Taco Soup

 

I love Mexican food, especially a good hearty taco soup. The first time I had one, a friend of mine prepared it quickly for her kids in a slow cooker. She only added the absolut necessary ingredients (beef, taco seasioning, cans of beans, corn, tomatoes). Despite it being such a "quick" and simple dish, it just tasted delishes. 

Here is my recipe. As always, I went a tiny bit fancier than necessary (adding carrots, jalapenos, and some more spices).

** And don't forget the Toppings **

They are the fun part of this dish :) Here, I defenitely recommend the crispy taco chips, but also the buttery/ creamy avacado, light sour cream and the tangy cilantro and lime juice.

** Copycat Taco Seasoning **

(in case you do not have a fancy Mc Cormick package ready at hand)

Mix of 2 tsp chili powder, 3 tsp cumin, 1 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp pepper flakes, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper

 

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp oil
  
• 1 onion - roughly chopped 
• 300g ground beef
  
• 2 cloves garlic - minced
• 1 chili - sliced
  
• 2 Tbsp jalapenos - diced
  
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup bell pepper - diced
  
• 1/2 cup carrots - diced
• 2-3 Tbsp of Taco Seasoning (mix of chili, paprika, oregano, cumin, salt, oinion, garlic, etc.)
  
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 1 can tomatoes (diced)
• 2 tomatoes - choped
  
• 1-2 cups water
  
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1/2 can corn
• 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
  
• salt, pepper, cayenne pepper to taste
  

Toppings:

• taco chips
  
• sour cream
• avocado
• fresh cilantro or parsley 
• lime wedges
  
• spring onion
• jalapenos
• shredded cheese
  

 

Preparation: 

Brown the Beef

Heat up the oil, add the onions and let fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the beef and break it down. Give it a good stir, then add the garlic, chili and jalapenos. Let fry for about 5 minutes till the beef has browned.

Now, add the tomatoe paste and mix good. Add the small pieces of carrots and bell pepper, the taco seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir and fry for a another 5 minutes.

Cook the Soup

Fill up the pot with water, canned and fresh tomatoes. Stir. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Then add the beans and corn. Let simmer for about 10 minutes till the carrots and bell pepper are soft. The beans only need to be heated through. 

 

To finish up, squeeze in some fresh pressed lime juice and season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste.

Serve with the toppings

Add a dollop of sour cream in the middle of your soup bowl, add a few avocado cubes, sprinkle with fresh cilantro (or parsley). For some crunch add some spring onion and crumble up some taco chips.

 

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My Mom's "Linsensuppe Süß-Sauer " (Lentilsoup, sweet-sour)

This is another of my Mom's dishes that I did not eat as a child. I just never fancied the German "Linsen & Spätzle". However, this is not your usual version. There are no "Spätzle" and it is a soup. And also, it is sweet-sour. As an adult, I just tried it one more time when my mother cooked it and suddenly, I really enjoyed the sweet-sour taste and could not stop eating it :)

Note: Best to use a mix of soft and hard lentils. The smaller ones (e.g., Berglinsen) will dissolve almost completely, while the bigger ones (e.g., Tellerlinsen) stay harder and will add some bite to the soup.

Ingredients:

• 150-200g brown lentils (e.g., Berg-, Tellerlinsen)
• water and salt
• 4-5 medium sized potatoes
• 4 tablespoons vinegar
• 1.5 teaspoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons margarine
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3-4 wiener sausages (or "Fleischwurst", similar to bologna)

Preparation:

Start the soup

In a big pot, cover lentils completely with water. Add salt. Bring to a boil and let cook for about 30 minutes with the lid half closed. Peel and cut potatoes in small cubes and add to the lentils. Let cook for another 25 minutes till potatos are soft. Now, add vinegar and sugar, bring to a boil.

Prepare the roux

Melt margarine in a frying pan at low heat, add the flour. It needs to be more on the liquid side. Keep stirring occasionally and let simmer. The roux needs to bubble up ("sweating"), thicken and turn a light milk chocolate brown.

Finish the soup

Add the roux to the soup, bit by bit. Keep stiring and bring it to a low boil. The soup will thicken up. Season to taste with more salt, vinegar and sugar. At the end, add the wiener sausages. They only need to be heated up for a couple of minutes. Serve.

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Pasta e Fagioli Soup - An Olive Garden copycat

I have to admit I am a bit ambiguous about those American chain restaurants. Especially while living there, I tried to avoid them at the beginning... Later on, I discovered that I really do like some of them. They are not quite as low as the fast food chains but also not quite as fancy as the high end restaurants. They serve comfort food and sometimes really good food :)

One of those chain restaurants I like is Olive Garden. They are famous for their option of unlimited soup and salad. I have tried all the soups and the pasta e fagioli is by far my favorite. The salad is pretty good too though ;)

Pasta e fagioli means pasta and bean soup. I am using three kinds of beans, the red kidney beans and then also small and big white beans (navy and great nothern beans).

