Savory Recipes
Afghan Vegetable and Yogurt Dip
Recipe at Little Spice Jar
This is one of my favorite savory recipes of all time. I recommend serving it on a flat platter with trianngles of naan or pita. Add some fresh mint during and after cooking and season more liberally than the recipe says to. I also don't fry the eggplant but peel it, bake it in a sheet pan with a little water until softened then mush it up and add it directly to the sauce.
My Favorite Mushroom Soup
No link to this recipe because I made it myself.
Ingredients
- ➙ 2 lbs mixed mushrooms- I recommend 1 lb shiitake, crimini, oyster, etc. 1 lb and button or babybellas. DO NOT USE PRECUT MUSHROOMS it messes with the way it cooks
- ➙ 3-ish tablespoons good-quality butter (or not it's fine) and 4-ish tbsp all-purpose flour for the roux
- ➙ 1 onion OR 1 large leek
- ➙ 4 cloves garlic
- ➙ 4 or more cups of chicken/veg stock (get 2 of the cartons)
- ➙ Seasonings to taste (I add salt, pepper, red pepper, smoked paprika, oregano, basil, thyme, and rosemary but things like turmeric could be good too)
- ➙ Optional additions such as 1/4 cup wild or white rice, extra vegetables, kale, beer, etc
Instructions
- ❶ Chop your washed mushrooms into small pieces. Having size variance improves the texture so don't worry about evenness too much.
- ❷ Chop your washed leek or onion into similarly small pieces. Crush or chop garlic along with any other vegetables you want to add.
- ❸ Cook the aromatics but not the mushrooms in some butter in a large soup pot until soft and fragrant. Set aside in a bowl.
- ❹ Make a roux in the now-empty soup pot by completely melting the butter until bubbling and adding the flour. Stir for one minute over medium heat then begin adding splashes of chicken or vegetable stock. Go slow, and use a whisk to eliminate any lumps.
- ❺ Once you have added enough stock to make an unctuous broth (around 4 cups), add the mushrooms and aromatics directly into the broth. Cook for 45 minutes over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, adding seasoning along the way, and adding a bit more stock as the soup reduces. Add rice halfway through if using.
- ❻ Continue cooking if you would like, or serve immediately. This is soup so take these instructions lightly and prepare it to your tastes, it won't explode I promise
- ❼ Congrats you made soup!! Ideally serve with some thick-crusted bread and butter, but if you don't have those simply enjoy.
Kitchen Sink Chicken Noodle Soup
No link to this recipe because I made it myself. I highly recommend this for sick days.
Ingredients
- ➙ 2 small cooked chicken breasts, roughly chopped. Cook them however you prefer, I do them butterflied in the oven at 400F.
- ➙ 3 sticks celery or as much celery as you want, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces AND 1 carrot chopped into similarly sized pieces
- ➙ 1/2 small onion finely diced into pieces the same size as the carrots and celery (together these vegetables make mirepoix)
- ➙ 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, fire roasted or not is up to you. I prefer non-fire roasted personally
- ➙ A few large handfuls of any small or thin pasta, I used ditali but macaroni, pastina, egg noodles, etc. would work well
- ➙ 1 tablespoon grated ginger or as much as you can tolerate grating AND a few cloves grated garlic
- ➙ 4-5 shiitake mushrooms, sliced into long thin pieces. You can use other kinds if you don't have shiitakes or just prefer other mushrooms
- ➙ 1 big (the 32 oz cardboard ones) carton of chicken bone broth or vegetable broth
- ➙ Seasonings: I used turmeric, salt and pepper, italian seasoning mix, a little red pepper, and extra rosemary and parsley but use whatever you'd like
Instructions
- ❶ Prepare the mirepoix (onions, carrot, and celery) and cook with the ginger and garlic in a small amount of olive oil or butter until softened.
- ❷ Add the canned tomatoes and mushrooms. Stir and add the bone broth and boil until the mushrooms are turning transparent.
- ❸ Bring the pot to a boil and add the pasta. While the pasta cooks, add the chicken, garlic, and any seasonings.
- ❹ Once the pasta is cooked, adjust seasonings and serve after cooling. The vegetables should be softened but maintain a good snap.
- ❺ Congrats you made soup!! I recommend this soup with either bread or saltine crackers which are excellent with the broth.