Vrasto (βραστό)

Across Greece and especially around the city of Thessaloniki, one will find these shops that are open all night, serving up hot bowls of soup, be it summer or winter.

These joints are called "Patzatzidika", serving up the main soup known as "Patsa". A Patsa is a soup that contains boiled tripe, pigs feet and heavy on the garlic and vinegar. Patsa is also known for warding off hangovers. One sees many Greeks patronizing a Patzatzidiko late at night, just before returning home.

I don't do Patsa. I tried my mom's once again this year and it still was not appealing at all to me. I do however, adore her Vrasto which also appears on many menus at Patzatzidika.

Today, we're going to enjoy Vrasto. It's a chunky Greek soup and it gets it's name (Vrasto), which means boiled. This soup is straightforward, easy to make with ingredients available to just about anyone.

Once again I save lots of time by using my trusty pressure cooker. I know there are some "fraidy-cats" ou there who are timid at the mention of pressure cookers but again I insist, get one added to your roster of kitchen utensils.

A pressure cooker is very safe and easy to use: place contents into the pot, close lid and secure. If the lid has not been closed properly, there will be no seal (safe). Conversely, when a seal is formed, it's impossible to open the pressure cooker due to the amount of pressure formed. Finally, there's a valve that allows you to release the pressure and when the whistle stops blowing, your pressure cooker will open safely.

Ask Santa for a pressure cooker.

Vrasto is a chunky soup of onions, carrots, potatoes and celery simmered in a beef/veal broth and brought together by a wonderful and very Greek Avgolemono Sauce. I'm a big fan of soups that eat like a meal and a Vrasto hits that spot.

Vrasto (βραστό)

1 kg. of veal shoulder
enough water to cover the meat
1/4 cup of olive oil
3-4 carrots, roughly chopped
1 large potato, grated
4 potatoes, rough chop
6 small onions, halved
4 stalks of celery, roughly chopped

Avgolemono
2 eggs
juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp. of flour
1/4 cup water

1. Rinse your veal shoulder and place in the pressure cooker. Fill up with enough water to just cover the meat. Secure the lid on your pressure cooker and turn the heat to high. As soon as your pressure cooker has formed it's seal and starts to whistle, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 20-30 miniutes. Release the pressure before opening the cooker.
2. Remove the meat and reserve on a plate. Skim the fat from the broth and and pass through a strainer.
3. In another large pot, add the olive oil over medium heat and add the onions, carrots and celery and saute on low heat until the onions have become soft and translucent (about 15 minutes). Grate the 5th potato and stir so that it doesn't stick or burn (add some water if too dry).
4. Add the stock (about 10 cups) and bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook for another 30 minutes. Add the meat into the soup to warm through. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and take off the heat.
   
5. Make your Avgolemono by adding the eggs to a large bowl and beat them with a whisk. Now add the lemon juice and flour, the water and whisk to incorporate. Take a ladle of your soup and add it to your Avgolemono while whisking.
   
6. Now slowly pour your Avgolemono into the pot of soup while gently stirring it. Serve the soup hot with each portion having chunky vegetables, a piece of meat and some crusty bread at the side.
   

Soup and Salad (Σούπα και Σαλάτα)

The next phase of the Greek themed Thanksgiving Dinner involved soup and salad. As I've written before, I'm more of a soup guy when the cooler weather arrives but this is here is an autumn salad, featuring a blend of seasonal greens and a vinaigrette with a Greek ingredient that's very ancient...Petimezi.

I first saw the dressing used here on a Greek food show called the Nistiko Arkoudi (Hungry Bear) and the show's title is a play on a Greek saying, "the hungry bear never dances". In the show's intro, the bear's dancing alright...a testament that the bear (and viewer are fed well).

The dressing is a sweet & sour combination involving Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard and Petimezi. Petimezi is a grape syrup or mollasses that was produced and used in ancient times before the arrival of sugar on the scene. Back then, natural sweeteners like Petimezi were used.

The dressing was finished off with some minced garlic, salt and pepper and given a good shake in a jar to emulsify the dressing.

The salad ingredients are quite interesting too...bitter rocket leaves, red cabbage, leafy green lettuce and some Napa cabbage to round out the mix. The salad goes further with the sweet & savory theme with a topping of pomegranate seeds, sesame seeds, walnuts and roasted red peppers.

I had this salad during my stay in Naxos this past summer and I promised myself to recreate this wonderful salad. On the menu it was listed as Smyrneiko Salata, homage to the Greeks who fled Smyrna in haste, but brought their wonderful recipes back to mainland Greece with them.

The soup course of the night involved beets. My original soup idea was a roasted red pepper soup but despite it's wonderful flavour and result, it proved to be too good, a bold flavour especially since turkey and fixins' were next on the menu.

The pureed beet soup proved to be a wonderful surprise to me (during it's testing) and for my dinner guests. Everyone was expecting a very sweet soup - something more dessert than savory but this recipe makes it very much a savory soup with onions, potatoes, thyme and oregano to take the sweet edge off the soup.

Before I get on with the soup recipe, I must give due mention to the wine pairing for the soup and salad course: Steve Kriaris of Kolonaki Group recommended the Skouras Cuvee Prestige White.

The Skouras Winery is located in the northeast Pelleponese and the the wine is made from a 50/50 split of Roditis and Mosxofilero grapes.

Again, we agreed that a crisp, no oak white would complement the soup and salad course and I could detect the light florals as per the tasting notes from Skouras.

I'm really enjoying this Greek wine and food pairing and I'll endeavour to showcase more qaulity Greek wines in future posts.

