Chupe-my take on it

Freshly back from my trip to Peru and the cold snap here in the Bay Area prompted my making this soup.  It takes great just made, but for optimal flavour, make it one or two days before serving to let the flavours get to know each other and harmonize.

Fish stock:
I keep fish heads and shrimp shells from cooking other dishes in my freezer until it is time to make a stock.  In a large soup pot submerge the fish bones, shells etc with water. Toss in celery, pepeprcorns, onion, bay leaf and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes.  Drain and set aside.  Hopefully there are 4-5 cups of stock. If not don;t worry-we will use water to top up the liquid.



3 yellow potatoes diced or cut into rounds if on the smaller side (i.e if using fingerling potatoes)  I leave the skins on but you can peel them.
1 onion diced
1/2 cup rice
3 yellow peppers finely chopped 
3 tblspns of tomato paste or freshly blanched tomatoes, skinned
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon orégano
1 rocoto pepper, seeded and finely chopped or 2-3 red chili peppers
2-3 juiced lemons and a few strips of their zest
2-3 cloves garlic. if you like garlic, pile it on!
Seafood: clams, mussels, bay scallops, jumbo shrimp-any kind and size and combination that floats your boat


In a soup pot slowly sweat the chopped onion and then add the yellow pepper. Cook over a low heat to allow the pepper to soften and almost melt turning the mix yellow. Add the tomato paste and paprika giving it a good stir and a minute or two to blend.  Toss in oregano, chili pepper, lemon zest and garlic, cook until garlic glistens. Add the fish stock and potatoes, let simmer for 30 minutes or longer.  It should be a bright yellow soup base.   If yo are cooking a few days ahead, leave it at this stage and resume the rest on the day.  Resume by adding the lemon juice & shellfish and simmer until cooked.  It;s ready to serve but also note that in Peru they add whole egg yolks and milk at this stage, which yo can too if you want to be more authentic.


Disfrute!

Black Bean Soup

I made this gobsmacking and satisfying meal from left over black beans I had defrosted (nothing like coming home from holidays to an empty fridge and being forced to raid the freezer!) I usually make soups as soups from the get go, but this approach makes the black beans first and then turns it into a soup, so consider this a two-fer recipe! As always, proportions are loosy-goosy and to your taste

Black Beans
2 cups black beans, soaked in salted water at least a few hours or overnight and drained
2 carrots chopped in 1/4" or smaller pieces
1 onion chopped
2 stalks celery (optional)
2 jalapenos or seranos chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
tomato sauce, paste or 5-6 whole roma tomatoes (blanched and peeled)
1 cup water (or stock)
1 tsp paprika, chili powder and turmeric each
bay leaf
optional: corn

Garnish: chopped cilantro, avocado, chipotle pepper, yoghurt (or sour cream or crema mexicana), lime spritz, toasted tortilla strips, grated jack cheese

 In large pot, heat up olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and celery. Saute until they are translucent and soft (6-8 minutes). Add chilis pepper, let cook through (2-3 minutes). Toss in drained beans, stir. Add the tomato paste or whole tomatoes and crush them gently.  Add the liquid and spices and bay leaf. Make sure the liquid is enough to cover the beans. Over low heat let it simmer until the beans are cooked through (approx 1 hr). You may need to keep adding liquid.  Taste for salt.


If you don't eat it all with rice and tortillas, try to leave the beans to "sit" for a day for the flavors to settle and meld.  To make the soup, just add desired quantity of stock and bring to a boil.

To serve:
Granish with any combination of above or best-all of them. Serve with heated up tortillas (I like the hand made whole wheat ones from Trader Joes).

Farro, leek and kale soup

The kale in my garden has been doing well.  Too well, such that it inspires my throwing it into my cooking. Today I used it in a soup that was light but warming at the same time: perfect for this rotten cold/flu I have.


Home made chicken stock (carcass of a roast chicken, bay leaves, peppercorns and add other veggies in the fridge such as onion, celery, carrots etc in  a pot with water and cooked for an hour. Drain.)


olive oil
1 cup of farro grain
2 organic carrots, cut lengthwise and chopped into small pieces
1-2 leeks cleaned and chopped
1 onion (any kind) chopped finely
2-3 cloves garlic
3-4 strips of smoked bacon (leave out of vegetarian) chopped
6-8 kale leaves, roughly chopped

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot. Add the onions and leeks until they sweat. Add bacon. When bacon cooked through, toss in carrots and farro. Stir to coat then add stock to cover. Simmer over medium heat until farro cooks through (approx 20-25 minutes.) Add kale and let wilt (2-3 minutes).

Serve with salad or toasted bread. Best the next day when flavours meld.

Turmeric potatoes with sweet chilis and onions

This dish is such a comfort food for any meal. I've had it as a stand alone for dinner with a salad, as a side with fish and it makes a great breakfast with eggs. It reheats well too, so it can be made the night and reheated stove top the morning of a brunch.  As always, servings and quantities vary based on taste and numbers eating, so don;t be afraid to embellish or adjust to your taste.


1-2 lbs Organic fingerling or yukon gold potatoes, washed and cut into 1/2 inch chunks. You can peel them, but I don't.
8-12 sweet chilis (from Asian or Latino markets. They are about 4" long), sliced crudely across the width
1-2 onions (Vidialias, sweet, white, whatever you fancy)
2-3 cloves chopped garlic
1 TBLSP ground turmeric
salt to taste
olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a heavy cast iron (or whatever you have) skillet pan. Add the potatoes, stirring to coat them with the oil. Cook and stir occasionally over a medium heat, keeping the potatoes from sticking to the pan, or of they do, make sure to scrape the browned bits off.  Potatoes should cook through in about 25 minutes.  You can put a lid on to trap the moisture and accelerate the cooking.

Add the onions, peppers and garlic. Incorporate well into the potatoes. When the onions are cooked through, add the turmeric and salt. Ready to serve!