The ball has fallen, the Rockefeller Christmas Tree has come down and hopefully by now we’ve all gotten use to writing 2019 on our checks. There are a few cookies and about a dozen pieces of fudge on the counter that should be thrown out, but will probably be eaten. This leads me to the whole New Years resolution thing. Somewhere along the way it became customary for people to use the New Year as a starting point for making changes. I have found ,for me, that New Year’s resolutions just don’t work.
The thing that I have been doing instead is actually taking a good long look at the past year and seeing all the things that I did that helped me grow along the way. Since by nature I’m a positive person, I try not to dwell on anything negative unless it was something that I don’t wish to repeat. Then I make a mental note of it and move forward. If you write down all the positive things you’ll be surprised at how long the list actually is.
One of the things that I did over the last year was try to get outside more in nature. Even in the cold of winter there’s nothing like a brisk walk to clear the mind, and nothing like coming home to a nice hot bowl of soup. See what I did there? I finally got around to food! I know about this time of year most of us are tired of overeating and are looking for lighter meals. For those of us in colder climates , salad just doesn’t give the comfort that a good soup can. I love soup for that reason, it can be both a lighter fare yet a comfort food at the same time.
We’re lucky enough to live in a time when we don’t have to make our own broths,(though that might be another post). Today good broths in all sorts of flavors are available. It’s so simple to buy some broth, toss in a few vegetables and let it simmer into a delicious soup. I love making a simple soup in the slow cooker. It does double duty, you don’t have to stay at home keeping an eye on the pot and you get to come home to a house full of the wonderful aroma of home cooking. Today I’m going to give you a winter soup recipe that I made for a Christmas Eve party. I’m sorry I don’t have any pictures but two pots of the soup were eaten before I could get a picture.
Chestnut Fennel Soup
- 2 Cups roasted, shelled and skinned chestnuts. 1lb in the shell or 14oz jar. I bought the jarred ones to save time
- 1 large shallot. chopped
- 2 leeks chopped , white and pale green parts only. Rinse throughly!
- 6 Tbl unsalted butter.
- 2 Tbl dry white wine, if you like sweet try a desert wine
- 1/2 fennel bulb, no stalks or core, chop coarsely.
- 1 1/2 Cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 Cups water
- 1/4 C half-n- half.
Coarsely chop chestnuts, reserve 1/2 cup for garnish with browned butter.
Cook shallots and leeks in 2 tablespoons of butter, in a 5 quart pot, until soft. Add the wine, stir in the fennel, broth, chestnuts and water, simmer covered for 20-30 minutes. Stir in the half-n-half and let mixture cool slightly. If you have a submersible wand blender puree the whole mixture. If not use a blender and puree in small batches. Return to pot add salt and pepper to taste and simmer until desired thickness.
Heat the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in a heavy skillet and saute the reserved chestnuts until crispy and the butter slightly browned. Serve soup in bowls with crispy chestnuts and drizzled brown butter.
As always please let me know if you have any questions or comments. Also if you’d like to share your favorite soup recipe with the community you can send it to me in an email or place it in the comments below. Thanks for hanging out with us today!
Sounds yum. I’ll have to try it. And speaking of soups, I often buy fresh soup at the local health food store (Organica in Northvale, NJ). I tend to prefer the heartier soups, but can’t always get those. When the soup contains a lot of broth, I’ll buy some Brussel sprouts, roasted cauliflower, and broccoli rabe (or whatever’s on hand) and toss it in half of the soup portion before heating. The end result is a hearty soup/stew blend that really fills the belly and soul. I save the other half for the following day’s lunch, adding vegetables as before.
By the way, if you’ve never been to Organica (Shop Rite strip mall on Route 303), you owe it to yourself to go. Make a beeline for the deli counter in the rear of the store — prepackaged salads, sandwiches, hot and cold entrees and sides — and all prepared on the premises. Baked goods, too. I cannot say enough about this place. Brothers John and Mark take great pride in their store.
Thanks for the heads up about Organica, I’ve been in but never to buy their prepared foods. I also love what you do with soups that contain to much broth, almost anything goes when it comes to a soup.