Roasted Pepper and Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

It is the end of autumn in Minnesota, which means... it's soup weather. There is nothing on a cold, blustery day to warm you from the inside out like a bowl of hot, homemade soup or stew. This soup is a grown-up version of tomato soup and grilled cheese. It's sweet and salty and the roastiness from the peppers makes it a lot more interesting than tomato soup from a can.

Soup Ingredients:

2 TBS olive oil

1 medium to large onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 small jars of roasted red peppers

2 15 oz cans of plain tomato sauce (I really like Hunts or Trader Joe's brand)

2 TBS sugar

several grinds of black pepper

1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)

"Crouton" Ingredients:

sliced white bread

butter

cheese of choice

grated or finely shredded parmesan cheese

In large pot, brown onions in the olive oil until they start to caramelize a little. Add garlic and stir just until the garlic begins to get a little toasty colored. Add tomato sauce and roasted red peppers (include the juice from the peppers; this adds flavor and also helps thin the soup out a bit). Stir well. Bring to simmer and let gently boil for about 5-10 minutes. Blend soup in blender or food processor (I use a stick/immersion blender... well worth the money) until pureed. Add sugar and black pepper to taste. Soup probably won't need extra salt unless your tomato sauce isn't very salty, but you may need to add a little depending on your ingredients. If desired, you can finish off the soup with 1/2 cup cream or half and half. It doesn't need it, but it does add a nice silky finish to the soup. I usually don't use it.

For croutons, basically assemble one to two grilled cheese sandwiches (one sandwich will make croutons for two people). Butter the outsides liberally. Dip sandwiches in grated parmesan, and grill over medium heat in a frying pan as you would any grilled cheese. When done, cut into cubes with a knife and sprinkle over the top of the soup.

Brown Butter Quinoa With Pine Nuts

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-WAH) is an amazing grain that is versatile, delicious, and really healthful. It is very high in protein (for a grain, anyway), and is therefore the perfect addition to the vegetarian diet.


An important thing to note about quinoa: it needs to be rinsed extremely well under running water before cooking it. The grain is covered in a soapy/bitter-tasting substance called a "saponin". It tastes HORRIBLE. I once forgot the rinsing step and the quinoa was inedible. I just rinse mine in a fine-meshed colander under a steady spray of water for about a minute, and that does the trick.


Quinoa is very flexible; one of my favorite ways to eat it is just with a little butter and parmesan, with fried egg on top. You can also eat it sweet, almost like oatmeal, with a little brown sugar and milk. You can substitute cooked quinoa for cous cous for a punch of nutrition and flavor.


I normally use this flavor combo for pasta, and it is amazing. I wanted, however, to make the dish a little more nutritious so I decided to substitute cooked quinoa for the cooked pasta... and was thrilled with the results. This could suffice as a main dish for a veg-head (especially if you tossed in some steamed or roasted vegetables), but would be equally at home alongside a roasted chicken or piece of fish.


*ingredient note: please use real parmesan. A block of imported parmesano reggiano is best (should have "parmesano reggiano" printed in dots on the rind), but you can use the american "parmesan" as long as it's not the sawdust-in-a-green can stuff. Asiago also is a good stand-in cheese.


Ingredients

• 1 cup of quinoa (dry), rinsed and cooked according to package directions (2 parts water to 1 part quinoa, usually)


• 2 TBS butter


• 1/4 cup pine nuts


• pinch of salt


• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese*, plus a little extra for garnish
  

Cook quinoa. I actually do this in a steamer, but on the stovetop is fine. Just read the package. It should take about half an hour. You can do that step way ahead if you need/want to. In a saucepan, heat butter and pine nuts over medium heat until the butter starts to foam and brown a little. You need to stir/toss the nuts often so they don't burn on one side. As the butter browns, the pine nuts will toast nicely in the sauce. Be really careful not to let the butter burn, or it will ruin the entire dish. Just past the foamy stage is about right -- you will notice a toffee/nutty scent to the butter as it starts to turn a golden brown color. Remove from heat. Toss in the cooked quinoa, a pinch of salt, and the grated parmesan. Stir to mix. Season with more salt if needed. Sprinkle a little extra grated parmesan on top.

