WRAL reporter Brian Shrader and our own Lisa Prince feature seasonal recipes in their weekly Local Dish Cooking segment. This month, Brian and Lisa feature favorite soup recipes.
Windy and cold days can be common in January and February in North Carolina, making it a great time a break out the Dutch oven and try a few hot and delicious soup recipes. Check out a few soup suggestions from Brian and Lisa below.
“If you are watching your calories, you can always leave off the heavy cream in the recipe below and it’s still delicious,” said Lisa. She also recommends trying your favorite refrigerated pasta like three cheese spinach tortellini.
- 2 turkey breast tenderloins
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon pepper, divided
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1⁄2 cup celery, sliced thin
- 1⁄2 cup carrot, sliced thin
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 9-ounces refrigerated three-cheese tortellini
- 5 ounces fresh baby kale
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Combine ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper and 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary. Rub turkey with 1 teaspoon olive oil then coat with seasoning mixture. Preheat grill. Sear 5 to 8 minutes on each side. Grill for another 20 minutes, turning several times. Check internal temperature with thermometer in thickest part of the tenderloin. Cook to internal temperature of 165 degrees. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Then cut into ½ inch pieces, saving any juice.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and turkey drippings in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add celery and carrots, remaining salt and pepper; cook stirring often, until vegetables begin to soften, or 4 to 5 minutes. Add stock and grilled turkey, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add tortellini, and simmer until tortellini is cooked, about 6 minutes. Stir in kale, salt, pepper and heavy cream and cook until heated through. Top each with crumbled bacon.
Lisa suggests seasoning this soup with salt and pepper throughout the cooking process. If you want this soup to be a little hot and spicy, you can always add more Texas Pete to your individual bowl.
- 2 pounds lean hamburger
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1⁄2 cup sweet onion, chopped
- 1⁄2 cup carrot, diced
- 1 cup beef broth
- 7 cups water
- 15 ounces diced tomato
- 2 ears corn, cut kernels from the cob
- 15 ounces butter beans
- 15 ounces black-eyed peas
- 2 cups cabbage, chopped
- 1⁄2 cup ketchup
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 3 cups fresh green beans, cooked
- Salt
- Pepper
- Hot sauce (optional)
In a large Dutch oven, brown hamburger and drain any grease; set aside. Add olive oil to the pan on medium-high heat. Add onion and carrots; cook, stirring often until vegetables begin to soften, 8 to 10 minutes. Add broth, water, hamburger, tomatoes, fresh corn that has been cut off the cob, butter beans, black-eyed peas, cabbage, ketchup and tomato paste. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low, simmer for 10-15 minutes until the cabbage and corn are cooked. Add green beans, hot sauce, salt and pepper and simmer another 5 minutes.
Remember to salt your potatoes while they are boiling and when you blend them in this recipe. If you want your stew a little thinner, add more chicken stock. Lisa cooks her whole chicken with salt, pepper and ½ stick of butter. She suggests saving the broth instead of buying it since it saves money and tastes better.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1⁄2 cup onion, chopped
- 1⁄2 cup carrots, diced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 4 potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 ears of corn, cut off cob
- 1 cup peas, frozen
- 1 whole chicken, cooked and meat shredded
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups half & half
- 1 package crescent rolls
Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high. Add onion and carrot; cook stirring often, until vegetables begin to soften, or 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic; cook stirring often for about 1 minute. Add broth and potatoes to the pot. Cook until the potatoes are tender. Using a submersible blender, pulse until part of the potatoes are blended, creating a creamy base. Then add the corn cut off the cob, peas and chicken. Season with salt and pepper; cook for 10 minutes. Turn heat to low and add the heavy cream and half and half. Continue cooking until soup is warm throughout.
Roll out crescent rolls and cut with a circle cookie cutter. Bake according to package directions. Serve soup in a bowl topped with a baked crescent roll.
You can experiment with the recipe below. Try out different hot, mild or sweet sausages to you find your favorite combination.
- 1⁄2 pound spicy hot Italian sausage, cooked and crumbled
- 1⁄2 pound sweet Italian sausage, cooked and crumbled
- 1 1⁄2 cups water
- 5 2⁄3 cups chicken broth
- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 cups cabbage, chopped
- 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme
- Sage leaves (optional)
In a large Dutch oven, brown sausage, remove from pan and drain any grease. On medium-high heat add water, broth, sweet potatoes, onion, cabbage and fresh thyme. Simmer until potatoes are tender and cabbage is cooked. Add sausage to the pot and simmer 10 minutes. Season soup with dried thyme, salt and pepper and serve with crispy sage leaves.
Crispy Sage Leaves: Pinch off sage leaves from steam. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Fry 6–8 sage leaves at a time until crisp, 2–3 seconds on each side. Transfer with a fork to paper towels and sprinkle generously with coarse salt.