Soup's On: Perfect Pot of Winter Warmth

For those of us who don't always have the funds to go out for dinner when we don't feel like cooking—or don't have the time to whip up a culinary feast for our hungry families—I highly suggest jumping off the plate and into the pot. In other words, think soup.

It's almost the perfect winter warmer. Its steaming heat warms the body and fills the belly, especially when you add beans, pasta, potatoes, rice or root vegetables. It's easy, usually taking no more than 30 minutes or so to go from start to finish. It satisfies a crowd, needing only a good loaf of bread and maybe some cheese or a green salad to make a meal. Seriously, it's hard to do better when you're feeding a family or, indeed, a table full of guests.

And I've been making a lot of soup lately, from a Thai-inflected curried squash soup to a Tuscan white bean soup to a split pea soup with bacon to a corn chowder. Though at my house we often call it "stewp" because it invariably turns out to be less brothy and more hearty.

The soup in the photo above was a complete improvisation. I was pressed for time to make dinner on a recent weeknight and was rummaging in the freezer for ingredients I might be able to thaw quickly. That's when I ran across a package of frozen chorizo sausage I'd bought from Don Felipe at the Portland Mercado. Hm. A start.

A bit of digging in the vegetable bin brought up some carrots and a couple of garnet yams, and I found a container of leftover black beans I'd made earlier in the week (though you could always use canned). Perfect.

And, like I said earlier, in just over a half hour we were sitting down to what may be my new favorite soup.

Chorizo, Black Bean and Yam Soup

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 lb. fresh chorizo sausage*

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped fine

3-4 c. cooked or canned black beans

2 large carrots, chopped in 1/4" dice

2 medium garnet yams, chopped in 1/2" dice

4-6 c. water, depending on how brothy you like your soup

Heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. When it shimmers, add the chorizo and brown, breaking up with a spoon as it cooks. Add onion and garlic and sauté till tender. Add black beans, carrots, yams and water and bring to a boil, stirring to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until carrots and yams are tender.

* I highly recommend Don Felipe's Tolucan-style red chorizo sausage, or you can make your own version with this simple recipe.

Two Soups Double Your Winter Comfort

I grew up in a time of convenience, when to make a cake all you had to do was open a box, crack an egg and add water. It was like magic, guaranteed to turn out perfectly every time. It was also long before I thought to read the ingredients in the tiny print on the labels and wonder what those multisyllabic words meant. During our courtship, Dave wooed me with his lunches of grilled cheese sandwiches alongside a bowl of canned condensed tomato soup—when getting fancy meant making it with milk instead of water.

Coffeehouse flyer and recipes.

But there was a period in college when I was drafted to run a coffeehouse-cum-soup kitchen on campus, coordinating volunteers to make the day's featured soup. Most were made from scratch, and I still have the collection of recipes ranging from Mike's beer cheese soup to Jane's "potage parmentier" to Robert's killer French onion soup. One I didn't get, despite much begging and pleading, was Dr. Coleman's secret recipe for split pea soup. Lusciously thick, with a spicy heat that left a warm glow, he always brought a huge pot of it into the kitchen already made, so I couldn't even sneak a glimpse of the ingredients.

Curried coconut squash soup.

What that early experience taught me was that soup recipes can take myriad forms, from one with an ingredient list the length of your arm, dozens of steps and hours of chopping and simmering to something that can be thrown together in a few minutes from whatever's in the pantry and the vegetable bin.

Have a couple of potatoes, an onion, a couple of cups of milk and some canned clams or frozen corn or shrimp? Chowder! A couple of carrots, onion, garlic, canned beans and tomatoes? You've got the makings for minestrone!

Here are a couple of soups I've made this past week that are perfect for warming up chilly winter evenings. I usually just slice some of Dave's homemade sourdough and call it a meal, but you can get official and make a salad to serve with it if that makes you feel better. Call the neighbors over if you're in the mood, since adding more stock or water or a few more ingredients can stretch it to feed a crowd!

Tuscan White Bean Soup with Sage

1 lb. dried white beans (cannelini, borlotti or any small to medium-sized white bean)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh sage leaves or 1 1/2 tsp. dried
6-8 c. water or chicken or vegetable stock (or a combination of the two)
Salt to taste

Put dried white beans in a pot and cover with water by 1 inch. Soak overnight or for several hours. Drain.

In a large soup pot, heat oil until it shimmers. Add onion and sauté over medium heat until tender. Add garlic and heat until fragrant, but don't brown it. Add stock, sage leaves and drained beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for at least two hours or until beans are tender, adding more water if the beans absorb too much of the liquid. Add salt to taste. It can be served at this point, but I like to purée it with an immersion blender until it's smooth. (This can also be done in batches in a blender or food processor, but cool it slightly first or it'll explode all over the kitchen.)

Options: Chop a head of kale and stir it in to wilt at the end of cooking the beans, though this probably means you wouldn't want to purée it. Add a chunk of bacon or ham when you add the stock, (removing if you decide to purée the soup), then shred it and add back to the soup before serving.

* * *

Curried Coconut Squash Soup

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 tsp. curry powder
1/8 tsp. ground cayenne
1 13 1/2 oz. can coconut milk
2-4 c. water or chicken or vegetable stock (or a combination of the two)
4 c. roasted squash, cut in 1" cubes
1 kaffir lime leaf (optional)
Zest of 1/2 lime
Juice of 1/2 lime

In a large soup pot, heat oil until it shimmers. Add onion and sauté over medium heat until tender. Add garlic and heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add curry powder and sauté for 1 minute. Add cayenne, coconut milk, water and/or stock, squash, lime leaf, lime zest and juice. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove lime leaf and discard. Purée with immersion blender until smooth. (This can also be done in batches in a blender or food processor, but cool it slightly first or it'll explode all over the kitchen.)

