KindSoups White Chili

 Brad and Sheila’s Aunt Lynne’s White Chili

very good - 

 

Shopping list:

(4) Tablespoons cooking oil

(2) medium yellow onions

(2) bunches green onions

(6) cloves of garlic 

(2) 4oz. cans, chopped mild green chilies (Used few tablespoons of chopped canned jalapeño)

 (3) teaspoons ground cumin

(2) teaspoons dried oregano

(1/2) teaspoon ground red pepper (like cayenne)

(8) 15oz. cans of Navy or Northern Beans

(12) cups chicken broth or stock   (can use about 10 cups)

(1) pound cooked chicken (hint: I use store bought rotisserie chicken)  (Used baby bellas instead)

(1) bunch fresh cilantro (approx (1 & 1/3) cup – not packed)

(1 1/2) cups shredded cheese (cheddar, mexican blend, etc)

 

Prep before call: Finely chop yellow onions Chop green onions, separating whites from greens Peel garlic cloves and mince

 

Instructions:

Open beans, Drain in colander and rinse with cold water 

Step 1:  In a large stock pot, heat oil over medium high heat.  Add yellow onions and the WHITE parts of the separated green onions (reserving green portion for later), garlic and green chilies. Cook vegetables until onions are soft, not browned. Reduce heat to low.

Step 2:  Add cumin, oregano, ground red pepper, to cooked vegetables, stirring to combine.

Step 3:  Add drained beans and and broth.  Raise heat to medium-high.  Once mixture is boiling, reduce heat to medium, to keep at low boil.  Leave at low boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally,  for 45 minutes. While chili is cooking: Remove skin from chicken, if any, and cut cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces (hint: I use store bought rotisserie chicken) Chop fresh cilantro

Step 4:  After 45 minutes, Reduce heat to medium low, stir in chicken, heat for two minutes Step 5: Stir in Cilantro, Green Onions and Cheese Yield:  Approximately (16) cups

OPTIONAL: If serving at home, garnish each bowl with a spoonful of salsa and diced avocado. 

DO NOT ADD SALSA AND AVOCADO if freezing.

This was from one of the Saturday evening cooking sessions for KINDsoups.  This is absolutely delicious.  It is very rich and thick and the combination of cinnamon, ginger and turmeric with the fresh herbs is just amazing.  Definitely a keeper!  Photo 12/12/2020.

On Saturday Dec 12th we will be cooking North African Squash and Chickpea Stew together, led by Chef Marissa and Chef Danielle. Please join us via Zoom as we cook together, enough for our own family’s dinner, plus enough to freeze and deliver meals for others, so that they too can enjoy a delicious and nutritious meal! Recipe and shopping list will be available on the Monday prior to each cook together event beginning Saturday at 5pm. (you are free to cook whenever you’d like if our Zoom time is not convenient for you)  

North African Squash and Chickpea Stew

This richly spiced combination of squash, tomatoes and pulses is based around a traditional Moroccan recipe, harira. That dish is actually a soup but, whenever I make it, I find myself veering towards such a thick and chunky texture that ‘stew’ seems a more appropriate description. It hardly matters – it’s a delicious, belly-filling, one-pot dish.

Servings  18

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 large onions, diced
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 celery stalks, finely diced
• 3 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 3 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1.5 cups red lentils
• 3 15 oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 28 oz can roasted tomatoes (whole, diced, or crushed is fine)
• 3 good handfuls of parsley, roughly chopped
• 2 large bunches of cilantro, roughly chopped
• 2 pounds butternut squash or pumpkin (store pre-chopped is fine!)
• 3.5 liters (about 15 cups) vegetable stock
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 cup uncooked vermicelli, orzo or other small pasta

Method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until just starting to turn golden. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the garlic, celery, pepper, turmeric, cinnamon and ginger. Sauté for a couple of minutes. Now add the lentils, chickpeas, canned tomatoes, parsley and about half the cilantro. Cook over a low heat for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, peel and deseed the squash or pumpkin and cut into large cubes. Add to the pan with the stock and bay leaf. Cover and simmer gently for about 30 minutes. Add the pasta and simmer until it is cooked. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, scattered with the remaining cilantro leaves. 

