Tag: Tomatoes

Easy, Rich Tomato Bisque with Boursin Cheese

Tomato Bisque with Boursin Cheese

Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course, Soup
Servings 10 cups

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cans Italian tomatoes (796ml, 28oz)
  • 1 zucchini chopped in medallions
  • 2 garlic cloves peeled and minced (or 1 Tbsp freeze-dried garlic)
  • 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup fresh basil loosely chopped
  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 3 Tbsps Garlic and Fine Herbs Boursin cheese (or preferred flavour cream cheese)

Instructions
 

  • Add all the ingredients except basil, cream and cheese into a large sauce pan over medium high heat. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover the pot and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until zucchini are fully cooked and very tender. Add basil and cook for another 5 minutes.
  • Remove the soup from heat, and blend until smooth either with an immersion blender in the pot, or by transferring to a blender in batches. Return the blended soup to the pot and place over low heat, stirring in the cream and cheese until the cheese has fully melted into the soup. Serve immediately.
Keyword Basil, Cheese, Soup, Tomatoes

And now for the details…

Tomato soup is one of my favourite lunches. Pair it up with a grilled cheese sandwich, and for a few moments, while eating, I am in heaven. In this recipe I have paired up the tangy, umami-ness of tomatoes with the freshness of basil, the richness of cream and the salty, creaminess of Boursin cheese. The use of the pre-seasoned garlic and herbs cheese adds its flavour, eliminating the need to add much else in the way of herbs or spices. If Boursin is not readily available, using a flavoured cream cheese like herb and garlic would do in a pinch, and if you could even just go with plain cream cheese or marscapone, as the basil and tomatoes do not need much seasoning, as they do so well just on their own! I have also added some zucchini to the soup to provide some added veg content and to “beef up” the soup, so to speak.

The best part of this soup is how quickly it comes together. We are using canned tomatoes, and only loosely chopping the zucchini and basil. No need for meticulous preparation (aka high knife skills) of the different ingredients, since we will just be blending it all together at the end anyhow. I even took the let’s-make-it-easy approach a step further and ended up using freeze-dried garlic pieces rather than peeling and chopping.

So to get this soup started, place all the ingredients except the basil, cream and cheese into a large saucepan and put it over medium-high heat. Make sure to add the tomatoes with their liquid!

We are not going to be cooking at this higher temperature the whole time, just until we heat the soup up enough that it starts to bubble. Then, turn the heat down to medium-low. Here is where the magic happens, since we are just going to cover it up and can leave it to cook to get all soft. After about 20-25 minutes, we will add the basil in. You can just tear the leaves off and toss them in, or even loosely chop the leaves and the stalks together and throw everything in, as long as the stalks are not too woody. Cook the soup for another 5 minutes, just until the basil has wilted and spread its lovely scent into the soup.

Now its time to go on a blender. Remove the pot from the heat. There are two options for blending. If you have an immersion blender, you can do this right in the pot, stirring it regularly to make sure we get all the bits so that the soup is smooth. The second option is to transfer the soup to a blender to get a smooth soup. If using a blender, you will also need a second container, since the soup will likely not all fit into the blender at once, and we will need to blend in parts. As discussed in other soup recipes that needed blending, be careful in this step, as the hot soup might burst from the blender container if you overfill it or go to high speed right away. Fill the blender no more that halfway and start on low speed before increasing. When done blending, transfer the soup back into the pot.

Put the pot with the smooth soup over low heat. Add the cream and cheese (breaking the cheese up into pieces/chunks to allow it to melt faster) and stir, heating until it is at your desired temperature and the cheese is fully melted and mixed into the soup.

Serve immediately. If there are leftovers, allow them to cool fully, then transfer to a freezable container. This soup keeps in the freezer for several months and reheats really well. A great meal to keep handy for a quick defrost and reheat!

Happy eating.

Rich and Hearty Kubasa and Bean Soup

Kubasa and Bean Soup

Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course, Soup
Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 medium-sized onion chopped
  • 1 clove garlic peeled and minced
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 540 ml canned white kidney beans (19 oz) drained and rinsed
  • 540 ml canned bean medley (19 oz) drained and rinsed
  • 454 g ring of kubasa (kielbassa)
  • 796 ml canned tomatoes (28 oz)
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 4 ribs celery chopped
  • 4 medium-sized carrots peeled and chopped
  • 4 cups beef or chicken broth
  • 1 Tbsp paprika
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
 

Instant Pot directions

  • Set pot to "Sauté" setting and add the oil, onion and garlic. Sauté until onions are translucent. Add celery and carrots, stirring and cooking for another 3-5 minutes.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients, stirring well. Set the Instant Pot to "Soup" setting, under pressure, for 20 minutes.
  • Remove and discard bay leaves and serve.

