Soups

Chili con carne (meat) / Chili sin carne (vegetarian)

I make two pots of chili; con carne which I make mild; and sin carne which I make hot (vegetarian). For people who want meat and like it hot, they can add some of the sin carne or spice it up with hot peppers. I put all garnishes on the table when serving so people can choose how hot they want to make it. This is enough for about 20 people. I usually make a full batch and freeze the rest for
later.

To be used 1/2 for con carne and 1/2 for sin carne

4 onions, chopped
3-6 green, red and yellow peppers, seeded and chopped
2 cups chopped celery
6-10 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 cups wine
2 140 gram cans tomato puree
8 cans diced tomatoes undrained
12 cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Chili con carne

1000 gram minced meat
100 gram pork cubes (spe kblokjes)
4 packs Knoor chili con carne packets
1-2 tablespoons dry beef bouillon

Chili sin carne

500 vegetarian mince or 2 courgettes
1-2 tablespoons dry vegetable bouillon
6 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoons ground cumin
3 tablespoons Herbes de Provence (Provençal herbs) or Oregano

Garnishes

375-500 ml (3-4 small pots) sour cream sprinkeled with paprika powder
300 grams (2 packages) grated cheese
4-6 (1 bunch) green onions chopped (use mostly the green parts — use white parts for Quesadillas)
1 bunch fresh Cilantro (corriander) chopped
jalapeño pepper diced
chilies seeded and minced
Hot pepper sauce

Cook onion and minced meat or vegetarian mince in a pan until browned.
Add pepper, celery, wine and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Add tomatoes, tomato puree, beans, bouillon and herbs and stir well.
Bring to a boil; cover. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes.
Serve with with the garnishes

Snert (Split Pea Soup “erwtensoep”)

(pescetarian with with salmon or vegetarian)

The recipes below is for our almost annual Snert Open House that we have on New Year’s Eve. I make two types, traditional with meat and pescetarian with salmon. This is enough for about 15+ people. I usually make a full batch and freeze the rest for later.

8 500 gram packages dry split peas spliterwten (6 for traditional snert, 2 for salmon snert)
8 liters water for soaking split peas
500 grams gerookte spekreepjes smocked pork blocks
100 grams smoked salmon, chopped
6 340 ml jars beef rundvlees bouillon (add 1 litre water for each jar)
2 340 ml fish vis bouillon (or vegetable groeten bouillon)
2 large carrots for the salmon snert, chopped (optional)
2 stalks of celery for the salmon snert, chopped (optional)
4 kilos prei leeks (about 10 large), chopped
2 large knolselderij celery root or celeriac , peeled and cubed
100 grams (2 bunches) bladselderij thin-stemmed leaf celery chopped
6 packages 375 grams Gelderse rook worst smoked sausage
200 grams katenspek smoked bacon, thinly sliced
2 packages of roggebrood dark rye bread or pumpernickel, thinly sliced
Maggi, salt and pepper to taste

Rinse the split peas under a running tap. Soak in water overnight. Rinse well after soaking. You do not need to soak
the peas, but they cook faster if you do.
Mix the peas and the bouillon and bring to the boil for about 1 hour on a slow fire.
While the peas are cooking, prepare the
vegetables:
Chop the leeks and rinse them to get any dirt out.
Peel the skin of the celeriac and chop
Dice the carrots and celery
Add all the
leeks and celeriac and cook at a simmer until the peas are done. In total this will
be about two or three hours — the split peas must be broken and a bit “mushy”. The pea soup should still have a lot of liquid in it. Make sure to stir enough so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pot.
Finish off with Maggi, salt and pepper to taste.
Let
it cool completely and store it in a cool place. Snert must be very thick — so that a
spoon scan stand upright in the middle of the pan. To reach the preferred thickness you must prepare the soup one day in advance and reheat it before serving.
Reheat the Snert on a low fire and add water if it is too thick.
Chop the sprigs of leaf celery (with the leaves) and add to the pot about 15 minutes before serving.
Chop the Gelderse rook worst into large pieces and add to the pot about 15 minutes before serving.
Serve the soup In large bowls,
with the rye bread and garnish with the smoked bacon katenspek If you are using smoked salmon, add the salmon right before serving (can place in the bowl if you plan to freeze the rest).
You can freeze the soup in portions to use later.

