World Tour: Soups here and there

[ 1 ] January 21, 2011 | Archele

As we continue to fight the bitter winds and icy mixes of winter weather, I thought it would be interesting to research and share a couple of international soup recipes. If you can’t escape the cold weather by hopping on a flight, use your very own kitchen as an escape by cooking up a soup that will warm you from the inside out. This week, I’ll get things rolling with Cuba and Egypt.

Cuba

Galician soup or “Caldo Gallego” is a hearty stew named for its origins in Gallicia, Spain. The dish is very popular in Cuba, along with other countries, including Puerto Rico. After viewing several recipes, this one was most appealing.

TasteofCuba.Com offers this recipe for “Caldo Gallego“:

2 quarts water
1 cup dry white beans, pre-soaked
2 chorizos (sausage, available at Latin grocery stores)
1/2 pound cured ham, chopped
several small pieces of pork fat
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
1 tablespoon pure Spanish olive oil
1/4 cup chopped turnip
1 potato, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup chopped collard greens

Place all ingredients (except potatoes and collard greens) in a 3-quart pot. Cook on medium-low heat until beans are tender (about 3 hours). Add potato pieces and collard greens and cook until tender. Salt to taste. Serves 8

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Caldo Gallego looks particularly good to me, and is one of the recipes that I hope to try sooner than later.

Egypt

Egyptian Bean Soup or “Ful Nabed” is a dish that offers a lot of flavor, without having taking up too much time to prepare. Food.com offers, what I think, is a very easy-to-prepare recipe:

Picture via Sue Lau at Food.Com

1 large sweet onion, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped carrot

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon cumin seed

1 cup diced tomato (with juice, if canned)

4 cups vegetable broth or 4 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika

1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 cups cooked fava beans (rinsed and drained if canned)

fresh mint leaves, to garnish

**Sauté chopped onion in olive oil until almost tender.

**Add carrots, garlic and cumin, cooking briefly.

**Stir in tomatoes, broth, paprika, cayenne, bay leaves, salt and pepper, stirring to mix.

**Cook over medium heat until carrots are tender. Mix parsley, lemon juice, and fava beans into soup and heat gently.

**Serve garnished with fresh mint, if desired

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So, while you’re letting those American Airlines points build up, don’t be afraid to use the internet for a virtual vacation and an opportunity to try out new and interesting recipes – especially this season, when staying indoors is probably most desirable.