In the meantime, here's that Beet soup recipe...

Beet Soup With Oregano
( serves 4, I doubled the recipe)

approx 400gr. of medium-sized beets
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large russet potato, peeled
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 bay leaf
chicken/vegetable stock
2 tsp. of ground coriander
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp. of dried Greek oregano
strained Greek yogurt

1. Place your beets in some aluminum foil, wrap well and place in a pre-heated 450F oven for about 40 minutes. Allw to cool enough to be handled. With the help of a knife, peel away the skins, discard and cut the beets into chunks.
2. In a pot, add your olive oil and over medium heat add the onions and garlic, bay leaf, ground coriander and saute for 15-20 minutes. Now using your box grater, grate the potato into the pot and stir and simmer for another5 minutes (add some water if too dry).
3. Now add your beets and enough stock to just cover your beets and bring to a boil. Now simmer for another 30 minutes until thickened somewhat. Add salt and pepper to taste.
   
4. Remove from the heat, take out the bay leaf and using your hand blender, puree the soup until smooth. Return to medium heat and simmer for another 15 minutes or until you've achieved your desired consistency.
5. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and allow to cool a bit.
6. Serve in bowls with a dollop of strained Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of dried Greek oregano.
   

Yes, I Ate Soup in the Summer (ρεβιθόσουπα)

Ahhh, the things I do for those who follow my blog. One of my food quirks is that by & large, I eat salads in the summer, soups in the winter.

Oh, there are always exceptions like the odd, cold summer day or a cold soup but a hot soup in Greece with the blazing 35C heat? Yes, I ate soup.

It wasn't just any soup but the very well-known and traditional chickpea soup of Sifnos. My last day on Sifnos was a Sunday and it would be my last and only chance to eat the real deal.

Yes, I could have eaten the soup on any other day but the Sunday soup would be special. You see, the bakeries do run on Sundays here and for many people on the island, the tradition of sending your pot of soup to the bakery to be cooked still exists.

This tradition was a neccesity for many homes in the villages across Greece where they were old and not equipped to host an oven. Necessity led to resourcefulness and tradition whereby the lady of the house would take the family's meal to the local bakery for cooking.

In Sifnos, surely there are many varieties of soups, depending on that family's tastes (or rather the man of house's tastes).

Each "noikokyra" (housewife) prepares the soup in a large earthenware pot and lugs the contents down to the bakery on a Saturday evening.

The chickpea soup simmers all night at the bakery until it becomes lunch time, Sunday afternoon.

I am so glad that blogging has prodded me to try ingredients I once thought I did not like. Such was the case with chickpeas. I can't say they are my favourite ingredient but I find myself increasing my use of them each year.

They are healthy, cheap and I find quite delicious. Speaking of delicious...this chickpea soup will surprise you with it's aroma and fabulous flavour.

There are alot of onions in this soup and the tag-along veggies of celery and carrot round out the flavours. Add a slow simmer, some good stock, a pinch of fresh ground cumin and a squeeze of lemon and you have a soup that eats like a meal.

Chickpea Soup From Sifnos (ρεβιθόσουπα )
(serves 6)

1 500gr. can of chick peas
(rinsed and drained)
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 carrot, finely diced
1/2 stalk of celery, finely diced
1 tsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
6-8 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
(depending how thick/thin you like your soup)
a pinch of fresh ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
squeeze of lemon juice

1. Into a pot, add your olive oil over medium heat and throw in your onions, celery, carrots and paprika and parsley and simmer on medium low for about 15 minutes for the vegetables to soften.
2. Now add your stock, bring to a boil and simmer medium-low heat with the lid slightly ajar for one hour, By this time you should have a thick, chunly chick pea soup with broth still eveident.
3. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, add a small pinch of ground cumin and serve with a wedge of lemon.
4. Serve hot, squeeze just a little lemon juice, add some fresh ground pepper and enjoy this comforting, rustic soup.

Greek Gazpacho

I've had this Ina Garten riff on the Spanish cold soup known as Gazpacho, on my mind for ages and the time is NOW, to enjoy this refreshing first course.

It's hot, it's humid, it's Toronto in the summer. Nothing beats the heat like jumping through the sprinkler, having an ice cream or having a cold, refreshing soup to start your backyard meal.

I've added my own twists to this Greek Gazpacho. I opted to roast the peppers in the soup for some added sweetness and smokyness and I've added a garnish of an olive oil ice cube.

Serve this cold soup on a hot day, plop the olive oil ice cube just before serving and relish the summer, the outdoors, this hearty cold soup.

Greek Gazpacho

2 slices of day old crusty Italian bread
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped Greek oregano 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley
5 Tbsp. good red wine vinegar
1/4 cup of good olive oil
1 roasted red bell pepper, skins peeled and seeds removed
1 roasted green bell pepper, skins peeled and seeds removed
2 red onions, roughly chopped
1 seedless cucumber (unpeeled, seeded & chopped)
4 large, ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
3/4 cup sun-dried black olives (Throumpes)
2 tsp. ground black pepper
8 oz. Greek feta, small dice
approx. 46 oz. of V-8 or other vegetable cocktail
(depends on how thin or thick you like your soup)
salt to taste

Garnish
extra-virgin olive oil
ice cube tray or shot glasses

1. Using shot glasses or an ice cube tray, fill the ice cube tray to the top with olive oil or the shot glasses half-way up. Place in the freezer to harden.
2. In a food processor, place the bread, garlic, oregano, parsley and process everything until it becomes a wet paste. Now add the olive oil and wine vinegar and pulse until mixed in. Remove and reserve in a large bowl
   
3. In the same food processor, add the cucumber, onions, tomatoes and olives and whiz until coarsely chopped. Add to the reserved bread/herb mixture in the large bowl and add the vegetable cocktail, black pepper and stir well. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt (if any) and pepper.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for alt least 3 hours.
5. For serving, ladle soup into each bowl with some cubes of feta. Take your olive oil ice cubes out of the freezer and pop one into the middle of each soup. If you used shot glasses, place them in warm water to free up the frozen olive oil. Serve cold.
   

