Barbara Kafkas Sorrel Soup Recipes

BABA'S BEST SORREL SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until soft, about 5 minutes. Add sorrel in batches, stirring well until wilted, 5 to 8 minutes in all.
• Pour chicken stock and water into the Dutch oven. Stir in potatoes, carrot, parsley, dill, lemon juice, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Simmer soup until flavors combine, about 1 hour.
• Puree soup with an immersion blender until mostly smooth before serving.

FISH AND VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Place fish in the center of an oval dish 14 by 9 by 2 inches. Sprinkle with salt. Top with the mushrooms and broccoli. Arrange green beans and carrots around the fish.
• Mix lemon juice, oil, pepper and herbs together in a small bowl. Pour over the fish and vegetables.
• Cover tightly with microwave plastic wrap. Cook at 100 percent power in a high-power oven for 8 minutes, or until carrots are cooked. Prick plastic to release steam.
• Remove from oven and uncover. Serve hot.

CIARLA'S FISH SOUP

Steps:

• Place bacon in a 5-quart casserole. Cover loosely with paper toweling. Cook at 100 percent power for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and uncover.
• Remove bacon with a slotted spoon to paper toweling to drain; set aside. Pour off most of the fat from casserole, leaving about 1 tablespoon behind. Add oil and paprika and stir to make a paste. Mound in the center of casserole. Cook, uncovered, for 2 minutes.
• Remove from oven. Add onion and garlic and toss to coat. Cook, uncovered, for 2 minutes 30 seconds. Stir in wine, 1 1/2 cups of the fish broth and lasagna pieces. Cover securely with microwave plastic wrap or with a tightly fitting lid and cook for 5 minutes.
• If using plastic, prick plastic to release steam. Remove from oven and uncover. Arrange clams, hinge-end down around the inside edge of the dish. Re-cover and cook for 5 minutes or until clams open. Prick plastic to release steam.
• Remove from oven and uncover. Stir in tomato puree and arrange mussels, hinge-end down, in the center of the dish. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, or until mussels open.
• If using plastic, prick to release steam. Remove from oven and uncover. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 4 minutes or until squid is opaque. Remove from oven and uncover. Stir in bacon pieces and serve.

CHICKPEA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Toss eggplant and oil in a 5-quart casserole with a lid. Cover and cook at 100 percent power in a high-power microwave oven for 6 minutes.
• Stir in wheat germ, tomato puree, soy sauce, garlic, onion, mushrooms and chickpeas. Place spinach on top (or if using defrosted, stir in) and sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Cook, covered, for 8 minutes.
• Pour peas in and grind black pepper into casserole. Mix, being sure to break up any clump of spinach. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and place cheese in one layer on top. Cook, uncovered, 4 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

BARBARA KAFKA'S SORREL SOUP

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the sorrel, and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until the sorrel has wilted. Add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. (The soup base can be made ahead to this point and refrigerated for as long as two days if the finished soup is to be served hot; if it is to be served cold, continue and then refrigerate. The finished soup improves after sitting for a day.)
• Beat the egg yolks and cream in a small bowl. Slowly ladle in some of the hot soup base, whisking constantly, until a third of it has been added. Whisking the remaining base in the saucepan, slowly pour in the egg-yolk mixture. Slowly bring to a boil, whisking constantly, until it is thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
• Remove from the heat. If serving hot, add salt to taste and serve immediately. If serving cold, refrigerate, whisking occasionally until it is fully chilled, to keep it smooth. If it is too thick, thin with a little milk. Add salt to taste before serving.