Last week, in my personal chef capacity, I was asked to serve a luncheon for eight to celebrate the holiday season. The host requested that the main course be chicken, a challenge to prepare a dish that goes beyond the ordinary. For this lunch, I did a variation of Chicken Marsala, which appeared to be a crowd pleaser. Chicken needs a good supporting cast. In the tradition of the theater, I decided to give them a great opening “act” and a rousing “finale.”
About the finale first—my wife, Leslie, is a wonderful baker and she was responsible for the dessert in the form of a flourless chocolate torte plus melt-in-your mouth mini-chocolate chip meringue cookies. Four of the eight guests were also celebrating birthdays, so on each plate I included a bite-size cupcake with a birthday candle, where appropriate, to make a beautiful dessert presentation, leaving everyone with a satisfied sweet tooth.
But to begin with, I wanted to start with a spectacular soup that is a perfect starter for meals in this season. As I would be cooking the main dish immediately before serving, I chose a soup that could be prepared a day or two in advance allowing the flavor to deepen; this soup is a little different.
I assume readers of this column can follow a recipe easily, so I will try to include some tips I use to make cooking easier. Look for these “Rick’s tricks” and let me know if you have your own favorite tips.
Carrots and Parsnip Soup with Ginger and Apples
Ingredients (serves 10)
1. 1 ½ lbs. carrots, peeled and halved lengthwise. (Rick’s tricks: use bags of baby carrots, already peeled and need no cutting.)
2. 1 lb. parsnips – peeled, quartered (be sure to trim hard center on the end of the very big ones)
3. 1 large onion, sliced
4. Fresh ginger—3 to 4 inches—peeled and chopped (Rick’s tricks: place a couple of sheets of newspaper on the counter, peel and clean everything, roll up the newspaper and there’s no mess!)
5. 6 tbsps. unsalted butter –or substitute extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
6. 6 tbsps. packed dark brown sugar (you can use light, if you prefer)
7. 8 cups chicken brother (a bit more if you need it)
8. Salt to taste—I tend to under salt my dishes to allow people to add more later, according to their preferences
9. 1 Granny Smith apple—peeled and chopped coarsely
10. 1 cup orange juice (consider using apple cider or a combination of the two)
11. 2 tbsps. grated orange rind
12. Dash or two of nutmeg
13. Snipped fresh chives for garnish, if desired.
Steps
1. Pre-heat oven to 350°.
2. Combine parsnips, onion, carrots and ginger in a shallow roasting pan. Drizzle with EVOO (or dot with butter) and sprinkle with sugar.
3. Pour two cups of broth into the pan, cover tightly and bake about two hours until veggies are very tender.
4. Transfer vegetables and broth to large soup pot and add remaining six cups of broth, orange juice, apple and orange rind. Season with salt.
5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, partially covered.
6. Puree the soup. Some use a food processor, but I use an immersion stick hand blender which works perfectly with all of my soups. These blenders are inexpensive and really do the job. Add more stock if necessary.
7. If you like a little “bite,” add a pinch or two of cayenne pepper. Serve warm to hot.
No comments:
Post a Comment