Doris and Jilly Cook » Soup

Pumpkin Pear Soup

dorisandjilly — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:55:20 +0000

My delightful billy goat made this delicious soup with ingredients that came from our basement (mostly). We’re not participating in the Dark Days challenge, but it almost qualifies, depending on how you classify the pears. We used fresh pears from a not-terribly-local-or-organic source, but if you want to be exceedingly virtuous, you could make this from dried pears, should you have any left. The ingredients are nothing particularly special, but somehow it ends up being more than the sum of its parts. And like all soups, it’s better the next day.

Pumpkin Pear Soup

1 quart frozen pumpkin
1 quart chicken broth, preferably homemade, or vegetable stock if you want a vegan soup
2 T olive oil or butter, if you’re doing local
1 large onion, chopped
3 ripe pears, peeled and diced, or 1 c. dried pears, chopped
2 or 3 sprigs fresh thyme
salt and pepper
1/2 c. white wine
parsley or cilantro for garnish

1) If you’re using dried pears, soak them in hot water for 20 minutes. Then drain and set aside.

2) Put the pumpkin and the stock in a soup pot and bring to a boil. Add some salt. Simmer for at least 20 minutes.

3) Meanwhile, heat up the oil or butter in a skillet. Turn down the heat to medium low and add the onions. Cook slowly until they start to caramelize, about 20 minutes. Now add pears (dried or fresh) and the thyme sprigs and keep cooking. You want everything to be soft and delicious and slightly brown. Salt helps.

4) Puree the pumpkin/stock mixture in a blender (you can skip this if your pumpkin is very smooth). Stir in the onions and pears (remove the thyme). Pour the wine into the skillet to deglaze it and let it cook for just a couple of minutes. Then toss the wine into the pot, too. Adjust the seasonings and garnish as desired.

This keeps several days in the fridge and freezes well.

Happy Thanksgiving! (and about that stock…)

dorisandjilly — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:04:52 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! When you’re done eating that turkey, be sure to make a stock. BUT—and this is a big but—unless you have a pressure canner, please don’t attempt to can it. Unlike fruits, tomatoes, and tomatillos, stock is a low acid food, which means that the temperature of boiling water is not enough to kill the bacteria. You need the higher temperatures of a pressure cooker. I’ve got step-by-step instructions, with pictures, on this post on chicken stock. Turkey stock is basically the same thing, just with a bigger bird.

And if you don’t have a pressure canner, don’t despair. Just freeze it.

Split Pea Soup in the Pressure Cooker

dorisandjilly — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:18:17 +0000

Split pea may possibly be my absolute favorite winter food. The leaves fall, the rain comes, and it’s time for a big bowl of green goodness. In the past, I’ve made it in the crockpot, but sometimes it ends up tasting a little overcooked—especially if bacon is involved. This version, in the pressure cooker, will definitely be my new standard. You cook the peas and vegetables in two separate steps to avoid a big pile o’ mush. But be careful: unless you have an enormous pressure cooker, you’ll need to cover the split peas so as to avoid blowing a hole in your ceiling. Trust me on this one.

A note on meat vs. non-meat: I like my pork. Sometimes I throw in a ham end. Sometimes I use bacon. Sometimes I use bacon fat. And sometimes, I make it vegan. What you do is up to do.

Split Pea Soup in the Pressure Cooker

2 c. dried split peas
1 T. bacon fat or olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium or 1 large carrot, chopped
1 medium turnip, chopped
1 medium potato, chopped
1 medium sweet potato, chopped
a few sprigs of thyme
salt and pepper

1. Put the split peas with 4 c. water in a covered heat-proof bowl on the steamer rack in your pressure cooker. If you don’t have an appropriate bowl with a lid, just use a small mixing bowl covered with foil. (See pictures of this technique on this post on barley in the pressure cooker.) Add 1 c. water to the pressure cooker to create steam. Cover and lock the lid. Cook at 15 pounds pressure for 10 minutes.

