Roasted Celeriac Soup

Fall, let me count the reasons I love thee...

1.  The weather is perfect!  Sweaters (preferably of the grandpa variety) and sunshine for all!!

2.  Pumpkins are back at the farmer's market!

3.  Hearty soups finally make sense again!

Seriously though, fall is my absolute favorite season.  The cooler days mean that I don't get sweaty on my way to work (or the subway, or the kitchen, or... you get the picture), and the cold nights just beg you to turn on the oven and roast some vegetables (a.k.a the best kind of veggie).
 
This week I roasted a vegetable that I've been dying to try:

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This gnarled rood vegetable is a celery root, or celeriac if you're feeling fancy ;)  Don't be disturbed by it's appearance, this guy has lots of inner beauty.  I roasted him up with some garlic cloves and blended it into a velvety soup.  Recipe at the end of the post!

Other exciting things have been going on for me this week.  Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of this blog.  It's hard to believe that it has been an entire year of food blogging already.  I've learned a lot about cooking and blogging since then, and I hope to carry on for the foreseeable future.  Hopefully this weekend I'll ring in this anniversary with a more appropriately celebratory post.

Anyway, enough of my rambling.  Let's get on to the heart of this post with WIAW!




Breakfast:

Breakfast this past Sunday consisted of two buttermilk biscuits topped with sauteed radish greens, a fried egg, and two of the best bacon strips ever. Trader Joe's fiends, you have to try their uncured, nitrate free bacon.  It is leaner and far tastier than any other commercial bacon I've ever had.

Lunch:

Sadly I didn't manage to snap a picture of my picnic lunch.  It included some more buttermilk biscuits, rosemary ham, Gruyere cheese, figs, kale, and some Trilogy kombucha.  A tasty combo I shared with Mr. greenhorn at the Brooklyn Bridge Park. 

Dinner:

The one downside of fall... no natural light for dinner = ugly,  poorly lit pictures.

I was a little apprehensive about trying this vegetable, but my fears were completely misplaced.  Perhaps celeriac is a different beast when prepared another way, but I absolutely loved it roasted.  The celery taste is there, but not in an overwhelming or offensive way.  The sweet richness of the  caramelized onions and roasted garlic balance perfectly with the fresh and slightly bitter celery root in this warm and creamy soup.

Roasted Celeriac Soup

Ingredients 

1 celery root, peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces

6 cloves garlic

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large potato, peeled and thinly sliced

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp butter

2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

2 cups water

a pinch of cayenne

2 tbsp sour cream (or to taste)

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 

chives (for garnish)

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 400F.  On a large foil lined baking sheet toss the celeriac and garlic cloves with 1 tbsp of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.  Roast for 35-45 minutes until celeriac is easily pierced with a fork, stirring half way through cook time to prevent burning.

2.  While celeriac is in the oven, heat remaining olive oil and butter in a large pot over medium high heat.  Add the onions and caramelize (about 30 minutes).  Once onions are caramelized, add the potatoes and toss to combine, lightly seasoning with salt and pepper. 

3.  Add the water, chicken stock, celeriac and garlic to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer, covered, for another 10-15 minutes until potatoes are tender.  

4.  Remove pot from heat and allow to cool slightly.  Blend with an immersion blender (or regular blender) and season to taste with salt, pepper, cayenne, and sour cream.  Serve garnished with chives.

Chickpea and Crimini Soup

Fall brings weather that naturally welcomes one of my favorite foods- soup!  Although yesterday was pretty humid, the gloomy weather made it a perfect day for soup.  See the soup and recipe at the end of this post!

This WIAW started on a pretty average note:

Old Fashioned Oats with Banana, Peanut Butter, and Honey accompanied by a cup of coffee.  While tasty and satisfying, I found myself wishing I still had a couple of these guys around:

Breakfast Egg Rolls!

I made these over the weekend, and let me tell you, the breakfast burrito has got some competition.  Click here for the recipe.

Luckily lunch involved less wishful thinking.  It was (as per usual) leftovers from the night before:

Roasted Beet and Carrot Curry.  This one is definitely a keeper!  The carrots and beets are absolutely delicious in the creamy spicy coconutty broth!  It's an unusual curry, but it definitely works.  The green bits are  raw shredded beet greens, mostly there to make the picture pretty.  Recipe coming soon!

Through out the day at work I also snacked on a pear, laughing cow swiss wedge, and some cut up carrots, celery and radishes.  Also more coffee.  Always, always, more coffee :)

Now finally on to the soup!

Chickpea and Crimini Soup

This soup is relatively simple, but incredibly deep in flavor thanks to the sauteed mushrooms and onions.   The blended chickpeas add body, and make this a very substantial soup.  This hearty vegan recipe will keep you cosy on chilly fall evenings. Recipe is slightly adapted from here.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked chickpeas

About 4 cups liquid from cooked chickpeas, or water, or vegetable stock

1 tbsp olive oil

1 extra large onion, chopped (about 2.5 cups)

2 cloves garlic, minced

12 ounces mushrooms, chopped

3-4 sprigs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1 vegetable bouillon cube

salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne

Directions

1.  In a large pot heat the oil and cook the onions until translucent and slightly brown around the edges. Add the garlic and cook another minute or so until fragrant.  Deglaze the pan with some water and add the mushrooms and fresh thyme leaves.  Season with salt and pepper and cook for 7-8 minutes until mushrooms have lost moisture and are tender.

2.  Add the chickpeas, bouillon, bay leaf, and enough liquid to completely cover the mix.  Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce to a simmer and let cook another 10 minutes.

3.  Remove pot from the heat and the bay leaf from the pot.  Allow to cool slightly and then blend to desired consistency with an immersion blender.  I left some whole chickpeas and mushroom pieces in mine for texture.  Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.

I hope you enjoyed my eats of the day.  Be sure to hop over to Peas and Crayons to see how everyone else is Fall-ing into!

greenhorn gourmande is on a budget- episode 3

Hello WIAW friends, this post is part of my week long series on how I manage to feed myself and my boyfriend for about $60 a week in New York city.  See the previous posts <<here>> and <<here>>.


In my last two posts I discussed the importance of planning and meal types (less meat more grains).  Today's post is about the importance of selecting recipes that have ingredients in common so that you waste less, and save more.


Now some may think that this will involve a lot of repetition, but it doesn't need to be the case!  Today's recipe is Roasted Garlic, Leek, and Purple Potato soup.  Believe it or not, it was made with ingredients left over from my last two posts.  

Homemade Pizza

+

Perfect Roast Chicken

=

Roasted Leek and Purple Potato soup

What?

Let me explain.  That tasty bread stick perched on the edge of my bowl is made from the other half of the pizza dough recipe I had made and froze.  I used the chicken carcass (after picking off the remaining meat) to make a delicious homemade chicken stock.  

I'm actually quite pleased with myself over this stock.  I used the tops of the leeks, which are inedible, giving me the perfect base for a leek soup.  Don't be disturbed by the white layer that sometimes forms on homemade stocks.  It's the gelatin and fat from the chicken that makes homemade stocks so rich and flavorful.

These strange beauties are purple potatoes.  I had read about them online- they apparently taste just like regular potatoes, so when I saw them at Whole Foods for $0.99lb (a whopping $0.50 less than all the other varieties) I figured, why not?

I'm glad I did, I can confirm that they do in fact taste like your everyday spud, with the added bonus of an awesome hue.  

Okay, I've put you through enough ;)  On to the recipes!

Roasted Garlic and Leek Soup

*This soup calls for two heads of roasted garlic.  Don't be intimidated by that amount, roasting really mellows the flavor and makes them subtly sweet.  To roast simply slice off the top of the head, drizzle with olive oil, wrap in aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minutes at 400F.

Ingredients

2 leeks, tops removed, thoroughly cleaned, and diced-$1.60

2 heads worth of roasted garlic cloves*- $0.50

3 large potatoes (about 1.5lbs), cubed (if you want a perfectly smooth soup you can peel them.)-$1.40

1 tbsp butter-$0.10

5 cups homemade chicken stock- $0.50

kosher salt and black pepper-$0.10

1/3 cup half and half- $0.25

3 strips bacon for garnish (optional)- $0.80

Total cost: $5.25

Directions

1.  In a large pot or dutch oven melt the butter over medium heat, and add the leeks cooking until softened.  Next add the potatoes, garlic, chicken stock, and 1 tsp of salt and a 1/2 tsp of pepper.  Bring mix to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and let cook for 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

2.  Remove pot from heat and allow to cool slightly.  With an immersion blender, blend soup until smooth and return to a low heat.  Stir in the half and half and salt and pepper to taste.  Serve garnished with a half strip of bacon.

