Soup’s On!
Local Chefs Share Their Favorite Cold-Weather Soups
There are few meals more satisfying than a bowl of soup – from a silky smooth puree to a hearty stew or a steaming bowl of noodles and broth. Sitting down with a bowl of soup is like curling up in your favorite blanket, its warmth envelops you, easing the body and mind, especially this time of year.
WILMA checked in with three local restaurants – EAST OCEANFRONT DINING at the Blockade Runner, SAIGON BISTRO, and TARANTELLI’S RISTORANTE ITALIANO – to share a recipe for one of their favorite soups. Each recipe yields a pot large enough to feed a crowd.
Clam Chowder
(From Jesscia Cabo, above, of EAST at the Blockade Runner)
¼ cup butter
4 cups Vidalia onion, diced
4 cups celery, diced
2 cups fennel, diced
1 cup green onion (green and white parts), diced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
¼ cup flour
2 cups white wine
½ gallon milk
2 quarts half and half
4 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, diced and blanched
5 pounds fresh clams, steamed, reserve meat and juice (see note)
Salt and pepper to taste
Green Tabasco or hot sauce to taste
DIRECTIONS: In large pot or Dutch oven, melt butter and sauté onion, celery, fennel, and green onion on medium until translucent. Add fresh thyme and flour, stirring until flour is cooked, about 2 minutes.
Deglaze with white wine and clam juice and cook for 2 more minutes to cook out alcohol.
Add milk, half and half, and potatoes. Cook for about 20 minutes until potatoes soften and broth thickens. Stir every few moments to prevent sticking.
Add clams and more clam juice or fish stock if you prefer more seafood flavor.
Season with salt and pepper and desired hot sauces to your liking. Serve with warm crusty bread and butter with fresh herbs sprinkled on top.
Note: If you do not have access to fresh clams, you can by canned or bottled at the grocery store – clam juice as well. You can also add store-bought clams to your fresh clams to beef this chowder up.
Vietnamese Beef Pho
(From Hanh Nguyen, of Saigon Bistro)
5-6 pounds of beef bones, preferably leg or knuckle (see note)
4-inch nub of ginger, halved lengthwise
2 onions, halved
6 quarts of water
1 package of pho spices: 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tablespoon coriander seed, 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, 5 whole star anise, 1 cardamom pod, 6 whole cloves, secured in mesh bag (see note)
1 pound of beef meat – chuck, brisket, rump – cut into large slices (optional, see note)
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup fish sauce
1½ tablespoon kosher salt (cut in half if using regular table salt)
½ pound flank, top round, sirloin, or eye of round, sliced as thinly as possible 2 pounds rice noodles (dried or fresh)
For Garnish Platter:
2 limes or lemon cut into wedges
2-3 chili peppers, sliced
2 large handfuls of fresh bean sprouts
Large handful of each: cilantro, basil, scallion, and thinly sliced onions Hoisin sauce to taste
Sriracha hot sauce to taste
DIRECTIONS: Parboil bones for 10 minutes in rapidly boiling water to get rid of impurities. Dump the water, rinse the pot and bones. The extra step gives a pure, clean-tasting broth.
Turn broiler on high and move oven rack to highest spot. Place ginger and onions on baking sheet and brush lightly with cooking oil. Broil until ginger and onions begin to char, turn over and continue to char. This should take a total of 10-15 minutes.
Fill pot with parboiled bones and 6 quarts of cool water. Bring to boil over high heat, then lower to a simmer. Using a ladle or a fine mesh strainer, remove any additional scum that rises to the top. Add ginger, onion, spice packet, beef cuts if using, sugar, fish sauce, and salt and simmer uncovered for 1½ hours.
Remove the meat and set aside (reserve for adding in bowls later). Continue simmering for another 3 hours. Strain broth and return the broth to the pot. Taste broth and adjust seasoning. If the broth’s flavor doesn’t quite shine yet, add 2 teaspoons more of fish sauce, large pinch of salt, and 1 teaspoon of regular sugar. Keep doing this until the broth tastes perfect.
When broth is finished, cut flank/ top round/sirloin/eye of round as thin as possible. Try freezing for 15 minutes prior to slicing to make cutting easier.
Cut or shred the meat that was cooked in the broth and set aside. Arrange all other ingredients on a platter for the table for guests to assemble their own bowls.
Follow directions on the type of rice noodles package you’ve chosen since there are a variety of sizes and widths to pick from.
Just before serving, bring broth back to a boil. Fill each bowl with rice noodles, the cooked beef, and raw meat slices. Ladle over the hot broth, which will cook the raw beef slices. Serve immediately, guests can garnish their own bowls as they wish.
Notes:
Pho Spices: It’s best to get each spice separately, but spice packets are available from Asian food markets such as Saigon Market. They cost less than $2 and come with a mesh bag. The pho spice paste that comes in a jar or can is not recommended.
Bones: Knuckle bones are the best to make the stock. The knobby bones, about the size of your fist, are full of gelatin, which add body and richness to the broth. You can find knuckle bones at Asian markets. Leg bones also work great. The marrow is good, but it’s extremely fatty. If you have a lot of marrow bones, scoop out the marrow with a small spoon or knife and discard after parboiling. Having too much marrow will give a greasy film on the broth. If you can’t find any, use whatever beef bone you have or a pound of beef meat (chuck, brisket, rump, etc.) for extra flavor.
Minestrone Soup
(From Tarantelli’s Ristorante Italiano)
1 pound large red potatoes, diced
1⁄8 cup olive oil
7 garlic cloves, minced and divided
Salt and pepper
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup Chablis wine
1 28-ounce can whole plum tomatoes
1 gallon chicken stock
1 quart water
1⁄8 cup picked oregano
1½ sprigs fresh thyme
1½ sprigs fresh rosemary
6 whole peppercorns
1 bay leaf
2 cans white cannellini beans
¼ cup fresh grated Parmesan Basil, cut into long, thin strips
Shaved parmesan
DIRECTIONS: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Mix potatoes in large mixing bowl with the olive oil, 2 cloves minced garlic, salt and pepper. Lay potatoes out on baking sheet in single layer and roast for 40-45 minutes or before they are fully cooked.
In a large saucepot, sauté yellow onions, carrots, celery, and 5 cloves minced garlic in butter until the onions are translucent. Add the Chablis wine and let simmer for 4-5 minutes. Hand-crush the plum tomatoes and add with the chicken stock, water, oregano, thyme, rosemary, peppercorns and bay leaf.
Bring pot to a simmer then add the cannellini beans and garlic roasted potatoes. Simmer for 35 minutes, then stir in Parmesan cheese until fully melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with chiffonade basil, shaved Parmesan, and your favorite grilled bread.
To view more of photographer Terah Wilson's work, visit www.terahwilson.com.
