Green Rooibus-Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

I contribute recipes to the blog of my friends' tea company, Arbor Teas. Here is a recipe that uses one of their teas as a foundation for a soup broth.

If you enjoy drinking non-caffeinated and herbal teas, then surely by now you have experienced African rooibus. And perhaps you’ve even learned how to pronounce it properly too (hint: ROY-bus). But have you tried green rooibus, yet? It’s an unoxidized version of traditional (oxidized) rooibus that tastes lighter, less sweet and more herbal compared to its counterpart. These qualities also make green rooibus infusions a perfect foundation for soup broth. Here I blend green rooibus with roasted butternut squash, garlic, onions and cream for a wonderfully rich and herbal wintertime soup. It whips up without too much trouble and freezes nicely if you’d like to have a meal at the ready as the busy holiday months approach us.

Green Rooibus-Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

serves 4

4 cups water
3 TBS Organic green rooibus tea leaves
2 lb butternut squash, split in half lengthwise and seeds scooped
3 cloves garlic sliced
olive oil
1 medium onion, finely sliced
2 cups heavy cream
salt, fresh ground pepper and fresh ground nutmeg to taste


1. Bring water and organic green rooibus to a boil in a small sauce pan. Simmer for 5 minutes, then top with a lid and remove from heat. Allow rooibus to infuse while you proceed to the next step.
2. Preheat oven to 350° F.
3. Place the halved butternut squash on a roasting pan, sprinkle with the sliced garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Roast until slightly browned and soft, 45 minutes to an hour.
4. Heat a bit of olive oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion until translucent. Turn off heat and set aside. Reserve saucepan, without wiping clean for the final steps of simmering the soup.
5. Scoop roasted garlic slices and squash from its skin into the canister of a blender. Add the sautéed onions and then strain the rooibus broth into the canister. Blend until completely smooth.
6. Pour the soup back into the saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally and scraping up any browned bits left behind from sautéing the onions.
7. Add the cream, salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg to taste. Bring to a simmer again and heat gently for 10 minutes more. Do not allow to boil.

Brunswick Stew, a southern classic

The day before Easter I cooked a rabbit. What might be considered slightly more offensive is that I fed it to the neighbor kids... in a stew. Before then, I'd never cooked rabbit nor tasted one for that matter. Honestly, I was a little squeamish at the notion of either. I think the timing of the holiday was the exact, cheeky impetus I needed to execute (the traditional approach to) this recipe. Besides, my Easter basket arrived via the US Postal Service a few days early. Really, there was very little to lose.

Recipes for Brunswick Stew vary greatly but it is usually a tomato-based stew containing lima beans or butter beans, corn, okra, other miscellaneous vegetables, and one or more types of meat. Most recipes claiming authenticity call for squirrel or rabbit meat, but for the less adventurous, chicken, pork, and beef are also commonly acceptable. The stew resembles a vegetable soup with meat. What distinguishes Brunswick Stew from vegetable soup, though, is the consistency. Most variations are quite thick, having more meat and vegetables than broth. In fact, it's been said that Brunswick stew is not finished simmering “until the paddle [used to stir it] stands up in the middle” of the pot on its own.

This version of the stew has a distinctly smokey taste imparted by simmering with good quality bacon. The slight gaminess of the rabbit also adds an interesting spiced nuance. Rabbit is actually a fairly lean white meat, so the healthfulness factor is quite favorable. A third element integral to building the flavor of this stew is using a homemade chicken stock. It makes a world of difference, so is worth the little extra effort it entails. My new favorite stock recipe is thoroughly detailed in The Zuni Cafe Cookbook, and a good explanation of Judy Rodgers' tips are given here. A key difference from most other stock recipes is her preference to use a whole, fresh chicken (head and feet included, yet minus the breast meat). I'm quite proud to say I (a person with raw meat squeamishness) made this meat-laden meal, entirely on my own! ...though gratefully the chicken I purchased from my local butcher did not still have its head or feet intact.

One final stew ingredient I used that's worth mentioning is the gorgeous Christmas Lima Beans from Rancho Gordo. These chubby, heirloom beans are true limas originating from Peru. They have a distinct chestnut flavor and taste nothing like the much tinier, green ones I avoided as a kid. If you enjoy cooking with dried beans, Rancho Gordo is a fantastic resource for the more unusual varieties.

The 2010 April Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Wolf of Wolf’s Den. She chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make Brunswick Stew. Wolf chose recipes for her challenge from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt Lee and Ted Lee, and from the Callaway, Virginia Ruritan Club.