Serves 6.

Happy WIAW everyone!!!  As always thanks to the wonderful Jenn over at Peas and Crayons for hosting!

Roasted Tomato Soup

I'm feeling a bit under the weather, so I'm going to keep this post bare bones.  The soup is adapted from the Sandwich King (I know, I know), but seriously it sounded so good I just had to try it.  My instinct was right, and this soup paired with a grilled cheddar cheese (almost) made me forget about my stuffed sinuses.


It all starts out like this:

Is transformed into this:

And is served up like this:

The first picture is a little misleading because a) it doesn't feature all of the ingredients I used, and b) it features one that I didn't end up using.  Can you guess which one?  Read the recipe to find out, you super sleuth.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Ingredients

2 28 ounce cans whole tomatoes, drained with the juices reserved

4 carrots, roughly chopped

2 large shallots, peeled and quartered

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

20 cranks ground black pepper (about 1/2 tsp)

2 tbsp butter

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp dry vermouth

2 cups chicken stock (or veggie stock)

6 tbsp sour cream

Directions

1.  Heat the oven to 400F.  In a large bowl toss tomatoes, carrots, and shallots with the olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Arrange on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper.  Bake for 35 minutes.

2.  When the veggies are almost done roasting melt the butter in a large pot or dutch oven.  Once the butter has melted add the garlic and red pepper and cook until fragrant, about one minute.  Next add the tomato paste, spreading it out on the bottom of the pan while stirring constantly to prevent burning.           3.  Once the tomato paste is incorporated into the butter add the roasted vegetables, cooking off any extra liquid.  Add the vermouth and continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 3-4 minutes.

4.  Add one cup of the chicken stock and the reserved juices from the whole tomatoes.  Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow the soup to cool slightly, then puree with an immersion blender. 

5.  Once the soup has reached a desired smoothness you can add another cup of chicken stock if you would like your soup to be thinner (I did).  Then stir in the sour cream and salt and pepper to taste.

In the end I decided to just use the juices of the whole tomatoes rather than another 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes.  Mostly because I didn't have any on hand, and also because I didn't see the sense in wasting perfectly good tomato juice.  Anyway, this soup is complex, warming, and the perfect accompaniment to a grilled cheese sandwich.  Enjoy!

Roasted Broccoli and Potato Cheddar Soup

Soup is probably one of my favorite kinds of food.  There are so many different varieties, are generally easy to make, and are usually made in large batches.  Hello leftovers!!

This soup was made one night last week on a pure spur of the moment whim.  I originally was set on making some corn chowder, but then I realized I had a whole head of broccoli just languishing in my crisper.  Okay no big deal right?  I'll just make corn and broccoli chowder.

Roasted broccoli = best broccoli?  You betcha!

One thing led to another and eventually the corn was out and broccoli reigned supreme.  Soup eaters rejoiced throughout the kingdom.  Well... not really, but this soup was so good I had to make it again this week!  The creamy texture, depth of the roasted broccoli, and heat from the jalapeno make this soup positively addicting.

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup- Crazy Cooking Challenge!

Hello everyone!!!  Welcome to my first Crazy Cooking Challenge hosted by Tina at mom's crazy cooking.

This month's challenge was chicken noodle soup.  While a very appropriate choice for January, I must admit I was a little dissapointed.  To be quite honest I find chicken noodle soup to be a bit boring.   That is until I found this recipe at inquiring chef.  Thai chicken noodle soup!  Now that's something I can get behind.  I absolutely adore the spicy, complex flavors of Thai food, both of which are found in this dish.

  

Recipe after the jump!

Weekend Cooking Bonanza!

Now that I'm employed (yeah!)  at a shitty temp job (boo!) I find that I am less inclined to cook during the week.  While I still manage to make meals Monday through Friday, extracurricular baking and such has been relegated to the weekend.


