Chef Michael Salmon - Join me in my Kitchen
Soups
My Butternut Squash Soup recipe can be made with either chicken or vegetable stock and any variety of winter squash will work. Roasting the squash and carrots before making the soup adds another layer of depth to the soup and the nutmeg cream floating on top will melt into a creamy blanket, like a cappuccino.
Bisques are thick, rich soups usually made from shellfish like shrimp, crab and lobster. To make bisques, you need to use the whole raw crustaceans (with the heads and shells) to extract the flavor and develop deep character in the soup.
Seafood Chowders are real popular up here in New England and you will find them made with everything from clams and lobster to haddock and scallops. I use a combination of shrimp, scallops and crabmeat in this chowder recipe, but any type of seafood can be used, depending upon availability and personal likes and dislikes. Seasonal vegetable supplements can bring out the best in your Chowders: asparagus in the spring, corn in the summer and squash in the fall.
Tomato soup is great on a cold winter’s day, but it can be rather boring. Add some chopped basil, crisp croutons, or, as I did this week, I served it with a pepper jack grilled cheese sandwich that I made on some homemade olive sourdough bread made with Castelvertrano olives from Sicily. Another way to elevate this iconic soup is by smoking the tomatoes first. I highly recommend the Cameron’s stovetop smoker for this task, it is an amazing inexpensive kitchen tool that works great for smoking foods from vegetables and salmon fillets to hanger steak and pork tenderloin.
This is a nice hearty and meaty bean soup. Generally I use navy beans in this recipe but in Italy I usually make it with Cannellini beans. Diced carrots and celery can also be added once the soup is blended if desired. A nice crisp crostini that has been drizzled with extra virgin olive oil is a great side for the soup.
Mushroom soup is so hearty and earthy and can be so comforting as cool weather and fall settles in. I often supplement the portabella’s with wild mushrooms I forage from the local woodlands near my home and when I am in the Loire valley of France, we get Mushrooms that are grown in the ancient caves near our Chateau. In recent years, I started making this soup with a vegetable stock instead of the chicken stock for my vegetarian customers.
Vichyssoise is a chilled leek and potato soup that was first introduced to Americans in the summer of 1917 by a French Chef at the Ritz Carlton in New York City as a way to help cool the patrons. It is best to serve the soup slightly chilled, but not cold, as the intensity of the flavor lessens as it gets colder. In the cooler months the same soup can be served hot and is very satisfying on a cold winter night.
As nights begin to get cooler and with fall quickly approaching, I begin to think about making soups again. This has always been one my favorite fall soups. The richness of the sweet potatoes, a hint of rutabaga in the background, the tartness from the green apple, and the creamy-sweet sensation from the Maple Cream make this a well rounded and satisfying soup.
Creamy mussel soup with fava beans is one of my staple recipes on our Sicilian Foodie Adventures. It is always a crowd pleaser.
I love this vibrant colored soup with the contrasting whipped cream. Some crunchy nutmeg croutons and a sprig of fresh dill complete the soup.
Join me in my kitchen as I prepare recipes from my two cookbooks, European foodie trips and explore new inspirations.
