5 November 2019 Cream of Vegetable Soup

Cream of Vegetable Soup

November 5, 2019 By

Soups are our thing at our home and I try to make a giant batch on Sundays to eat throughout the week. This week, I had a ton of vegetables left and tried to use them all in this delish and easy to make Cream of Vegetable Soup. It’s perfect for #MeatlessMonday or any old day where comfort in a bowl is needed.

I puréed this soup and ran it through a fine sieve to get a super smooth texture but sometime I just purée it in the blender to keep some texture. Up to you, what you’re in the mood for.

Note that when I’m sautéing the vegetables, prior to adding broth, I let them brown quite a bit to boost up the flavor and give the broth a rich look and earthy flavor.

Who else likes to eat soup out of a cup??!

cream of vegetable soup

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 2 medium-large carrots, diced
  • 3 stalks celery, diced
  • 1 pound button mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tsp. each salt & pepper
  • ½ tsp. each turmeric, garlic powder, dried thyme, sage and paprika
  • 64 ounces low-sodium vegetable broth, preferably homemade
  • ½ cup heavy cream + 1 tsp corn starch combined and stirred well, optional
Vegetables Sauteing
Soup Simmering
Soup Going Through Sieve (Optional)
Finished Soup

Directions:

  1. In a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the oil then sauté the onion, carrots and celery for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms, garlic and spices and cook an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Lower the heat to medium-low and add broth. Simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.
  3. Purée with an immersion blender until completely smooth, about 3 minutes. Alternatively, add the soup to a blender and purée until smooth, about 1 minute. Pass the puréed soup through a fine sieve if you’d like ultra-smooth soup.
  4. Return the puréed soup to a clean saucepan and add the cream mixture, if using, and warm for 2 minutes until slightly thickened.
  5. To serve, ladle soup into cups or bowls.

Serves 4.

Filed Under: American, Mushrooms, Soups, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , ,
11 September 2017 Cremini Mushroom Freekeh

Cremini Mushroom Freekeh

September 11, 2017 By

I try to stay faithful to Meatless Mondays and that’s a bit easier when I can incorporate “meaty” mushrooms to my recipes. This is one of my “not really a recipe” recipe that takes very little effort to make and is pretty darn tasty.

I use freekeh from Freekehlicious, the leading importer of Greenwheat Freekeh, a product of Australia and toss it with some slowly sautéed Cremini mushrooms. Yes, you could totally make this with regular button mushrooms, but I like the beefiness of Cremini. I’ve also topped this dish with some grated Parmesan and it was delish.

Ingredients:

  • 1½ cups vegetable broth (could use water or chicken or beef broth)
  • ½ cup freekeh
  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1½ pounds small Cremini mushrooms (or large ones cut in half)
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage
  • 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

  1. In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the broth to a boil. Add the freekeh, stir, turn the heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes (or follow package directions). Turn the heat off, keep the lid on and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
  2. Warm the oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat then add the mushrooms. Cook for about 10 minutes, tossing frequently, until the mushrooms are browned and softened. Add the garlic to the mushrooms and cook for a minute. Add the Worcestershire sauce, the soy sauce, the sage and the salt & pepper and cook for another minute, tossing the mushrooms in the “sauce” to coat.
  3. Add the cooked freekeh to the mushrooms and toss to combine.
  4. If using, top the freekeh/mushroom mixture with the parmesan.

Yields two servings.

Filed Under: American, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , ,
11 January 2016 Slow Cooker Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage

January 11, 2016 By

This is a great recipe for those chilly winter days or for any day where you simply don’t feel like slaving over a hot stove. These stuffed cabbage are hearty and you won’t even miss the meat as the cremini mushrooms are earthy and meatlike. I use a Savoy cabbage for this recipe as I like the look of the frilly leaves and the fact that I can make smaller rolls for weekday lunches. A standard cabbage would be absolutely okay too.

Cabbage leaves cooking method: To get perfectly-cooked cabbage leaves, get salted (1 tsp.) water boiling in a large and tall stockpot. Add the head of cabbage to the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the cabbage head from the water with tongs and peel off about 10 leaves. Add the leaves to the boiling water and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove the leaves and place on paper towels to drain. Stuffing Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 medium Spanish onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 cups diced butternut squash
  • 2 cups chopped cremini mushrooms
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • ½.tsp. each black pepper and dried thyme
  • 1 cup cooked long grain rice

Stuffing Directions:

  1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm the oil then add the onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
  2. Lower the heat to medium and add the butternut squash to the onion. Cook, stirring frequently for 5 minutes, until the squash has softened.
  3. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the mushrooms to the onion/squash mixture, cook for 3-4 minutes until the mushrooms have softened.
  4. Add the garlic powder, salt, pepper and thyme and stir to combine.
  5. Add the rice to the mixture and stir to combine. Take off the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Assembly Ingredients: 3 cups tomato sauce, homemade or store-bought Assembly Directions:

  1. Place a cooked leaf on a plate or cutting board and remove the hard core with scissors.
  2. Add ¼ cup of the filling to the base of the leaf and roll up like a burrito – start at the base, roll once, tuck the ends in the roll all the way to the edge of the leaf.
  3. Add 1 cup of tomato sauce to the bottom of the slow cooker them top with the cabbage rolls. Pack them as tightly as possible then top with the remaining 2 cups of tomato sauce.
  4. Cook for 6-8 hours on low.
  5. Serve the rolls with tomato sauce.

Serves 5 guests for a light dinner.

Filed Under: American, Appetizers, Entrees, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , ,