Happy fall yall!

Just wanted I share a picture I love and took recently. Let it inspire you to cook with pears this week and remind you of my delicious parsnip & pear purée. For all you Canadians out there it's the perfect soup to kick off your thanksgiving festivities, oh ya and its vegan in case you're into that sort of thing. Chow for now loves.

Roasted Pumpkin and poblano soup with coconut milk

Today is the day. A cold rainy mess here in Toronto definitely a day for a delicious pumpkin soup. This soup is the bomb as they say and was certainly one of the stars at our Thanksgiving dinner. I hope you love it as much as my family did. For an extra touch toast the pumpkin seeds up with a dash of cinnamon, cumin and sugar. You can also toast up some shredded coconut in a pan on medium high, just be sure to use a non stick pan, agitate it constantly and remove as soon as you achieve the perfect golden brown colour. 

PREP: Rough chop pumpkin and roast (on a parchment lined baking sheet) at 350º with a drizzle of honey, coconut oil, salt and pepper for 30 -45 mins. At the same time roast off the poblano peppers until the skin is charred on all sides. Place the peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. The steam will loosen the skin and make it very easy to remove.  Rough chop all of the other ingredients. When the roasted peppers have cooled remove skin and seeds.
COOK: Sautée onions, garlic, carrot & celery in coconut oil until tender. Add spices, roasted pumpkin & poblanos, stock or water and allow everything to simmer for 10 minutes or so, then add coconut milk and puree soup with hand blender until smooth. Taste to check seasoning/ sweetness. 

Like my pumpkin photo? If so follow me on twitter & instagram @thetomatosnob aka JaimeVerkPerez

Jamaican Pepperpot Soup

Good hump day friends. Today I'm excited to let you all know about a delicious comfort dish you may not be familiar with called Pepperpot Soup. Pepperpot soup is a classic Caribbean dish where okra is the star. I know what your thinking okra that weird slimy vegetable I've avoided my whole life. Yes! For some reason this flavorful soup is one of the most perfect ways to enjoy okra which is packed full of flavonoid anti-oxidant vitamins. The slimy factor does take some getting used to but in all honesty this probably the best way to introduce okra into your diet. 

Some of you may or may not know this about me but my grandfather on my mothers side is Jamaican so I pretty much grew up on this brothy stew. My grandmother used to make it all the time on Friday nights as part of our shabbat dinner. For those of you that know me you're probably scratching your head at this point, yes we are Jewish & Jamaican and it's not as uncommon as you might think. During the Spanish inquisition many Jews fled persecution in Spain & Portugal and sought safety in the Carribean - there you have it folks, white Jamaican Jews. Now back to the recipe at hand. A few weeks ago over lunch I asked my grandmother how she made her pepper pot soup. I took notes on my blackberry and then took off to the grocery store. Obviously I put my own twist on the recipe and including local green chilies instead of scotch bonnets & I also added some spices which grandma probably would have shook her head at. I made the cheffy decision to sear off the beef rather then the old school Polish method of cooking  which is just boiling the shit out of everything. Grandma couldn't wrap her head around the thought of it, but lucky enough my soup turned out amazing! Confirmed by my mother who can't wait for the next batch.

PREP: Generously season the beef with sweet smoked paprika, all spice a hint of clove salt & pepper and chop all of the veg into bite size pieces, mince the chillies seeds and all.

COOK:  In a drizzle of olive oil sear off beef on both sides, then remove from the pot & chop into large chunks. Saute garlic, green onion & chilies in the same pot until tender (2 mins) then add in okra and continue to cook for another 10 mins. Remove veg from the pot and put off to the side. Add meat back into the pot with 2 quarts of water & bay leaf and simmer for 2 hours, skimming off the excess grease and impurities. Add the okra, onion mixture to the pot as well as the chayote squash. Cook for another 45 mins or so checking your seasoning (salt & pepper to taste). Finally add the spinach or greens (callallo, collards, kale, chard etc...) and cook for another 15 mins. When your your beef is fall apart tender it's ready to go. 