Magheritsa

I wasn't sure if I was going to write about this traditional Greek Easter Soup but Easter would not be complete without Magheritisa.

Magheritsa is a soup make from the broth of lamb offal and any other part of the lamb (combination varies from family to family).

After a long Lenten Fast, Magheritisa is the first substantive meal most Greeks will put to their mouths...almost immediately after arriving back home after Saturday midnight mass.

Attendance of this mass is so popular that all Greek churches overflow with parishioners standing around the perimeter of the church to take part in the mass with those fortunate (or patient enough) to arrive early for a seat inside the church.

At the stroke of midnight, the Parish Priest will hold up the Holy Light and one by one, parishioners will light their candles and everyone will shout, Hristos Anesti (Christ has risen)!

The customary "cracking of the eggs" will also take place and then each family will make it's way back home to have the traditional Magheritsa.

For those families (or individuals) who are sheepish about offal, serve it separately in a bowl and allow those who enjoy it to add it back to their soups. For others such as myself, will eat it with just the lamb meat, rice and Spring herbs.

This is another Greek dish where Avgolemono rounds out the Spring flavours of lamb, dill, scallions and parsley. For the best results, start making the broth 1 day ahead of Greek Easter so as to chill and skim off any excess fat.

Magheritsa

1 kg. lamb offal (liver, heart, lungs, etc.)
1 head of a lamb
1 kg. lam shoulder
3 bunches of scallions, finely chopped 1/2 bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 head of romaine lettuce, finely chopped
1/2 bunch of fresh dill, finely chopped 1/2 cup Arborio rice
3 quarts of water
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. butter
2 eggs
Juice of 1 1/2 lemons

1. Bring the offal and other lamb parts to a boil, add salt and simmer for 90 minutes or until the meat is tender enough to flake off the bone. Remember to skim off the scum as it forms on the surface.
2. Strain the stock from the meat and chill overnight. The next day you will be able to skim the excess fat from the stock. Cut the offal and lamb meat into bite-sized pieces, discard the bones and reserve.
3. In a large pot, add your butter over medium-high heat and add your scallions, lettuce, parsley and dill and simmer covered until softened (about 15 minutes).
4. Add your stock and rice and lamb pieces and bring to a boil. Simmer for another 15-20 minutes and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Take off the heat and reserve.
   
5. Prepare your Avgolemeno by beating the eggs in a separate bowl and slowly add a stream of lemon juice while beating.
6. Take a ladle of stock from the soup and add it to your Avgolemeno while beating. Now add the contents of the bowl back into your soup and stir the soup for about 5 minutes to form your Avgolemeno soup.
7. Serve hot in bowls, with a side offering of the offal pieces, wedges of lemon and freshly ground black pepper.

Is It Easter Yet?

This past weekend I used some of my free time to get some things in order for Easter Sunday. The first thing I secured was a whole milk-fed, Ontario Spring lamb (26 lbs). The second thing I would need is charcoal.

Last weekend I was lucky to pick up the last of the store's charcoal. It seems I wasn't the only Greek in the area getting ready for Easter.

Here's what I'll be offering this Sunday:

Kokoretsi, Sweetbreads, sausages, eggplant salad, tarama salata, Htipiti salad, Tzatziki, dolmades, roasted potatoes, asparagus gratin, magheritsa, Tsoureki, cheesecake, galaktoboureko, Spring salad and...a whole spit-roasted lamb.

There will be lots of wine, beer and Tsipouro to help wash down all the delightful food and mom's best fresh baked bread.

Alas...we're still a few days away from Sunday and the fast continues but wait! I have a new soup that us Greeks can have for Lent. It's not new as it's called a Horiatiki (Village) Soup but it's new to my kitchen.

A few years ago in Greece I picked up a cookbook called Elliniki Paradosiaki Kouzina (Greek Traditional Cuisine). The author of the book is credited to a Christina Lidaki and the origin of this soup is labeled as being from Central Greece.

This is a hearty, chunky vegetable soup that's filling and Lent-friendly. If you're Greek and tired of Fakkes or Fassoulada - give the Horiatiki Soupa a try.

Soupa Horiatiki

2 medium onions, diced
1 large leek
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 large carrots, peeled & sliced
3 stalks of celery. cut into 1/2 in. pieces
2 zucchinis, halved lengthwise then cut into slices
2 large tomatoes, peeled and diced
3 large potatoes, diced
1/3 cup olive oil
couple of bay leaves
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
9 cups of water
2 vegetable boullion cubes
salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash, peel and chop your vegetables. In a large pot, add your olive oil, garlic, onions, leeks, carrots and celery and saute for about 15 minutes over medium heat. Stir occasionally.
2. Add your bay leaves, potatoes and tomatoes and stir & cook for another five minutes for the starch in the potatoes to activate.
3. Now add your water and boullion cubes and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium, cover with a lid and and simmer for about 30 minutes.
4. Add your zucchini and simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
5. Finish the soup off with the chopped fresh parsley and dried oregano.

