Roasted Garlic Soup

This soup recipe showed up one of my favorite food blogs and looked too good to pass up. I imagine this soup would be best served in a bread bowl, as the author recommends, but Brit and I didn’t have easy access to any. Either way, the soup is delicious and I’d highly recommend making this. The smell and taste of the roast garlic and shallots are fantastic and I’d love to incorporate them into more dishes.

Roasted Garlic Soup

(originally posted on the Macheesmo food blog)

serves 4

2 heads of garlic

2 shallots

Olive oil

1.5 lbs potatoes, cubed

1 quart vegetable stock

2 cups water

½ cup parmesan cheese

1 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Slice off the top of the heads of garlic and shallots. Place them all into some foil, drizzle a little bit of olive oil on top, sprinkle some kosher salt, and place the wrapped package into the oven. Roast for 40 min, remove from the oven, and set aside until they are cool.

Pop the garlic cloves and shallots out of their skin. Place them in a large pot with the cubed potatoes, stock, and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Use a blender (an immersion blender would be best) to puree the soup. Mix in the lemon juice and parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper. A ¼ cup of cream can be optionally added at this point.

Harira with Israeli Salad

Tonight's meal is another recipe from the Moosewood Restaurant cookbook that Brit has fallen in love with. Harira is a traditional North African soup served during Ramadan and is a very hearty and tasty meal. Brit and I cooked most of this dish the night before and let it sit overnight to help soften all of the protein and help the flavors evolve. Brit also quickly chopped up a light and refreshing Israeli Salad that was really nice in this hot weather that we've been suffering through.

Harira

Serves 6

1 cup onion, chopped
4 cups veggie stock
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp grated ginger root
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 cup carrot, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
15 oz diced tomatoes, undrained
1.5 cups potatoes, diced
pinch of saffron (we actually forgot to include this)
1 cup lentils
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper
1-2 tbsp cilantro, chopped (we also didn't include this as a last second decision)
lemon wedges

In a large soup pot, simmer the onions on 1 cup stock for 10 minutes. Mix the cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, and cayenne with a few tbsp of hot stock. Stir the spice paste into the pot and add the carrots, celery, and remaining stock. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, potatoes, and lentils, recover, and cook for 15-20 min. At this point the saffron should be added (if you remember to do so). Stir in the chickpeas, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. We waited to season with salt and pepper until the following day. At this point we let the pot sit overnight and transferred it to the fridge during the day.

When we were ready to eat, we re-heated the soup, seasoned with salt and pepper, and squirted some fresh lemon juice before eating. We should have also included the cilantro as a garnish, but were too hungry to wait.

Israeli Salad

1 cucumber, chopped
1 tomato, diced
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Handful of parsley, chopped
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.


This soup was fantastic. Really hearty. Really tasty. Really good. And there were a lot of leftovers for future lunches. The next time we make this dish, which we definitely will, we'll add extra lentils and garbanzo beans. The salad that Brit made was actually her own variation on an Israeli salad that she first learned from her Norwegian grandmother. The addition of the tomato makes the dish more similar to an Israeli salad, but the rougher chopped veggies and garlic make this her own unique recipe. Ultimately, it was very tasty and perfect to eat in the heat.

Cream of Broccoli Soup, Bulghur Wheat & Greens, and Herbed Fish in a Packet

After a long, action-packed vacation to Oregon and a full week of frozen TJ's dinners while I anxiously awaited Mike to get back from his additional week at home, I decided to go "all out," so to speak and prepare an appetizer and a meal for the evening of Mike's return.

While we were in Oregon, Mike's mom bought us the Moosewood Restaurant Low Fat Favorites cookbook, so I decided I'd try three brand new recipes from there. This book's definitely a keeper.

Cream of Green Vegetable Soup with Broccoli
(ever-so-slightly adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low Fat Favorites)

2 1/2 cups chopped onions
6 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups diced potatoes
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
3 cups water
5 cups chopped broccoli (florets and stems)
a couple tablespoons chopped thyme
about 1/4 cup chopped basil
handful chopped parsley
2 cups buttermilk
salt and pepper to taste

In a soup pot, combine the onions, garlic, potatoes, celery & water. Bring to a boil, then cover, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the broccoli, thyme, basil and parsley and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes more, until the vegetables are tender. Working in batches in a blender or food processor, puree the soup with the buttermilk. Return it to the soup pot. Add salt to taste, reheat, and serve.

Cook's Note: This soup was creamy, rich and very filling. We will definitely make it again, but I think I'll do a soup-and-salad or soup-and-sandwich dinner next time - we were full by the time we got halfway through the fish and bulgur greens.

Bulgur with Savory Greens
(from Moosewood Restaurant Low Fat Favorites)

2 1/2 cups chopped onions
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound Swiss chard, rinsed and chopped (about 8 cups)
juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups bulgur
2 1/2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

lemon wedges
fresh mint leaves
red wine or balsamic vinegar

In a large skillet, saute the onions and garlic in the oil for about 8 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the greens and lemon juice, cover and cook until greens have just wilted. Stir in the bulgur. Add the water, cover and cook on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, until the bulgur is tender and most of the water has been absorbed. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add more lemon juice to taste. Drizzle with vinegar and serve garnished with lemon wedges and mint.

Herbed Fish in a Packet
(from Moosewood Restaurant Low Fat Favorites)

2 tuna fillets (next time we'll use salmon)
about 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
salt and pepper
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tomato, thickly sliced
4 lemon slices
4 fresh rosemary sprigs
4 teaspoons capers

Rinse the fish fillets and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. For each fillet, fold a 12 x 15-inch piece of parchment paper in half to form a 12 x 7.5-inch rectangle and trim the corners to form a half heart shape, the way you would cut a large Valentine heart. Open the parchment on a flat working surface and place a fish fillet to one side of the center fold. Top the fillet with 1/2 the basil, 1/2 the thyme, sprinkle with salt and pepper and squeeze the juice of 1/2 the lemon.

Cover with a slice of tomato, 1 or 2 slices of lemon, a sprig of the fresh thyme, and 1/2 the capers. Fold the parchment over the fish and then, starting at one end and working you way around to the other end, carefully fold the cut edges twice to form a sealed packet.

Place the packets on an unoiled baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. The packets will become puffed and golden brown. Avoid the steam as you open the packet to check that the fish is cooked. When the fish flakes easily with a fork, open the packets and serve.