Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Perfect Cold Day Soup

Jaime Oliver's Leek and Potato Soup



It is SO simple, and SO delicious, I almost need to double the recipe so I have leftovers. I like to leave it chunky and not puree it, the flavors stand out more.

ingredients

• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 2 medium onions
• 1 pound leeks
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 ¾ quarts chicken or vegetable broth, preferably organic
• 1 pound potatoes
• olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make your soup
Peel and roughly slice the carrots. Slice the celery. Peel and roughly chop the onions. Cut the ends off the leeks, quarter them lengthways, wash them under running water, and cut them into ¼-inch slices. Peel and slice the garlic. Put the broth in a saucepan and heat until boiling. Place a large saucepan on a high heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add all your chopped and sliced ingredients and mix together with a wooden spoon. Cook for around 10 minutes with the lid askew, until the carrots have softened, but are still holding their shape, and the onion and leeks are lightly golden. Peel the potatoes and cut them into ¼-inch dice. Add the boiling broth to the vegetables . Add your potatoes. Give the soup a good stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on

To serve your soup
Remove the pan from the heat. Season with salt and pepper. Serve like this or pulse until smooth using an immersion blender or liquidizer. Divide between your servings.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Maple Roasted Pumpkin Salad


Dinner last night was SO good. My roommate Mandi had guests coming over to our house so she thought she'd invite me to stay for dinner as well. And then I volunteered to make a salad. This is my favorite salad for fall. I used acorn squash instead of a pumpkin though. And agave because I didn't have any maple syrup...but I would have used maple syrup if I had some. Also, we had two surprise guests so I bulked up the arugula with some spinach. It's better with just arugula.

What I liked about dinner was that half of it was prepackaged (Buitoni mushroom ravioli with store-bought pesto) but the rest of it was homemade. It took a lot of the pressure off. The salad takes some time, but it's worth it.

1 sugar pumpkin, cut into 1 inch chunks
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
salt and pepper

Juice of one lime
5 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

Arugula
1/4 cup pepitas
6 oz feta cheese

Toss the pumpkin with oil and salt and pepper. Roast in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. Toss with maple syrup and roast another 10 minutes so you can get a nice glaze.

Make the dressing and set aside. Top arugula with pumpkin, feta and pepitas. Toss with dressing just before serving.