A Soup With Soul

This soup has come a long way since I was inspired years ago by a delicious spiced cabbage soup I enjoyed at a soup and sandwich stand.

I've been tinkering with ingredients, amounts and I'm finally content with the flavour, aroma and colour of this soup. I was never satisfied with the outcome of this soup until this past weekend.

This cabbage soup can certainly be made into a vegetarian one but I doubt one will achieve the same great flavour as this version.

The deal-breaker for this soup, the star, the highlight...Chorizo sausage. All it took was one Chorizo to turn this soup from ho-hum to yum-yum!

I used a mild Chorizo but I did make this spicy with the use of just 1 teeny red chili. Cabbage is the main vegetable here and much like a Minestrone, you can use what other vegetables you have at hand.

However, I would recommend this combo...it works real well and you'll have to take my word for it.

Another aspect of this soup I'd like to underline is the use of V8 vegetable cocktail. This veggie juice is a great way to pack flavour into a soup and it's also a time saver. This soup was ready in 45 minutes.

If you take a look at the progression of photos...I went back into the pot for a generous refill!

Spiced Cabbage Soup

1/3 cup olive oil
1 Chorizo sausage, casing removed and diced
2 medium onions, diced
1 large carrot, halved lengthwise then sliced
1 large stalk of celery, diced
1 potato, peeled and diced
2 cups of shredded cabbage
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
2 tsp. cracked black pepper
1 whole red chili
1 cup fresh or frozen green beans (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
1 1/2 cups of V8 vegetable cocktail
7 cups of chicken/vegetable stock
2 zucchinis, halved lengthwise then sliced

1. In a large pot, add your olive oil over medium-high heat. Add your onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves and Chorizo and saute for 7-10 minutes to soften.
2. Add your smoked paprika, cabbage, thyme, garlic, black pepper, red peppers and potatoes and stir to coat all the ingredients with the paprika for a couple of minutes.
3. Add your V8 cocktail, stock, chili and bring to a boil. Cover ajar and reduce to a simmer on medium heat for 30-40 minutes.
4. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Add your green beans and zucchini and simmer for 5 minutes to cook. Serve hot.
   

Cream of Mushroom Soup

The Campbell's Soup company has not made that much money off me this year. I've been really enjoying making stocks and the comforting soups that directly benefit from this effort.

There are some good quality stocks for sale out there and even the boullion cubes can come in handy but a soup made with homemade stock just can't be beat.

Today, I have a soup for you that tastes like it was simmered all day, it could be served for a guests but, it can be made with ease on a weeknight.

This soup's inspiration comes courtesy of Jacques Pepin and the original recipe can be found in his book, The Short-Cut Cook.

I've tweaked his recipe but the same rich, creamy soup will still satisfy your hungry mouths.

What makes this soup different is that I've avoided using cream and the thickener here is cornmeal. I used evaporated milk which is less fattening and it has all the good properties of cream and the cornmeal thickens the soup fast.

The last point I'd like to make is please use fresh mushrooms. White button mushrooms are easily cultivated all year 'round, they are affordable and they're simply delicious. If you have fancier tastes (and budget) then by all means use a more fancy mushroom in your soup.


Cream of Mushroom Soup

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups cleaned & sliced button mushrooms
1 medium onion (about 1 cup) diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
6 cups of chicken (or veggie) stock
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp. fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the butter in a large pot and when it's melted, add your onions and mushrooms and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes (with the cover on).
2. Take the cover off and simmer for another 5 minutes for liquid from the mushrooms to cook off. Using a slotted spoon, remove half of the mushroom mixture and reserve.
3. Add your bay leaves, garlic and cornmeal and stir for a few minutes or until you have a thick paste.
4. Add your stock and thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and and cover just ajar for 30 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat and remove your bay leaves. Using a handheld food processor, puree your soup thoroughly.
6. Add as much evaporated milk as desired. Add your reserved mushrooms and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
7. Serve immediately.
   

The Day After Valentine's

So last night, I went out to my regular drinking hole, The Artful Dodger pub and I knocked back a few pints, shared some laughs with regulars and commented on the absence of some other regulars.

The pub was quieter than usual and that's fine, it was Valentine's but half the regulars who didn't show I knew to be single. Those present at the bar were single and there was a smattering of couples, flagrante delicto under their tables (get a room).

I was pleased to meet a gal new to the pub...early thirties, brunette, tall, slim and shoulder-length straight hair that just curled up at her neck. We chatted over a drink as she waited for her friends to arrive.

I was nervous until her friends arrived. Phew! No boyfriend...there's hope!

On to the soup.... while out for work, I stopped for a soup and a sandwich and I enjoyed a warm, hearty bowl of Minestrone soup.

This soup is definitely Italiano in origin and there's no real benchmark for the ingredients...it's pretty much made with what you have at hand. One of my favourite short-cuts for a tomato-based soup is to use V8 vegetable cocktail...try it the taste the results for yourself!

Think of this soup as a great "clean your fridge" soup...it's quite a hodge-podge but the final result is a comforting bowl of broth, beans, pasta and vegetables that's sure to satisfy any hungry-man.

I should note that this recipe should be considered by the strictest of vegetarians. Just use vegetable stock and fear not that any vegetables would have been cruelly harmed during the soup making process. Free-range vegetables anyone?