NOTES: This recipe makes about 6 servings of stew. If you don't like fatty meat like short rib you can use stewing beef. Be sure to use beef, chicken or turkey stock instead of water so you don't loose out on flavor. You can also simmer the soup with smoked turkey or ham bones for a rich flavorful stock. 

White bean & swiss chard soup - simply delicious

 I'm not going to subject you all to cleanse only recipes while I'm detoxing. This is a post I promised I'd write about and trust me when I say you absolutely must try this recipe!  A few weeks ago my partner Jovan and I cooked for this fabulous couple in Cabbagetown - a historic neighborhood in Toronto. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon, a beautifully bright kitchen with a spacious center island (I get excited whenever clients have these since it makes their experience much more comfortable and our ability to cook, and entertain much more intimate). This soup was inspired by a photo I saw in a cook book, too bad I can't remember which one it was. The recipe came together as a complete collaboration. It was Jovan's idea to puree the chard stems along with the beans - something I  would have never considered. I pictured the soup being more of a broth, but this version is just so much better. The day before we were to start testing the recipe I literally woke up in the middle of the night thinking about bacon and how perfect it would be in this simple soup. You will need an immersion or any sort of blender for this recipe.

 INGREDIENTS:

2 small cooking onions - rough chopped

4 cloves garlic - rough chopped

bunch swiss chard  - rough chop stems & julienne the leaves 

1 can white idney beans 

1/2 cup bacon or panchetta - chopped 

1L chicken stock (or veg stock) 

1 pinch dried thyme (optional)

1 pinch dried rosemary (optional)

1 tbs evoo (extra virgin olive oil)

s & p - to taste 

PREP: Chop all veg. Rinse beans and divide 1/2 the can will get pureed, and the other half reserve along with the leaves to finish the soup. 

COOK: Heat a drizzle of evoo in a medium pot and sautée bacon/ panchetta until crispy - remove and place on a paper towel to drain off excess fat. Then add onion & garlic to the hot rendered fat and sautée for two or so mins. Then add the stems of the swiss chard, herbs, s & p and continue cooking until everything in tender and translucent 8-10 mins. Add the chicken stock & 1/2 the beans - bring everything to a simmer (about 5 mins). Purée the mixture and check for seasoning. Add the remainder or the beans & chard leaves right before serving. 

SERVE: With garlic crostini & panchetta crisp

FOR CROSTINI - Thinly slice baguette drizzle with evoo & sprinkle of s & p.  Bake at 350 until slightly crispy - then rub with raw garlic and bake again until golden. 

FOR Panchetta crisp - On a parchment lined baking dish place paper thin slices of panchetta and bake at 350 for 3-5 mins.

A big thanks to the Cabbagetown boys for a beautiful glass of Niagra wine and the most incredible sea salt chocolate covered coconut caramels in the world. It was a pleasure FOODING with you both!

Parsnip & Pear Purée with coconut granola & smoked salt

This is a requested post by Samantha, a super cool yoga instructor from Toronto that The Fooding Company had the pleasure of cooking for last weekend. This soup is vegan friendly and absolutely delicious, not to mention it's pretty damn easy to make if you've got an immersion blender and 30 minutes or so. You'll need to go out and find the specialty black volcanic sea salt, or you could skip this ingredient if you can't be bothered. Be warned though the salt definitely adds a certain je ne sais quoi that can't be replaced by anything else.

*Check out Samantha's fb page for Yogabodii her in home yoga practice. 

INGREDIENTS: 

2 bosch pears - rough chop

2 anjou pears - rough chop

1 shallot - rough chopped

2 medium parsnips - rough chop

about 1 tsp or so dried thyme 

1/2 cup light coconut milk 

1/2 - 1 cup water (depending on how thick you like your soup)

large flaked sweetened coconut - toasted (for garnish)

salt & pepper - to taste

drizzle  olive oil or infused oil 

pinch black volcanic smoked salt - (for garnish) 

FOR SOUP: Rough chop all veg. Heat a drizzle of infused oil in a pot, add shallots and cook until translucent. Add parsnips, s&p and continue cooking for 5 mins (parsnips will take longer to soften then the supple pears). Add pears & thyme continue to cook everything until golden (you want everything to have a nice caramelized look). Turn your heat down and add coconut milk & water. Let that cook for another minute or so then turn heat off completely before blending. Add more or less water to obtain desired consistency. 

