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Winter soups

By on December 30, 2011
 
 Tomato and Cheese Soup
•12 ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 5 cups beef stock
• 3 tablespoons Italian tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3-5 chopped basil leaves
• rock salt and black pepper
• grated fresh parmesan or gruyere cheese1. Put chopped tomatoes and beef stock in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover the pan, reduce heat and simmer until the tomatoes are tender.2. Stir in the tomato paste, vinegar, sugar and chopped basil leaves.  Stir occasionally for about 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat and transfer to a blender or a food processor.3. Season to taste. Garnish with basil leaves and cheese. Serve hot.The secret to a delicious healthy homemade soup is in the stock or both.  You will find it convenient to prepare different kinds of broth in large quantity that you can put in the freezer to use as often as needed.Beef Stock
(makes 4 liters)
1 kilo Beef bone marrows *
Scrap beef cut into pieces or “suji niku” in Japanese
2 large onions,  chopped
4 medium size carrots, chopped
8 stalks of celery, chopped
fresh or dried rosemary
8 whole peppercorns
6 liters of cold water
Fine strainer

1. Place all ingredients in a large casserole and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove frothy substances floating on top. Simmer and stir from time to time. Slowly cook for 2-3 hours.
2. Strain the broth, let it cool and refrigerate until fat solidifies.
3. Skim off excess fat, transfer to a plastic container and freeze.
(Bone marrows are sold in wet markets at the Ameyoko in Ueno)

Chicken and Rice Winter Soup

• 7 cloves of minced garlic (avoid powder)
• 7 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil or butter

• 1 medium-size fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

• 1/2  cup of Japanese koshihikari rice, washed 3x
• 7 cups of chicken stock
• 300 grams of chicken breast, finely chopped
• chopped scallion or parsley for garnish
• saffron threads
• rock salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil, sautee garlic and ginger in a saucepan until slightly brown.
2. Add chicken soup stock and bring to a boil.
3. Add rice and boil for a further 12-15 minutes until rice is tender.
4. Mix the saffron threads and stir. Add soup stock as necessary.
5. Season with rock salt and pepper as desired.
6. Garnish with chopped scallions or parsley and serve hot
(Note:  The quantity of soup stock varies depending on the kind of rice you are using.  Thai, Basmati rice generally dry up quickly.)

Chicken Stock
7 Chicken wings
2 Chicken breasts with bones
4 pcs. chicken liver (optional)
2 large onions, chopped
4 medium size carrots, chopped
8 stalks celery, chopped
3 sprigs of parsley chopped
8 whole peppercorns
6 liters of cold water

1.  Place all ingredients in a large casseroleand bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove frothy substances floating on top. Simmer and stir from time to time. Slowly cook for 2-3 hours.
2. Strain the stock, let it cool and refrigerate until fat solidifies.  (Set aside the chicken meat, remove the bones and put them in the blender to form a paste.  Use it as a flavour enhancer for pasta dishes).
3. Skim off the fat, transfer to a plastic container and freeze.

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