 Here's one attempt to replicate that split pea soup, though adding white pepper may be the secret to the heat. Check out these recipes if you're inspired to start your own soup saga.

Soup in the Summer?

Growing up in Central Oregon, my family always went out into the woods in early December to cut our Christmas tree. (And yes, I know it's summer outside right now, but bear with me…) We usually went with a passel of other families, kids spilling out of cars to tromp through what at the time seemed like very deep snow to find the perfect tree.  Or at least one that would pass for perfect once we got it home and my dad drilled holes in trunk, sticking in a few branches to fill out the bare spots. When the tree had been shoved into the back of the station wagon, the kids would collapse, exhausted, to consume gallons of hot chocolate, soup and sandwiches.

Another tradition was the annual spring picnic, "spring" being defined as that time when the snow started melting from the Cascades. We'd all dress in our winter coats and boots, pile into the station wagon, drive out to the country, open the tailgate and eat hungrily from the basket of sandwiches and thermoses of soup that our mother had made that morning.

These heartwarming memories are all to cheer you up for the coming days of rain, when our planned weekend picnics are going to move indoors and the barbecues are going to go back under their rain covers until the sun graces us with its presence again.

But hey, make lemonade, right?

Or, in this case, a pot of soup. Because, at least in my book, the best antidote to cool, rainy days is something that'll fill the house with good smells and warm up our bellies. Put it in a thermos, pile into the car and take a drive. Stop someplace, let the kids out and have a picnic. Or just invite a passel of friends over for a soup dinner with a big loaf of crusty bread. I guarantee it'll make the rainy days go by a lot faster.

Mexican-style Black Bean and Greens Soup

1 lb. dried black beans
1/4 lb. bacon
1 1/2 c. yellow onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp. garlic, chopped fine
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 Tbsp. cumin
1 Tbsp. oregano
1/8 tsp. cayenne
1 28-oz. can tomatoes
8 c. chicken stock
4 c. mustard greens, kale or chard, roughly chopped
Cilantro, finely chopped
Lime wedges
Sour cream

Put beans in a saucepan and cover with water by a couple of inches. Cover and let sit out overnight. Drain.

Sauté bacon over medium heat in large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add onion, celery and garlic and sauté in the bacon fat until tender. Add spices and stir for 1 minute until fragrant. Add tomatoes, breaking them up with a spoon, and stir; bring to a boil and add beans and chicken stock. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cook until beans are tender, at least an hour. Add greens and cook till wilted. Ladle into bowls and serve with cilantro, lime wedges and sour cream at the table.

Garage Sale Soup

There's always a big pot of soup on the burner at contributor Jim Dixon's Olive Oil Garage Sale, and this year was no exception. This thick, luscious and hearty concoction is more of a stew than a soup, something we call "stoop" around here, and is perfect to ward off the chill while you sample and decide which of his delicious olive oils you're going to buy.

Garage Sale Soup

Soak a couple of cups of garbanzos overnight, then simmer in salted water until tender. Dice a medium onion, a couple of carrots, and a few celery stalks (I prefer the inner stalks with some leaves, too) and cook in extra virgin olive oil for a few minutes.

Add a peeled and diced celery root, a couple of yellow potatoes done the same way, a half head of green cabbage, chopped, and a bunch of lacinato kale (cavolo nero) cut in chiffonade. Pour in a large can of crushed tomatoes, the garbanzos and their cooking liquid, and a couple of cups of water. Toss in a healthy pinch of sea salt. Add a cup of so of polenta, then simmer for at least an hour.

Drizzle each bowl with more extra virgin olive oil.

For the tenth year in a row, Jim will be sampling a selection of olive oils, Katz vinegars and flor de sel at Great Wine Buys today (12/12) with his pal winemaker Andrew Rich, who will have current releases available for tasting. Great Wine Buys is at 1515 NE Broadway.

Staying Warm in Winter

Winter is coming, as evidenced by the recent plummeting temperatures and lashing rains. Contributor Jim Dixon of RealGoodFood is fighting back with hearty soups made from grains and root veggies, and he shares a recipe here. You can find him and a wide selection of imported grains, beans, Katz vinegars and Italian olive oils on Mondays from 5 till 7 at Activspace, 833 SE Main #111 in the inner courtyard (and cash or checks only, please).

The weekend’s storm definitely felt like winter, and I made a big pot of soup to keep warm. You could cook the beans and farro in the soup, but it will take longer.

Farro and Bean Soup with Kale, Squash, and Celery Root

Soak a cup or more of Bluebird Grain Farms farro overnight, then simmer in salted water for about an hour. Cook a cup or more of Haricot Farms red beans (I combine the beans, unsoaked, with water, salt, and olive oil in a clay bean pot, then bake at about 200° until done, usually a few hours).

Start by making an Italian-style sofrito. Cook a chopped onion in extra virgin olive oil for a few minutes, then add chopped celery and cook a bit longer, then carrots and cook a little more. Add a little salt and water (several cups or more) and bring to a gentle boil.

Peel and cube a celery root, add to pot. Ditto a smallish butternut squash (or half a bigger one). Chiffonade a bunch of cavalo nero (aka lacinato kale) by cutting the leaves into thin strips. Add to pot. Chop half a head of green cabbage, into the pot as well. Add more water to cover, if necessary, and simmer gently for an hour or so.

Add the cooked farro and beans, check the salt and add more if needed. Stir in a cup or so of polenta (Ayers Creek is the best. They'll be back at the Hillsdale Farmers Market on Sunday, Nov. 15. Check the website to find out what they'll be bringing.). Simmer for another 30 minutes or longer.

Serve with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.