Sunday Soup #43: Crock Pot White Bean French Onion Soup

A little different this week, as I thought I was making soup for just my family but ended up taking it over for an impromptu dinner with friends, so it turned into soup as a first course instead of the main meal. Friends are the spice of life, and they make everything taste that much better, but did they help this soup? Let's see...

This recipe came from: http://thebusybaker.ca/crock-pot-white-bean-french-onion-soup/

*Pic 1 - From http://thebusybaker.ca/crock-pot-white-bean-french-onion-soup/

Variations from Recipe as Written: I used 1 tbsp of dried thyme (because I already had it on hand) instead of the 2 tbsp of fresh thyme leaves called for by the recipe. And, because I am a carnosaur, I added a smoked meaty hambone to the mix after the onions were caramelized.

General Thoughts: I am not exactly sure what expected of this one... I love French Onion soups because they usually pack great flavor, but they are not usually filling. While most bean soups are hearty and filling, but sometimes they tend to be a bit bland. So this recipe intrigued me because it seemed to promise the best of both worlds. The prep was really, really easy, particularly since I bought pre-diced onions at the store (sorry, chopping the onions myself makes me cry so badly!). Total prep time only took me about 5 minutes, which was terrific, but then (of course) it was a slow cooker recipe, so total cook time was about 8 hours.

*Pic 2 - Picture from when I made it

I was really counting on the meaty ham bone, slow cooked for 3+ hours in the soup, to impart some solid flavor to the mix, and for the most part, it delivered. Although it did not add to the saltiness of the soup as much as I expected, it imparted a good smoked porky flavor (go figure), and there is just something about ham in a bean soup that is hard to beat!

The diced onions, while not strongly contributing to the taste on their own, definitely gave the soup the feeling of French Onion.  They were perfectly textured and provided a nice contrast to the firmer beans and pieces of meat. I thought the parmesan cheese and croutons were also good additions as garnishes and added to the textural variety (which I enjoy in my soups).

As for the spices, I thought the thyme taste overpowered the others (oregano, pepper, and salt), possibly owing to having used the dried rather than the fresh, but that was not necessarily a problem for me.

Potential Improvements? Not much, but I'd probably cut the thyme in half (if I used dried again), and maybe salt it a little more heavily.

Polling the Fam: Because of the way this one was presented, I didn't get the more in-depth reactions from my eaters that I normally ask for. For my part, I really enjoyed it... I found it warm and hearty, with good flavor overall and the ability to satisfy the craving for bean soup I've had lately.  This is a good Fall/Winter soup, in my opinion, and I would definitely make it again! Some of the other comments I heard were that people seemed to like it overall, although some were put off by the strong thyme flavor and thought it might have had a few too many onions.

Verdict: Liked it. (4 stars)

Sunday Soup #42: Hearty Poblano Beef Stew

This recipe called to me as soon as I saw it... Hearty, you say? Beefy, you say? With green chiles to boot?! Yes, please!! But, did it live up to my expectations...? Let's see...

This recipe came from: http://littlespicejar.com/hearty-poblano-beef-stew/

*Pic 1 - From http://littlespicejar.com/hearty-poblano-beef-stew/

Variations from Recipe as Written: I made 1.5x the recipe. And, not really a "change," since the recipe said it could be omitted, but I did include the chipotle pepper in adobo sauce.

General Thoughts: As you may know from reading my previous posts, I am not crazy about roasting my own chiles, generally... I can do it well enough, and it is generally necessary to bring forth proper flavors, but it does add a significant amount of prep time to most recipes, particularly if I am preparing them in volume. For this recipe, I roasted five peppers, so it wasn't a tremendous amount, but overall it put this recipe into the "medium prep work" category; not super easy, but not an overwhelming amount of work either. A soup's flavor can, of course, make almost any amount of prep work worth it, so I was hoping this one delivered...

*Pics 2 & 3 - Pictures from when I made it

First, the good... It lived up to its name, as it was definitely hearty! It was filling and gave me that deep-down warm feeling that a good stew should. The meat was tender, the potatoes were perfectly done, and I didn't even mind the diced tomatoes (I often purée them). Finally, it is actually quite healthy... And, if you were to swap the Idaho potatoes for sweet potatoes (more on this later), it'd be even better for you.

But, unfortunately, there were some glaring issues with this one, as well, which kept it from being a great recipe, in my opinion.  Most importantly, I felt like this one suffered from the plight of many stews: it was just plain bland. It didn't have enough salt, the beef lacked the proper savor, it didn't have enough varied spices (really, just cumin and oregano, but neither in sufficient quantity to be very strong), and it lacked enough spiciness (even with the chipotle in adobo) and "bite" in the broth to make it interesting for me.

