Claudina's Kitchen Catering & Classes

Andalusian Gazpacho with Lemon-Cucumber Salsa

Ingredients

Salsa

• 1 lemon cucumber, diced fine (1/4" cubes)
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 1 shallot, diced fine
• 1 T. mint, chopped fine
• pinch kosher salt and pepper

Soup

• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 t. kosher salt
• 3-4 medium to large heirloom tomatoes, cut into 2" pieces
• 1/4 t. smoked paprika
• 1/4 t. pepper
• 2 T. sherry vinegar
• 1/2 c. fruity olive oil

Preparation

Salsa

• Combine all salsa ingredients in small bowl.  Allow to sit for 1/2 hour for flavors to come together.  Adjust for seasonings.

Soup

• Mash garlic and salt to a paste with mortar and pestle.
• In blender, combine garlic paste, tomatoes, paprika, pepper, and vinegar.  Blend to a fine consistency.
• With blender running, slowly pour in olive oil to combine.
• Allow to sit for 1/2 hour at roomp temperature for flavors to come together.  Adjust for seasoning, particularly salt.  

Serve soup at room temperature topped with Lemon-Cucumber Salsa.

Green Garlic, Celery Root, & Turnip Soup

Ingredients

• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 t. kosher salt
• ¼ t. freshly-ground pepper
• 2 medium celery root bulbs, diced
• 1 medium turnip, diced
• 2 medium potatoes, diced
• ½ c. white wine
• 8 Green garlic shoots, thinly sliced (top 3 inches set aside for garnish)
• 4-6 cups vegetable broth, preferably freshly made
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 T. Extra virgin olive oil for garnish

Preparation

• Heat medium stockpot to medium-high heat.  Add olive oil, onion, ½ t. salt, ¼ t. pepper.  Saute 3-4 minutes until softened. 
• Add celery root, turnip, and potatoes, sauté, stirring occasionally, for another 5-7 minutes.
• Add white wine, stir until pan is relatively dry.  Add green garlic slices. Saute for 2 more minutes.
• Add 4 cups broth, or more, so that vegetables are fully submerged.  Cook for 15-20 minutes until vegetables are fully cooked and soft.
• Blend with immersion blender until smooth.  Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
• Mince garlic shoot tops.  Top soup with swirl of aromatic olive oil and chopped garlic shoots.  Serve immediately.

Serves: 6-8 people as starter

Related Posts: First Signs of Spring: Green Garlic!

Spring Garlic and Fresh Pea Soup

When freshly-arrived - and fleeting -- spring ingredients like spring garlic and baby leeks arrive in the market I am driven to create new dishes to celebrate them.  This has become a simple favorite -- once pureed it is the bright green of spring has a light and refreshing flavor.  My friend described it as "drinking spring".

Ingredients

• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 spring garlic, chopped
• 2 baby leeks, chopped
• 2 baby fennel, chopped
• 2 cups sugar snap peas, strings removed and chopped
• 1/2 t.  salt + to taste
• ¼ t. pepper + to taste
• 3 scallions, white & pale green parts separated from darker green, both chopped
• ½ c. dry white wine
• 2 cups fresh peas
• 4-5 cups fresh vegetable broth (use garlic, leek and fennel tops in making this)
• Zest of one lemon
• Juice of one lemon
• 2 T. mint, chopped, for garnish 

Preparation

• Heat olive oil in large saucepan on medium-high heat. Add garlic, leeks, fennel, and sugar snap peas, salt and pepper. Saute 4-5 minutes until softened.
• Add white and green scallion. Saute one additional minute.
• Add white wine and stir until absorbed, another 1-2 minutes.
• Add vegetable broth and fresh peas. Cook for additional 4-5 minutes, reducing heat once at simmer.
• Remove from heat and add 1 t. lemon zest and lemon juice.
• Puree to smooth consistency.
• Adjust for seasonings, particularly lemon zest, salt, and pepper.
• Serve with chopped scallion tops, mint, and cheese shavings.