Minestrone Soup

1/3 cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 large carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
3 bay leaves
2 medium potatoes, diced
1/2 lb. green beans, cut into 1-inch pcs.
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
3 cup of water
4 cups of V8/vegetable or tomato juice
1 Tbsp. of Italian mixed herbs
2 cups of shredded cabbage
2 medium zucchini, diced
2-3 tsp. Vegeta or vegetable bouillon
1 can of kidney beans, drained
1 cup of macaroni
1 bunch of kale leaves, rinsed and chopped

1. In a large pot over medium heat, add your olive oil, onions, garlic, carrots and celery and potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes to allow them to soften.
2. Add your bay leaves, cabbage, beans, zucchini, vegetable cocktail, Italian herbs, tomatoes and,Vegeta seasoning, kale, macaroni and beans and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce to low, cover ajar and simmer for 40 to 50 minutes or until the soup has gotten thick but still soupy. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper
   
4. Serve hot with some cracked black pepper and grated Parmesan.
   

Soup With Mussels and Ginger

Lately I've been noticing the use of ginger in Greek cooking. In my household, I can't say that we have any family dishes that include ginger but like most of you in the western world, you were introduced to ginger through Asian cooking.

Ginger is inexpensive, a lovely, zesty flavour comes from it and it also has a multitude of health benefits attached to eating it.

Ginger is good for settling a stomach, can fight off nausea, is good for your blood circulation and it promotes the production of bile in your gall bladder.

Ginger is used to make the popular Ginger Ale, used often in the making of sweets, teas and of course, savory dishes.

This soup was a surprise in flavour and in appearance. The ginger and the mussels are pronounced and the red bits of red pepper provide the soup with some sweetness to offset the bold taste of mussels and mellow out the spicy ginger.

You can use fresh steamed mussels or use the frozen varieties out there which are perfectly fine for this quick soup. I thawed some mussels and threw them into the soup at the end to cook through.

Add a swirl of heavy cream at the end and you have an exotic, restaurant type of creamy soup that will impress your dinner guests, despite the minimal effort.

With Mussels and Ginger

1 lb. of shucked or thawed from frozen mussel meat
1/3 cup Muscat white wine
2 Tbsp. of grated fresh ginger
1 large onion, diced
1 leek, white part only, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp. of flour
6 cups of vegetable or seafood stock
1/2 red pepper, finely diced
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp of Old Bay seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a medium sized pot, add your olive oil and heat up under medium-high heat. Add your onions, leek and ginger and saute for 7-10 minutes to soften.
2. Add your flour and stir with a wooden spoon to cook the flour out for about 2 minutes.
   
3. When the flour becomes a paste, add your wine, stock and red peppers and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover with a the lid ajar for about 30 minutes.
4. Remove the lid, adjust seasoning and cook for another 10 minutes for the soup to thicken.
5. Add your mussel meat, turn off the heat and cover your pot. Give the mussels about 10 minutes to cook from the residual heat.
6. Add your cream and adjust your seasoning with salt and pepper.

CC's Chick Pea Soup

This is my second soup with the main ingredient being chick peas. The first soup was creamy and this one's chunky.

As I've written earlier, I used to hate chick peas as a kid...scarred from being dragged to grown-up parties and having to taste those dry chick peas with raisins.

You can guess I always picked through and ate the raisins. Today, I have a new appreciation of legumes and in this case, chick peas. They are inexpensive (dry or canned), healthy and I now think they taste great.

There's a new blog event called "No Croutons Required" and it's hosted this month by Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen. Lisa is just a couple of hours south of me on the Hwy. 401 and I have to support my peeps (and try and get he to eat some carcass).

Staying with the Canadian theme, this recipe is from Food Network Canada's Christine Cushing who's also Greek (surname by marriage) and from tasting this soup, she was going for Greek and near East flavours.

Christine Cushing (CC) used to have a live 1 hour show in the early evening and if anyone from Food Network Canada is reading this......BRING HER BACK!

You can view CC's recipe here and although she uses chicken stock in her version, vegetable stock would work wonderfully as this soup is highlighted for vegetarians.

Cream of Vegetable Soup

It's no secret that I love my soups in the cold months. I love brothy soups, chunky soups, soups with noodles and creamy soups.

Lately, people shy away from creamy soups thinking that they are packed with flour or heavy cream as a thickener. Sometimes those ingredients are called for but I've discovered that potato can act as a great thickening agent for your soup.

The first time I discovered this method is when I made my clam chowder which included grated potatoes. The starches from the potatoes are what thickens your soup and the proof is realized when you finally puree your soup. You get a thick, velvety soup without the starch of the flour.

Before I forget, I still finish off my soups with a splash of heavy cream.

Cream of Vegetable Soup

1/2 stick of unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 head of broccoli, broken into pieces (1 cup)
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
3 medium potatoes, grated
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs of thyme
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
7 cups of chicken/vegetable stock
splash of heavy cream

1. Place a large pot on your stove to medium high heat. Add your butter, onions, carrots, celery, broccoli, garlic, some salt, bay leaves, thyme and parsley. Saute and stir occasionally for 5-10 minutes on medium heat.
2. Grate your potatoes into the pot and stir to mix in well. When the mixture starts to become pasty, add a little stock to prevent anything from burning. Simmer for about 5 minutes.
3. Add your stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium, cover with a lid and simmer for 45 minutes.
4. Uncover and simmer for another 15 minutes. Remove bay leaves.
   
5. Take off the heat and puree your soup with your hand blender ( I like leaving some vegetables in tact).
6. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and add a splash of cream. Garnish with parsley and serve.
   

Avgolemeno Soup

As I've written previously, Avgolemeno (eggs & lemon) are one of the most used bases and flavours for Greek cooking.

