When you think of fall, what do you think of? Probably gorgeous foliage, Thanksgiving, kids going back to school? But one of the best things about fall is the hearty soups and stews that simmer on the stove top or in the crock pot that make us all warm inside and fill us up. That’s why we have made a list of some delicious soup and stew recipes to try.
Tomato & Eggplant Soup
Ingredients for Soup
- 3 pounds quartered vine-ripened red tomatoes
- 1 (1 pound.) peeled eggplant sliced into ¼” pieces
- 1 pound of peeled carrots, cut into ¾” pieces
- 1 medium peeled sweet onion, cut into ¼” wedges
- 10 cloves of garlic
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 tablespoon of kosher salt, divided
- 8 cups of vegetable broth
- 5 cups of half-and-half
- 1 tablespoon of vinegar (red wine)
- 3 ounces of crumbled feta cheese (about ¾ of a cup)
- Basil Leaves (fresh)
Ingredients for Croutons
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 (10-ounce) French baguette
- 2 tablespoons of chopped flat-leaf fresh parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
Directions:
Step 1
Preheat your oven to a temperature of 400°F. Spray two rimmed baking sheets lightly with your cooking spray; arrange your carrots, eggplant, garlic cloves onion, and tomatoes upon the baking sheets in a single layer. Drizzle them evenly with olive oil, sprinkle them with pepper and 1.5 tablespoons of your salt. Roast them in your oven until lightly browned and tender, around 40 minutes, rotating your sheets after 20 minutes.
Step 2
Scrape your cooking juices and vegetables into a big Dutch Oven. Stir in your half-and-half, vegetable brother and the rest of your salt. Bring it to a boil over a medium high heat. Remove it from heat. Puree your soup using your immersion blender. Stir in your vinegar.
For your croutons, heat ¼ of the olive oil and four garlic cloves in a little saucepan over a medium high heat. Cook, often swirling your saucepan, until your garlic’s golden brown, around 4-5 minutes. Remove it from heat and mash the garlic gently using a fork and let it cool for around 5 minutes. Pour the oil through a strainer with fine wire-mesh and discard the solids. Cut your baguette into cubes of ½ inch and place them in a medium sized bowl. Drizzle them with oil and sprinkle them with two tablespoons of your parsley, ½ teaspoon of the kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon of the black pepper. Toss it to coat. Put them on your baking sheet in one later and bake them in your preheated oven 7-9 minutes. Allow them to slightly cool, around two minutes.
Step 4
Ladle around two cups of the soup into six bowls, top them with the garlic croutons and two tablespoons of feta. Sprinkle with the basil.
Creamy Ham & Potato Soup
- 5 pounds of chopped russet potatoes
- 3 hocks of ham (around 2 pounds)
- 1 medium yellow onion (chopped)
- 1 cup of celery chopped
- 2 tablespoons of minced garlic (around 4 cloves)
- 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme (chopped)
- 5 teaspoons of kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
- 5 cups of chicken broth
- 1 cup of heavy cream
- Fresh chives (chopped)
Step 1
Put ham hocks, potatoes, celery, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme and onion in your 7qt slow cooker. Then add your broth. Combine by stirring. Cover the slow cooker and cook it on high heat until your potatoes feel tender, approximately 4 hours. Remove the ham hocks, then put them on plate for 15 minutes to cool.
Step 2
Use immersion blender to puree your soup in your slow cooker until soup’s creamy but you still can see whole potato pieces. Add your cream, then stir. Once your ham hocks can be handled safely, remove the meat and chop them, discarding bone and fat. Add your meat to your soup and combine by stirring.
Classic Beef Stew
Ingredients
- ¼ cup of all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
- 1 pound of trimmed stewing beef, cut into cubes of an inch each
- 5 teaspoons of vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons of vinegar (red wine)
- 1 cup of red wine
- 3 ½ cups of low sodium or homemade beef broth,
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 medium peeled & chopped onion
- 5 medium peeled carrots, cut into rounds of 1/4-inch
- 2 large peeled baking potatoes, cut into cubes of ¾ inches
- 2 teaspoons of salt
Directions:
Step 1
Combine pepper and flour in bowl, add your beef then toss it to coat it well. Heat 3 of your teaspoons of oil in big pot. Add your beef gradually and don’t overcrowd. Cook your beef, turning it until it’s browned all the way. This is around 5 minutes for each bath. Put more oil into pot as necessary in between batches.
Step 2
Remove your beef and add your wine and vinegar. Cook this over a heat that’s medium high and scrape your pan with your wooden spoon so that browned bits are removed. Add your beef broth, beef and your bay leaves. Cook until it’s boiling, then reduce it so it’s slowly simmering.
Step 3
Cover this and cook it, skimming your broth occasionally, until your meat’s tender, around 1.5 hours. Add your carrots and onions and simmer it, covered, for ten minutes. Add your potatoes and leave it to simmer until your veggies are tender, around an additional 30 minutes. Add water or broth if your stew’s dry. Season it with pepper and salt based on taste. Ladle it into four bowls then serve.
Other things you can put in the stew
- Acorn squash
- Barley
- Black beans
- Butternut squash
- Cauliflower
- Celeriac
- Chickpeas
- Eggplant
- Fennel
- Green beans
- Kale
- Kidney beans
- Mushrooms
- Parsnips
- Peppers
- Rutabaga
- Sweet potatoes
- Swiss chard
- Turnip
Serve beef stew with:
- Crusty bread
- Biscuits
- Polenta
- Cornbread
- Rice pilaf
- Drop dumplings
- Egg noodles
- Couscous
- Fried plantains
- Green salad
- Roasted or steamed broccoli
- Spinach salad
- Roasted or steamed asparagus
- Tomato and herb salad
- Roasted cauliflower
- Parsnip puree
- Relish plate
- Stuffed tomatoes
Benefits of Soups and Stews
So why do we love eating soups and stews so much? Well, below are some of the benefits that they offer:
- Filling – Soups and stews are very filling and satisfying.
- Large variety – There are many different types of soups and stews that you can choose from, so everyone can find one that they will enjoy.
- Customizable – They can be customized for the number of people who are being fed or what is being put into the stew. This is important when you are dealing with picky eaters or allergies.
- Freezable – A lot of them can be frozen, so you can make a huge batch and freeze some for later.
- Easy – Some of them can even be done in the crockpot or pressure cooker with very little or no prep.
Thank you for stopping by and we hope that you like our blog. Please come back every Monday, because we’ll have a new blog up. If you have any suggestions or comments on what topics you would like to see, please let us know.