This is my spin on the Olive Garden version and I made a few changes. I used ground beef and not Italian sausage, and I added a little bit of zuchhini and bell pepper.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup uncooked ditalini pasta

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 300g ground beef 
• 3 cloves garlic - minced
• 1 onion (ca. 1.5 cups) - diced
• 2 carrots (ca. 1 cup) - diced
• 2 stalks celery (ca. 1 cup) - diced
• 1/2 zucchini (ca. 1/2 cup) - diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper (ca. 1/2 cup) - diced

• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 0.5 l vegetable broth
• 1-2 cups water

• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried majoram
• 1/2 tsp savory
• salt and pepper to taste

• 1 can red kidney beans - drained and rinsed
• 1 can navy beans - drained and rinsed
• 1/2 can Great Nothern beans - drained and rinsed

Serve with:

• fresh parsley
• fresh grated parmesan
• crusty bread
• red wine

Preparation:

Prepare the pasta

In a large pot, bring water with some salt to a boil and add the uncooked ditalini pasta. Cook a little less than package instructions, keep them really al dente, as they will still cook a bit in the soup. Drain and set aside.

Prepare the soup

Heat the oil in a large pot, add the ground beef and cook till browned, for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and vegetables (onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, bell pepper). Cook and stir occasionally for another 5 minutes till vegetables are a bit tender, but not too soft. 

Fill up with tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, vegetable broth and water. Stir. Season with the dried herbs and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer uncovered for about 10-15 minutes till vegetables are soft.

Note: If you do not have each of the dried herbs, you can substitute with 4-5 tsp dried Italien herb mix. 

Finish the soup

Add the cooked pasta and the drained beans. Stir and heat up for about 2 minutes. Adjust the seasioning and the thickness of the soup. If you like it a bit thinner, add some more water. If it is not thick enough, add some sauce thickener (e.g., flour and water or tomato paste).

Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve with fresh parmesan and along crusty bread and a glass of red wine.

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My Mom's "Rindfleischsuppe" (beef based veggie soup)

The name of this soup is a little misleading. It is called "beef" soup because the soup's broth is beef based. However, that beef is way to fatty to eat (at least to me), so you don't actually have beef to eat in the soup. It is not a beef stew kind of soup.

It is more or less a hearty veggie soup with a beef broth as a base. And it is inspired by our famous family holiday recipe "Cous Cous" :) Everything is just on a way smaller scale, cooks faster and is less a stew than a watery soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 teapsoon butter (or margerine)
• stewing beef (very fatty, with bones)
• 1/2 cup finely diced onion (1 onion)
• 2 tablespoons tomatoe paste
• 1 tablespoon harissa
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 clove garlic (optional)
• 1 l water

• 2 cups of leek ringletts (2 leeks)
• 2 cups of small diced zucchini (1 big zucchini)
• 2 cups of small diced potatoes (4 potatoes)
• 2 cups of small cut carrots (2-3 carrots)
• 2 cups of chickpeas (or 1 can)
• salt, pepper, vegeta to taste 
• parsley

• optional: serve with instant cous cous

 

Preparation:

Step 1 - Preparing the broth

Heat the oil and butter in a big pot. Add the stewing beef and fry quickly from all sides. You need to use very fatty beef with bones. The beef is not supposed to be eaten afterwards. You can add a second piece of more tender beef for eating if you prefer some meat in your soup.
Then add the finely chopped onion, tomatoe paste, harissa, salt and pepper. If you want, also add a full clove of garlic, that you just give a quick squash to release the flavor. Stir the mix and let fry for a few minutes till onions are translucent. They should not turn brown. Now, fill up the pot with water till meat is covered. Let simmer at medium heat for 1 to 1.5 hours till the beef is soft.

Step 2 - Adding the veggies

In the meantime, cut the veggies in very small pieces: Cut the leeks lengthwise and then slice it into half ringletts. Cut the zucchini in half lenthwise and then each half additional two times lenthwise, then slice it. Dice the potatoes in small cubes of 0.5cm. Cut the carrot twice lenthwise (so that you have quarters lenthwise) and then slice it.
When the beef broth is ready, add first the carrots and let cook for about 5 minuts. Carrots are the hardest veggies and take the most time. Then add the leek, zucchini, potatoes, and chickpeas and let cook for another 5-10 minutes. The veggies schould be soft. Now, season it with salt, pepper and vegeta to taste. Sprinkle some chopped parsley on top.

You may serve it over a little cous cous at the bottom of the plate or at the side. The 5-minute instant cous cous, prepared according to package instructions, works fine.

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Minted Pea Soup

This is another great recipe from the "Ultimate Vegetarian". I was craving a pea soup but didn't want to go boring. So, this minted pea soup with nice toppings sounded delicious.