This will make 2 main dish servings or 4 side dish servings. Can easily be doubled.

Lemon Roasted Baby Reds

Potatoes that is.

This is a side dish that is surprisingly easy, but takes a little planning because it takes an hour to cook. Prep time is literally about 5 minutes, though, so give these a try.

Ingredients:

2 lbs baby red potatoes (the smaller the better, about the same size)

Olive oil

Salt

Black pepper

Seasonings of choice (garlic powder, onion powder, dried herbs, etc...)

1 lemon, cut into wedges

Take the potatoes, and in each cut several narrow slices about halfway to 2/3 of the way down into the potato without going all the way through. Toss the potatoes in a large bowl with a generous drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle very liberally with salt, pepper, and your seasonings of choice (honestly, anything goes here... any combo of garlic and onion powders along with various herbs such as dried rosemary, oregano, thyme, etc. will work). You will need to use more seasoning than seems reasonable, because a lot will fall off the potatoes when they cook. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet, and put into a preheated oven at 400 F for about one hour. Yes, this seems like a long time. No, they won't burn. The onion/garlic powder will blacken, but believe it or not they won't be bitter. Take out of the oven, and squeeze about 1/4 to 1/2 of the lemon wedges over the cut tops of the potatoes. Serve along with a roast chicken or any other main dish. The outside of the potatoes gets crispy, while the insides stay nice and creamy. The lemon adds a little punch at the end.

Orange-Walnut Israeli Couscous

Despite this having nothing to do with the dishes that my husband and I ate growing up, this recipe has quickly transported itself into the "comfort food" category in our family. It is quick, inexpensive, and filling. The flavor combination was inspired by traditional Moroccan and Indian flavors, and I was lucky in that I nailed what I was going for on the first try. The only ingredient that you'll have to hunt for is the Iraeli couscous -- it's quite a bit larger than regular couscous. The larger grain gives it a wonderful al dente chewiness. We've found it at some natural food stores in the Twin Cities, but you can also find it online here: http://www.amazon.com/Israeli-Couscous-8-8-Ounce-igourmet-com/dp/B000OCTJLK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=gourmet-food&qid=1225836326&sr=8-2 . Trader Joes also carries it, but their own brand is a smaller bag and you have to adjust the cooking liquid down by about 1/4 cup, otherwise it works great.

Ingredients:

1 8.8 oz bag of Iraeli Couscous

2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS butter

1 medium to large onion, diced very small

Zest and juice from one large orange

2 cups of chicken stock (don't use reduced sodium)

1 tsp garam masala (special Indian spice mixture, most grocery stores carry this)

1/4 cup of chopped walnuts, toasted

Instructions:

In large, deep saucepan warm butter and olive oil over medium high heat until just frothy. Add onion and fry until the onion is deep golden brown. If you don't think you've nearly burned the onion, you haven't cooked it long enough. I've made this dish and not let the onion go as far, and the depth of flavor in the finished product just isn't as good. Add the dry couscous and cook until some of the pasta takes on a golden color as well. It should look like this:

Add the garam masala and stir for a minute to "bloom" the spice. Add orange juice, orange zest, and chicken stock. Stir. Cover, turn heat to very low and cook at a simmer for about 10-12 minutes or until the couscous is cooked through and the cooking liquid is absorbed. You may have to add a little extra stock or orange juice if the liquid all disappears before the pasta is done completely. Stir well, remove from heat, and add the toasted walnuts. Serve.

This dish is wonderful on it's own with a crisp green salad or roasted cauliflower, or as a side dish alongside roasted meats. You could also make it vegetarian/vegan by substituting vegetable broth for the chicken broth, if you want. It would also look great with a little chopped parsely or cilantro thrown in, but the garam masala is a very delicate flavor so I opt to leave it as is.