Chicken and Harvest Vegetable Soup
This is one of those "throw everything in the pot"
soups that has a marvelous flavor. It is comforting
and cozy, yet elegant enough to serve to guests for
a fun and casual Halloween dinner party. You can
serve this savory soup from a carved pumpkin or
large squash. It is also great served right off the
stovetop in individual bowls and served with some
crunchy bread and a crisp salad.
6 cups chicken stock
3 cups dry white wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups diced potatoes
2 cups diced butternut squash
1 cup sliced carrots
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon oil
2 diced onions
3 minced garlic cloves
2 large diced bell peppers
6 diced plum tomatoes
1 1/2 cups quartered green beans
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
salt
pepper
Combine the chicken stock and white wine in a heavy
soup kettle over high heat. Bring to a boil, then
reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the tomato paste
and potatoes, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add
the butternut squash and carrots, cover, and simmer
for ten minutes. While the potatoes and squash are
cooking, place a medium heavy skillet over medium
heat. Add the butter and oil and cook until the
butter melts. Add the onions and saute until the
onions are softened and translucent. Add the garlic
and bell pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Add the
tomato and continue to cook, stirring frequently
for 3 minutes. Add a ladelful of broth to the
skillet and stir well to scrape all of the
vegetables from the pan. Scrape the onion mixture
into the soup and stir well. Cover and simmer for
five minutes. Add the green beans, chicken, and
sliced basil. Cover the pot and simmer until the
green beans and butternut squash are fork tender, but
not over cooked. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve hot.
Spicy Black Bean Soup
This is probably my favorite Halloween soup. Although
the flavor is excellent and it is a great treat all
year long, it is truly the appearance that gets
raves. I serve this soup in wide shallow bowls and
pipe sour cream spider webs onto the top. Kids and
adults love it. If you are making this soup for
children, I would adjust the spices. I normally will
spoon the children's soups first. Add more spices,
simmer while I decorate the children's soup bowls,
and then spoon the adult's soups. It seems to work
very well, although the flavor is not as good. If
you have the room split the soup in half after
adding the tomatoes and only season one of the
batches. This soup is quick and easy to make,
especially if you use canned beans. If you use
canned beans, just reserve one cup of the liquid they
were canned with and drain and rinse the beans well.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 medium chopped onions
4 minced garlic cloves
2 teaspoons minced crumbled dried thyme
5 cups cooked black beans, with one cup of cooking
liquid reserved
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons tabasco sauce
Place the butter and oil in a large soup kettle and
melt over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until
the onion is softened and translucent. Add the
garlic and thyme and cook for an additional three
minutes. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a
boil. then reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and
simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove three cups of the soup from the pot and in
three batches (do not process all at once because a
lot of hot black bean soup will be all over your
ceiling!) process the three cups of soup until smooth,
adding the puree back to the soup after it is pureed.
Reheat until the soup is thoroughly warmed again.
Spoon into serving bowls and garnish with sour cream.