And this weekend I was quite the A+ student.


I made Pumpkin Banana Bread, Roast Chicken with Fennel and Red Potatoes, and Roasted Cauliflower and zucchini Cheddar Soup.  All three were AMAzING, but I have to say the soup was probably my favorite.  It's one I made last fall, and it was as good as I remembered!  Anyway that's enough of my idle ramblings, here are the recipes and some tantalizing food porn.

Pumpkin Banana Bread

Makes 2 9x5x3 loaves

Ingredients

•   1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 13/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cups granulated white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
• ½ cup water
• 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup mashed banana
• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and lightly flour two 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pans.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

3. In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs until lightly beaten and add sugar and mix until blended.

4. Add pumpkin puree, water, and vanilla extract and mix together with the egg/sugar mixture.

5. Add banana and melted butter.

6. Add the dry ingredients (in #2) and stir until the ingredients are combined - do not over mix.

8. Bake for 55-65 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean and dry.

9. When you remove the loaf pan from the oven, let the pumpkin bread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing it from the pan.

I culled this recipe from several Pumpkin bread recipes.  I knew I wanted to make a Pumpkin-Banana bread, so I just substituted Banana for oil.  This loaf is delicately sweet and incredibly moist.  I usually pop a slice in the toaster oven for a few minutes and then give it a healthy smear of cream cheese.  Next time I make it I think I'll add some walnuts or mini chocolate chips.  

    Roast Chicken with Fennel and Red Potatoes

Ingredients

• 1 (3 to 4 lbs) roasting chicken
• 2 fennel bulbs, top removed and sliced into ¼ inch thick slices
• 1 lemon halved
• 4 medium or 2 large red potatoes cut into 1in chunks
• 1 bulb garlic, peeled
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Remove giblets and excessive fat from chicken. Rinse chicken including the inside. Pat dry the outside. Liberally sprinkle salt and pepper on the inside and outside of the chicken.   
3. Place the bird in a medium sized baking dish.  Stuff the lemon in the cavity.
4. Place sliced fennel bulb, potatoes, and garlic in a large bowl and toss with the olive oil, salt, and pepper.
5. Arrange the vegetables around the bird in the pan. 
6. Roast for approximately 1½ hours or until the juices run clear from an incision at the juncture of the leg to the body. Let rest for 15 minutes before carving.

This recipe was inspired by Ina Garten's roast chicken from her Barefoot Contessa cookbook.  The chicken came out moist and flavorful.  It's really amazing what a little salt and pepper can do.  

Roasted Cauliflower and Zucchini Cheddar Soup

Ingredients

•   1 head of Cauliflower (chopped up into medium sized pieces)
• 1 medium sized zucchini (cut into medallions)
• olive oil
• salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 28 ounces of  low sodium chicken Broth
• 1 shallot medium diced
•   1/2 a small onion medium diced
• 3 cloves of garlic small diced
•   3 strips of bacon
• 2 cups of white cheddar

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. On a cookie sheet, place the chopped up cauliflower and zucchini, drizzle with olive oil and top with the sea salt and course ground pepper. Place into the over for 30-40 minutes or until the cauliflower is easily pierced with a paring knife.
2. Fry the strips of bacon until crisp, reserving about a tbsp of the grease.
3. In a large dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot reheat the reserved bacon grease.  Add the shallot and onion and saute until lightly browned and fragrant.  Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute.  To this add the chicken broth and crumbled bacon strips.  Bring to a boil.  Once the cauliflower and zucchini are done add them to the broth; cover and simmer for another 15 minutes.  Next turn off the heat and allow to cool for a couple of minutes.  Once cooled blend using an immersion blender until smooth and creamy.  
4. Return the soup to a low heat and gradually stir in the cheddar cheese.  Salt and pepper to taste.

This soup is so good!  The cauliflower takes on a slightly nutty taste from the roasting, and the cheddar cheese ( I used extra sharp) makes it incredibly creamy and savory.  Although the zucchini doesn't play a pivotal role in the flavor profile of the soup, it adds lovely viridescent specks  to what would otherwise be a rather bland looking pottage.  Seriously though, you need to make this soup.  Like right now.  For reals.