FOR COCONUT GRANOLA: Add a handful or two of coconut to a non stick pan and toast on medium high, constantly agitating the pan. Watch carefully the coconut can burn very quickly because of it's sugar. Remove from pan immediately after desired colour has been achieved or coconut will continue to cook - and burn if left in the pan. 

SERVE: With a sprinkle of coconut, black salt and drizzle of olive oil.

Happy Saturday and Broccoli spinach soup with feta & herbs

UPDATE: I'm so excited that this recipe has been featured on foodbuzz.com #healthbuzz. 

Since it's the new year and I'm trying to break a bunch of bad habits I've decided to publish a post today, since I missed yesterdays. If you haven't noticed I try to post 5 days a week usually Monday - Friday.  So today I'm waking up and treating you all to a healthy soup recipe on this lovely Saturday. I say lovely because it's January and it's about 5 degrees and sunny out side - this is not typical of a Canadian winter. I hope it's not because the world is coming to an end and this is the calm before the storm - I kid. Anyways here's a healthy soup recipe that's packed with vitamin C, calcium and some other good stuff.  You'll need a blender or immersion blender for this silky soup! 

INGREDIENTS: Broccoli and spinach soup with feta & herbs (any herbs you like)
head of broccoli - medium chopped & blanched
2 -3 handfuls spinach - fresh or frozen (1/2 pack)
1 onion - chopped
2 garlic cloves - chopped
4 sprigs of thyme - chopped
red chili flakes - a pinch (optional)
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp cumin
2-3 cups water or stock
1 cup milk/ cream
1 tbs butter
1tbs olive oil
s&p - to taste
feta cheese - crumbled for garnish
mint/ parsley - for garnish

PREP: In a pot of salted boiling water blanch your broccoli for 30-45 seconds - then put it straight into very cold water to halt the cooking process.  Rough chop all other ingredients.
COOK: In a large pot sauté onion and garlic in butter, olive oil, thyme, cumin & chili until translucent. Then add your stock to heat through. Once the stock is hot toss in your spinach, broccoli, pinch of s & p. When spinach has wilted you can remove from the heat and blend until smooth. Return soup to the pot (not on the heat) add the milk or cream by whisking, then add your nutmeg. To re heat do so on low - you do not want to bring to the boil.
SERVE: With crumbled feta chopped mint or parsley.

Black bean and corn soup

The end of the summer is definitely upon us judging by the fact that it's bloody freezing out side. While I just love big wool sweaters and knee high boots I'm sad to see the cold weather come in. This is our last  the next few weeks will be our last chance to use up the last of the late summer harvest including sweet corn. This soup is a perfect way to say so long summer, and hello to autumn. 

INGREDIENTS: 
1 cooking onion - chopped 
2 cloves of garlic - chopped
3 ears of corn - cut off the cob 
1 can of black beans - do not rinse
4 cups of veg stock or water 
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika (sweet or smoked) 
2 tsp ancho chili powder - 
green onion - garnish diced
red pepper - garnish diced
salt - pinch (to taste)
pepper - """
PREP: Chop ingredients. 
COOK: sautee onions in a small drizzle of evoo until translucent then add garlic - cook one more minute then add spices, and corn. Cook until kernels are bright yellow then add your water/ stock and beans. Bring to a boil then lower temp. and let simmer for 30 mins to an hour uncovered (if you have the time). Puree or blend until mostly smooth (you will still want some texture). Taste and re season with s&p if you like. 
SERVE: thinly slice green onion on the bias and peppers into small dice and top the soup before serving. A drizzle of chili oil if you are so inclined is 
also nice.