My Kitchen Love

making everyday family meals extraordinary

Carrot Topped – Roasted Carrot Soup with Za’tar

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Roasted Carrot Soup with Za’tar is the direct result of me being that person in the grocery store buying giant bags of whatever produce is on sale. Produce that looks like it’s in prime condition of course. Loaded with carrots and feeling like getting cozy with a bowl, I’m pretty sure my decision tree was on track the day I made this. Carrots are always used as a flavour booster in braised or stewed dishes so why not have a flavour packed bowl of soup? Topped with a small dollop of yogurt and sprinkled with za’tar, I’m going to stay cozy with a bowlful of this Roasted Carrot Soup with Za’tar for many days to come.

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Bowl Full – Roasted Chicken Minestrone Soup

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Soups. Not the traditional type of comfort food we may think of, but I know that soup is my go-to comfort dish. Warmth, easy scents that can send me down memory lane and general ease of preparation make soup like a warm hug. Although we’re not quite out of summer, the thought of leaning over steaming hot liquid, wrapping my cold hands around the piping hot bowl, and inhaling the fragrant scents that seem to be welcomed breath have me craving soup regularly. Whether it’s a gourmet bowl of bisque or the ubiquitous red and white can of soup, they both have a way of grounding me unlike any other dish. This is another Canadian Food Creatives Collaboration with 9 Autumn Soups to send a bowlful of warmth your way. I made Roasted Chicken Minestrone as my contribution – a one pot meal that is ready to compensate for those colder, shorter days ahead. Big thanks to Diana of 365 Days of Easy Recipes for hosting!! Be sure to head to the end of this post to see all the soup recipes

Roasted Chicken Minestrone Soup | My Kitchen Love. Fall comfort food and a one pot meal!

The anticipation of eating is a wonderful experience. These days I’m making our dinners multiple hours in advance of suppertime and I often find myself literally wanting to dive in head first into these dishes. The house smells amazing. The kids want to know exactly what it is that I’m taking photos of (usually when I take photos it means the food is extra good, or as one of my twins says “this supper is extra yummy to me mommy”). And I can’t wait to see if all the recipe testing, planning, and effort has paid off. Making this Roasted Chicken Minestrone Soup, filled with fresh vibrant herbs was a pleasure … although the wait felt significant.

Roasted Chicken Minestrone Soup | My Kitchen Love. Fall comfort food and a one pot meal!

Up until recently, soups haven’t had much time at our supper table. Having very small children has limited the amount of soup I make due to the temperature (way too hot for them) and the difficulty of eating it (balancing thin liquids on a smaller spoon). I tried serving it at a cooler temperature in a cup for them to drink, but they still weren’t into it. This dish was much more successful. In large part because it was whole pieces of chicken and pasta – more stew-like, making it way easier for them to eat. I’m hoping that soup becomes a much more frequent dish for us as it’s easy to prepare in advance and make large batches of … making my life way easier. Don’t forget to scope out all the Autumn Soup recipes at the end of this post!

Do your kids like soup? Tell me your secrets! I need a gateway for the colder seasons ahead.

Yields 4-6

Bowl Full - Roasted Chicken Minestrone Soup

Fall forward into colder and shorter days with a comforting bowl of Roasted Chicken Minestrone Soup - one pot meal!

5 minPrep Time

35 minCook Time

40 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 8 medium sized chicken thighs (skin on, bone in)
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 3 stalks (ribs) celery, chopped
  • 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 bay leaves (fresh or dried)
  • 6 sprigs fresh oregano
  • 12 fresh basil leaves
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 400 gram (28 oz) diced tomatoes OR 4 tomatoes on the vine, sliced crosswise and grated (discard skin)
  • 5 cups (1 ltr) chicken stock
  • 1 x 330 ml (14 oz) can navy beans (or other small beans)
  • 1 cup (145 grams) small tubed pasta
  • Finely grated parmesan to serve (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
  2. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large dutch oven or large casserole dish (any dish that is large and ovenproof).
  3. Sprinkle both sides of chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Place chicken skin side down and cook until well browned, approximately 5-7 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside . (This may need to be done in batches).
  4. Add onion, celery, carrots and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5-7 minutes, or until starting to soften. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring the entire time, until paste is coating vegetables. Add bay leaves, oregano, basil, diced tomatoes, chicken stock,beans and pasta. Bring to a boil and return chicken to pot, skin-side up and place in oven. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
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https://www.mykitchenlove.com/roasted-chicken-minestrone-soup/

Autumn Soup Collaboration | My Kitchen Love. Fall comfort foods.

More comforting soups from my fellow Canadian Food Bloggers:

Enjoy!

Recipe inspired by a Donna Hay‘s Roasted Spatchcock Minestrone

Roasted Chicken Minestrone Soup | My Kitchen Love. Fall comfort food and a one pot meal!

Crispy Sesame Duck Ramen

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It’s pouring rain outside, I’m starving and waiting for G to get home, and all I can think about is this Crispy Sesame Duck Ramen. It’s crispy skin, bright and vibrant vegetables, and a umami packed miso-mushroom broth are worthy of the usual ramen eating method of holding your face immediately over the bowl and shovelling it in. Classy, I know. It’s an any day perfect kind of meal with the comforts of ramen and made special by having duck as the protein (we only eat duck only a couple of times per year). And it’s ramen; the perfect excuse to load up on vegetables, especially now that Spring is officially here.

