Spicy Pumpkin and Sausage Soup

Dan    Recipes, Soups     awesome, Dan Clapson, pumpkin, recipes, sausage, soup, winter

What you’ll need…

3 cups fresh pumpkin (1″ cubed)

2 large Italian sausages (casing removed, and Spolumbo’s of course!)

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 yellow onion (finely chopped)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups zucchini (halved, 1/2″ sliced)

3 cups kale (stems removed, loosely chopped)

1 14 oz can chickpeas

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 TBSP red wine vinegar

2 TSP lemon juice

1 TSP chili powder

salt and pepper

olive oil

Once snow appears on the ground and sticks around for awhile, I get a little soup crazy. Not like ‘Soup Nazi’ crazy, but just mildly obsessed with making soup at home. When I had Julie van Rosendaal pop by my Start From Scratch class a few weeks ago (to make Dill Pickle Soup, neat hey?), she reminded me just how much flavour some quality sausage can add to a pot of soup. The spicy, Italian sausage adds a nice heat to this hearty pumpkin, and veg-heavy, bowl of goodness. Best enjoyed with friends.

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Smokey Tomato and White Bean Soup

Dan    Appetizers & Co., Recipes, Vegan/Vegetarian     autumn, Dan Clapson, gluten-free, lapsang souchong, recipes, soup, tomato soup, vegetarian

What you’ll need…

1 yellow onion (finely chopped)

2 cloves garlic

1 TBSP red curry paste

5 cups diced tomatoes

2 1/2 cups chicken stock (use veggie stock to stay vegan)

1 can white beans (drained)

1 1/2 cup zucchini squash (1/2″ cubed)

1 TBSP lapsang sougchung tea (finely ground)

2 TSP lemon juice

1 TSP white wine vinegar

salt and pepper

olive oil

sour cream (for garnish, optional)

Where the hell did all of this snow come from? The first few snowy days of the year are crappy to drive in, painstaking to walk in and, last but not least, mildly depressing. It’s that reminder that warm weather and sunshine is gone for the next five months. Yes, here in Calgary we do get a decent amount of Chinooks, but it’s going to be quite awhile before I dust off my shorts to wear again.

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Spicy Summer Apple Bisque

Dan    Recipes, Soups, Vegan/Vegetarian     apples, bisque, cherries, gluten-free, radishes, recipes, soup, summer, vegan, vegetarian

What you’ll need…

1 yellow onion (chopped)

1 garlic clove

1 gala apple (peeled, 1” cubed)

1 red potato (peeled, 1” cubed)

2/3 cup cherries (pitted, halved)

3 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock to stay vegan)

1 TBSP freshly grated ginger

1 TBSP lime juice

1 TBSP sriracha

2 TSP chili powder

salt and pepper

olive oil

radish and cucumber (thinly sliced, for garnish, optional)

The first time I put an apple in a soup, I was like: ‘Holy shit! This is awesome!’. Ever since that day, I’ve been throwing fruit into everything. Well, not everything, but it’s always interesting to find the balance between sweet and savoury using some of your favourite fruit. Since we’re still, thankfully, a few months away from hearty soup weather, this bisque is light, spicy and smooth. Perfect for a summer night that’s a bit overcast. Who says soup can’t be fruity?

Start off by cooking the onion and garlic with a drissle of olive oil in a medium-sized pot until softened, about 5 minutes. Next, add the chopped apple, potato, and cherries to the pot and let cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pour the stock into the pot and stir in the ginger, lime juice, sriracha, and chili powder. When mixture comes to a boil, reduce to low heat and let simmer on stove for 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper

Remove pot from heat to let cool slightly. Next, puree soup until smooth using a food processor or blender. Return to pot and keep warm until ready to serve.

Top with some thinly sliced radish and cucumber to chill out the spicy soup!

Total cook time…35 min

Serves 4

Top Secret Smokey Tomato And Chorizo Soup

Dan    Appetizers & Co., Recipes     calgary, chorizo, comfort food, delicious, recipes, soup, winter

What you’ll need…

1/2 pound chorizo sausage

1 yellow onion (finely chopped)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

2 cups crushed tomatoes

3 cups chicken broth

1 russet potato (1/2″ cubed, approximately 1 1/2 cups)

1 TBSP lapsang souchong tea (ground or crushed with a mortor and pestle)

1 TSP chili powder

1 TSP paprika

1 TSP cayenne pepper

1 meyer lemon (zest and juice)

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup harvarti cheese (grated)

2 cups fresh spinach

salt and pepper

olive oil

As I’m typing this, inside my house, away from the -30 degree (celsius for any Americans reading this!) weather, I’m fairly happy to be back home in Calgary. Shortly after Christmas, I departed from Canada for a three week adventure in the United Kingdom and Denmark. On this adventure I encountered delicious food, more pubs than you could shake a stick at and, of course, Hogwarts…but I digress, these are all stories for another day.

Today it is cold. Really, really damn cold. When it’s cold, all I want to do is wear my sweatpants, my TMNT bunnyhug and sip some soup. So, I did just that. I had some lapsang souchong tea kicking around the house and since I hadn’t used tea in a recipe since the summer, I thought its smokey flavour fit the bill perfectly for a tomato and chorizo style soup. I know it must sound weird reading through the ingredient listings…tea, lemon, cream, but, trust me, it all works! If you don’t trust me, then I dare you to make a liar out of me.

