Roasted Sunchoke and Shallot Soup

Today, we are cooking with Sunchokes! A few weeks ago, I came across these nubby looking roots at the Market, which at first I thought were ginger, but after further investigation found out were Sunchokes. 

Sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes, are the root of a plant in the Sunflower family. Oddly, they are neither originated from Jerusalem nor an artichoke, so I prefer to call them Sunchokes. These little tubers store a lot of inulin (not insulin), which is a great source of fiber. But be careful not to over-do-it on the 'chokes since inulin can cause gas and bloat. Hey, just being real here! 

Sunchokes have a similar consistency to a potato when raw, but have a much nuttier and sweeter flavor when cooked. According to the Farmer, these tubers have a short season in NC, so I have been trying to get some every week while I can. For such an ugly little vegetable, they sure do pack a nutrient punch, full of not just inulin and fiber, but also potassium and iron. I really enjoyed taking these little vitamin-filled veggies and coming up with a soup recipe. 

I am a big fan of vegetable soups, especially with all of the winter vegetables since I have a harder time digesting them. However, I also tried pan roasting the Sunchokes with some butter and thyme and they were delicious! Here is a good recipe for roasting the 'chokes on Bon Appetit.

Roasted Sunchoke and Shallot Soup

Recipe altered from A House In the Hills
Yields: 6 cups
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

1 pound sunchokes, quartered (about 4 cups)

1 yellow onion, roughly chopped 

4 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons Grape seed oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

2 shallots, sliced

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup almond milk

salt and pepper to taste

top with fresh cilantro or fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 400F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 

In a large bowl, toss the sunchokes, onion and garlic with the oil, thyme and salt and lay out on the baking sheet. Roast the vegetables for 20 minutes, tossing a few times.

While the vegetables roast, melt the butter in a large, thick-bottomed soup pot. Saute the shallots, stirring constantly until they are golden and caramelized. Add in the vegetable broth and almond milk, scrapping any bits at the bottom of the pan. Once the broth/milk mixture comes to a boil, add in the roasted vegetables and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. 

Puree the soup mixture with either an immersion blender or standing blender in batches. Serve the soup with fresh herbs and crumbled cheese.

Tortellini and Spinach Soup

Work has been crazy. Seriously crazy. I am putting in a lot of time there, so cooking dinner has gone down on the priority list lately (which kills me to say). There is really only so much take-out a girl can take! I was determined to come up with a list of easy dinners that I or the Hubby could throw together and initially thought of one that I had growing up - Tortellini Soup.

My brother and I were a handful growing up. I have mad props for my mom being able to juggle work, volunteer stuff, school stuff, kids, husband, house, life AND cooking! She always had dinner on the table and it was always delicious.

One of her staple winter meals was this Tortellini Soup recipe. You need to add this to your recipe repertoire immediately because it takes 10 minutes to throw together, can feed an army (of hungry kids or husbands) and, some how, finds a way to taste even better after a few days in the fridge!

Hubby LOVES this soup, and always makes me double up on the bacon and tortellini. Sometimes I will make two pots, one with double bacon and tortellini for him, and one with double spinach for me!

Tortellini Soup

Altered from my Mom's recipe
Yields: 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes


4 cloves of garlic, minced
8 slices of bacon, thinly sliced (leave out if vegetarian)
One 15 ounce can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
One 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
8 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
Parmesan rind (optional)
Two 9 ounce packages cheese tortellini (or spinach tortellini)
4 cups fresh spinach, chopped

In a large soup pot over medium heat, render the bacon slices until almost crispy. Add in the garlic and saute for a little under a minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the tomatoes and beans, then finally the chicken broth and Parmesan rind.

Bring this to a simmer and stir in the tortellini. Cook this according to the package and stir in the fresh spinach in the last minute of cooking until wilted.

How I make this gluten free:
 - before adding the tortellini, I remove some of the soup. I add in cooked brown rice and Parmesan cheese to mine.

Tales of a Weary Traveler and Minestrone Soup

Five weekends down, two more to go. After a month of traveling, Ryan and I are "hitting the wall," as they say in the running world. We are in the middle of a traveling marathon visiting friends, family and running in races. 

This past long weekend was fantastic. We were beach-bound for a Hegele Thanksgiving Extravaganza (Hegele is my maiden name). Most of my crazy family gathered for food, fun and several drinks! We then traveled to Charlotte for my high school reunion, which was more food, fun and several drinks! 

After this type of weekend, Ryan and I seriously crave vegetables. Since we only have a few nights until we jet off again (this time to NYC), I thought a vegetable soup was in order and would last us a few nights without filling up our fridge with a million items.

A hearty winter minestrone soup sounded like the perfect thing for me! To make things easier, I started from an established recipe so I could just chop and drop in the large soup pot. We both thoroughly enjoyed this recipe from Ina Garten's (also known as The Barefoot Contessa) Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust. I did make some changes (of course) to the recipe, so here are my notes:

• I usually always increase the garlic in recipes because we love garlic in our house. If you are not too keen on garlic, reduce the amount or leave it out entirely.
• If you can find fresh bay leaves, use those! Same for the other dried herbs. However, I don't like spending a lot of money on fresh herbs in the winter.
• Chop the onion, celery, carrot and butternut squash into even size pieces. This ensures even cooking!
• If you are like me and save your Parmesan rinds, this is a perfect soup to throw one into.

The recipe falls somewhere between a soup and a stew, filling your bowl with hearty vegetables.

Winter Minestrone Soup

Recipe Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust by Ina Garten

Serves: 6-8
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

Good olive oil

4 oz. pancetta, diced

2 cups yellow onion, chopped

2 cups carrots, chopped 

2 cups celery, chopped

2 cups butternut squash, peeled, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried sage

26 oz. can diced tomatoes

6 cups chicken stock

2 bay leaves

Salt and Pepper

1 (15oz.) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups cooked small pasta (which is about 1 cup dried pasta)

4 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 T pesto

Parmesan, rind and freshly grated

Heat 2 T olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven. Add the pancetta and cook over medium-low heat for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking to the bottom. When the pancetta is lightly browned, pour in 2 T of white wine to deglaze the pan. Be sure to scrap up the bits on the bottom well with a wooden spoon. When the wine has reduced down a bit, add in the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, butternut squash, thyme, oregano and sage. Cook this over medium heat, covered, stirring occasionally for about 8-10 minutes until the vegetables start to soften.

Add in the tomatoes, chicken stock, bay leaves, salt and pepper to the pot. Bring this to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. While the soup simmers, boil the pasta and set aside.

Stir in the drained beans and cooked pasta, heat through. The soup should be quite thick but if it is too thick, add more chicken stock. If making the soup ahead, stop here and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve, reheat the soup, add the spinach and cook until wilted. Stir in the white wine and pesto. Serve with shredded Parmesan