right, not too fishy or too bland compared to if you just used water. I do have to say that homemade fish stock would be absolutely wonderful for this soup, however I often find myself limited to the fish and the fish parts I can get at my local market, but this would never stop me from finding ways to make this beloved fish chowder even when limited by geographic location or ingredients..

Fish Chowder with Wine and Bacon

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 5 strips bacon
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch cubes (about 3-3.5 cups)
• 1/2 cup white wine (Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grgio)
• 1 (8oz) bottle of clam juice
• 3 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 1.5 pounds Whitefish (Pollock, Haddock, Sea Bass, or another white type fish works well too) skin removed
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• zest of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive Oil  

Directions:

1. Chop the bacon in small pieces (about 1/4-inch). Heat 1tbs olive oil in a Dutch oven or a large pot, add the bacon and cook in until crispy by stirring from time to time so it doesn’t burn. Remove the cooked bacon with a slotted spoon, place on a paper towel-lined plate and set aside for later. Add the onion to your cooking pot with the leftover oil and bacon fat, and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes and the wine, stir and cook for additional 1 minute to allow the alcohol to escape. Add the clam juice, 3 cups of water, bay leaf, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer on low for about 20-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. 

2. When potatoes are cooked, turn the heat off and remove the bay leaves. Cut the fish into large chunks (about 4-5 inches), do not worry the fish will break into smaller pieces when stirred around in the pot when cooked. The large chunks will prevent the fish from turning into a mush. Add the fish gently into the soup. Make sure the fish is nestled well and covered with liquid. Let it sit with heat off and undisturbed for 30 minutes. The hot liquid will gently cook the fish into a buttery, soft texture.  

3. After 30 minutes add the cream, lemon zest and lemon juice, and gently stir the pot. Taste and add more salt, pepper and lemon juice if needed. 

4. Ladle the soup into serving bowls, top with freshly chopped parsley and the reserved cooked bacon bits.  Enjoy!

Romanesco Cream Soup

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It is officially soup season and I am constantly going between 2 major what-to-eat-moods. Soup or salad. Salad or soup. Soup, because it is freezing outside and cup of warm yummy soup of any kind unfreezes my toes and makes my cold cheeks happy. And salad, because I am constantly craving fresh, crisp veggies that remind me of the summer and my favorite farmers market, which are almost gone now. Once in a while the salad will win over my heart and I will eat it in a typical fashion of mine – a few days on a row. But then a teeny-tiny voice starts whispering “Soup...warm, cozy soup”, and I can’t resist it, I have to make it.

It has been a couple of years now since I discovered this wonderful green giant, the Romanesco broccoli/cauliflower. And I have been in love with its mild cabbage flavor (much milder than broccoli or cauliflower in my opinion) and how lush and creamy it becomes when made into cream soup. So when I saw it at my late fall farmers market, I grabbed a few and decided to treat myself to a soup. Usually, I will make a simple cream soup with it by adding potatoes, onion and cream for thickness and texture, but this time I had leek, a couple of zucchinis and some pea shoots in my kitchen, so I decided to experiment and add them to the soup as well. The result was a lush, silky soup that had a complex flavor, much more complex than when adding potato or onion only. The addition of zucchini made it extra smooth and the pea shoots added some spring freshness and a beautiful green color. If you don’t have or don’t like zucchini or pea shoots, you can skip them, but I am quite sure that if you added them to your soup, they might become your favorite ingredients for any cream soup :)

So, here you have it, my latest soup obsession... The salad recipe is to come next ;)

I also wonder what seasonal or all-time cravings do you have? Mom, if you are reading this, I know about your feta cheese toast for dinner every night of the week craving. 

xoxo

Romanesco Cream Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients
• 1 medium to large Romanesco
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large leek, white part only, thinly sliced
• 2 small (or 1 large) zucchinis, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 medium (any kind) potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 4-5 cups homemade chicken or vegetable stock (low-sodium store bought works too)
• 1 cup of pea shoots (optional) + more for serving
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 whole milk (optional) 
• salt + pepper

Directions:

1. Wash Romanesco and separate the florets into about 2-inch chunks. The stems can be peeled with a paring knife, removing the stringy exterior and added to the flowerets. Place all in a bowl and set aside.