Crispy Sesame Duck Ramen

Ramen is the ultimate kitchen sink dish for me. You can team up the mushroom broth and duck with most vegetables which helps clean out anything that’s been lingering in the produce drawer for too long. The duck is easily substituted by chicken or pork as well. The broth is luscious and has a great balance with the mushroom broth and miso paste. The miso adds some real depth so I wouldn’t shy away from it. Miso paste also lasts a long time in your fridge, so don’t fret if when you see how big the container is and the fact that you only use 2 tablespoons out of it. Miso is ideal for adding a tablespoons here and there to stews, soups, and braises. It very much enhances the flavours of many recipes.

The duck needs a bit of time for this recipe as you really want the fat layer under the skin to render down as much as possible. This creates the ultra crispy skin you want on the duck. The crispy skin is a perfect texture to compliment the softer ramen noodles.

Yields 4

Crispy Sesame Duck Ramen

10 minPrep Time

30 minCook Time

40 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • 2 duck breasts, skin on / boneless
  • 4 ramen noodle cakes
  • 3 tsp sesame oil, divided
  • 4 cups mushroom broth
  • 2 tbsp miso paste
  • 1/2 lbs mushrooms (I used Shimeji)
  • 1 lbs asparagus stalks, trimmed
  • 1/2 lbs small carrots, washed and trimmed
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds, preferably toasted
  • salt and pepper
  • optional garnishes: cilantro, sliced thai chilies, crushed peanuts, etc.

Instructions

  1. Using a sharp knife, carefully slice the fat of the duck in a criss-cross pattern without hitting the meat. Season both sides of the meat with salt and pepper.
  2. Heat a medium sized frying pan / skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add 1 tsp sesame oil and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook until nicely browned, about 8 minutes. Remove from pan. Add the duck, skin-side down and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 20-25 minutes until fat has completely rendered and skin is dark brown and crispy. Flip and cook meat side for 3-5 minutes until desired doneness has been reached. Let rest for a few minutes and then slice on an angle.
  3. Meanwhile, in a large sauce pan heat mushroom broth to a boil and whisk in miso paste. Reduce heat to a simmer and keep warm. At the same time, cook ramen noodles as per the package instructions. Drain, toss with 2 tsp of sesame oil and set aside.
  4. In a wide skillet bring salted water to a boil. Add asparagus and cook until crisp-tender, about 4-6 minutes. Remove and run cold water over to stop cooking. Add carrots to the water and cook for about 5 minutes until crisp-tender.
  5. To assemble place noodles in bowls, top with duck slices, vegetables, and broth. Top with desired garnishes.
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https://www.mykitchenlove.com/crispy-sesame-duck-ramen/

Enjoy!

Thai Curry Noodle Soup

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My Kitchen Love - Thai Noodle Soup

I feel like apologizing; since becoming pregnant I’ve felt pretty low energy and very uninspired by food. Unless it’s ice cream, soft serve preferred, citrus, or fresh baked bread we’re taking talking about.The past few months have mostly been filled with me mostly just trying to get by. That usually means meals eaten with a spoon and that take less than 20-30 minutes to prepare. Well, hopefully no longer my friends. The tide just might be turning and this is the recipe that set me straight.

The other night, we kicked it old school and I made the cover of Bon Appetit from March 2013. They’ve called it a Spicy Thai Noodle Soup aka Chicken Khao Soi. I made a couple of adjustments to suit what was available at my local grocery store and the un-spicy needs of my hubby to shape it into a good old Thai Noodle Soup.

I really enjoy keeping my old copies of BA around. When my subscription delivery runs late, I can look back on the current month to find a great recipe that is in season. This works well for me when inspiration is running low and Pinterest has been sourced to the ends of the earth. I’m sure you can relate. 😉

My Kitchen Love - Thai Noodle Soup

I used dried Ancho chiles in this recipe. They’re at the low end of the spicy scale (as in not at all), but they add a ton of flavour to the dish. They were also the only dried chiles available to me at my grocery store. Feel free to use what works or you. The two other recommended chiles will be spicier.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

Khao Soi Paste

4 large dried Ancho, New Mexico, or guajillo chiles, stemmed, halved, seeded
2 medium shallots, halved
8 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1 x 2″ piece ginger, peeled and roughly sliced
¼ cup chopped cilantro stems
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground turmeric
1 tsp curry powder

Soup

2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 x 14-oz. cans unsweetened coconut milk, light is fine
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1.5 lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs,cut into 2″ pieces
1 lb ramen or Chinese egg noodles
3 tbsp (or more) fish sauce
1 tbsp (packed) palm sugar or light brown sugar

Optional garnishes:

Sliced red onion (try a quick pickle! we loved it in this soup), bean sprouts, cilantro sprigs, crispy fried onions or shallots, chili oil, and lime wedges (for serving).

Directions:

Paste:

Place chiles in a small heatproof bowl, add boiling water to cover, and let soak until softened, 25–30 minutes.

Drain chiles, reserving soaking liquid. Purée chiles, shallots, garlic, ginger, cilantro stems, coriander, turmeric, curry powder, and 3 Tbsp. soaking liquid in a food processor, adding more soaking liquid by tablespoonfuls, if needed, until smooth.
Soup:
Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add khao soi paste; cook, stirring constantly, until slightly darkened, 4–6 minutes. Add coconut milk and broth. Bring to a boil; add chicken. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is fork-tender, 20–25 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions. (It is best to keep the noodles and sauce separate until you’re ready to serve this dish, although I loath that extra pot to clean. The noodles will continue to absorb the sauce otherwise. This isn’t the worst thing that could happen, but it would no longer be a soup). 
Add  3 Tbsp. fish sauce and sugar to soup. Season with salt or more fish sauce, if needed.
Divide soup and noodles among bowls and serve with toppings.
Enjoy!