Lentil and Spinach Soup

This was week #3 in the Kind Soup series - with Chef Carol Weil

 The background

This recipe is substantially (with some tweaking by me looking at other Dal Palak recipes) from The Immigrant Cookbook:  Recipes That Make America Great.  I wanted to use this cookbook to hearken back to KindWorks’ pre-COVID refugee meal cooking sessions which I miss so much.  So here’s a Shout Out to my homie KindCooks – old and new.  I can’t wait to see you in my kitchen when it is safe for us to be cooking together.  

• “We asked Chef Hari Nayak for a recipe he thinks best exemplify the Winter season. He gave us this recipe for “Lentil & Spinach Soup” or locally known in India as “Dal Palak.” He explains why it’s great for the Winter by saying, “This is a perfect winter dish. Served over rice it can make a very comforting and hearty meal. You can have this soup anytime of the year but it is especially great for when the weather is cold! Serve it with rice, naan bread, bread sticks, and crusty bread or have it just by itself. This soup has a refreshing austerity that makes it feel like a safe haven amidst decadence and yet it is still nourishing and warm and filling, a wonderful one-bowl meal.”

Lentil and Spinach Soup   

Serves 16

Ingredients

4 T vegetable oil (I use Canola)

4 teaspoons cumin seeds (can use ground cumin but then use less)

4 medium red onions

8 garlic cloves

4 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons garam masala

1 t turmeric

1 lemon, juiced

2 quarts lo salt vegetable broth (added ~2 cups additional water)

4 small tomatoes (Roma are good for this)

4 cups red or yellow lentils – I prefer yellow but if you use red, beware that they cook REALLY quickly and can get REALLY mushy.  Green or brown work fine, will just need to cook longer.

8 cups fresh spinach or 4 cups frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained. 

2 cups coconut milk (used one can)

Salt to taste

Cayenne pepper, chile powder, or sriracha to taste

Cilantro for garnish (optional)

1)Heat oil in large saucepan, add cumin seeds (they will sizzle upon contact).  

2) Add onion, ginger, garam masala, and turmeric, and cook, stirring constantly, until the spices are fragrant, about 1 minute.  

3) Add tomato and cook until soft.  Add lentils and 7-9 cups of water or broth (start with 8), reduce heat to low, cover, and let gently simmer.   Check after 10 minutes to see if you need more water.  Soup can be thick (less water) or thinner (more water) to your preference.   

4) Stir in the spinach, coconut milk, lemon juice, and salt and cayenne/sriracha/chile powder to taste.  Cover and simmer until spinach is cooked about 5-10 more minutes).  

Serve hot, garnished with cilantro if desired.  Best with another squeeze of lemon.

Prep Before Zoom

Chop onions

Peel garlic cloves

Juice your lemon 

~If using frozen spinach, thaw and drain beforehand

 

See you on the Zoom! 

Topic: KindWorks Simply Soup Saturdays Weekly Zoom Meetings

Time: This is a recurring meeting Saturdays 5-6pm

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88639038021?pwd=S0xCcnlxUjNiWTlnRStQeEFWNTljZz09

Meeting ID: 886 3903 8021

Passcode: 120464

 

Afterwards:

Label each container with:  date, your first name and last initial, type of soup, and mark it VEGAN.
Drop off at one of the participating food assistance providers (see below), with a person or family that is in your heart, or a place that you prefer, when convenient,
Email deb.lang@DoKindWorks.org saying that you dropped off  __ containers of  ___ soup at ____ on ___date and feel free to include a picture or two – we love pictures!
THANK YOU!!   

• upCounty Consolidation Hub at the Black Rock Center for the Arts in Germantown (12901 Town Commons Dr, Germantown, MD 20874), M-F 9am-1pm
• Cordell Place (a Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless shelter) 4715 Cordell Avenue in Bethesda – 301-986-8780
• Seneca Heights Apartments  (a Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless dwelling) 18715 N. Frederick Avenue, Gaithersburg – 301-519-2530

Join us next Saturday!      (and have a great week)