Here, we see Agvolemeno being used in it's most rudimentary yet most satisfying and comforting way, as a chicken soup.

Avgolemeno soup is the Greek's answer to chicken noodle soup. I swear, this soup will cure the common cold, warm you on a cold, winter night, or satisfy you for lunch with a sandwich.

The key to any good soup starts with good stock. Avgolemeno requires good chicken or turkey stock. If you don't have any (nor the patience), then use some good quality (low sodium) commercial stock.

Greeks will enjoy this soup with or without the chicken meat inside. This time around is just soup and noodles.

Another variance is Avgolemeno can be served with rice in it. I could eat it with rice or with noodles, but I prefer the family favourite, noodles.

Greeks will often use φιδές (fee-thess) or Vermicelli nests as the noodle of choice. One of my biggest pet peeves as a kid was trying to negotiate those long, awkward noodles found in Campbell's chicken noodle soup...φιδές solves that problem!

Avgolemeno Soup

10 cups of Chicken or Turkey Stock
6 nests of φιδές or Vermicelli (fine) nests
salt to taste

Avgolemeno

2 eggs
1 tsp. flour
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 cup cold water

1. Bring your stock to a boil. Once it's boiling, break up the φιδές with you hand and drop into the boiling stock. Boil for 10 minutes and turn off the heat.
2. Start making your Avgolemeno by adding your aeggs and flour in a big bowl and whisk them together with a fork.
3. While still beating, whisk in your lemon juice until incorporated and then whisk in the cold water.
   
4. Take the pot of soup off the element.
5. While whisking, add one ladle at a time of the soup to the Avgolemeno mixture (to a total of 4 ladles) to temper the heat of the Agvolemeno).
6. Add the contents of of the bowl back into the soup and stir in. Let the soup rest for about 5 minutes.
7. Adjust seasoning with salt and serve with cracked black pepper, chives, crackers or bread.

French Canadian Pea Soup

For those not in the know, Canada is a bilingual country where our two official languages are French and English. Most of the Francophones live in the province of Quebec and some families can trace their roots to the first settlers in North America.

English and French Canadians are similar yet different. I won't get into Canadian politics but French-Canadians are a unique bunch. Did you know that advertisers have to devise totally separate campaigns for Quebecers? They do have varying tastes: prefer Pepsi to Coke, a strange love of corn dogs, a sweet spot for rich snack cakes (Mae west) and they like to spread pork fat (Creton) on toast.

Beyond some of their quirky eating habits, the Quebecois also have a rich history of loving food and of having a wonderfully delicious local cuisine.

One of my favourite French-Canadian soups is the the Split Pea Soup. It's a very simple dish but it requires one quality ingredient...a smoked ham hock.

At first, you wonder if this dish will amount to anything good but allow the simmering of the ham to extract all it's flavour. This is one of my favourite soups for it's ease in preparation, high taste factor and very comforting.


French-Canadian Pea Soup

1 smoked ham hock
one 16oz. package of yellow split peas
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
7 cups of water
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground pepper
1 bay leaf
salt to taste

1. In a large pot, add the water, ham hock, split peas, allspice, onions, carrots, peppercorns and bay leaf.
   
2. Bring to a boil then cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook on medium-low heat for approx. an hour.
3. Remove the ham hock and bay leaf from the soup. Adjust seasoning of the soup with salt and pepper. Using your hand blender, puree the soup to the consistency of your choice (I left some peas in tact).
4. Using a fork and knife, scrap the meat off the bone and flake the meat into bite sized pieces. Add your ham meat back into the soup, stir in and serve hot.

Shrimp Bisque

The first time I ever had a bisque was in the late 80's, at Toronto's now defunct Whistling Oyster. A bisque is a thick, creamy , highly seasoned soup, classically using shrimp, crab or lobster. It is of French origin and it's the snobbish cousin of chowder.

I saved this recipe from the Toronto Star, written by Marion Kane, who describes her very first taste of lobster bisque as:

"I can only describe the texture as akin to silky smooth, slightly melted soft ice cream. In every bite, there was a chunk of tender, toothsome lobster. The flavour was full-bodied and robust with a hint of sherry, a sweetish seafood taste laced with saltiness and, of course, cream."

I echo her same thoughts on tasting a bisque. This is one of my best soup experiences, ever. I know shrimp cannot compare with lobster but you'll understand how fantastic the flavours are when you taste your first spoonful.

This soup requires of you to take a few extra steps but don't cut corners. It's supposed to be a rich soup and it should be aptly served for a special occasion.

One final note...this soup is thickened by pureeing the rice, half the seafood and of course, the cream. Uncle Ben's converted rice is recommended but I found the starches in Arborio rice to work just fine.

Without the intent of sounding racy, are you ready for an orgasmic experience? I made relatives moan when they tasted this bisque. A pleasantly odd moment. I think they enjoyed it.