 

Pea Green and Fava Bean Soup

Ingredients

Soup:

• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, roasted and mashed to smooth consistency (using a flat edge of chef’s knife on a cutting board is easiest method)
• 6 cups pea greens, coarsely chopped, 1 to 1 1/2'” in length (can also use fava greens or mixture of pea and fava greens if available)
• 4-5 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup shelled and peeled fava beans
• 1 t. kosher salt + to taste
• ¼ t. pepper + to taste

Drizzle:

• 1 cup fresh cilantro
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ t. kosher salt
• ¼-½ c. ricotta salata or pecorino cheese shavings

Preparation

• Heat olive oil in large saucepan on medium-hight heat. Add onion and ½ t. salt and ¼. t. pepper      and sauté 4-5 minute until softened and translucent.
• Add minced garlic and sauté another minute.
• Add pea greens and sauté until softened, another 3-4 minutes
• Add vegetable broth, fava beans, ½ t. salt
• Allow to reach simmer, reduce heat and cook for additional 5-10 minutes.
• Remove  from heat. Serve with dollop of cilantro drizzle and cheese shavings.

Sunchoke, Kale and Vacharo Bean Soup with Tomato-Rosemary Drizzle

Vacharo beans are locally-dried heirloom beans that are cow-speckled (I have seem others like them called "brown speckled cow beans").  They taste similar to cranberry beans, but unlike cranberry beans they retain their speckled nature upon cooking, so are nicely eye-catching in any soup.   Paired with a few of my favorite winter veggies (sunchokes and kale), along with the intense flavors of the tomato-rosemary drizzle, this combination is a wonderful and warming "après-ski" soup!

Ingredients

• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 leek, white part only, cleaned and diced
• 1 t. salt + to taste
• 1/2 t. pepper + to taste
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 sunchoke tubers, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced
• 1/2 c. dry white wine
• 4 cups dried vacharo beans, rinsed, soaked overnight, and drained
• 4-6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 bay leaf
• parmesan rind
• 2 t. fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1/4 c. dry sherry
• 1/4 c. sherry vinegar
• 4 sundried tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 t. fresh rosemary
• high-quality extra virgin olive oil
• ricotta salata shavings for garnish

Preparation

• Heat olive oil at medium-high heat in large stockpot or dutch oven.
• Add onion, leek 1/2 t. salt and 1/4. t. pepper.  Saute until softened and translucent, about 8 minutes.
• Add carrot, garlic, and sunchokes and saute until softened, about 8-10 minutes, stirring regularly. 
• Add 1/2 c. white wine, reduce heat to medium and cover. Cook until wine is absorbed and pan is dry, about 3-4 minutes longer.
• Add cranberry beans, vegetable broth, bay leaf, parmesan rind, rosemary, and additional 1/2 t. salt and 1/4 t. pepper.
• Bring to boil and simmer at medium-low heat, uncovered, for about 1 hour or until beans and sunchokes are soft.  Add additional broth as needed to maintain liquid over all ingredients.
• While soup is simmering, make tomato-rosemary drizzle: in food processor add garlic cloves and pulse until minced.  Add tomatoes and rosemary, turn on processor and slowly pour olive oil until well-pureed and combined with enough liquid to drizzle into soup (should be somewhat thinner than a pesto).
• Just before serving, add dry sherry and sherry vinegar and simmer for additional 5 minutes.  Adjust seasonings, particularly salt and pepper.
• Serve soup with a spoonful of the tomato-rosemary drizzle and ricotta salata shavings.

Serves: 8-10 for dinner (or 4 with lots of leftovers)

Serving Suggestions: Serve with garlic-parmesan croutons or crostinis

Related Posts: Delicious, Nutty Sunchokes (aka Jerusalem Artichokes)

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Cranberry Bean, Baby Leek and Fennel Soup

Last weekend I discovered beautiful baby leeks at the farmer's market, and gorgeous fresh cranberry beans to pair with them, and I love the way the combination turned out.   While such opportune moments to find both of these ingredients are rare, this recipe is also wonderful made with regular leeks and dried cranberry beans.

