All Photos Captured by David Uhrin
Fall is on its way, y’all. And that means soup season. Soups are often simple to make, and the best part is they are infinitely versatile, perfect for all sorts of creative substitutions and beautiful, flavorful garnishments limited only by your imagination.
The Roasted Red Pepper Soup and Sweet Corn Chowder combo featured here, with its stunning side-by-side presentation and sweet-spicey flavor profile, is a great example. Technically, these are two soups, notes local cooking instructor Jacqui Renager, but the basic recipe for each is the same and could be reimagined with just about any veggie you love as the star ingredient.
Also on the menu from Renager’s kitchen in this issue is a hearty Beef and Guinness Stew featuring root vegetables like parsnips and turnips alongside traditional potatoes, and raisins and caraway seeds that bring a sweet note and a slightly peppery, anise flavor. And, of course you could swap the Guinness for a local version like O’Connor Brewing’s Nitro ODIS Stout.
Our third and final soup is a classic take on Ciopinno, a seafood stew originally popularized by Italian immigrants in California, the ideal vehicle for our region’s gorgeous fresh shellfish and other seafood.
Break out the bowls and spoons and dig in.
All Recipes by Jacqui Renager
Fun in the Kitchen with Jacqui
Roasted Red Pepper Soup & Sweet Corn Chowder
Roasted Red Pepper Soup
1 cup baby carrots
½ cup chopped celery
1 red onion quartered
3 jars roasted red peppers with juice
4 cups chicken broth
1 ½ cups heavy cream
½ cup sugar
Cayenne pepper to taste
Salt to taste after reduction
Put the carrots, celery, onion, red peppers and broth in a stock pot. Bring to a boil. Cover the pot and boil until the carrots are fork-tender. Use a Vitamix or high-powered blender to puree the mixture. Pass the mixture through a chinois or food mill to remove the fibrous material, so you are left with the juice only. Return to pot and add cream, sugar and cayenne. Cook on medium low, stirring occasionally until reduced to desired thickness. The thicker the better. This can take up to 45 minutes. Be patient!
Sweet Corn Chowder
1 cup baby carrots
½ cup chopped celery
1 red onion quartered
4 cans of sweet corn with juice
4 cups chicken broth
1 ½ cups heavy cream
½ cup honey
Salt to taste after reduction
Put the carrots, celery, onion, corn, and broth in a stock pot. Bring to a boil. Cover the pot and boil until the carrots are fork-tender. Use a Vitamix or high-powered blender to puree the mixture. Pass the mixture through a chinois or food mill to remove the fibrous material so you are left with the juice only. Return to pot and add cream and honey. Cook on medium low, stirring occasionally until reduced to desired thickness. The thicker the better. This can take up to 45 minutes. Be patient!
Presentation
Pour each soup into a 4-cup measuring cup and pour into a shallow bowl at the same time from opposite sides of the bowl. They will meet but will not mix. Garnish with fresh herb sprigs and croutons or maybe a couple of crumbles of fresh goat cheese.
Beef and Guinness Stew
3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes1 teaspoon salt, divided
5 cups chopped onion (about 3 onions)
1 tablespoon tomato paste6-7 cups beef stock
1 (11.2-ounce) Guinness (or a local stout)
3 tablespoons raisins
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 ½ cups diced carrots
1 ½ cups sliced parsnips
1 cup chopped turnips
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- Heat 1 ½ tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle beef with ½ teaspoon salt; dredge beef in flour. Add half of beef to pan; cook 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove beef from pan with a slotted spoon. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 ½ tablespoons oil and beef.
- Add onion to pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in broth and beer, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Return meat to pan. Stir in remaining ½ teaspoon salt, raisins, caraway seeds, and pepper; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Uncover and bring to a boil. Cook 50 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add carrot, parsnip, and turnip. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and bring to a boil; cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with parsley.
Cioppino
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 onion chopped
3 large shallots, chopped
1 ½ teaspoon salt
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
½ cup tomato paste
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
2 cups dry white wine
5 cups vegetable, chicken, or seafood stock
2 bay leaves
1 pound littleneck clams, scrubbed and purged
1 pound mussels, scrubbed, debearded, and purged
1 pound uncooked large shrimp shell on (look for easy peel)
1 ½ pound firm fleshed (skinless) fish of choice such as cod or salmon, cut into 2 inch chunks
Parsley sprigs for garnish
Heat the oil in a 6–8-quart stock pot over medium heat. Add the fennel, onion, shallots and salt and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 12 minutes. Add the garlic and ¾ teaspoon of the crushed red pepper flakes and sauté for three minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Add the tomatoes with their juices, wine, stock and bay leaves. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium low and continue to cook until the flavors blend, 35-40 minutes.
Add the clams to the cooking liquid. Cover and cook until the clams begin to open (about 7-10 minutes). Add the mussels and cook for three minutes. Add the shrimp and fish. Simmer gently until the fish and shrimp are just cooked through and the clams and mussels are fully open (5-8 minutes). Discard any clams and mussels that did not open. Season soup to taste with salt and additional red pepper flakes.
Ladle the soup into bowls and served with a sprig of parsley and a nice grilled or oven-crisped sourdough slice.
