Misstropolis

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Soup’s On!

by Andrea Pyenson

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As nice as it felt to be able to walk around in early January wearing nothing heavier than a fleece vest, it was a little freaky. Ominous, even. Though born and bred in Massachusetts, I’ve always felt that snow belongs up in the mountains and off the city streets. But it is winter and we are in New England. Where nasty weather and the related inconvenience shape everything from our (dare I say surly?) dispositions to our well padded wardrobes to our hearty diets. So let’s look on the bright side.

While my son slept through his snow day on Monday (he’s making the most of his senior slump), I pulled out my soup pot. January is National Soup Month, after all, and I decided to seize the moment. 

For inspiration, I turned to the recently published “New England Soup Factory Cookbook,” written by Marjorie Druker, chef and co-owner of New England Soup Factory, and (Misstropolis contributor) Clara Silverstein. Druker, a Newton native who grew up dreaming of becoming a chef, says she never imagined she would own a soup restaurant. But she was “a kid who ate soup every day of my life,” so it makes sense that she is now an adult who makes soup every day and feeds it to others.

In the early 1990s, when her now 15-year-old daughter, Emily, was a baby, Druker was working as a private chef and caterer in Chestnut Hill. “Everyone asked for pots of soup,” the Johnson & Wales graduate recalls. At the same time, her parents, who lived in the area, frequently asked her to make soup that they could bring to their friends. “I thought, ‘I could make a business of this.’” In 1995 she and her husband, Paul, who also graduated from Johnson & Wales, opened their first New England Soup Factory, in Brookline. They opened their second location, in Newton, three years later. The restaurants have garnered four ‘Best of Boston’ awards from Boston magazine, earning a spot in the ‘Best of Boston’ Hall of Fame.

“I’m a person who loves flavors, but I don’t have a sweet tooth. I have a savory tooth,” Druker says. “I love colors, flavors, textures. Soup has it all – body and texture and flavor. Soup makes you feel so complete inside. You feel like you’ve eaten something that warms you inside and out.”

After serving soup to a colorful cross-section of hungry diners for 12 years, Druker can often predict what people will order as soon as they walk through the door. “Women, especially blondes” tend to like the Puree of Root Vegetable soup, which Druker says is “like putting a warm blanket on your palate.” Women also gravitate toward the Vegetarian White Bean Chili, while men and teenage boys want their chili with meat. Babies and redheads love carrot soup.

Druker is constantly dreaming up new flavor combinations. “In the winter I make a lot of hot and spicy soups,” (favored by men) she says. She recently made a Caribbean Chicken with Lime Zest that included coconut and habanero pepper. It was so hot, “it made you laugh. What better medicine is that?” asks the chef.

As a mother, she is particularly sensitive to creating soups that are both healthy for and appealing to children. She developed Sweet Potato, Chicken and Barley when Emily was young because she loved sweet potatoes so much. “This is a great way to get kids to eat something wholesome and nutritious,” Druker says. “You grate parsnips into it but kids won’t see them. What they don’t see they don’t know about, but their palates tell them it’s good. You have to be tricky.”

If you want to be ready to make soup whenever the mood strikes, Druker recommends having on hand carrots, onions and celery; fresh bulbs of garlic; a good variety of potatoes – she likes Yellow Finn, Yukon Gold and Garnet Yams, which she calls “the rubies of potatoes;” and a selection of dried beans, peas and lentils. For the best texture, Druker advises using dried, rather than canned beans because they will cook more fully and evenly and in half the time. She also says that using full-flavored stock and fresh spices will ensure the best flavor of your homey creation.

Whatever the winter has in store for us, it’s going to be soup weather for quite some time. So get out your bowls and enjoy.

Puree of Root Vegetable Soup
Makes 8 to 10 Servings

Even if you’re not a blonde (or a woman) you’re bound to love this sweet, rich, soothing puree. Druker tells a story of a customer who approached her in the restaurant one day after eating this soup to tell her, “You are the reason I started eating turnips!”

3 tablespoons butter
3 whole cloves garlic, peeled
1 large Spanish onion, peeled and diced
2 ribs celery, diced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
4 parsnips, peeled and sliced
1 large turnip or rutabaga, peeled and cut into chunks
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 bulb celeriac, peeled and cut into chunks
12 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups light cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. In a stockpot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onion, celery, carrots and parsnips. Sauté for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the turnip, sweet potatoes, celeriac and stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the vegetables are soft and tender, about 40 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg. Puree the soup in the pot with a hand blender or working in batches in a regular blender until smooth. Add the cream. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine. If the soup seems too thick, adjust the texture with additional stock or water.

Adapted from “New England Soup Factory Cookbook” (Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2007)

Sweet Potato, Chicken and Barley Soup
Makes 12 Servings

Druker created this soup for her daughter, Emily, who has always loved sweet potatoes. She calls it “chicken soup on steroids.” Not only is it delicious – it is rich in complex carbohydrates, beta carotene and fiber. But don’t tell the kids…

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Spanish onion, peeled and diced
2 ribs celery, diced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 parsnips, peeled and grated
1 1/4 cups pearl barley
10 cups chicken stock
2 bay leaves
4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
3 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1/2 bunch fresh dill, chopped
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Heat a stockpot over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Add the garlic, onion, celery and carrots. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the parsnips, barley, stock and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium. Simmer for 25 minutes.
2. Add the sweet potatoes and chicken and simmer for 20 minutes longer. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Remove from the heat and stir in the dill, vinegar, salt and pepper.

Adapted from “New England Soup Factory Cookbook” (Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2007)

Photos by Ron Manville