Cranberry Bean and Baby Leek Soup from Claudina's Kitchen

Ingredients
olive oil
1 baby fennel, thinly sliced
1 bunch baby leeks, white parts only, thinly sliced
1/2 t. salt + to taste
1/4 t. pepper + to taste
2 carrots, diced small
3 cloves garlic
2 cups freshly-shelled cranberry beans or 1 cup dried beans, (for dried beans, rinse and soak over night)
4 cups vegetable broth
6 oven roasted tomato halves (or 10 sundried tomatoes, coarsely chopped and soaked in boiling water for 5 minutes)
1 bay leaf
3 thyme sprigs
1/4 c. sherry wine
Garlic croutons or crostinis for garnish
1/4 c. Parmesan reggiano, freshly shaved, for garnish

Preparation

• Drain beans from overnight soaking and simmer in stockpot with fresh water and bay leaf for one hour until fully cooked. Drain again.
• Heat olive oil in dutch oven or large pot on medium-high heat. 
• Sauté fennel and leeks with 1/4 t. salt and pinch of pepper until softened, about 4-5 minutes.
• Add garlic and carrots and continue to cook, stirring regularly, for 4-5 minutes longer. 
• Add cranberry beans, broth, tomatoes, thyme sprigs, bay leaf, and another 1/4t. salt and generous pinch of pepper.
• Cook at simmer for 20 minutes. 
• Add 1/4 c. sherry wine. Simmer 5 minutes longer. 
• Remove from heat and remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs.  Add additional salt and pepper to taste. 
• Serve with garlic croutons or crostinis and freshly shaved parmesan reggiano.

Related Posts: Soup Season is Here!

Fava Bean and Sweet Potato Soup

I love fava beans and snatch up fresh ones whenever I can find them at the farmer's market or grocery store as they are such a special treat.  In addition to offering a fabulously sweet and meaty flavor and texture, they are full of fiber and protein. 

Favas are easier to find in the spring, so when I saw them in November I had to come up with a new fall-flavored recipe to accompany them...along with some very intriguing "elephant" garlic that I also discovered and used in this soup in a variety of ways (sautéed, roasted, and raw in the cilantro swirl).  If you can't find the fresh favas, fresh or frozen edamame (soybeans) are a great alternative, and regular garlic also substitutes easily for the elephant garlic.

Fava Bean and Sweet Potato Soup from Claudina's Kitchen

Ingredients

Soup
olive oil
1 onion
1 baby fennel
1/2 t. salt + more to taste
1/4. t. pepper + more to taste
1 cloves elephant garlic or 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 med sweet potatoes, cubed
1/2 c. dry white wine
4 cups. vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs each oregano, thyme, and rosemary, tied into herb bundle
2 cups fresh fava beans, shelled and peeled (or edamame, shelled)
1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
1 clove elephant garlic or 3-4 cloves garlic, roasted, peeled, and crushed into paste
1 bunch spinach, rinsed and coarsely chopped

Cilantro Swirl
1/2 c. cilantro
4 cloves garlic, peeled
3-4 T. olive oil
1/4 t. salt

Garnish
1/2 meyer lemon
1/4 c. ricotta salata shavings

Preparation

• Heat olive oil in dutch oven or large pot on medium-high heat. 
• Sauté onion and fennel with 1/4 t. salt and pinch of pepper until softened, about 4-5 minutes. 
• Add minced garlic and sweet potatoes and continue to cook, stirring regularly, for 4-5 minutes longer.
• Lower heat, add white wine to pan and simmer until pan is fairly dry. 
• Add vegetable broth, bay leaf, and herb bundle and simmer for 10 minutes. 
• While soup is simmering, place cilantro, 4 cloves garlic, olive oil, and salt in food processor until pureed. 
• Add beans, peas, roasted garlic puree and spinach and cook for 5-7 minutes longer until beans and peas are fully cooked and spinach incorporated.  Remove from heat. 
• Ladle into soup bowls.  Add a spoonful of cilantro swirl and stir briefly to combine. Add a squeeze of meyer lemon juice and ricotta salata shavings and serve.

Related Post: Soup Season is Here!