Recipes for Shabbat

Soups

I love winter soups. Especially winter soups I can serve for shabbos. While purists say that ONLY chicken soup is acceptable I prefer, occasionally, like to take a walk on the wild side and serve gumbos, bisques and chowders.

Gumbo is a Louisiana soup or stew which blends regional Indian, French, Spanish, and African culinary influences and belongs to two categories, those thickened with okra (the word gumbo comes from an African word for okra) and those with ground sassafras leaves, known as file. The gumbos of olden days were closer to soups than to the stew that are served today and typically have lots of non-kosher ingredients (I substitute the kosher certified fake crab, fake lobster or kosher smoked sausage pieces) and are served over rice.

Chowders are a thick and hearty soup or stew (very close to a gumbo but without the okra) usually made with seafood (again, I use the fake stuff as a substitute), chicken, or vegetables, with potatoes instead of rice and with a variety of seasonings and often with some sort of chili or hot seasoning to add a kick.

Bisque on the other hand is a more upscale, very thick, very rich, creamy soup which typically consists of pureed seafood (once again I substitute the fake stuff and it works really well) and vegetables.

To thicken many of these soups you will require a roux. A roux is simply a mixture of flour and fat. The fat used in roux may be butter, margarine, oil, meat drippings. The usual combination is equal parts fat and flour. A 1/2 cup of each ingredient is usually enough and any excess can be stored in the refrigerator. Some sources prefer a little more fat than flour - 2/3 cup butter to 1/2 cup flour and this combination works just as well. To make the roux melt the fat in a skillet over low heat. When the fat is warm/melted sprinkle the flour in a little at a time, stirring constantly. Keep stirring until the mixture is brown (this may take a while). Immediately add the remaining ingredients your recipe calls for. If the roux burns, even the teeniest tiniest bit, throw it away and start over again. This burnt flavor will ruin the soup.

Before you get to the recipes I want to add one caveat about these kinds of soups. There is an interpretation of the laws of kashrus that prohibits the mixing of meat and fish. You may wish to substitute a vegetable or pareve chicken broth in any of the recipes in which you plan to experiment with a combination of these two kinds of ingredients.

BROCCOLI, RED PEPPER, AND CHEDDAR BISQUE (dairy)

Discard tough lower part of the broccoli stem. Peel remaining stem and finely chop it. Cut the remaining broccoli into very small (1-inch) florets.

Cook florets in a large pot of boiling lightly salted water until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. (This is a note to save the water that the broccoli is cooking in and that you will be draining) Transfer the broccoli to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking, and then drain the broccoli and making sure to save 3 cups cooking water for chowder. Peel potato and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Melt the butter in a stock pot and add the potato, onion, bell pepper, broccoli stems, and garlic. Cook over a medium temperature, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the cumin, salt, pepper, and mustard and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add the saved broccoli cooking water and simmer (partially covered), stirring occasionally, until potatoes is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cream and cheese and cook, stirring, until cheese is melted, then season with salt and pepper. Puree about 2 cups of chowder at a time in a blender until smooth and return it to the pot. Add the broccoli florets and mock lobster pieces and heat the soup over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Make 4 servings. This recipe can be doubled or tripled.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH CHOWDER WITH PEARS AND GINGER (dairy)
This autumnal dish is especially welcome on a cool fall evening. The subtle sweetness of the squash is enhanced by the flavors of the pears, orange, and ginger

Place the pears in a bowl with the lemon juice, cover with water, and set aside. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over high heat until lightly smoking. Add the onion, celery, and carrot, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the onion is transparent. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute longer, stirring constantly. Add the white wine and reduce the liquid until the pan is almost dry, about 3 minutes. Drain half of the pears, reserving the other half in the lemon water for garnish. Add the drained pears to the pan with the squash, potato, and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, or until the squash is tender. Transfer half of the soup in batches to a blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve back into the saucepan with the unpureed mixture. Add the orange juice, lemon juice, cream, salt, and the reserved pears and gently warm the chowder through (do not boil). The chowder can be made 1 day ahead. Makes 6 servings

ADAPTED FROM GOURMET MAGAZINE

SALMON AND VEGETABLE CHOWDER (dairy/fish)

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add leek and fennel seeds and sauté until leek is tender but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add potato, zucchini, corn, carrot and half of thyme. Stir 2 minutes. Add broth and wine; simmer until potato is tender, about 15 minutes. Add salmon and cream. Simmer until salmon is just opaque in center, about 5 minutes. Season chowder to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle chowder into deep bowls. Sprinkle with remaining thyme. Serves 4 to 6.

GARDEN VEGETABLE CHOWDER (meat)
A delicious soup for any time of year.

Melt the margarine in heavy large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the corn, yams, celery, zucchini, carrot, onion, thyme and bay leaves. Sauté until the vegetables are light brown, about 10 minutes. Add the broth and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low; simmer soup until vegetables are very tender, about 45 minutes. Remove the bay leaves from soup. Puree 2 1/2 cups of the soup/vegetables in blender until smooth. Return puree to remaining soup. Add spinach and simmer until wilted, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 6 servings.

SPICY CORN CHOWDER (meat or pareve)

Melt the margarine in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, jalapeno (if using) red and green bell peppers, cumin and cayenne and sauté until vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Add the flour and stir 1 minute. Gradually mix in broth, non dairy creamer and saved corn liquid. Bring the mixture to boil, whisking until smooth. Add in the corn and stir until corn is just heated through. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with croutons, chow mein noodles or cilantro if desired and serve. Serves 4. You can make a double recipe and use 1/2 cream style corn for a richer soup.

CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE GUMBO

For roux, in a heavy 2-quart saucepan stir together flour and oil till smooth. Cook over medium-high heat 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir constantly about 15 minutes more or till a dark, reddish brown roux forms. Cool. Put the roux in a large crock and add the chicken broth. Stir slightly and then add the kosher sausage, chicken, okra, onion, green pepper, celery, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 8-10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 1/2 to 5 hours. Skim off the fat. Serve over rice. Makes 6 servings.

CHICKEN GUMBO

Heat the oil the skillet over medium heat. Add the flour; cook and stir until the flour turns reddish brown. Slowly stir in the broth, then add the chicken, okra, onions, celery, garlic, ground peppers and bay leaves. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat. Cover the soup and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until the chicken pieces are tender and no longer pink. Remove and discard the bay leaves and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. If desired, serve the gumbo over rice. Makes 4 servings

Eileen Goltz, a professional chef and caterer, is the author of the new cookbook, Perfectly Pareve.