Boxcar Kitchen - Soup with heart

Chicken noodle of the future or Neo-noodle soup

esther — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 17:45:00 +0200

Everyone knows that chicken soup has healing powers. It's a fact based on years of scientific research and old wives’ tales. I know that the warm chicken broth and slurpy noodles that my grandmother prepared (straight out of the can) made my snuffled nose and general allover terrible feeling almost worth it. I got to thinking about this lately because I've been bogged down with a terribly autumn cold in the middle of July, thanks to the never-ending rain here in Paris.

Traditional chicken noodle soup is good and comforting but it's well...traditional. On a healing power scale from 1 to 10, traditional chicken noodle doesn't hold a candle to this Asian inspired recipe. Not only do you have the steaming goodness of a delicious chicken broth but you also get an energizing sweat inducing kick in the pants from the garlic, ginger, lemongrass, and red Thai pepper. You are warmed up and cleared up immediately or your money back guaranteed.

The other advantage is that it only takes 20 minutes to throw together. I managed to squeeze it in between my morning and mid-morning couch napping sessions in front of the TV. By the time you are finished preparing the vegetables, the broth is already simmering and infused with really intense flavor. It is as close as you can get to non-instant instant soup and it definitely beats the can of Campbell's.

Hint: I have developed a secret technique for the noodle stage of this process. I don't cook the noodles in the broth because I can't stand when they get that overcooked nondescript texture, especially the day after. Instead, I prepare the noodles separately and dress them with a little oil. Then you spoon the broth over the noodles as needed so that they maintain their form.

Neo-noodle soup! (based loosely on this)

6 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 chicken breasts
1/2 sweet yellow pepper
1/2 medium size zucchini
3 small carrots
2-3 cloves garlic
2 stalks fresh lemongrass
1 1/2 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1 red Thai pepper
1 package cellophane noodles
1/2 tsp. dark sesame oil

In a large pot combine chicken broth and water. Set to simmer and add the chopped garlic, grated ginger, lemongrass cut lengthwise, and 1/2 Thai pepper. Be sure to remove the seeds from the pepper since that is where all the heat is. It is easy to gradually increase the heat but you can't get rid of it once the pepper is infused. Test the flavor along the way and adjust to taste.

While the broth is coming together, finely chop the bell pepper, julienne the zucchini and slice the carrots. The flower technique depends on how sick you really are. Cut the chicken breasts into thin strips and then add everything to the broth. Cook for a few minutes or until the chicken is opaque. Cover and remove from heat.

Place the cellophane noodles in a separate bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them sit in the hot water for about 5 minutes. Drain and dress with the sesame oil. Mix well so that the noodles don't stick together.

Serve the noodles, top with broth and vegetables and garnish with fresh coriander, lime, and more pepper (if you dare).

Curry me surprised

esther — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 16:14:00 +0100

I love butternut squash but for the longest time, I completely forgot about it since I wasn’t used to seeing it stocked at my local grocery store or market. Pumpkin, acorn, and those funny little green hat squash are pretty easy to come by though. Sometime, last fall I decide to head out on a mission that turned out not to be that much of a mission at all.

I grabbed my market basket and left the house in the direction of the only organic stand at my farmer's market. I figured that this was my best bet. Although I usually get giggly at the thought of organic, I rarely stop by this particular stand because the lady that runs it seems to think I'm some sort of chump and always tries to slough off her worst produce on me. I have to watch her like a hawk. But times were tough and desperate measures needed to be taken. Before leaving the house, I checked my dictionary searching for the French equivalent of butternut without success.

When I finally arrived, I was pretty worked up and had already came up with an elaborate description in French of butternut squash that I was reciting under my breathe. I take a deep breath, look up and see first, a lovely medium sized butternut squash and then second a little chalkboard sign planted firmly into the basket: "Butternut" was sprawled across it in crisp white chalk. Unbelievable. I asked for my buh-tair-nuht and headed home feeling pretty silly. Why are the simplest things so difficult?

This soup is about as laid back as it gets.

Curried butternut cream

1 medium size butternut squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 cups water
250 ml coconut milk
1 teaspoon hot madras curry paste

Peel the squash and chop it into chucks. Cook over medium heat with about 3 cups of water until it is mush.

Transfer cooked squash and water into a food processor. While the machine is running add the olive oil. Mix together until velvety smooth.

Return pumpkin to pot and add coconut milk, reaming water, and curry paste. Cook over medium/low heat. You can either add more water or cook longer depending on the consistency you want.

Makes 4 big serving

Note: My original plan was to mix up my own blend of curry seasoning but I got lazy.

Watercress soup for a winter's day

esther — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 16:41:00 +0100

Today could not be a better day for soup: it's typhoon season in Paris. I'm not even joking. I was literally swept across the sidewalk today and my umbrella was blown to smithereens. It's a good thing I ate almost that entire chocolate bar yesterday. Otherwise I would be stuck in some soggy ditch somewhere between my house and Montparnasse.

It is the last day of the Super Souper Challenge which is the brainchild of Tami from running with tweezers so I'm taking this opportunity to step back from all the chaos of holiday food to make a healthy seasonal soup. Not only is this soup a perfect light dinner in preparation for our first raclette of the season scheduled for tomorrow night, but it is also chock full of protein and vitamins for these blustery days.

Watercress is THE most amazing vegetable. I grew up haunted by it and only heard about it in the books I read. I had (have) a soft spot for early turn of the century literature in which the heroic heroines would always find time to nibble on one or two watercress finger sandwiches before running off to solve some mystery or meet some handsome lord. Watercress, in my mind, was something like Turkish delight. I didn't really know what it was but I knew it was magic. When I finally learned that watercress was nothing other than a plant, I suffered and consoled myself with peanut butter and jelly. It was not until I came to France that I finally had the opportunity to test this phantom green. Its been true love ever since.

Watercress Leek Soup

300 grams watercress
4 leeks (use the light green parts too: all the vitamins are there!)
1/2 red onion
4 potatoes
75 grams salted butter
1 cup homemade vegetable broth
3 cups water
flat parsley
tri-colored pepper
salt
crème fraîche

Melt butter over medium heat in a large sauteuse. Chop the leeks, onion and potatoes. Add them to the butter with the watercress. Reduce the heat to low, cover the vegetables and let them sweat it out for about 25-30 minutes. Add liquid and let simmer for another 30 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Season with salt and pepper.

In small batches blend the soup in a food processor until smooth. Before serving add a dollop of crème fraîche, pepper and sprinkle with parsley.

Serve with a yeasty nut bread and cheese for a simple supper.