Stovetop direction

  • Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat until onions are translucent. Add celery and carrots, stirring and cooking for another 3-5 minutes.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients, stirring well.
  • Turn heat down to medium to medium-low (soup should be simmering but not boiling). Cook for 45-50 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Remove and discard bay leaves and serve.
Keyword Beans, Instant Pot, Kubasa, Mixed Beans, Sausage, Soup

And now for the details…

Let’s set the scene: it’s the middle of winter. The temperature is cold and icy outside and just looking out the window causes a deep chill to set in, right to your bones. All you want is something warm and comforting to heat you up from the inside, something that feels like a hug in a bowl. This is exactly what our weather is like right now, and when I was looking in the fridge to see what was available, I came up with this recipe as a solution.

Kubasa, also known as kielbasa or kolbassa, is a sausage of Eastern Europe descent, often known as Ukrainian or Polish sausage. It’s a pretty broad term when you think about it… it seems pretty doubtful that an entire country (countries) has just one type of sausage, no? And that’s entirely true. The term “kielbassa” is a translation of “sausage” and in those countries, it refers to a wide range of different sausages. But, where I am from, the Canadian Prairies (think smack in the middle of Canada), the term kubasa/kolbassa is used for a smoked sausage, heavy on the garlic, that is most often served up alongside perogies (dumplings) and holuptsi (cabbage rolls).

In this recipe, I used the kubasa in a soup with beans and some veg to get a hearty, rich, salty, and slightly smoky soup that might actually be nearing “stew” in texture! The beans add a thick silkiness to the broth as they cook, and the addition of paprika gives a hint of heat without actually adding any spiciness. All in all, it’s the perfect meal to come home to after a cold day of skiing, skating or building a snowman 🙂

Let’s get to cooking, shall we?

There are two sets of instructions in the recipe, one for the Instant Pot and one for stovetop. They are both extremely similar, the biggest different is the amount of time to cook the soup for after adding all the ingredients in. I will go through both options, so follow along with your cooking approach!

We start with the veg. Peel and chop your onions and garlic and place in your pot with the oil. At this point, you can prep and chop your celery and carrots, and chop the kubasa into large chunks, to get everything ready to go.

A quick note on prepping the kubasa: most kubasa that I have had has edible, soft casings. But there are some that have a stiff, dry casing that needs to be peeled off before eating. You can usually tell if you try and peel a bit of the casing off. If it “flakes” off in small pieces that tear easily, it’s probably good to eat. If it easily comes off in large strips that peel off easily, peel the whole thing off to avoid unchewable pieces of casing.

With your onion, garlic, and oil in your pot, set to “sauté” setting (or medium-high heat on the stove) stirring and cooking until the onions have turned translucent. Then, add the carrots and celery, stirring and cooking for another 3-5 minutes, so that the celery and carrots soften slightly.

Next, we add all the rest of the ingredients to the pot, stirring well. In this recipe, we are using canned beans, but there is an opportunity to use dried beans if you would like. If you do use dried beans, you will need to add time (about twice the time listed here) as well as add a cup or two of water. If you are using canned beans, don’t forget to fully drain and then rinse the beans before adding them to the pot.

Next, we will be going one of two directions depending on whether you are using and Instant Pot or stovetop: If you’re using an Instant Pot, cover and seal it, and set it to “Soup” for 20 minutes. If you are going with the stovetop method, lower the heat of your stovetop to medium-low to medium heat, just enough so there is a little simmering action going on (a few bubbles every few seconds), but not a big, bubbling boil. Cover the pot and cook it for 45-50 minutes, opening it up every 5-10 minutes to stir and prevent anything from burning/sticking to the bottom of the pot.

And that’s it folks. It is that easy. Last step is to remove it from the heat and discard the bay leaves before eating. I like to have this soup with either some crunchy seed crackers, or a nice, fresh piece of crusty bread!

Happy eating.

Grilled Italian Meatballs with Pomodoro Sauce

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Grilled Italian Meatballs with Pomodoro Sauce

Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Course Main Course
Servings 12 Large Meatballs

Ingredients
  

Meatballs

  • 1 lb ground lamb
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 2 garlic cloves (peeled and shredded)
  • 1/3 cup buttermilk
  • 1 small onion (peeled and shredded)
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1/3 cup panko or bread crumbs
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 Tbsps parmesan cheese (shredded)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

Sauce

  • 400 g canned tomatoes (14 oz)
  • 2 garlic cloves (peeled and minced)
  • 2 Tbsps olive oil
  • 1/2 cups fresh basil (chopped)
  • salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions
 