Ingredients:

• Oil
• 2 onions - chopped
• 4 potatoes - chopped
• 4 garlic gloves - crushed
• 1 inch fresh ginger - peeled and chopped
• 1 red chili - chopped
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 3 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 lb frozen peas
• 3 tbsp chopped mint
• salt, pepper, cayenne pepper
• 2/3 cup plain yoghurt
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 1/4 cups milk

• Toppings: mint sprig, chili slices, drizzle of plain yoghurt, dash of cayenne pepper, crumbled feta cheese 

Preparation:

1. Heat the oil, add the onions and potatoes and fry for about 3 minutes till onions are translucent. Stir frequently. 
2. Add the garlic, ginger, chili, coriander, cumin and flour and stir. Cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine and cook for another minute.
3. Fill with vegetable stock. Add the peas and mint. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Let simmer for 15 minutes. 
4. Blend the soup till smooth and add pepper, salt and cayenne to taste. I used a hand immersion blender. Before I blended it, I took a few tablespoons of the pea - potato mix and set it aside for later. I like to have a few chunks in my soup. 
5. Blend the plain yoghurt till smooth as well as it sometimes has little chunks in it. Add the cornstarch and mix. Stir the yoghurt-cornstarch mix into the soup, add the milk and heat up until it almost boils. Cook for 2 minutes. 
6. Serve with some toppings and crusted bread. You can now also add the pea-potatoe mix that we set aside before blending. I especially loved to put in the crumbled feta cheese.

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Kiymet's Red Lentil Soup

This is another recipe from my work colleague (check also out her Börek and Poğaça recipe). It's a very quick and easy recipe and we used a few spare minutes at work to prepare it for lunch. It tasted delicious and made for a good team lunch.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 1/2 cups red lentils
• 1 onion - diced
• 1 potato - diced
• 1 carrot - diced
• 1 tablespoon paprika paste
• 1 1/2 l vegetable broth
• salt, pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon curry
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon dried herbs (e.g. mint, rosemary, parsely, thyme)
• 1 lemon
• crusty bread

Preparation:

1. Heat the oil. Add the red lentils, onion, potato, carrot and paprika paste and fry for about 5 minutes. Keep stirring frequently. Add salt and pepper.
2. Fill with the vegetable broth (or water and 1 tabelspoon ground vegetable broth seasoning). Boil with closed lid for about 15 minutes.
3. Add the remaining spices. Squeeze the lemon over the soup and serve with the bread.

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My Mom's "Kartoffelsuppe" (Potato soup)

This is on of my Mom's recipes I grew up with. It's perfect for spring time. A light but still hearty and flavorful soup, depending on how much of the sausages you add :)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 cured hard paprika sausages ("Bauernbratwurst) 
• 1 onion - diced
• 2 carrots - sliced

• 3-5 potatoes - cubes (1 inch)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• salt, pepper 
• 1 liter water 

• 1 leek - sliced
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 3 wiener sausages or 1/2 cup bologna (Fleischwurst) - sliced
• vegeta

• 2 tablespoon fresh parsley - chopped

Preparation:

Start the Base:

Heat the oil and butter. Add the paprika sausage and diced onions. Quickly sauté the onions and brown the sausages for about 2-3 minutes, be careful that the onions don't turn brown. Add the sliced carrots (hardest vegetables) and fry for a few more minutes. Stir occasionally.

Add the potato cubes (second hardest vegetables), tomato paste, salt and pepper and stir. Fry the potatoes for about 5 minutes, stir regularly to not brown the onions. Fill up with water, bring to a boil and let simmer at medium heat for about 10 minutes till the potatoes start to soften up.

Finish Up & Serve:

Now, add the leeks, the frozen peas and the sliced wiener sausage/bologna. These ingredients don't need long to cook. Let cook for 5 more minutes till potatoes are completely soft. Season with salt, pepper and vegeta to taste.

Use a potato masher and softly press into the soup for a few times to slightly squeeze the potatoes. Do not completely smash all of them. The soup should still be clear and there should still be bits of potatoes. You just want to break them up a little.

Sprinkle fresh parsley on top and serve with crusted bread and

cured paprika sausage (Bauernbratwurst)

This version uses sliced bologna (Fleischwurst)

This version uses sliced wiener sausages

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Three Bean Soup

I have my moments when I do not feel like eating a heavy or meaty dish. These are the moments when I try out a new soup. I just recently received this great and huge vegetarian cookbook ("Ultimate Vegetarian") from my friend Jamie's very nice mother that has amazing soups and indian spiced dishes. Now I am trying out a Three Bean Soup.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 red onion - halved and sliced
• 1/2 leek - sliced
• 1 carrot - diced into 1 inch pieces
• 2 potatoes - diced into 1 inch cubes
• 1 green chili - sliced
• 3 garlic gloves - crushed
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1/3 cup White wine
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can black beans - drained
• 1 can white or navy beans - half drained
• 1 can red kidney beans - half drained
• salt, pepper
• 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro - chopped (for garnish)

• Serve with crunchy bread

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the onion, leek, carrot and potatoes. Add salt and sauté for about 4 minutes until vegetables slightly softened. Stir constantly. 
2. Add the crushed garlic, chili, coriander and chili powder, stir and cook for another minute. 
3. Fill up with the vegetable stock and white wine. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
4. Now, add the can of tomatoes and stir in the 3 beans, add a little bit of the white and red bean canned water. That will thicken the soup a little bit and increase the flavor of the beans. Season with salt and pepper, stir and cook for another 5 minutes. 
5. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with crusty bread. 

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