2. Release the pressure and take the bowl out of the pressure cooker. Drain the liquid at the bottom of the pressure cooker, but keep the liquid in the split pea bowl. Set it aside.

3. Meanwhile, saute the onions and garlic in your chosen fat. I let mine get fairly brown. If you want to save time, do this in a separate pan while the split peas cook; if you want to save dishes, wait, and fry them up in the pressure cooker itself once you’ve taken out the bowl.

4. Combine the onions, the split peas and their liquid, the thyme, and all the vegetables in the pressure cooker. Add another cup of water or so. Close and lock the lid. Bring to pressure and cook for 3 mintes. Let the pressure drop of its own accord, then add salt and pepper to taste.

Variations: It’s soup. It’s mean to be flexible. Add or subtract soup vegetables as desired.

Ask the Goats: Premature Seal?

dorisgoat — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:05:32 +0000

Q: I tried canning chicken stock, and followed the directions on your blog, but the lids made the “pop” sound as soon as I poured the liquid in and seemed to seal (I hadn’t heated them up yet). Then I processed them. Is this OK? Are the jars safe to eat?

(from Christina, Philadelphia)

Yes! If you had hot liquid, and cold (or even room temperature) jars, it’s possible that you could create a vacuum just by putting on the lids. As the liquid cools, the volume of the air inside decreases, and you get a good, clean seal. This is the same thing that normally happens after you process the jars—it just happened early. When you put the jars into the pressure cooker and crank up the heat, the contents will expand once again, so you’ll still need to check that the jars have sealed once your done.

Just to clarify: you do need to process the jars, even if they’ve sealed, because you need to kill the bacteria with high heat.

One more side note: I’ve seen Christina’s pressure cooker, and while it’s certainly safe to use, it’s a little scary to can with. This is because there is no visual indicator that tells you whether the canner is at pressure once you’ve turned off the heat. It does have a lock, so there’s no chance that you can accidentally open it, but there’s also no way to tell when it’s safe to go in. When you can liquids in a pressure cooker, the general recommendation is that you wait at least 10 minutes after the pressure has dissapated before opening the lid, as the contents of the jars may still be bubbling when the indicator falls. If you have a pressure cooker like this, the answer is simply to wait. There’s no harm in letting them sit there all afternoon, if necessary. Better safe than sorry!

Chickpea Soup

dorisgoat — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 18:18:47 +0000

This soup is not unlike a liquid hummus. Depending on your preferences and what you have on hand, you can make it vegan or with chicken stock; with or without parsley; and lumpy or smooth. I use the pressure cooker both because the texture of the “sauce” in canned beans creeps me out and because I find the cheap prices of dried beans mesmerizing. If you’re not bothered by texture or cost, by all means try it with canned chickpeas.

This recipe is loosely adapted from a book of mostly soups called The Good Food that I cannot find referenced anywhere online. My version uses less oil, less rosemary, more garlic, less salt, paprika, no bay leaf, and a pressure cooker.

Chickpea Soup (Pressure Cooker)

2 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 T rosemary
a bit of salt
2 c. dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
1 qt. chicken or vegetable stock or water
1 pt. canned tomatoes in water (I guess a 15 oz. can if using commercial?)
paprika

1) Saute the onion in the oil directly in the pressure cooker. Add the garlic, salt, and rosemary, and cook a little longer.

2) Add the chickpeas, stock, and tomatoes.

3) Close and lock the lid. Cook at 15 lbs of pressure for 12 minutes. Let the pressure drop of its own accord. (Pressure cooker 101 is here.)

4) Puree until smooth (or at least as smooth as you want it) in a blender. Swirl with paprika.

Non-Pressure Cooker Version

Somehow get yourself 3 cups or so of cooked chickpeas. Do steps 1 and 2, then bring to a boil in a big pan. You might need to add another 2 cups of water or so. Simmer for about half an hour, then puree.