Cream of Asparagus Soup

I'm come to realize that I'm really good at making soups! I'm not trying to be cocky here but everyone seems to really enjoy them where they don't always like everything else that I make. Today I made a "Cream of Asparagus Soup" for dinner.




Ingredients:
1 1/2 - Lbs of Asparagus
3 - Tbsp Olive Oil
1 - Tbsp Butter
2 - Leeks, thinly sliced
1 - Onion, chopped
1 1/2 - Boxes of Chicken Stock
2 - Tsp of Nutmeg
2/3 - Cups Heavy Cream (Table Cream)
Salt and Pepper




Directions:
Heat oil and butter in a large sauce pan. Add the leeks, onion and saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Chopped the heads of the asparagus off and set a side. Chop the remaining asparagus into 1 inch pieces.

Add the Chopped asparagus, chicken stock and nutmeg to the sauce pan. Season with Salt and pepper. After a couple of minutes the soup should taste like asparagus but not too salty.

Simmer for 10 minutes and then transfer to a blender.

Puree until smooth.

Transfer to clean sauce pan.

Add two thirds of the cream, mix well and gently heat.

At the same time boil some water and add the asparagus tops. Boil until tender.

Drain.

Ladle the soup into bowls, spoon the remaining cream on top and float the asparagus. Mine kept sinking so I had to keep adding asparagus :)

(It didn't float so well for me) 

I made some Cheesy Garlic bread to enjoy with it.

Everyone really like this soup and I've been told to add it to my regular rotation. If you try it out, let me know what you think in the comments.

Curry-Roasted Cauliflower, Kale and Risotto

If you are struggling with different things to do with Kale then this a recipe to try. I think Kale is okay at best and I've kind of been on a Cauliflower kick (I've made my Twice Baked Cauliflower a bunch of times lately) so I thought this would be worth a shot.




Ingredients:
2 - Cups of Chicken Stock
1 - Cup Risotto
4 - Tbsp Oil
4 - Tbsp of Lemon Juice
1/2 - Cup of finely chopped parsley
Salt and Pepper
4 - Cups of torn kale leaves (stalks discarded)
1 - Head of cauliflower, cut into small florets
1/2 - Red onion, chopped
2 - Tbsp red curry paste




Directions:
Pre-Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Cook the Risotto to the package directions (can be slightly different for each type).

Combine 1 Tbsp of oil and 2 Tbsp of lemon juice.

Finely chop up parsley.

 Add to mixture.

Combine Risotto and Parsley mixture.

Mix 2 Tbsp of Curry with 1 Tbsp of Oil.

Pour mixture over Cauliflower.

Chopped up red onion.

And add to Cauliflower.

Mix everything together.

Spread over a tin foil lined sheet and Bake for 20 minutes at 425, stirring only once until Cauliflower is almost tender and starting to brown.

Combine 2 Tbsp of oil and 2 Tbsp of lemon juice (Yes again)

Coat the Kale with the Oil and Lemon mixture. Sprinkle with Salt and Pepper. After the 20 minutes of Cauliflower and Onion baking has completed, add the Kale and bake again for another 5 minutes.

Plate the Risotto and Curry-Roasted Cauliflower Kale.

Parsnip, Chorizo and Almond Soup

I think that Parsnips are okay but I don't love them so I didn't expect a lot out of this soup. The big surprise to me is how spicy this dish was. Normally I would get a mild Chorizo but this time I ended up getting a "hot" Chorizo and it made a huge difference. Even though I was sweating while eating it, I really ended up enjoying this soup with a fresh load of bread and a glass of wine :)

One change I made from the original recipe was the Almonds. Originally it called for Chestnuts but they are seasonal so good luck finding them after fall. I even looked for the vacuum packed ones but I couldn't find them anywhere. So as always, I did my own substitution. One other thing it called for was 1 celery stock. I wasn't going to buy a whole celery, which I wouldn't use, for just one stock so I skipped it.

(Servers 4 to 6)

Ingredients:
4 to 6oz - Chorizo
1 - Tbsp, olive oil
1 - Onion, Chopped
3 - Garlic Cloves, diced
1 - Carrot, Choppped
3 - Parsnips, Chopped
1/4 - Tsp dried red pepper flakes
1 - Tbsp ground cumin
1/4 - Cup of Chopped Almonds
4 - Cups Chicken stock
Salt and Pepper

(See how I made it look like a happy face?)

Directions:
Chop the Chorizo and put it in a large saucepan, then heat for 3 - 5 minutes or until the oil starts to be released. At the same time the Chorizo will start to brown up a bit.

Remove the Chorizo leaving as much of the oils in the pan that you can. Add the Onion, Garlic, Carrot and Parsnips to the pan.

Cook for 10 minutes or until the veggies start to soften. You may need to add the Olive oil to prevent the veggies from burning.

Add the Red Pepper flakes, Cumin, Almonds and season with Salt and Pepper.

Add the Chicken Stock, cover and then simmer for  25 - 30 minutes.

 (After Simmering)

Transfer the contents to a blender and blend until smooth.

Warm up the Chorizo then Ladle the soup into a bowl and top with the Chorizo

It goes really well with a fresh loaf of bread and some wine :)

Sweet Potato, Shallots and Carrots

Roots vegetables are still in season so I'm testing out a bunch of different recipes that use them. Todays recipe is a side dish that probably would have been better suited to go with a steak but it went okay with Chicken. It's quite sweet with the dates and honey but really good it you are looking from somethings sweet :)

Ingredients:

3 - Tbsp Olive Oil

1 - Tbsp Butter

2 - Tsp Ginger

2 - Tsp Cinnamon

16 - Small Shallots, peeled and left whole

2 - Large Sweet Potatoes

2 - Large Carrots

3/4 - Cup pitted dates

1 - Tbsp honey

2 - Cups Vegetable Chicken Stock

A small bunch of fresh Cilantro, chopped

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Heat olive oil and butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add Ginger and Cinnamon. Peel shallots and put into the skillet, stirring often to completely coat in Ginger and Cinnamon combination. Chop Carrots and Sweet Potatoes then add to skillet. Mix well and increase the temperature to high while stir-frying the mixture for 2 - 3 minutes.

Add the Dates, Honey and mix again.

Pour in the stock and bring to a boil.

Cover and reduce heat to Medium-Low, cooking for about 25 minutes. The vegetables should be tender and slightly caramelized.

Uncover and stir in the Cilantro. Season to taste with Salt and Pepper.

Plate and Serve!

(My new Basil plant likes being in photos)

(It didn't go amazing with Chicken so I would suggest making this with a steak. I thought about having it will my Lamb but then I thought that would be too sweet of a meal)