Leek Soup with Dill Oil

My love affair with soup continues!!!

I can't help it...

But I'm changing it up a bit...I discovered a new cooking website that I have fallen in love called 101 Cookbooks. 101 Cookbooks is based off a lady named Heidi who was a self-proclaimed impulsive buyer of cookbooks. She always purchased them with the very best intentions...and she read them...and dog-eared the pages and marked favorite recipes with post-its...and then stuck those cookbooks on her shelf and never actually cooked anything from them.

Heidi's Own Cookbook, based on her own recipes...just recently published!!

One day, she looked up and realized that she had over 100 different cookbooks...and decided right then and there that it was time to stop buying, and start COOKING.

Heidi focuses on cooking with all-natural ingredients. Since our family is becoming more and more healthy, this appeals to me. Having a large family, I cannot afford to always purchase organic or raw foods. I try to do my best, but it's mostly unfeasible for me to go completely raw.

Heidi is also, of course, primarily a vegetarian.

We, on the other hand, are carnivores. However...I do try to make at least one vegetarian (or even vegan!!) meal a week...if not more. But since it is not my primary mode of cooking, I often run out of ideas...and tend to focus on what's easy...which is usually soup.

But I have a good friend named Jenn Charron...and she is a vegetarian. I introduced her to the 101 Cookbooks website, and she loved it. And we have since decided to get together at least once a week and make dinner for our families together from 101 Cookbooks, or other healthy, vegetarian sites.

Jenn and I in my kitchen (it was Halloween...hence the horns on my head. They're not really there...I swear...)

I figure that since she's a veggie-head herself, she will assist and enlighten me on all things vegetarian...helping me branch out fro my stand-by vegetarian staple...soup (but ohhh...how I LOVE soup...)

And she figures that since I am always tying new recipes and making stuff that is foreign to me, I will help her break out of her own cooking ruts.

It's a win-win.

So I made my first recipe from 101 Cookbooks last night. It was, as you can tell by the title, a soup (give me some time!! I'm working on it!!). Its called Leek Soup with Dill Oil.

I have a recipe for Potato-Leek Soup which is very good...but thanks to the addition of a large amount of cream cheese, it is not AS healthy as this broth-based soup. This soup also focuses more on leeks than potatoes. And I have to say, I love the addition of the "toppings"...the Dill Oil makes the soup actually taste green...it's fresh and like eating a piece of spring. The toasted sliced almonds give it a pleasant crunch, and the Gruyere cheese gives it a bit of pluck.

In other words...I fully enjoyed it...and my kids liked it too (they couldn't wait to eat something with a bright green "sauce" drizzled all over it). This is the original recipe, it makes 8-10 servings, so there's really no need to double unless you plan on freezing some for later. The chef, Heidi, suggests serving leftovers over scoops of cooked farro or brown rice.

I only changed up the style a bit...I've included my notes, so feel free to use the original or my adaptations.

Leek Soup with Dill Oil

• 1 small bunch of fresh dill, about 5 ounces
• 9 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 3-5 pounds leeks
• 6 TBS unsalted butter
• fine grain sea salt
• 2 large, thin-skinned potatoes, thinly sliced (I used Yukon Golds)
• 3 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 6-1/2 cups + good-tasting vegetable broth, preferably HOT
• Toasted almond slices, for topping
• Grated Gruyere cheese, for topping

1. Use a blender or food processor to puree the dill and olive oil into a creamy green emulsion. Set aside.

Yummy grass green...

2. Cut the dark, tough green leaves from the leeks, trim off the roots, and wash/rinse well. You can slice the leeks lengthwise to get in between the layers, or make a few rough chops and give them a quick soak...whatever method you prefer. You can also chop by hand (which is what I did).

It's A LOT of leeks...

3. In a large soup pot, heat the butter and 5 TBS of the dill oil over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted and is bubbling, stir in the leeks and a couple big pinches of sea salt. Stir well, then cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks soften up and collapse, about 6-8 minutes.

4. Now, stir in potato slices and garlic slices and cook, uncovered, stirring regularly, until the potatoes are very, very soft. If the leeks at the bottom of the pot are getting too much color, dial back the heat a bit and be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan while stirring.

Yukon Golds...

At this point you can mash everything with a potato masher or large fork. If you prefer a smoother soup, use a hand blender, but this soup is great a little on the chunky side. Stir in the hot broth, adjusting the amount based on whether you like a thick, or thin, soup.