2. In a large pot heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and add the leeks. Sauté over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until soft. Add the remaining olive oil, the potatoes and the zucchinis. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes until the potatoes start to stick to the bottom of pot (but are not burning). At this point, add the chicken/vegetable stock, the Romanesco and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes. Add the pea shots, if using, and simmer for 5-10 more minutes.

3. With an immersion or a standard blender set on low speed blend the soup until no large chunks are present. Increase the speed and blend until really smooth and creamy. Add the butter and the Parmesan cheese and blend until smooth. Taste the soup and if you prefer it creamier, add the whole milk and blend for 10 more seconds. Taste for salt and pepper and add if needed.

4. Ladle soup into bowls, top with a few fresh pea shoots (if using) or freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Cream of cauliflower soup

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I was a really picky eater when I was a child. Texture for me was a big thing and if I found something to be with unpleasant texture, no matter how yummy the taste, I will refuse to eat it. And as with most kids, my mother and father were the victims of my strong food opinions. They went though stages of emotions while watching me eat (or pick) the laborious homemade meals they had prepared. Also, as most parents, they had a range of tactics for cooking for the family (including me) that were aimed to keep us all happy and well fed, but doing that in a sane matter was not always attainable. And as we all do, my parents learned as they went when my dad quickly discovered that if the kids don’t see the ingredients, they think they are not there. This is when he started cooking all the vegetables whole (so they are easy to find later), then pureeing them and returning them to back the meal so I would think “they are not there”. In fact, that approach was so successful that even when I was a grown up woman, I would still boil some vegetables (like carrots) whole, then puree them and return to the soup. Some here my wonder what happens with the clear-broth soups...well, that is another story which I will tell another time.

My dad’s clever approach started my life-long love of cream soups and for many years the only way I could eat boiled vegetables was when they are creamed. With age and experience I discovered many more vegetables (than potatoes and carrots) that made wonderful cream soups, which made me even more excited.

So, to no one’s surprise, today’s recipe is for a cozy cream of cauliflower soup. It was not until recently, when I discovered that cauliflower makes one of the most delicious and complex cream soups. And the reason is that cauliflower changes its taste as it cooks. The shorter it is cooked, the more cabbage-like will taste The longer it is cooked the nuttier and sweeter it becomes. And because its small very soluble fiber content, it makes for a wonderful silky-creamy soup without adding cream or milk.

To this recipe I have added a simple garnish of pan fried cauliflower flowerets that are lightly charred, with a hint of spice and a wonderful  fresh lemony taste. (Psst...they are so yummy, you might be tempted to make a whole head a cauliflower of them and eat them as a tasty bite while sipping a glass of lovely white wine).

This cozy winter soup is one of my favorite now and I hope you will like it too.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients:
Serves 4

• 1 head cauliflower (about 2 pounds)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 leek, white and light green part only, halved lengthwise, washed well of the sand and sliced thin
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, smashed
• 1 medium potato, peeled and sliced in large cubes
• Salt and black pepper
• 4.5–5 cups of water
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/2 lemon, grated skin and juiced
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp capers (optional), roughly chopped

Directions:

1. Cut the cauliflower in half and remove the core. Pull a heaping 1 cup of 1/2-inch florets and save for later for garnish. Pull or cut the remaining cauliflower in 3-inch pieces and set aside.

2. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium-sized pot. Add the leek and onion and sauté until soft but not brown. Add the garlic, stir and cook for about 30 seconds, making sure it doesn’t burn.

3. Increase the heat to high and add the water, potatoes and a tea spoon of salt. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes stirring from time to time.

4. Meanwhile, heat up a large empty heavy pan (cast iron preferably) over high heat and add the butter and the reserved cup of cauliflower florets. Lower to medium-high and brown the florets by stirring frequently, about 5-7 minutes. The flowerets are done when the edges are slightly charred. Turn off the heat and stir the red pepper flakes, lemon rind, juice and capers. Transfer to a small bowl and add salt to taste. Cover to keep warm.

5. Process the soup in a regular or immersion blender until smooth and creamy (hint: the higher the speed the smoother the soup will be). Add salt and pepper to taste and a tablespoon of butter, if desired.

6. Ladle the soup into individual bowls and garnish with a tablespoon of the spicy florets. Add grated Parmesan cheese for extra flavor, if desired.

Enjoy!