Lynne Rossetto Kaspers Butternut Skillet Soup Recipes

LYNNE ROSSETTO KASPER'S BUTTERNUT SKILLET SOUP

Steps:

• In a 12-inch sauté pan, heat the oil over medium high.
• Stir in the onion, salt and pepper.
• Sauté until golden.
• Stir in garlic and all the thyme. Cook 30 seconds.
• Blend in vinegar, scraping up the brown glaze from the bottom of the pan. Boil down to nothing. Do the same with the wine.
• Blend in tomatoes.
• Cook 2 minutes.
• Add squash and broth.
• Bring to a gentle simmer over medium low heat.
• Cover and cook 30 minutes, or until squash is tender.
• Taste for seasoning.
• Cool a little, then puree half the soup in a blender.
• Pour it back into the pan. Set aside up to an hour at room temperature, or refrigerate up to four days.
• Blend together the topping's lime peel, juice, and garlic.
• Just before serving stir in the herb leaves.
• Reheat soup to bubbling.
• Taste again for seasoning.
• Sprinkle topping on each serving.
• LYNNE'S TIPS
• Kabocha is a winter squash. Its dark green rind is streaked with pale green and the orange flesh is sweet when cooked. As with all squash, select ones that are firm and heavy for their size. Cut in half and remove the seeds before baking, steaming or using in soups.
• The wide, shallow surface of a big sauté pan encourages faster sautés and cooking. Because you can reduce quantities quickly in a big, wide pan, you intensify flavours in a matter of minutes. If you boil down a soup in a deep pot to enrich it, it takes longer and flavours don't stay as fresh.
• Fast-browned onions supply the bold foundation you need with sweet ingredients like squash. (Slow browning creates caramel-like sweetness).

OVEN ROASTED CANNED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300*F. Spread out the tomatoes in a large shallow pan (a sheet pan is ideal) and sprinkle with the other ingredients, turning to coat them with oil. Bake 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 hours, basting and turning the tomatoes several times. They're done when their color deepens to dark scarlet and they taste mellow and very rich. Don't let them brown, and don't allow the garlic to brown, it'll turn bitter.
• Transfer the tomatoes and their oil to a glass or china bowl. Let them mellow at room temperature up to 6 hours. The flavors will ripen in this time.
• Refrigerate the tomatoes up to 4 days, or freeze up to 3 months. Serve the tomatoes at room temperature, or tossed with hot pasta.

WARM CHICKPEA SALAD WITH SHALLOTS AND RED WINE VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the shallots, vinegar, garlic, and salt.
• Set aside for 10 minutes to allow the shallots and garlic to mellow.
• In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil.
• Add the chickpeas and blanch for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Drain.
• Add the carrot, parsley, and oil to the shallot mixture.
• Toss in the chickpeas and season with salt and pepper.
• Serve immediately with a loaf of good crusty bread, sweet butter and a leafy tossed salad.
• LYNNE'S TIPS:.
• Make extra and toss along with leftover tofu, seitan, shrimp, or cooked chicken breast into mixed greens for an entrée salad the next day.
• Substitute cannelini beans for the chickpeas and toss in some chopped good-quality salami.
• Simmering canned beans in lightly salted water for several minutes freshens them up. The warmed beans also absorb better the flavors of the vinaigrette.
• THOUGHTS FROM LYNNE:.
• On Canned Beans: Canned beans are the answer to little time and money. They taste every bit as good as those cooked from scratch, and they're packed with nutrition, including fiber, protein, complex carbohydrates and B vitamins. Add them to soups, toss them into green salads, or dress them with flavorful oils, vinegar and herbs.
• On Chickpeas: For my money, the chickpea should be canonized into the food lover's hall of fame. It is meaty, sweet and friendly with just about every seasoning and ingredient. Of course Peter Berley has known this for years.

PROVENCE BRAISE OF CELERY, CARROTS AND SMOKY BACON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly film the bottom of a 12-inch straight-sided saute pan with oil. Heat over medium and add the bacon. Cook slowly until the bacon is clear and has given up much of its fat. Don't let it get beyond pale golden brown. Scoop it up with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Spoon off all but about 5 tablespoons of fat from the pan. Heat over medium high and add the celery hearts, sprinkling them with salt and pepper. Brown them on all their sides, but take care not to let the glaze developing on the bottom of the pan burn. Lift them out and add the carrots to the pan, brown and then add the onion, cooking until it softens. Don't let the glaze burn.
• Put the bacon and celery back in, along with the lemon zest, fennel, thyme or oregano, and water. Simmer as you use a wood spatula to scrape up the glaze from the bottom of the pan. Blend in the tomatoes. Moisten the vegetables with a little more water and cover the pan with a lid or foil to seal it.
• Slip into the oven and cook 35 to 40 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Check halfway through cooking to make sure they're not burning, adding a few spoons of water if needed.
• Once the vegetables are tender, carefully remove the pan from the oven (the handle will be hot). Mound the vegetables on a platter and scrape the syrupy pan juices over them. Serve hot. Rice or buttered noodles are good with this dish.

TUSCAN APPLE CAKE WITH A CRACKLY MERINGUE

Steps:

• Place the rack in center of the oven and preheat to 375°F Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan. In a large bowl, with your fingertips, rub together the first measure of flour, the 1 1/2 cups sugar, salt, and butter until crumbly. Remove 1 cup of the crumbs and press them onto bottom of the springform pan and about 1/2-inch up the sides, making a crust about 1/8-inch thick.
• Make a well in the remaining crumb mixture. Pour into it the milk, eggs, vanilla, lemon zest, the second measure of flour, and baking powder. With a whisk, blend this mixture thoroughly without incorporating the crumbs. Then with a wooden spoon stir in the crumbs until well blended but still a little lumpy. Fold in the apples. Scrape the batter into the pan.
• Beat the egg white until foamy. Beat in the 2 tablespoons sugar until whites barely stand in peaks. Zigzag it over the top of the batter, leaving 2/3 of the batter uncovered.
• Bake 65 to 75 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Remove from oven and cool 30 minutes on a wire rack. Slip off sides of the pan and finish cooling cake. Serve at room temperature. Covered in plastic wrap, the cake holds well at cool room temperature for 2 days. It keeps a week in the refrigerator. Warming in the oven makes it even tastier.

HERBED CHICKEN BREASTS WITH BUTTERED LEEKS

Steps:

• In a large skillet bring the chicken broth and 2 Tbs butter to a gentle boil over medium heat.
• Cook leeks in the broth mixture over medium heat about 8 minutes, until tender with the broth boiled down enough that leeks are not completely submerged.
• Salt and pepper the chicken breasts and place on top of the simmering leeks, spooning some of leeks over the chicken.
• Reduce the heat to low and cook, covered, 10-15 minutes until done.
• Remove chicken and keep warm on a warmed platter.
• Increase the heat under the leeks to high and stir in the lemon juice, the remaining 2 Tbs butter, and the chopped herb. When the butter melts, taste the sauce and adjust seasonings if needed.
• Pour the leek sauce over the chicken and serve.