I wasn't planning on doing soup recipes here just yet, probably because I am still in denial about summer ending. However, a friend recently asked me for the recipe for Chicken Pot Pie soup, which was a big hit from our cafe days. I looked for the recipe but only found a list of ingredients. Most of what we do is just throw stuff in a pot anyway, but it usually works out pretty well. So here is a sketchy outline of the recipe. Feel free to improvise, I think that's what makes good soup!
Chop up a large onion, a potato or two, some celery and carrots. Sautee in your soup pot with about 2 tbsp olive oil and salt. When the veggies (not including the potatoes) are soft, add your chicken broth and water, about a quart in total. Add to that some frozen vegetables, including peas and some string beans (I like the thin French cut). You can think outside the pot-pie-box and add sauteed mushrooms, broccoli or cauliflower, as well.
Simmer all of that for at least half an hour, until the vegetables are tender. For the chicken, you can go either of two ways: You can dice up some chicken breasts and cook them right in the soup for about ten minutes, or you can shred some leftover cooked chicken and throw it in at the very end.
Finally, you can thicken and "cream-ify" the soup either of two ways. There's the guilt-free way, and there's the half-and-half, high-cholesterol way. At the cafe, we always made our roux (thickener) with white flour and a good amount of melted butter, then added half-and-half (about a cup for this size recipe). Of course, for a healthy eating blog that won't do. Instead, melt just two tbsp butter, stir in about two tbsp whole wheat flour until slightly browned. Finally add about a cup of 1% milk to the mixture, heat gently, then add to the pot. Another way to add creaminess without the cream would be to boil another potato (maybe use a little less in the beginning), then mash and stir into the soup. Remember to season well during each phase of cooking. As always, I like a good amount of freshly ground pepper, and dill and chopped parsley go well with this particular soup.
Okay, no more soup recipes for a little while. I am just not ready for fall yet!