I sometimes steer clear of stews and taco/tortilla soups, in general, because I feel like the different recipes (in each of those categories) taste too similar to each other (i.e., "if you've had one, you've had them all"). There are certainly exceptions (definitely see the post for my Sunday Soup #18: Okertoberfest Stew - https://soupersleuth.blogspot.com/2016/10/sunday-soup-18.html), but this stew was, unfortunately, not one of them. It was definitely a standard "stew" with meat and potatoes and nothing much remarkable... Bottom line: It was definitely okay, and I'd definitely eat it again if somebody served it to me, but it was just kinda "meh" overall.

Potential Improvements? My bowl was greatly helped when I added two things: more salt and some vinegar from a jar of pickled jalapeños. So, you could try adding things like that to the whole pot, anything to give it a more distinct flavor. I think I definitely would have marinated the meat for a couple of hours prior to cooking; something like my pre-pozole pork marinade (https://soupersleuth.blogspot.com/2016/05/sunday-soup-10-crock-pot-pork-pozole.html) would have worked well. Finally, although I am not a fan of sweet potatoes generally, I actually think that swapping out the Idaho potatoes for sweet potatoes would have done quite a bit to give this stew a unique character and improve its flavor.

Polling the Fam: I made it clear above, but I wasn't super crazy about this one. Becky said she'd have preferred the tomatoes to be puréed, but she actually thought the beef was fine and that it had decent flavor overall, though she wasn't knocked off her feet by it.  Hunter's reaction was similar to mine, and he simply shrugged and said it was "okay." Fox said he did not care for it really at all, although he could not explain why he didn't like it (hey, sometimes you just like what you like, ya know?).

Verdict: Not a fan. (2 stars)

Sunday Soup #41: Creamy Reuben Soup

It was just Hunter and me this week, so we went with a soup that appealed to our adventurous tastes! Enjoy!

This recipe came from: https://theblondcook.com/creamy-reuben-soup/

*Pic 1 - https://theblondcook.com/creamy-reuben-soup/

Variations from Recipe as Written: I made 1.5x the recipe. I used about 1/8-cup more sour cream and about 1/4-pound more corned beef than called for. Then, the biggest change that I was forced to make was because I could not find any pre-cooked deli-corned beef. So, instead I bought a raw corned beef roast, dropped it into the Instant Pot with its spice packet and a spoonful of diced garlic, and cooked it for an hour... *presto* cooked corned beef, ready for slicing and use in this soup recipe!

General Thoughts: I always try to be up front with my loyal readers (all three of you - LOL) about when I have doubts or questions about a recipe, particularly as I am preparing it. In this case, I had misgivings about the fact that there did not seem to be any starch (like potatoes) in the recipe, which could mean no bulk (which means it may not be hardy or filling). But, I am happy to report, it was hearty enough without any kind of bulk starch added. You can certainly add potatoes if you want, but it didn't need them, and who ever heard of potatoes on a reuben sandwich?! This soup turned out to be the perfect thickness, maintaining a brothy feel but chock full yummy sauerkraut, onions, and (to a lesser extent) corned beef.

*Pics 2 & 3 - Pictures from when I made it

This soup was quite easy to make. Minimal chopping and slicing, and little bit of sautéeing, and voilá! Admittedly, having to cook my own corned beef roast was a little more work, but even that was a piece of cake... Two thumbs way, way up for ease of preparation!

The flavor of this soup was excellent! That is, the flavor was excellent IF YOU LIKE SAUERKRAUT. Granted, it wasn't the same as digging a fork right into a can of raw sauerkraut, because being cooked in the soup softened the bite a little, but there was still a strong vinegar tang (which Hunter and I love, so it was great for us). With the addition of the corned beef, the swiss cheese, and some cracked pepper, the soup really did remind me of the flavors you get from a good reuben sandwich. And, while I did not have a loaf of rye bread handy - which would have been terrific, adding some Triscuits (Original Flavor) as a garnish provided just enough of a caraway-rye taste to compliment it quite nicely.

Hunter and I also ate this one leftover... It was just as good (if not better) as leftovers, so feel free to make it in bulk!

Potential Improvements? Only one, but it was a big one for me... It definitely needed more corned beef.  The next time I make it, I think I will use (at least) double the amount of corned beef called for by the recipe. If it were more meaty, it would have been darn near perfect! Also, I noted that this recipe could be made 100% paleo and gluten-free with only small changes that would probably never even be noticed, if you were so inclined.

Polling the Fam: As I said, just two of us ate this one, so short and sweet... For me, I felt this soup was very good and would be perfect for a cool fall day. It was hearty, (very) flavorful, and just plain yummy! Hunter said he thought it was really good, surprisingly filling (agreed!), and he wouldn't change a thing about it. We'd both definitely eat it again!

Verdict: Liked it. (4 stars)