White Velvet Soup With Smoky Almonds Recipes

WHITE VELVET SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a 3 1/2-quart Dutch oven medium-high heat. Add the parsnips, celery, fennel, onion, salt and fennel seeds. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add 4 cups water and the bay leaf to the pan, and stir. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cover with a lid. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are very soft. Allow to cool slightly.
• Puree the soup in two batches, adding half of the almond milk to each batch. Return the soup to the Dutch oven, and heat to warm through--alternatively, pour the soup into a slow cooker and keep warm on the low setting. Serve garnished with bacon, Parmesan and Pomegranate Gremolata.
• In a bowl, mix together the parsley, pomegranate seeds, lemon zest and salt.

SWEET SPICY SMOKEY ROASTED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. When cool enough to handle, chop the bacon into small pieces. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, pour off most of the bacon fat from the hot skillet and add the butter. Add the sugar, five-spice powder, cayenne and salt and stir until the sugar dissolves and everything is combined. Add the almonds and stir to coat.
• Spread the nuts on the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Stir in the bacon and serve warm or at room temperature.

SPICED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over a medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer the almonds to a bowl.
• In a small bowl, stir together the cumin, garlic, cayenne pepper and salt. Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat. Stir the spices into the oil and cook, stirring until warm, about 30 seconds. Add the almonds and cook, stirring frequently, until the nuts are warm and the spices are evenly distributed. Add the hot pepper sauce and stir to distribute. Remove the almonds from the pan and allow them to cool before serving.

HOMEMADE SMOKED ALMONDS

Steps:

• In a bowl, whisk egg white until foamy. Add garlic powder, celery salt, salt and liquid smoke; stir until blended. Add almonds and stir until well coated. Evenly spread almonds in a 15x10x1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. , Bake at 300° for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Cool. Store in an airtight container.

CHICKEN VELVET SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a pot over medium-high heat. Whisk flour into butter until mixture forms a smooth paste, about 1 minute.
• Whisk chicken broth, milk, and light cream into butter mixture; cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil and thickens, 5 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, stir in cooked chicken. Return soup to a boil and cook until chicken is heated through, 5 to 10 minutes.

WHITE ALMOND-GARLIC SOUP WITH GRAPES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the almonds, bread, garlic, milk and vinegar. Working in three batches, transfer about a third of the mixture to a blender and process until smooth. With the motor running, slowly pour in 1/4 cup of olive oil. Strain the soup through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Repeat process with the remaining mixture.
• Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper and chill for several hours. Before serving, taste the soup; if it tastes too strongly of either garlic or vinegar, add a bit of water. Serve the soup garnished with grape halves.