Tag Archives: soup

Pho Real

Posted on by

I had pho for the first time in Philly last month. (Which I later learned is pronounced “fuh”. So now do you get the title?!) Anyway, moving on…my god it was amazing! Spicy, and savory, and filling. But not like “food baby” filling. It was so perfect I had to try to recreate it. Plus, it’s having a real moment, so naturally we want to give you a damn delish recipe for it. Have at it readers!

  • 8oz rice noodles
  • 1/2 of a large onion
  • 4″ of ginger
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms
  • 1lb chicken breast, cooked and shredded (for vegetarian style, don’t add this. Obvi.)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Toppings

  • 1 jalapeno
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
  • Sriracha sauce to taste

Prepare the rice noodles according to the box.  While the noodles are cooking, peel and slice the ginger and thin slice the onion. Remove the stems from the shiitake mushrooms and quarter the tops. Heat a large pot over high heat and add the ginger and onion for a few minutes. (Keep an eye on them to ensure they don’t burn.) Once fragrant, add in the chicken broth, cinnamon stick, fish sauce and shredded chicken. Top with salt and pepper to taste. Turn down the heat to medium and let the ingredients simmer. Add in the rice noodles.

To prepare the toppings, seed the jalapeno and thin slice. Pour the pho into bowls and top with a few jalapeno slices and fresh cilantro. Season with Sriracha for an extra kick.

Pho_damndelish

Happy Eating, XO.

 

Bone Broth

Posted on by

I know we don’t need to remind you that it’s below freezing outside. (Seriously, what happened to the 60 degree weather in December?!) I’m sure we also don’t need to remind you that’s time to do all of that post-holiday detoxing. That’s where bone broth comes in. Bone broth made a big splash last winter when it became more popular than tea due to it’s multiple “healing powers”, and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere soon.

Not only does it help clear up and moisturize your skin, it’s great for your digestive system (aka gut), and remedy a cold. This article from Natural New Age Mum gives you the breakdown of every possible health benefit. Plus, if you don’t want to drink the broth straight up, she gives you other ways to incorporate it into your cooking.

  • 3-4 pounds bones (chicken, turkey, bone marrow, oxtail, any leftovers you may have)
  • 2 inches of sliced ginger root
  • 2 whole onions, thick sliced
  • 1/4 cup roughly chopped chives
  • 3 carrots, shaved and roughly chopped
  • 1/4–1/2 cup of fresh herbs (cilantro, parsley, thyme or rosemary. Take your pick of 1. I used thyme.)
  • 3-4 bay leaves
  • 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
  • 2 celery stalks
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tbsp sea salt
  • If you’re feeling adventurous, you can also use a couple dashes of turmeric. You know how we love that spice.
  • Enough water to cover it all in a crock pot

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and drop in the bones. This will clean off any excess meat. Place the bones in the crock pot along with all of the other ingredients. Cover and simmer for 8-24 hours. (I did the full 24 hours.) The longer it simmers, the more flavor you’ll get.

Strain the broth into jar(s) for storage and place in the fridge. Discard the bones and veggies. After a few hours in the fridge, you’ll notice the fat beginning to harden on the top. You’ll want to skim that off. You can then either place the broth back in the fridge (it can keep up to 4 days), or a more popular method is to use an ice cube tray. This way you can pop one out whenever you’d like. The broth will keep in the freezer for up to a year.

Bone broth_damndelish

Happy Eating, XO.

Butternut Squash Soup

Posted on by

I don’t know about you, but there’s just something that feels really good about making homemade soup. Yeah, yeah it’s easy to just go to the store and buy it in a can. But where’s the fun in that? I guarantee if you make this soup yourself you’ll get a lot more kudos than if you just poured it out of the can. Plus, this recipe gives you a ton more than just 28oz. Bring on family dinner night…

PS. For a fun party app/snack, put the soup in tall shot glasses as shooters.

*Serves a ton of people (over 8 at least). You’ll definitely have enough to freeze for later. Hellooo mid-week meal.

The soup:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium carrot stick, chopped
  • 1 medium celery stick, chopped
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 4 cups of chicken broth
  • 1 tsp of fresh thyme, chopped
  • 3 packages of cubed butternut squash (or roughly 6 cups)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Dash of pepper

The topping:

  • 1/2 cup crème fraîche
  • 1 tsp pure maple syrup

In a large soup pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Toss in the carrots, celery, and onion and cook for roughly 5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add the chicken broth, 1/2 tsp of the thyme, butternut squash, salt and pepper. Let all of the ingredients simmer for 30 minutes, or until the squash is tender enough to fall apart. After the 30 minutes, I used an immersion blender but you can also just stir the crap out of it until all of the ingredients are blended and no longer whole. You’ll notice it’s still slightly grainy at this point. In small batches, pour the soup into a blender to get the final chunks out and really smooth it out.

In a small bowl, whip together the crème fraîche and the maple syrup until fully blended. Pour the soup into a small bowl and dollop the crème mixture smack dab in the middle. Top with the other 1/2 of the thyme.

To make the baguette to go with it, check out our recipe here.

Butternut Squash Soup - damndelish

 

Happy Eating, XO.

Fall Corn Chowder

Posted on by

By now you probably have more corn than you know what to do with. So rather than eating ANOTHER corn on the cob (seriously, my floss is running low…) put it into some chowder. This steamy dish is perfect for those cooler nights. And if you have leftovers, freeze it in some Tupperware for a middle-of-the-winter treat.

  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 stalks of celery, chopped
  • 1 medium potato, cubed (add in 1 additional for a heartier meal)
  • 5 ears of corn (or 2 12oz cans)
  • 4 cups of chicken broth
  • 1 can evaporated milk
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • 1 tbsp corn starch
  • 1 tsp of salt
  • 1 tsp of pepper

Toss all of the ingredients in a crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Easiest. Recipe. Ever.

Corn Chowder - damndelish2

Happy Eating, XO.

Soup obsession continues…

Posted on by

For all you haters who think soup isn’t a meal, wait till you try this one. It’s so filling I can guarantee you wont need anything else! There is a starch, a protein, some veggies, etc. Its a meal in a bowl so save your judgments for something else.

Yo on a real tip- grab a big soup pot/pan! Ideally, like a dutch oven type cookware move. Don’t pull a me and start in something too small for all the ingredients and have to transfer to a bigger item half way through. Its going to mess up your whole soup making mojo. Trust me.

  • Chop a medium to large yellow onion into small pieces
  • 3 tbsp. of minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp. of grated parmesan cheese
  • 4 tbsp. of light cream
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes
  • 1 box of low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 package of uncooked, raw, store bought cheese tortellini
  • 1 bag of kale
  • 1/2 bag of spinach
  • 1 package (about 1-1.5 lbs.) of spicy Italian chicken sausage (remove meat from casing and create mini meatballs so they can cook evenly in the broth).

Anyway, once you have figured out your cooking vessel, sweat the onions and garlic with salt, pepper and some olive oil for about 10-15 min on high heat. Add the can of diced tomatoes (whole can, with liquid) and the chicken broth. Once the liquids are brought to a boil, reduce heat and add cheese & cream while stirring add in “meatballs”. Raise heat back to high to bring liquids to a boil again and add the greens. Simmer for 10-15 min (greens will be wilted and meat will be cooked) before adding the tortellini, let that cook for 5-7 min (once they rise to the top of the soup, cut the heat & serve).

Total cook time should be about 45 min, prep is very short max 5 min.You will have multiple meals out of this recipe so its worth the time.

Happy Eating, XO.