A few weekends ago the sous chef and I were flipping through the pages of one of favourite magazines, Food & Drink (available free at our favourite store, the LCBO, which when you think about isn't really free when you add up all the money we spend there. Best not to think about it.) Any who, we were perusing our favourite magazine and came across a special segment on soups. Let me tell you how much we love soups: A heck of a lot it could be unnatural. Soups are so easy to make, you basically just pour some broth into a pot, toss in whatever ingredients you need to use up into the same said pot, let it simmer away for a bit, and Bob's yer Uncle. They can be incredibly economical depending on the ingredients you choose. They are satisfying and hearty and comforting on a cold blustery day (which we do get a lot of here in Canada.) They are versatile: you can have them for lunch or dinner...or breakfast if you should so fancy. You can make them in huge batches for lots of leftovers (I think they are even better the following day for lunches.) You really can't go wrong with a good soup.
So you can imagine our excitement when we came across a whole segment dedicated to soups in our favourite magazine. Delicious mouth-watering soups. And we were so in the mood for a good soup. We couldn't decide which one to start with so we made two soups that weekend (and there is one more pending when we get in the soup mood again... a spicy sausage, farro and kale...and you know how much I love my farro...we'll discuss the kale issue later.) The sous chef took charge (I only allow this on certain special occasions lest he get too full of himself...kidding! I'm a good boss. Really!) and started with a Spanish Shrimp and Chickpea Soup. Just look at that ingredient list : Shrimp, chorizo, chickpeas, white wine...come on people how can you resist! And then take a look at the pictures taken by a non professional pseudo food blogger wannabe: look at how those shrimp and anchovies are happily swimming away in that delicious tasty spicy chicken broth. And I don't usually even like anchovies but in this dish they are delish. Is your mouth watering yet? I will admit that I did really enjoy the soup that I chose to make. But I LOVED this one. This will be a repeat recipe for sure. Good job sous chef. I'm glad I hired you for the job, you seem to be working out ok. Maybe you are due for a raise. Some benefits at least...
Happy Soup Slurping from Bistro 164!
Spanish Shrimp & Chickpea Soup
Skill level: Super easy
Pots used: One
Serves: Makes 12 cups (lots and lots of leftovers yet again)
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup diced dry Spanish chorizo sausage
3 oil-packed anchovies, finely chopped
1/2 tsp hot red chili flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup white wine
8 cups chicken stock
1 can (796 mL) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can (398 mL) diced tomatoes
1/2 cup Spanish or Italian short-grain white rice
1 large unpeeled Yukon gold potato, diced
1 lb peeled, raw tail-removed shrimp, 31/40 count
4 cups lightly packed baby spinach
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Grab a large pot and heat oil over medium heat. Add the onion, and saute for about 3 minutes. Add the chorizo, anchovies, garlic and chili flakes. Stir and cook for another 3 minutes.
Add the wine, stirring to remove any of the brown bit from the bottom of the pan. Continue to boil until it has almost evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in the stock, chickpeas and tomatoes. Bring it all to a boil. Add the rice, cover and boil gently for 20 minutes. Add the potatoes for the last 10 minutes. Continue to cook until the potatoes are tender.
Add the shrimp and the spinach, stirring until the shrimp are cooked and the spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes. Add some salt and pepper. Serve piping hot. Perfect with some crusty bread.
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