Five-Spice Soup

There is something about the combination of sweet soy sauce and Chinese five-spice blend in this soup that is deeply warming and comforting--perfect for a blustery autumn evening. While the name I picked for it is generic, the soup is really a combination of favorites: Vietnamese Pho and Thai Jabchai Yaowalak (a soup of hard boiled eggs, five-spice and sweet soy sauce). You can really use any combination of vegetables that you favor and/or have on hand (green cabbage, baby corn, mushrooms, and mung bean sprouts would be good). Substitute chicken, beef or pork for the tofu if desired, and feel free to use rice noodles or jasmine rice in place of the soba.

We got these beautiful purple Watermelon Radishes in our CSA bag this week--

• 3 quarts broth or water
• 4 hard boiled eggs (or one per person)
• 1/2 pound firm tofu
• 2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder*
• 1 large shallot head, sliced thinly
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 Tbs sweet soy sauce (substitute black bean sauce, oyster sauce, or 1 Tbs soy sauce + 1 Tbs brown sugar)
• 1 Tbs soy sauce
• 1 bunch tatsoi, chopped (substitute spinach, cabbage or other vegetables)
• 1 large yam/sweet potato, sliced
• 2-3 small turnips, cut into bite-size pieces (about 2 cups)
• 2-3 scallions, cut on the bias
• 1 lime, quartered
• Cilantro
• 1 package buckwheat soba noodles, cooked according to package directions

*substitute 1/4 tsp each ground cinnamon, anise, cloves, ginger and coriander or one 2-inch stick of cinnamon, 1 star anise, 4-5 whole cloves, one 1-inch piece of gingerroot.

Toss sweet potato slices with oil and roast them for 10-15 minutes at 450 degrees, until tender. Set aside. Heat several tablespoons of oil in large soup pot. Saute shallots and garlic just until they start to brown. Add spice powder, eggs and tofu, stir-frying to coat (add additional oil if needed). Add soy sauces and stir until eggs are browned by the sauce. Add broth and turnips. Cover and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Add tatsoi and cook 5 more minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste. Add sweet potatoes and remove from heat.

To serve, scoop some noodles into a large bowl, spoon soup over noodles, including one egg per dish. Garnish with cilantro, scallions and lime wedges.

Pumpkin Chili (I & II)

Chili is one of those things I usually make when the weather beckons it, so often it ends up a conglomeration of various suitable ingredients I have on hand. Version I may not be very “chili-like” but more of a thick vegetable stew with beans, but I also like my chili loaded up with vegetables like carrots and squash. I decided to add some pureed pumpkin that I had (instead of chunks) and it was a success—making the base thicker and richer than it would have been otherwise (not to mention more nutritious). Proportions are variable, as are contents, so only rough quantities are provided here.

• 2 carrots
• 3 sunchokes
• 2 small crookneck squash
• 2 cups cooked beans
• ½ bell pepper
• 3-4 jalapenos
• 1 cup corn kernels
• ½ cup roasted tomatoes or tomato sauce
• 1 cup pureed pumpkin
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• Cumin, chile powder, salt, pepper
• Broth or water
  

Chop all veggies into bite-size pieces. Fry ground turkey with onion, garlic, chiles, bell pepper and spices in the pot you will use for your chili (no unnecessary dishwashing here!). Add carrots and cover with broth or water. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Add remaining veggies and as much broth or water as you are comfortable with. Bring to a boil again, then reduce to simmer for 10-15 minutes or until veggies are soft. Season to taste with salt and pepper and additional hot sauce if you like (my favorite: Chipotle Puree (Rick Bayless’ recipe)).


Basically Version II was the same except I left out the squash and sunchokes, used only black beans, and a bit more roasted tomato puree. A touch of molasses rounded it out nicely. The result was a thick, sweet-spicy (well, my bowl was spicy with the addition of more Chipotle Puree!) warming bowl of vegetarian chili.

Cioppino (Italian Seafood Stew)

I was introduced to this dish at the Snow Goose Brewery in Anchorage, Alaska, and again experienced it in San Francisco, reputed to be the birthplace of the Italian seafood stew; neither was like the other, yet both were delicious. You can use any combination of seafood you desire; traditionally, shellfish are cooked in the soup base in their shells, which can make for rather messy eating, but also provides a deeper flavored base. I opted to only leave the tails on the shrimp as the rich tomato sauce would have been everywhere.

• 1 bulb fennel


• 1 onion


• 4 cloves garlic


• 3 ribs celery


• 1 small bell pepper (preferably red)


• 1 28-oz can stewed tomatoes, chopped or ground


• 3 cups water


• 1-2 lbs various seafood (scallops, shrimp, mild white fish, mussels, crab, clams, etc.--I used about 8 oz each bay scallops and shrimp and a can of chopped clams)


• 1 Tbs. dried parsley


• 1/2 tsp. dill weed


• 1 tsp. dried basil


• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme


• 1/2 cup white wine


• Olive oil


• Salt and pepper

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large soup pot. Saute fennel for 5 minutes, until it starts to brown slightly. Add onions and garlic. Saute 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Add celery, bell pepper and herbs; stir in tomatoes and water; bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer for 20-30 minutes, until fennel is tender. Meanwhile, heat a few tablespoons of oil in a skillet over high heat. Quickly cook scallops and shrimp just until done. Stir in the wine and add seafood and sauce to the soup. If using other seafood, add it to the soup prior to cooking the scallops and shrimp. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

PS- I think the juice from the clams really helped this along; if you are not using clams, I would suggest some good seafood stock in place of the water.

Mushroom-Butternut Squash Posole

I had such high hopes for this idea... Traditional posole is one of our family's favorite dishes, and I often make it with other additions such as squash, carrots, etc. While the leftovers actually were better than the stew was on day one, I would change the following recipe in a number of ways before making it again the same way.

• 2 cups fresh posole (aka nixtamal or hominy corn)
• 6 oz mushrooms, halved
• 2 cups cubed butternut squash
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 6 cups broth
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin seed
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander seed
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 dried red Anaheim or Guajillo chiles, rinsed with stems and seeds removed
• Fresh cilantro

In blender, combine spices, garlic, and chiles with 1 cup warm broth. Puree until chiles and garlic are sufficiently chopped. Meanwhile, saute onions briefly to par-cook them. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and stir. Cook on low heat 6-8 hours or high heat 3-4 hours, until squash and posole are tender (posole will appear split and puffed). Garnish with cilantro. Serve with warm cornbread or tortillas.

If I were to attempt this dish again, I would probably make any number of the following changes:

-Chop mushrooms up smaller

-Use black or red beans (possibly in place of the posole, too)

-Use roasted red bell pepper in chile puree

-Add a dollop of barbecue sauce (I did this to the leftovers I had, which helped)

Note: If you can't find fresh posole, you can substitute the canned variety, but add it to the slow cooker 1 hour before it is finished or it will turn to mush. Also, in some areas, you can find uncooked posole/nixtamal corn (this is NOT the same as dried field corn); it may take slightly longer to cook than the fresh packaged posole, so I would suggest boiling it in the broth for 10-15 minutes separately before adding it to the slow cooker.