Sunday's Soup

I came across this picture in a magazine and it made me laugh, so I thought I would share it. If my dogs could talk, they would very quickly tell me the exact same thing!

Hopefully you will hear me through with this week's soup post. I have not lost my mind. I know that the mention of brussel sprouts will send many running. At one time, that would have included me. I came across an article that said that brussel sprouts need to be soaked in salt water for a few hours prior to cooking in order to remove the bitter taste. I decided to give it a try and I am now hooked on brussel sprouts.

If you want to give it a try, cut your brussel sprouts in quarters and place in a bowl. Pour a lot of good sea salt over them and

 cover with water.

Allow them to sit in the salt water for at least a couple of hours. I usually prepare my sprouts the night before, cover them with water, cover and place in the refrigerator over night. Before cooking, drain them and rinse well. I hope that I've convinced a few to give this a try, because as I said, there was a time that I wouldn't come near a sprout and now I love them. So today's soup is

Cream of Brussel Sprout Soup 

Garnished with Candied Pecans

ingredients;

4 cups of quartered brussel sprouts

1 large onion

2 cloves of garlic

3/4 cup of chopped celery

1 14oz. can of small white beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon of olive oil

2 tablespoons of butter

1 tablespoon of cornstarch

2 large cubes of Knorr vegetable bouillon

dash of nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

4 1/2 cups of water 

Heat oil in pan and saute chopped onion until slightly browned. Add garlic, celery and brussel sprouts. Continue to saute for about 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of water and cook until brussel sprouts are tender, about 20 minutes.  

Since the brussel sprouts are a little meatier than most vegetables, I transfer the vegetables to a food processor and blend until smooth. You can also blend them in a blender. This mixture will be rather thick. While the vegetables are still in the food processor, add the white beans. The beans give the soup a very mellow taste. Process once more until smooth. 

Before adding the vegetables back to the pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter, if you are vegan you can use olive oil, and whisk in 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Pour in 2 1/2 cups of water. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil and boil 1 minute. Stir in the vegetable mixture. If the soup is a little too thick, add more water until desired consistency. Add the bouillon, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cover and cook over a very low flame for about a half hour just to combine flavours.

Now for an interesting topping, make up some candied pecans. The sweet along with the vegetable taste is really delightful.

To make the candied pecans, combine 1/4 cup of pecans with 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a medium flame and continue to cook until the liquid has candied, stirring often. This will happen fairly quickly, so please be careful as if you don't watch the pot, you can quickly burn the pecans and your pot. As soon as the liquid is gone, pour pecans on a piece of wax paper and allow to cool. They are very tempting to eat at this point!!!

 For the soup, chop the pecans and garnish with a heaping teaspoon full. 

The crunchy, nutty and sweet taste is lovely with the taste of the brussel sprouts. A lovely soup, perfect for a special dinner or just for an everyday lunch.