I’m off for the rest of the year, and I love to make soups and/or stews in the winter. Rather than just randomly looking for recipes I thought I’d reach out to the dope to get your favorites. So, please Dopers… don’t let me down.
I absolutely love Tortilla soup.
I generally follow a recipe like the link, less the avocado, but it’s never the same twice.
You can add a little Tapatio hot sauce if you want to spice it up.
This is great on a cold winter day.
I’m a big fan of beef bourguignon, and I’m sure pulykamel will be along shortly to entrance you with tales of charbonade.
This Belgian beef stew recipe is close to what I like to make - the main difference is that I leave out the parts about the flour & mustard, and substitute by adding one or two slices of bread (or ontbijtkoek - a sort of heavy sweet rye cake - if I have some), smeared with mustard to top the stew (and thicken it while stewing). I also tend to add a little vinegar at the very end to just lighten the taste.
ETA: I re-discovered lately that you really do need to use hot, brown butter to brown the beef in this recipe - I used oil the last couple of times and it takes forever to brown the meat and it sticks like hell. Really, use butter.
This stew is great with mashed potatoes and red cabbage, couscous with some dried fruit, or even rice.
ETA 2: if you don’t have any good beef stock, you can substitute with another bottle of beer.
Onion
Carrots
Potatoes
Beef (cut into bite sized pieces)
Rotel Tomatoes
Thyme.
Garlic
Salt
Use whatever amounts you like.* Fill it about half way with a good brown ale (I use New Glarus Fat Squirrel).
Throw it all in the crock pot for the better part of the day or on the stove for a few hours. When the meat is starting to fall apart, thicken it with a flour/water mixture and let it cook a bit longer.
I use 1 potato, a pound of carrots, 1 onion (cut into fairly big pieces), about half of the (whole, peeled) cloves from a head of garlic, about 3/4 pound of chuck cut into small pieces, probably about a half a tablespoon of fresh thyme, 1 can of Rotel Tomatoes and bottle of a good brown ale.
Obviously, since it’s a stew you do it however you want, and I always make it a little differently, but this is the basic recipe that I’ve been using the past few times I’ve made stew.
This all fits in my saucepan and makes enough to have dinner that night and the next two nights or so.
This is the best stew I’ve made for how easy it is.
A carbonnade recipe has already been linked to, but the one I do is a little more straightforward. This comes courtesy of a Belgian acquaintance of mine:
It’s just that simple. You don’t need any stock or broth or anything. I serve this with homemade spaetzle, but traditionally, I hear this stew is served with frites and Belgian endive. You want to use a Belgian ale, if possible, for this stew, although Newcastle Brown works surprisingly well.
Zuppa Toscana recipe
1 lb ground pork
2 cups (1 large) onion, chopped (1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces)
4 slices bacon (I prefer thick cut)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (cayenne works also)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
6 cups chicken broth *
4 small red potatoes 1/4 cubes skin on **
2 cups greens ***
1 cup whipping cream
In a bowl: Mix pork and spices – cover and refrigerate overnight
1)In your soup pot , cook up the bacon (I cut it up into 1/4 squares
before), then remove bacon
2)Cook pork and onion in bacon drippings untill meat is brown and onion is
tender (8-10 minutes)
3)Drain off fat, add broth, bring to boil
4)Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes
5)Add potatoes and greens, return to boil and cook covered 15-20 min (until
spuds are done)
6)Add bacon and cream
7)Stir and serve
- You can stretch the # of servings by having more broth – I have used 8 cups
** or more, can’t have too many potatoes (think I use 6 B sized spuds)
*** my recipe says spinach, but I prefer kale
I chop said greens up in 1/4 inch sqaures (lots of those in this recipe)
Brian
That’s it, we’re eatin’ late tonight.
Below is the recipe for a classic white veal stew I’ve tweaked and simplified a bit. It is my wife’s favorite and always a hit when I make it.
1 large onion, peeled
4 cloves
4-5 baby carrots peeled
1 stalk of celery
2 green onions with dark green leaves and root tips removed
2 lbs veal cut into 2 inch pieces (either boneless shoulder roast or de-boned T-Bone)
1 sprig thyme
1 bay leaf
1 quart chicken broth (I use Swanson 33% reduced sodium broth)
2 cups water
six tablespoons butter
1.5 – 2 cups white button mushrooms, stems removed and quartered
lemon juice to taste
1 can small white onions, drained
3-4 tablesppons all-purpose flour
1 pint whipping cream
salt, pepper and sugar to taste
Insert cloves into the onion and slice onion in two. Wash the carrots, green onions, and celery. Cut the celery stalk into 2-3 pieces. Reserve these vegetables for later.
Place the veal in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring the water to a boil on high heat. Simmer for 4 minutes then drain and rinse thoroughly in cold water.
In another large pot , place the onion halves, green onions, bay leaf, celery, carrots, and thyme, then cover with the chicken broth and 2 cups water. The use of the chicken broth is a short cut. If you desire, you can use the same amount of homemade veal stock. Turn on high heat. Once it reaches a boil, reduce to a simmer and remove any scum floating on the top. Cook at a medium simmer for approximately two hours (until veal is fork tender.)
During the final hour of simmering, melt two tablespoons of butter in a frying pan. Add the mushrooms and a small touch of lemon juice. Cook covered over medium low heat for approximately 10 minutes and then salt/pepper to taste. Add the jar of pearl onions, ensuring they have been completely drained of all liquid. You may also add up to 1 teaspoon of sugar, if desired to the mushroom and onion mixture.
