Warming Soups

By Luci

Summer’s over. Get warmed up with hearty soups. Make a big batch so you will have lots to freeze.

Pork Shoulder

Every fall I make this, one of my favorite soups. And every fall I do it just a bit differently. The basic recipe is pork shoulder cooked with chicken broth, onion, garlic and herbs such as thyme, sage or rosemary. This year I made a number of changes. Instead of baking the pork and cutting it into bite-size pieces, I braised it with spices and herbs and, when done, shredded it. I used lots of onions and garlic, used beef, rather than chicken, broth for bigger flavor, spices for zip, a potato for thickening and black beans to make it substantial enough to serve as a main course. The result was a soup thickened with gelatin from the pork bones as well as the potato, very savory with depth and breadth of flavor, very filling, very warming. So good, it may be my go-to pork soup in the future.

Yield: 8 12-ounce servings

Ingredients

1 large (about 4 pounds) pork shoulder, shank end with skin and bones

Water to cover

2 large yellow onions, chopped fine

8 cloves garlic, chopped

3 1-inch slices fresh ginger

1 bunch thyme - about 20 sprigs

3 2-inch stems of rosemary

4 sprigs of mint (optional -used just because I had it)

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

2 quarts beef broth

1 large baking potato, peeled and chopped fine

2 14-ounce cans black beans

Salt and pepper

Preparation

1. Make a packet of the thyme, rosemary and mint. Loop a very long strand of thread around the packet a number of times to hold them together, allowing for easy removal when soup is done.

2. Place pork in a large pot and cover, just barely, with cold water. Add onions, garlic, ginger, thyme, rosemary, mint, cloves, coriander, and cardamom. Bring water to boil, turn heat down and cover almost completely with lid. Simmer, turning once, until a fork easily shreds the pork, about 3 hours. Remove the pork from the pot and set aside.

3. Add to the pot the broth, potato, and black beans. Bring to a boil, turn heat down, cover almost completely and simmer for 1/2 hour. 

4. While the broth, etc. is simmering, remove the meat from the skin and bones and shred with a fork or fingers. I had about 1 1/2 pounds of meat.

5. Combine the pork with the broth and simmer for 1/2 hour.

6. Remove the herb packet and ginger slices before serving.

Persimmon and Apple Soup

Persimmon soup is perfect in fall. Persimmons have bright orange fall color, are very sweet when ripe, full of rich flavor with a touch of spice. Herbs, apples and apple cider produce greater complexity and brighter flavor in a soup. While not as strong in taste as the pork shoulder soup, its color, fragrance and vivid taste do the warm-up job.

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter

3 small leeks, white and light green parts only, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

5 cups chicken stock, preferably home-made

1 cup apple cider

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

3 tart apples such as Granny Smith, peeled and chopped

1½ teaspoons salt

1½ teaspoons pepper

6 ripe Fuyu persimmons*, roughly chopped

*Note: Use Fuyu persimmons, rather than Hachiyas. The latter are tricky - incredibly delicious when you use them during the short period when they are ripe. Before ripeness, their tannins are unbearable; when overripe and mushy, they are almost equally inedible.

Garnish: Rosemary sprigs

Preparation

1. Make soup. Over medium heat, melt the butter in a large pot. Add leeks and sauté 3 -5 minutes, until soft. 

2. Add sage, thyme and rosemary and cook for about 1 minute. 

3. Add chicken stock, apple cider, cinnamon, cloves, apples, salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until leeks are very soft. Add persimmons and simmer for 5 minutes. 

4. Puree in blender. Gently reheat. Do not allow to boil. Top each serving with 1 or 2 sprigs of rosemary.