Month: January 2013

If you are looking for distinctive portrait, nature, or documentary photography,
or someone you know is looking
for photography that helps to create a more artful and beautiful life,
please contact me.

If you are looking for distinctive portrait, nature, or documentary photography,
or someone you know is looking
for photography that helps to create a more artful and beautiful life,
please contact me.

This is a perfect cold winter night\’s soup! I have made it twice; last night I smashed the vegetables, which I preferred to the other time when I puree the soup.

Smashed Version

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
1 3/4 pounds rutabagas, peeled, chopped (about 4 cups)
1 cup chopped onion
1 large celery stalk, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 large garlic cloves, peeled, mined
1 6-ounce Yukon Gold potato, peeled chopped
5 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
8 cups vegetable or chicken stock

6 large sea scallops
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon mined fresh Italian parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil

Melt butter in large pot over medium-low heat. Add rutabagas, onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Cover and cook until vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Add potato, thyme sprigs and bay leaf to pot. Cover and cook another 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add stock and bring to simmer. Cover partially and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 30 minutes. Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
(Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring soup to simmer before serving.)

  
Cut each scallop horizontally in half. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Combine 1 tablespoon minced thyme, tarragon and parsley in bowl with oil. Heat skillet over medium high heat. Add scallops and sauté until just opaque in center, about 1 minute per side.

 Ladle rutabaga soup into warmed soup bowls. Place 2 scallops atop soup and a sprig of parsley. Serve.

~Based on a recipe from Bon Appetit, December 1999 (which was based on a recipe from Harvest restaurant, Atlanta).

Puree Version

Outstanding! From Food & Wine \”Quick From Scratch, One-Dish Meals.\” This is a great cookbook.

I made a few changes; noted below:

I halved the recipe; I used 1/2 pound ground turkey, cooked; 3 cups stock, 5 ounces spinach and I small can chopped tomatoes.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 pound sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch strips 
• 1 onion, chopped 
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
• 1 3/4 cups canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree (one 15-ounce can) 
• 1 quart canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock 
• 1 2/3 cups drained and rinsed canned black beans (one 15-ounce can) 
• 1 1- pounds piece cooked deli turkey, cut into 1/2-by-1/2-by-1/4-inch slices
• 10 ounce spinach, stems removed, leaves washed and cut crosswise into 1-inch strips

Preparation

1. In a large stainless-steel pot, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pot.
2. Reduce the heat to moderately low. Add the onion to the pot and cook, stirring, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chili powder, cocoa, Tabasco sauce, oregano, salt, pepper, tomatoes, and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Add the black beans and turkey to the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the spinach and the bacon. Cook until the spinach just wilts, about 1 minute. 
4. Variations : · Use smoked turkey in place of plain. : · Substitute 1 2/3 cups drained and rinsed kidney, pinto, or cannellini beans for the black beans.
5. Wine Recommendation: You need a lusty red wine with plenty of spiciness and fruit flavor to stand up to this powerful soup. That describes zinfandel to a T, so try one here.