Note: This
soup can be very bland if smoked sausage or salmon is not
used. If you want to make it vegetarian, I would recommend you add “liquid
smoke” or some other type seasonings like Worcestershire sauce, more Maggi, etc. to
give it more flavour. If I am making a small pot, I often use 2 packages of peas and 2 packages of already prepared vegetables (very easy) and about 1/4 of the rest.

Chicken Soup

This is a good recipe to make in large quantities for big gatherings. Serves 20-30 in small bowls.

Ingredients

6 leeks, chopped (about 3 cups)
6 celery, chopped (about 3 cups)
6 large carrots, chopped (about 3 cups)
Note: can also use 3- 4 300 gram bags soup vegetables (soepgroenten) with leeks, carrots, celery
4 medium onions, chopped (about 1 cup)
4 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
4 tablespoons butter or olive oil
4 bottles Chicken Stock
2 frozen whole chickens
8-10 liters water
1/2 cup dry sherry
2 cups uncooked noodles
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1 tablespoon salt to taste

In a large pot, boil the frozen chicken with the water for 3-4 hours until it falls off the bone.

Cook the celery, carrots, and onions in the butter/olive oil until soft and beginning to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the chicken stock and vegetables into the pot with the chicken. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Add the sherry, and noodles to the pot. Cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes more. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Pumpkin and Wild Rice Soup

This is a good recipe to make in large quantities for big gatherings. Serves 20-30 in small bowls.

Ingredients :

flesh of 1 large orange pumpkin ( or 2 cans)
6 leeks, chopped (about 3 cups)
6 celery, chopped (about 3 cups)
6 large carrots, chopped (about 3 cups)
Note: can also use 3- 4 300 gram bags soup vegetables (soepgroenten) with leeks, carrots, celery
4 medium onions, chopped (about 1 cup)
4 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
4 tablespoons butter or olive oil
450 grams (1 10 ounce package) uncooked Wild Rice (can substitute brown rice)
8-10 liters vegetable stock (or cubes are okay)
2 tablespoons ground coriander
2 tablespoons fresh grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1 tablespoon salt to taste
1/2 cup dry sherry
Fresh corriander, chopped (optional)
2 – 4 pots creme fraiche (optional)

Instructions

Chop the top off your pumpkin and scoop out the pulp and seeds. Get rid of the pulp and save the seeds to roast later. Scoop out the flesh using a paring knife and a serving spoon.

In a large pot melt the oil and butter, add the onion and garlic and cook until soft. Add all of the vegetables including the pumpkin, cover the pot and sweat them for 20 mins or until they start softening up.

Grate in the nutmeg, add the coriander, and grind in some black pepper. Add the vegetable stock and wild rice. Stir and cover for 1 hour. Season to taste.

Reheat the soup in the pan before serving. Add creme fraiche before serving.

Note: this is also really nice if served in a pumpkin shell. If you have a big enough oven you can roast the shell until the remaining flesh softens before adding the soup.

Wild Rice Cream Soup (vegetarian)

This is a good recipe to make in large quantities for big gatherings. Serves about 6.

Note: I usually use “real” wild rice, because my sister lives where you can buy it easily. You can also substitute commercial varieties, but they really are not as good. If there is interest, I’ll try to get some “real” wild rice shipped over. I usually do this around Christmas.

1 cup uncooked wild rice
8 cups vegetable broth
1 large onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 small green pepper, diced
1 cup mushrooms, diced (can be any kind — shitake and portobello are nice)
2 medium leeks, diced (white and pale green parts only)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 tablespoons Butter
6 tablespoons Flour
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 Tablespoon thyme
1 cup cream
2 tablespoons Madeira or sherry
Chopped parsley, chives, sharp cheddar cheese and bacon bits (optional)

Combine wild rice and broth in saucepan. Simmer for 45 minutes (if using dried mushrooms, add them the last 15 minutes).
Saute onion, celery, carrots, green pepper, leeks, mushrooms and garlic in butter in a large pan about 3 minutes or just until vegetables soften.
Stir in flour, cooking and stirring until flour is mixed in, but do not let it begin to brown.
Slowly add hot vegetable broth and wild rice, stirring until the mixture is well blended.
Season with salt, pepper and thyme.
Stir in cream. Add Madeira or sherry and heat gently but do not boil.
Garnish with chives, parsley and sharp cheddar cheese. Can also garnish with bacon bits for the non-vegetarians. I usually server the garnishes separately so people can
choose.