Once the veal is done, use a slotted spoon to carefully remove all the meat from the pot. Then, strain the stock and get rid of all the vegetables and spices. Put the leftover stock in a pot and reduce (only if necessary) until there is roughly 1 quart left.
Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a pan and gradually add the flour while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. When this has a smooth, creamy consistency, continue to cook over medium-low heat for 3 minutes. Next, add the reserved stock approximately half a cup at a time, always stirring constantly to keep the sauce smooth. Finally, stir in the whipping cream.
To finish the dish, combine the veal, the mushrooms/onion mixture and the just completed white sauce. Salt and pepper to taste, heat through, and serve with freshly cooked jasmine or other buttered white rice.
Rachael Ray’s Hungarian Sausage and Lentil Stoup Think what you like about RayRay, but this “stoup” (thicker than a soup, thinner than a stew) is simply delicious.
I tweaked this from a recipe I found online to more of my liking. Added meat and more spices. Great for the winter and really healthy!
Super Rainbow Soup
Ingredients:
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 large stalks celery, chopped
• 1-2 cups cauliflower, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium red bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 3 teaspoons turmeric
• 1 15 oz can tomatoes
• 1 and 1/2 cups spinach
• Lots of shrimp, peeled (I use a pound) or equivalent in chopped chicken
• Two tablespoons awesome spice mix
• 5 cups chicken stock stock or 5 cups water + 5 chicken bouillon cubes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons curry powder
• Few dashes cayenne pepper, chili powder, salt to taste
Preparation:
-
In a large soup pot, put oil, onion, and celery. Cook on low heat for 5 to 10 minutes to develop more sweetness in the onion.
-
Add garlic and meat. Turn up the heat to medium. Cook for a minute or so and add the peppers, cauliflower, and carrots. Cook another minute or two and add the spices. Stir and cook until fragrant – another minute or so.
-
Add tomatoes and stock, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add spinach and simmer for another 5 minutes.
-
Adjust seasonings.
This is a simple one that I’ve posted before. I call it cassoulet for lack of a better term:
4 oz. of each of the following four ingredients per person:
chicken breast (skinless)
hot Italian sausage
canned diced tomatoes and juices
canned white beans and juices
olive oil
rosemary
ground pepper
sliced French bread
olive oil
Cut up the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Skin the sausages or use bulk. Heat some olive oil in an appropriately-sized pan to about med-hi. Brown the chicken and remove. Break up the sausage and brown. Return the chicken to the pan, add the tomatoes and beans and a couple of sprigs of rosemary. Cover and simmer for about a half hour or so. Brush olive oil on both sides of the bread slices and toast on a baking sheet in a hot oven. Grind fresh pepper on the bowls of stew and serve with the hot bread.
pulykamell: It looks like that dish is variously spelled carbonade, carbonnade, charbonade, etc.
I know it’s probably too late, just be sure not to use a hoppy beer. My friend recommends Leffe. I’ve also used Chimay Red and New Belgium’s Dubel to good results. I’ve heard using a nice saison works well for a more sweet-sour flavor. I balance the dish at the end with a little bit of sugar (maybe a teaspoon or so). Cook’s Illustrated also recommends a little bit of tomato paste to round it out. If I have some around I’ll use it.
Can you get a Korean spicy pepper paste called gochujang? Because this recipe is amazing, unlike anything I’ve ever had before. I make it in my crockpot, sans carrots because they get too mushy, and saute cabbage to add before serving.
I’m pretty sure I’ve posted this here before, but here it is again: Italian Sausage Soup! So yummy, and it makes a ton. You can leave out some of the pasta and/or zucchini so they don’t get mushy when you reheat it, but I never bother.
Italian Sausage Soup
1-1/2 lbs. Mild Italian sausage
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large onions, chopped
l lg. Can (28-oz.) Italian-style crushed tomatoes
4 or 5 cans beef broth
1-1/2 C. dry red wine
1/2 tsp. Dry basil
3Tb. Chopped parsley (or approp. Dry)
1 med. Green pepper, seeded & chopped
3 med. Zucchini in 1/2-in. slices
3 C. med. Bow-shaped noodles
Grated Parmesan cheese
In 6 qt. Dutch oven over med-hi heat, cook sausage until no longer pink (take sausage out of casing, break into pieces in pan). Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Discard all but 3 Tb. Drippings. Add onion & garlic and cook until soft (about 5 mins.). Stir in tomatoes & liquid, breaking up tomatoes with spoon. Add sausage, broth, wine, and basil. Bring to fully rolling boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer 20 mins.
Stir in parsley, green pepper, zucchini, and noodles. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until noodles are al dente (about 25 mins.). Skim off & discard fat.
Pass cheese to spoon over soup when serving.
I made the Toscana yesterday, yum! I used to work at Olive Garden and carried that recipe home with me long before it was on the 'nets, and I love it.
I’m going to chime in with ‘Pasole!!’ but you’re going to have to google and find out which recipe bests appeals to you, as there are as many recipes as cooks and I’ve never had bad pasole. Mmm…
Perfect… thanks so much guys! We just got about 3 more inches of snow and more is coming so I think I’ll have the chance to try a few of these this week.
It was good, but I ended up adding some Worcestershire sauce at the end to give it some sort of something (tomato paste probably would have done the same thing.)
I was recently cleaning out my freezer and found 3 salmon fillets and 2 ground salmon patties. I decided to try salmon soup, which I had never heard of. Just the salmon and lots of veggies; it was excellent.