  • Mix together the lamb, beef, shredded garlic, buttermilk, onion, dried spices, panko crumbs, eggs, parmesan, salt and pepper. Form into large balls, about 2-3"/5-8cm wide. Heat BBQ to medium heat. Place meatballs on the grill (recommended to use a grill mat). Cook for about 10 minutes, turning halfway through, or until the inside of the meatball is fully cooked. For sauce, place all the ingredients in a pot and place on the stove on medium heat. Bring to a simmer and reduce temperature to medium-low. Simmer for 20 minutes. If desired, blend sauce to make smooth. Place meatballs in pot with sauce, turning gently to fully coat and heat through if cooled. Place on plate, pour sauce over meatballs. Serve.
Keyword BBQ, Beef, Grill, Meatballs, Sauce, Tomatoes

And now for the details…

The weather is turning crisper, the leaves are changing colour and school buses can be seen driving past the windows all morning/afternoon. Not to mention that Pumpkin Spice everything is available again. Fall is here folks. And I am not a fan. I don’t know what it is about fall, but I feel unsettled and uncomfortable. Plus, it means that summer (my favourite season) is officially over. And so, I’m gripping what’s left of summer with all the strength I have and squeezing what’s left out of grilling and sunshine.

And so, grilled meatballs.

Could you do these in the oven instead? Of course you can. But grilling allows that extra bit of charred oomph, and who doesn’t want to tszuj up their dinner a little?

We start out with the meatballs themselves. I have used ground beef and lamb for mine, but if you are not okay with eating lamb (I have quite a few folk in my life who are not), or don’t have it readily accessible, feel free to swap out the lamb for pork or more ground beef. But if you are using ground beef for the whole thing, I would recommend doing a 50/50 mix of lean and regular ground beef, since the lamb does contain a bit more fat than lean ground beef, and we want that fat for an added punch of flavour.

Place the meats in a large bowl, and add in the rest of the meatball ingredients: buttermilk, garlic, onion, spices, panko crumbs, eggs, parmesan, S&P. Options to switch out? Buttermilk can be switched out for regular whole milk. And while I haven’t tried it, if there is a dairy allergy in your household, I would imagine a non-dairy alternative could be used. If you do try that out, let me know how it goes! You can also switch out the panko crumbs for regular bread crumbs. If you end up buying the “Italian Style” breadcrumbs, go a bit lighter on the spices and salt that you add, since those will already be in the bread crumbs.

Next, we mix all that good stuff together. Similar to in my burger recipe, I am going to recommend you do this with your hands, not a spoon or spatula. Because like that recipe, we are going to try and minimize how much we handle the meat. And the reason? Same as with the burgers, the more we mix and push ground meat around, the more we compress it, resulting in a tough or chewy meatball. No thank you. I want my meatballs juicy and tender. Using our hands allows for a gentler touch, and overall helps reduce the likelihood of overmixing. (Holding myself back from adding “that’s what he/she said” was really difficult through this entire paragraph folks, I hope you appreciate my restraint)

Once it’s all mixed together, form them up into relatively even-sized balls, about 2-3″/5-8cm in width. We are going a bit bigger here than say, Swedish-style meatballs, since they are going on the grill and we don’t want them falling through! Again, a light touch here, just enough to have the meatballs hold together, but not squishing them like a vice.

And then we get to the cooking. (Before we really get into grilling, you can always skip to the sauce and have that going on the stove/bbq burner at the same time you’re cooking the meatballs.) Preheat your grill to medium heat (somewhere around 350º-400ºF/175º-205ºC). I would strongly recommend using a grill mat for the cooking of the meatballs. This will help avoid any sticking to the grill (and the resulting breaking apart of the meatballs!) as well as keep the fat from dripping all over your grill, which could cause flare-ups and over-charring of the meatballs (plus the mess of cleanup is contained to the mat). We are going to cook the meatballs for about 10-12 minutes total. Our goal is to get the insides of the meatball fully cooked, which means it will register at about 160ºF/71ºC if you poke the middle with a thermometer. We will also be flipping the meatballs just over halfway through the cooking process to brown both sides. Be extra careful when flipping. This is probably the most likely point for the meatball to fall apart. I used a fork and a set of tongs to carefully flip mine over.

When the meatballs are done, remove them from the grill to a plate and set aside.

The sauce is nice and easy. We are going to put all the ingredients for the sauce (canned tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil, S&P) into a pot on medium-high heat and bring it up to to a simmer. Once it starts to simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and let it bubble away for about 20 minutes, stirring every now and again. If you like a smooth sauce, after the 20 minutes, blend it up (transfer to a blender or use a handheld blender in the pot). Finally, transfer the meatballs into the pot with the sauce. This is another place to be careful. Don’t stir the bejeezus out it, or the meatballs will break apart. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this, you can skip straight to serving, but I like transferring the meatballs with the juices into the sauce to add a bit of extra flavour and to get the meatballs and sauce to the same temperature. Turn the meatballs gently in the sauce to get them nice and fully coated.

Finally, we are ready to eat! Transfer the meatballs to a serving dish, and pour the tomato sauce over top. Serve with your favourite pasta, or with some bread to mop up all that tasty tomato sauce.

Happy eating.