Brunswick Stew
From Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook: Stories and Recipes for Southerners and Would-Be Southerners by Matt Lee and Ted Lee
Serves about 12

¼ lb slab applewood-smoked bacon, thickly sliced
2 Serrano, Thai or other dried red chiles, stems trimmed, sliced, seeded, flattened
1 lb rabbit, quartered, skinned
4-5 lb chicken, quartered, skinned, and most of the fat removed
1 TBS sea salt for seasoning, plus extra to taste
2-3 quarts Homemade Chicken Stock (I recommend the recipe in the Zuni Cafe Cookbook)
2 bay leaves
2 large celery stalks
2 lbs potatoes, diced
1½ cups carrots (about 5 small carrots), chopped
3½ cups onion (about 4 medium onions) chopped
2 cups corn kernels, cut from the cob (about 4 ears) or fresh frozen
3 cups Christmas Lima Beans, cooked and drained
35 oz can whole, peeled tomatoes, drained
¼ cup red wine vinegar
Juice of 2 lemons
Hot sauce to taste

In a 10-12 quart stockpot, fry the bacon over medium-high heat until it just starts to crisp. Transfer to a large bowl, and set aside. Reserve most of the bacon fat in your pan, and with the pan on the burner, add in the chiles. Toast the chiles until they just start to smell good, or make your nose tingle, about a minute. Remove to bowl with the bacon.

Season liberally both sides of the rabbit and chicken pieces with sea salt and pepper. Place the rabbit pieces in the pot and sear off all sides possible. You just want to brown them, not cook them completely. Remove to bowl with bacon and chiles, add more bacon fat if needed, or olive oil, or other oil of your choice, then add in chicken pieces, again, browning all sides nicely. Don't crowd your pieces, especially if you have a narrow bottomed pot. Put the chicken in the bowl with the bacon, chiles and rabbit. Set this aside.

Add 2 cups of chicken stock to the pan to deglaze, making sure to loosen the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. The stock will become a rich dark color. Bring it up to a boil and let it boil until reduced by at least half. Add the remaining stock, bay leaves, celery, potatoes, chicken, rabbit, bacon, chiles and any liquid that may have gathered at the bottom of the bowl they were resting in. Bring the pot back up to a low boil/high simmer, over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and cover the pot. Simmer, on low, for approximately 1½ hours, stirring every 15 minutes or so to thoroughly meld the flavors.

With a pair of tongs, remove the chicken and rabbit pieces to a colander over the bowl you used earlier. By this time, the meats will be very tender and may start falling off the bone. Remove the bay leaf, celery, chiles, bacon and discard. When cool enough to handle, carefully remove all the meat from the bones, shredding it as you go. Return the meat to the pot and discard the bones. Add the carrots to the pot, and stir gently, allowing it to come back to a slow simmer. Simmer gently, uncovered, for at least 25 minutes, or until the carrots have started to soften.

Add the onion, lima beans, corn and tomatoes. As you add the tomatoes, crush them carefully. Simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring every so often until the stew has reduced slightly, and onions, corn and lima beans are tender. Remove from heat and add in the vinegar and lemon juice. Stir to blend in well. Season to taste with sea salt, pepper, and hot sauce if desired.

Dragon Well (Green Tea) Chicken Noodle Soup

I often contribute recipes to the blog of my friends' tea company, Arbor Teas. Here is the latest recipe I developed using one of their teas.

The health benefits of green tea seem to be popping up perpetually in the news these days. Just recently a published study found that drinking green tea increases the effectiveness of antibiotics. Good news for those suffering this flu and cold season! Another well-vetted remedy for these ailments is a humble bowl of chicken soup. Why not combine the two to give your immune system an additional boost? Yes, green tea can be incorporated into the broth of the soup, but did you consider for an extra-added health benefit that the steeped leaves could also be eaten—as a vegetable? Go ahead; incorporate some of the unfurled tea leaves within the soup instead of discarding them in the compost bin.

In developing this recipe, I played quite a bit with the ratio of green tea to chicken broth. The tea adds subtle notes of astringency as its smooth, light-bodied flavor competes with the aromatic celery, parsley and peppercorns on the palate. Be it your goal to boldly bring forward the tea’s flavor or to creatively incorporate more green tea in your diet, try playing with the ratios yourself to suit your taste preferences. A good starting point is 1 teaspoon of loose tea per 1 cup of chicken stock. Interestingly, the noodles absorb the green tea flavor and color as they cook in the soup, providing yet another vehicle with which to consume the tea. As for any soup or stew, homemade stock makes all the difference in this recipe, adding a level of clarity and richness to the flavor. It is well worth the extra time it entails.

Wishing you wellness this winter!