Shrimp Bisque

1 1/2lbs. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, peeled & chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled & chopped
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups of fish or chicken stock or clam juice
2 cups of water
2 cups dry white wine
2 cups of canned tomatoes, chopped with juices
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup brandy
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (1/2 tsp. dried)
1/2 cup arborio rice or Uncle Bens converted rice
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 Tbsp. dry white wine
2/3 cup whipping cream
seat salt and fresh ground black pepper

1. Peel shrimp. Reserve shells. Chop shrimp into 2 or 3 pieces each. Reserve shrimp in the fridge.
2. In a large heavy saucepan, heat 1 Tbsp. of butter and oil over medium-low heat and add your onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Cook until soft or for 15 minutes (but not browned).
3. Add the shrimp shells and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add flour and cook while stirring for a minute or so. Add wine (2 cups), stock, water, tomatoes, half each of sherry and cognac and the thyme.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer , covered for 45 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Strain through a sieve into another large saucepan, pushing down all the solids with a wooden spoon to remove all the liquid and extract all the flavours from the vegetables. Discard solids.
5. Add your rice and tomato paste to the mixture in the saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce to low and simmer, covered. Stir occasionally to make sure the rice doesn't stick to the bottom. Simmer for another 30-45 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
6. Meanwhile, add the remaining butter to a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the shrimp, cook while stirring for about 4 minutes until they have just turned pink. Add the remaining wine (2 Tbsp.) to the skillet to deglaze.
7. Add half of the cooked shrimp along with any juices to the bisque mixture. Transfer to a blender or a food processor and puree until smooth and creamy.
8. Whisk in whipping cream along with remaining sherry and brandy.
9. Add salt, pepper and remaining shrimp. Adjust taste with a squeeze of lemon, if desired.
10. Heat over low heat to serve. Do not over boil.
    

Beef Barley Soup

A few days ago I showed all of you my Prime Rib and I'm looking forward to enjoying another during the holiday season.

Many know that it's not a cheap hunk of beef so, how does one stretch the use of such an expensive cut? Make stock with the leftover bones.

Don't throw out the bones from that Prime Rib after dinner. You can wash/rinse the bones, throw them into a stockpot with about 10 cups of cold water and boil them down for about 2-3 hours. What you'll end up with is a rich, flavourful beef stock which can be used for soups, stews and sauces.

If you simply want to make your own beef stock but do not have a leftover Prime Rib, then you might want to ask your butcher if they sell beef bones (most do). These scraps also have some meat attached to them and you can go straight to making a hearty beef soup when the stock is done.

I usually season the bones with some salt and pepper, preheat the oven to 425F and place them in the middle of the oven on a baking sheet for 1 1/2 - 2 hours to brown, render the fat and break down the meat. I also roast onions, carrots and celery with the beef. Now you have flavour.

When you're done roasting the beef bones, you can once again place them in lots of cold water and boil them down for 2-3 hours.

Both methods will also produce some impurities and fat. You can invest in a fat separater or after your beef stock has cooled to room temperature, place the stock pot in the fridge (or wintery outdoors) for the stock to chill overnight. The next day you will find the fat has risen to form a hardened white "crust", which can simply be skimmed off with a spoon and discarded.

Strain your beef stock and you can immediately use it for a stew, sauce or freeze it for later use. Today, I'm making Beef Barley Soup.

Beef Barley Soup

5 cups of beef stock
hand-shredded beef pieces
4 Tbsp. of vegetable oil
1 onion, roughly diced
1 carrot, diced
1 rib of celery, diced
1 large potato, diced
1/2 cup barley
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp. of tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste
beef base

1. Place a large pot on a burner with medium-high heat and pour in your vegetable oil, vegetables and bay leaf and saute for 5 minutes. Add your tomato paste and stir in to incorporate and cook through for another five minutes.
2. Add your beef stock and turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil.
3. When you have a boil, add your barley, beef pieces and some beef base to taste. Cover with lid, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 90 minutes.
4. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Enjoy hot on a cold day!
   

Greek Lentil Soup

This soup is another "familiar" dish to all Greek homes. Some eat it almost every week and others at the very least during the Great Lent.

It's a meatless soup and for those who fast to the nth degree and avoid oil during Lent, this soup still holds up well using just water.

I like this soup for Fridays. I don't have to fast on Fridays and nor am ultra-religious but I do like the "cleansing" one does on Fridays. Try it out...avoid meat for a day and be creative. You'll find comfort in simpler foods, different foods and perhaps even expand and develop an affinity for a new food.

Lentil Soup in Greek is called φακές (pronounced fah-KESS) and as kids, cousins, myself and other Greek kids would laugh because it always sounded like the elders were swearing!

I've gotten beyond that sillyness (actually I've giggling again) and I do love this soup. Once again, I use a pressure cooker to speed up the cooking process for this soup.

Greek lentil soup becomes a meal when you pair it with bread, black olives and some pickled peppers and veggies. I think I'll make it again this Friday!

Greek Lentil Soup (φακές)

2 cups of small, brown lentil, rinsed
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
1 large carrot, peeled, halved and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
3 bay leaves
3/4 cup of pommodoro sauce (passata)
1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
8 cups of water
3 cloves of garlic, smashed + 5 cloves of garlic, minced for the end
2 Tbsp. dried oregano
salt to taste

1. Into a large pressure cooker, add your lentils, olive oil, onions, carrot, pepper, tomatoes, paprika, bay leaves, smashed garlic and water. Close the lid the bring to a whistling boil on high heat.
2. As soon as your pressure cooker is whistling, turn the heat down to medium and simmer for 45 minutes.
3. Take off the heat, release the pressure from your pressure cooker and safely open the lid.
4. Add your 5 cloves of minced garlic, your oregano and adjust seasoning with salt or Vegeta seasoning.
5. Serve with good bread, black olives and pickled sweet peppers.
   

Carrot and Ginger Soup

This soup was made using no aids in food colouring other than it's natural ingredients. Look at that colour!

I just found out that carrots make for a lovely soup. This soup is velvety, sweet, savoury, a little spicy from the ginger and most definitely warming on a cold, rainy day like today.