Time to cook! Place the sausage in a large pot, drizzle with some olive oil and cook on medium-high heat until it is completely cooked through, about 5 minutes. Spoon out the cooked meat and cooking oil, leaving just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pot. Now, toss in the onions, minced garlic and let cook until the onions soften, another 5 minutes or so. Next, add the following seven ingredients to the pot as well as the juice of the meyer lemon. Once the mixture starts to bubble, reduce to low heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.

On a side note, take a big whiff of your soup after stirring in those ingredients. Doesn’t the lapsang souchong tea make it smell amazing? Smokey deliciousness here we come!

(In the meantime…tidy up your living room! I know it’s messy…)

 After that time, the chunks of potato should be, at the very least, fork tender. If that’s the case, let the lemon zest, cream, shredded cheese and spinach join the soup party. You can now return the cooked sausage to the pot as well. Give the pot a good stir until the cheese melts away into nothingness and you’re left with a thick, rich-tasting soup. Let the soup cook for another 10 minutes. Finally, take a sip, season with salt and pepper to taste and you’re done! Bam!

Serves 4-5

Total cook time…40 min

Masala Chickpea & Eggplant Soup

Dan    Appetizers & Co., Recipes, Vegan/Vegetarian     autumn, curry, delicious, Indian-inspired, quick and easy, recipes, soup, vegan, vegetarian

What you’ll need…

2 yellow onions (chopped)

3 clove garlic (minced)

1 eggplant (1/2″ cubed)

2 13.5oz cans chick peas (drained, reserve liquid of one can)

1 TSP masala tandoori powder

1 TSP garam masala powder

1 TSP yellow curry powder

1 can diced tomatoes

4 cups chicken broth (or veggie to keep vegan)

1 TBSP red wine vinegar

1 TBSP lemon juice

salt and pepper

olive oil

I start refining my hearty soup skills a month or two before autumn is about to rear it’s ugly head. Well, I don’t actually mean ugly, I really do like fall, the changing of the leaves, being able to wear knits again, pumpkin bowling, all of those things are great. It’s just that I’m always sad to watch the warm weather slip away, and with it, my tan. But, I digress…this soup embodies fall. It is meant to warm you up on a chilly evening. This soup can be served pureed or left chunky. I prefer somewhere in the middle, pureeing half, leaving it a bit chunky! I love eggplant and cook with it often. For any eggplant haters out there, this soup will help convert you, I promise. I wouldn’t lie to you would I? #teameggplant

Start things off by tossing the onion and garlic in a medium-sized pot. Drizzle with some olive oil, and cook down on medium-high heat until the onions become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the eggplant, chickpeas, as well as the masala tandoori, garam masala, and curry powder. Stir mixture until the spices have evenly coated the vegetables. Stirring occasionally, continue to let cook for 8-10 minutes, until the eggplant pieces start to soften.

Now, place all remaining ingredients into the pot, including the reserved chickpea liquid. Once the pot comes to a boil, reduce to low heat and let simmer on the stove for at least 30 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper, puree if you wish, but, above all else, enjoy!

Best served with warm bread…naan if you’ve got it and maybe a dollop of sour cream if you’re feeling extra crazy!

Serves 5-6

Total cook time…45 min

This week, this recipe is featured on the site There & Here as part of their guest blug series to compare different parts of the world! Check it out here! You’ll love it!

Black Tea & Lemon Miso Soup

Dan    Recipes, Soups     Asian-inspired, hot, recipes, soup, tofu, winter

What you’ll need…

4 cups steeped lapsang souchong tea

2 cups beef broth (or veggie to stay vegan)

3 garlic cloves (whole)

1/2 cup miso paste

zest of 1 lemon

1 TBSP fresh lemon juice

1 TBSP freshly grated ginger

2 TSP wasabi paste

1 TSP rice wine vinegar

1 cup fresh oyster mushrooms (chopped)

1 cup soft tofu (1/2″ cubed)

1/2 cup green onions (finely chopped)

ground black pepper

Now, before you say: ‘This sounds weird’, think of the weirdest thing you’ve ever done. See…not so weird anymore, right? Lapsang Souchong is a strong, smokey black tea. It almost has a hickory kind of flavour to it. So, maybe just consider this soup a ‘miso meets west’ kind of combination. It’s my favourite tea, so I’m a tad biased, but, such is life!

Place the steeped tea, broth, and garlic cloves into a medium-sized pot and bring to a simmer on the stove. Reduce to low heat and let bubble away, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Then, add the miso paste and stir until it has dissolved into the broth. Next, add the zest, lemon juice, ginger, wasabi, and vinegar. Let the pot return to a simmer, about 3 minutes, before adding the oyster mushrooms and soft tofu.

Still on low heat, let the soup cook for another 10 minutes so that the oyster mushrooms cook through. Take a quick taste, add some black pepper if needed. The miso paste should be plenty salty enough, so I doubt you’ll need to add any salt. Finally, right before ladling out the soup, toss in the chopped green onions.

This soup totally rocks for anyone with a cold. Great for clearing the sinus’!

Serves 4

Total cook time…20 min