(Now...here is where I deviated. I mashed with a potato masher, as suggested, and added the broth...but I didn't feel it was creamy enough...so I ladled out a third of the soup into my blender, and blended it until it was thick and smoother, although still with a little texture. I poured it out into a waiting bowl, and did the same thing with ANOTHER third of the soup. Then I poured the creamy, almost-but-not-quite-mashed-potato-consistency soup back into the third that was in the pot and still primarily broth-y and stirred well. The broth thinned the thickness of what I had blended perfectly...making a fabulously creamy, but still mildly chunky, soup. This is the same method I use for my Potato-Cheddar Soup...and it worked great.)

5. Bring back to a simmer, serve topped with almonds, grated cheese, and a generous drizzle of the remaining dill oil.

Soup with dill oil, before other toppings...

courtesy 101 Cookbooks

Potato-Leek Soup

As I was gearing up for St. Patricks Day, I found myself craving all the wonderful dishes that traditionally get served around this time of year.

And since I absolutely love soup, I had to share my Potato-Leek Soup...it's easy, completely vegetarian (although not vegan, thanks to the addition of cream cheese), and DELISH...

Potato Bliss in a Bowl

Potato Leek Soup

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 4 large leeks, cut into 1/4-inch slices (about 2 lbs.)
• 4 large russet potatoes, peeled, cubed (I actually prefer Red's or Yukons...whichever you use, you need about 4 cups worth)
• 1-=1/4 qt. (5 cups) water
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, cubed, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives 

1. Heat oil in a large stockpot on medium heat. Add leeks; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add potatoes, water, salt and pepper; cover. Bring to a boil; simmer on medium-low 15 to 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Cool 10 minutes.

2. Add leek mixture, in batches, to blender; blend until pureed. Return to stockpot. Whisk in cream cheese, a few cubes at a time; cook on medium heat until cream cheese is completely melted, stirring constantly.

3. Add milk; cook until heated through, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with chives.

note: this soup is not only fabulous for St. Patricks Day, but also for Passover. Simply select vkosher food products!! Consult with your rabbi if you have any questions!!

courtesy Kraft Foods

Ribolitta

I'm still on a soup kick...

I just can't help it!! I LOVE soup, and I want to make it ALL THE TIME!!!

I wanted a delicious vegetable soup to follow up our hearty Chicken Marbella recipe, and found this delightful gem tucked away in a Family Fun magazine, of all places. It is an entirely attainable and fairly authentic recipe for Ribolitta...a Tuscan peasant soup.

Ribolitta literally means to "boil twice" in Italian...and that's exactly what you do. Heavy on the green, this is by no means a flimsy broth with a few veggies floating around. It's an almost eat-with-a-fork vegetable sensation that explodes with flavor and gives new meaning to "eating your greens". You can easily substitute different vegetables in and out if you don't have EXACTLY what the recipe calls for.

It requires a little time to prepare...but is worth the effort. No need to double...this soup makes 10+ cups.

This soup is especially good the day after it's made...so it's lucky that the recipe yields a generous amount...you'll want leftovers.

Hearty Ribolitta

Ribolitta

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 leeks, sliced (white stalks only)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes (I used the kind with basil and oregano added in)
• 1 (15.5 oz) can cannellini beans, drained
• 1 bunch kale, ribs removed and chopped
• 1 bunch spinach or swiss chard, chopped
• 1/4 head savoy cabbage, chopped
• 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 2 zucchini, chopped
• 1 TBS salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakeswater
• 1 loaf stale (day old) French or Italian bread, sliced
• Grated Parmesan

 1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.

Onions, carrots, celery, leeks, and garlic...

Add the onion, leeks, garlic, celery, and carrots; saute until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.

Sauteed veggies with the canned veggies...

 Add the tomatoes with their juice, the beans, and the remaining vegetables...

Kale, spinach, cabbage, zucchini, and potatoes...

...then season with salt, pepper, rosemary, and red pepper flakes. Add enough water to cover the vegetables (about 10-12 cups) and bring soup to a boil. Reduce the heat, then cover and simmer the soup for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

2. Add the slices of bread (I can hear you now..."You want me to do WHAT to the bread? Isn't it for dunking...or garnish?"...No...it's not. It's part of the soup. Now do as you're told and add it in!!), then raise the heat to medium high and bring the soup to a second boil, stirring occasionally, until the bread has fully broken down, about 10-15 minutes.

Just do it, already...geez...

3. Let soup stand about 10 minutes before serving. Ladle soup into bowls, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and drizzle with olive oil, if desired (I add the cheese, but not the extra oil...so I guess that makes me decidedly UN-Italian).

Ohhhh...yum, yum, yum...

4. If you just can't help it, serve with freshly sliced Italian or French bread...

courtesy Family Fun magazine