Dragon Well (Green Tea) Chicken Noodle Soup
Serves 4-6

1 whole roasting chicken, rinsed well
1 large onion, quartered
6 carrots, divided
4 celery stalks, divided
One bunch of parsley, stems and leaves separated
6 ounces pappardelle (or other wide style) egg noodles (I used Pasta é Pasta-brand made in Michigan!)
About 3 TBS loose, organic green tea such as Dragon Well (Lung Ching) from my friends at Arbor Teas
1 TBS (plus more to taste) salt
1 TBS (plus more to taste) whole peppercorns

In a large stockpot, combine the chicken with onion, 3 carrots and 2 celery stalks cut into two or three pieces, parsley stems, salt and peppercorns. Add 8 cups water (or just enough to cover chicken) to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently for about 30 minutes. Skim and discard impurities from the top frequently.

When it is fully cooked, remove the chicken from the pot. Shred meat from bone when cool enough to handle. Reserve the shredded chicken for later use in the soup, and then return the carcass to the stockpot. Continue simmering, uncovered for 3 hours or more, adding water as needed to keep the carcass covered. Taste the stock and season with salt and pepper accordingly. When stock has reached desired richness, strain into a clean heatproof bowl, discarding all solids. Let the broth cool, uncovered, and then chill in the refrigerator (or force chilling more rapidly in an ice bath).

When ready to finish soup, skim the fat from the stock and return it to a stockpot with 3 carrots and 2 celery stalks roughly diced, chopped parsley, and the shredded chicken. Bring the soup to just above a simmer. Withdraw about a cup or two of broth and pour through a steel mesh tea filter or disposable t-sac filter bag containing about 3 tablespoons of green tea leaves. Allow tea to steep for 5 minutes.

While the tea is steeping stir the dry noodles into the soup. When steeping is complete, return green tea broth to the stockpot, adding a portion of the steeped tea leaves as well. Continue to simmer about 5-10 minutes more or until the carrots are crisp tender and the noodles are soft. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper before serving.

Pho Ga – Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

The October 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge was brought to us by Jaden of the blog Steamy Kitchen. This recipe is from her new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.

As a broth-based soup, Pho (pronounced Fuh? as if you were asking a question) is only as good as the stock used for its foundation. Sure you can create a quick meal with a store-bought version veiled with spice additions, but it will never achieve the depth of flavor and overall satisfaction that comes from slow simmering in the DIY vein. The provenance of the stock I used kindly came from an earnestly adventurous and slightly River Cottage-obsessed friend. He learned to butcher and process a pasture-raised broiler chicken at Back Forty Acres, a farm just in the next town over. If you are familiar with the writing of Michael Pollan or the philosophy of Joel Salatin, than this is the stuff of which Polyface Farms is made: sustainable, pasture-based, local farming. Ironically, I used to live a short distance from Polyface, but never knew of its existence until I moved to Michigan, and the sustainable farming notion resurged with national press.

That very evening of the kill I was invited to dinner. AT LAST! This was my chance to taste fresh chicken, the chicken of the past, chicken that wasn’t raised in a CAFO and actually dined on grass: a chicken that genuinely tastes like, well, chicken. I gladly partook in the family-style roasted chicken feast and then knowing Pho was in my cooking queue promptly inquired as to the intentions for the stock. This particular stock was made from the carcass simmering for over half a day with carrots and kale and leeks and onion and garlic and thyme and bay leaf. It had the familiar aroma of Thanksgiving. Lucky for me plenty was available for this comforting soup, making it that much more special or, if you will, in more colorfully descriptive terms: pho-king amazing!

Pho Ga Recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients:
For Broth:

1 onion, unpeeled and cut in half

1 3-inch piece of ginger, unpeeled

2 TBS whole coriander seeds

4 whole cloves

2 whole star anise


2 quarts chicken stock

1 whole chicken breast (bone in or boneless)

1 to 2 TBS sugar

1 to 2 TBS fish sauce

1 lb. dried rice noodles (¼-inch wide)

Accompaniments:
2 cups bean sprouts
Fresh cilantro
½ cup sliced red onions

1 lime, cut into wedges

Sliced fresh chili peppers

Directions:

Place ginger and onion on a small baking sheet. The top of the onion should be about 4-inches from the heating element. Set to broil on high for 15 minutes. Turn the onion and ginger occasionally, to get an even char. The skin should get dark and both should get soft. After cooling, rub the onion to get the charred skin off; peel the ginger and cut into thick slices.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cloves and star anise. Toast until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a small dish to prevent burning.

In a large pot combine broth, charred onion, ginger, toasted spices, chicken, sugar and fish sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes, skimming the surface if necessary. Meanwhile, prepare rice noodles as directed on the package.

Once chicken breasts are cooked, use tongs to remove. Shred the meat with your fingers, discarding the bone if applicable. Strain broth and discard solids.

To serve, ladle the broth into bowls, add shredded chicken breast and noodles. Allow each person to customize their own bowl with additional accompaniments.