I like soups like this that use unconventional ingredients for soup. They're a mystery right up until the person puts the spoon into their mouth.

Carrot and Ginger Soup

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 medium onions, diced
5 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 Tbsp. of grated fresh ginger
5 cups of chicken/vegetable stock
1/4 cup of orange juice
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs of thyme
1 tsp. of paprika
salt and pepper to taste
sour cream for garnish

1. In a large pot, saute the onions, carrots, ginger, paprika, bay leaf and thyme. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes with the lid covered.
2. Add your stock and orange juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook down for 30-40 minutes or until the carrots have softened. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
3. Remove your thyme sprigs and bay leaf and puree your soup until there are no lumps left.
4. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.
   

New England Clam Chowder

One of my favourite foods are "soups that eat like a meal". All one needs is a big bowl of soup, some crackers and dig in!

Up until about a year ago my clam chowder used to come from a can or whenever I visited a seafood restaurant. I pleased to announce those days are over.

This soup is rich, it's easy, it's thick, it's very flavourful and, it's affordable. One could go out and my fresh clams, steam them and pluck the meat out for this soup but the canned variety work just fine.

Surprisingly, one of the highlights of this soup is the fresh parsley that's tossed in at the end. Through most of my life, I've hated parsley. It was simply a garnish tossed to the side before eating my meal.

I'm highlighting parsley for Weekend Herb Blogging. This week's event is hosted by The Expatriate Chef at The Expatriate's Kitchen.

Parsley is probably the world's most popular herb. It derives its name from the Greek word meaning "rock celery" (parsley is a relative to celery). It is a biennial plant that will return to the garden year after year once it is established.

Another thing I'd like to highlight about this chowder is that no flour was used as a thickener. This recipe came from Michael Smith of Chef at Home and it's a winner and it's not a surprise as he's from the Maritimes. Instead of flour, this soup is thickened by a grated potato. I made two additions to the chowder. I added a grated carrot for sweetness and colour and I added 1 large potato, diced into spoon sized pieces.


New England Clam Chowder

• 8 slices of bacon, chopped
• 1 medium cooking onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1 carrot, grated
  
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cup of cream
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 large baking potato, peeled and diced
  
• 2 x 5 oz cans of clam meat
• 2 x large bay leafs
• 1 tsp of fresh thyme leaves
• 1 cup of grated baking potato
• 1 x can of unsweetened evaporated milk
• 1/4 cup of chopped flat leaf parsley
• Salt and pepper

1. Brown the bacon until crisp in a thick-bottomed soup pot. Pour off half of the fat. Add the onions and celery, carrot, grated potato with a splash of water and sauté for a few minutes until soft.
2. Add the white wine, cream, milk and the juice from the clams (reserve the actual clams for the end so they don’t toughen). Add the bay leaf, thyme and diced potato and bring the mixture to a slow simmer. Continue simmering for 20 minutes until the diced potato softens and your soup has thickened.
   
3. Add the reserved clam meat, evaporated milk and parsley. Bring back to heat. Taste the chowder and add enough salt and pepper to season it. Serve immediately with your favourite crackers!

Giovarlakia Soup

I've talked about the phenomenon of liking foods as an adult that you hated as a kid right? Well, this dish is also not one those!

Giovarlakia (You-ver-lawk-ya) soup is another Greek comfort dish that I always liked, be it as a child or in my pseudo-adulthood.

This is a meatball soup, finished off in the very familiar Avgolemono Sauce. It's also a quick dish, provided one has ready made stock and you don't mind rolling some meatballs.

I've had many varieties of Giovarlakia. Some good, some bad, some too thick, some too thin. Some like their meatballs real big, others real small.

I'll explain how I think Gioverlakia should be made. First, use a good chicken, veal or clear beef stock, be it homemade or store bought. It's a soup with delicate flavours and when you finish the soup with the Avgolemono mixture, one gets to appreciate the taste of the quality stock.

This soup should be a "medium thick". If made too thick, it can become paste-like the next day as the rice will absorb liquid. The soup should also not be thin or too sour from too much lemon. Did I mention it should be "medium thick?"

Finally, although my family always made large meatballs for this soup, I've found little, spoon-sized meatballs to work best.

Once again, the familiar flavour of Avgolemono has entered a Greek dish. Try this one out. It's a soup that eats like a meal, accompanied by crusty bread and finished off with freshly cracked pepper on the soup.

It's a cold, bone chilling day but I'm comforted by by big bowl of Giovarlakia soup.

Giovarlakia Soup

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 egg
1/3 cup Arborio rice + 1/2 cup Arborio rice for the soup
2 tsp. Vegeta Seasoning
2 tsp. pepper
2 quarts of good stock

Avgolemono
2 eggs
juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp. of flour

1. Mix your ground beef, egg, 1/3 cup of rice, salt & pepper in a large bowl. Form the entire mixture into meatballs.
2. Bring your stock to boil in a large pot. Drop your meatballs and 1/2 cup rice into the stock and bring back to a boil. Once you have a boil, reduce to a simmer (medium) with a just closed lid and cook for about 20 minutes. Take off the heat.
3. In a small bowl, beat the eggs, flour and lemon juice. While beating, add 1 cup of water.
4. Take a ladle of stock from your pot and slowly add it to your egg/lemon mixture while whisking.
5. Slowly add your egg/lemon mixture back into your pot of soup and simultaneously keep on stirring as you're pouring.
6. Adjust seasoning with salt and reserve for five minutes. Serve with some fresh parsley, cracked black pepper and some good bread.