More hearty meal in a bowl winter soups

Since you liked them, here are a few more winter soups hearty, heartwarming and heartfelt. As usual no exotic ingredients, no special techniques. Just a delicious nutritious filling meal in a bowl, ladled with love.

Russian beet borscht with beef short rib

I posted this last fall but it's a classic always worth a repeat because you won't just make it once.

You can assemble this quickly, store it in the fridge for a few days--flavor intensifies--and have a nourishing heartwarming meal that didn't break the budget. This is as old fashioned and fortifying as goodness gets. And you can freeze the leftovers for later in winter.
serves 4 as a meal

2 lbs beef short ribs or shin
5 c water
4 c beef broth
4 med/lg red beets, peeled (wash and chop the greens)
1 tbsp salt
3 med boiling potatoes, peeled and diced into bite size chunks
1 sm carrot, peeed and grated
1/2 sm (3/4 lb) white cabbage, shredded
6 tbsp tomato paste
4 black peppercorns
freshly ground black pepper to your taste
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 bay leaf
to serve: sour cream
1/2 bunch fresh dill, fronds finely chopped (no stems)

In a large soup pot, combine the water and broth. Add the beef. Bring to a boil over high heat, lower heat to low/med, cover the pot and cook 30 minutes.  Add salt and whole red beets. Boil 10 minutes then fish out the red beets with a slotted spoon. Let them cool and while they do add all the remaining ingredients to the soup pot including the beet greens. Continue cooking the soup.  When the beets are cool enough to handle, grate them and add to the soup. Simmer for 1 1/2-2 hrs or until the beef is falling off its bones.
Remove from heat, remove bay leaf and the meatless bones.

Now you have two options: you can cool the soup to room temperature and refrigerate it overnight or several hours, then skim off the fat that will harden on top--easy way to do this. Reheat and serve. OR you can skim off the fat while the soup is hot and serve it.

To serve: ladle the borscht into very large bowls, top with a dollop of sour cream and a good sprinkle of fresh dill. Provide a side plate, fork and knife for cutting up the large pieces of beef. Dig in and celebrate the season.

Parsnip Chowder 

Parsnips are an olde English vegetable that fell out of fashion which is too bad because they're very flavorful. They're made to be spiced with cumin. And they make hefty soup.  I've posted this vegetarian  recipe before among the ways to enjoy parsnips. It's a good winter soup and the center of a colorful meal when served with citrus salad or one of the winter salads posted most more recently. If you are a carnivore and want more heft here, you can add cooked bacon to the final dish. Parsnips have an affinity for it. 
NOTE: I posted a recipe for a very hearty parsnip lentil soup back in November.

Serves 4-5

3 lg parsnips, peeled and washed

1/3-1/2 lb. mushrooms, cleaned

½ sm roasted red pepper, chopped, or 1 tbsp chopped pimentos

1 sm onion, peeled and diced

1 lg shallot, peeled and diced

1 tsp. cumin seed

½ tsp. celery seed

½ tsp. ground coriander

½ tsp. ground cumin

4 tbsp. butter (1/2 stick)

3 c vegetable broth or water

1 12oz can evaporated milk

½ c half ‘n’ half or light cream

½ tsp. salt (more to your taste)

Freshly ground black pepper to your taste

½ c cracker crumbs or crumbled croutons

¼ c finely chopped fresh flat parsley leaves

Slice the peeled parsnips into thin disks. Cut the larger disks in half so all pieces are close in size for better cooking.  Chop mushrooms.

In a medium size, heavy gauge pot, melt 3 tbsp. butter. Add onion, shallot, mushrooms, cumin and celery seed. Stir to blend and sauté until vegetables are soft. Add parsnips, ground coriander and cumin. Stir to blend

and sauté 60 seconds. Cover the pot contents with broth or water, bring to a boil, cover the pot and lower heat. Simmer 10-12 minutes until parsnips are tender but not mushy. Add liquid if necessary so there is always some even with the top of the vegetables. Stir in the evaporated milk and half ‘n’ half, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat until soup is hot. Do not boil. Stir in 1 tbsp butter. Garnish with croutons and parsley to serve
 
Burmese Khao Soi (Spicy coconut chicken noodle soup)

Hot climates sometimes produce hot soups perfect for us in the cold. This chicken noodle is among my favorites not only because it's so deliciously different with the cool coconut playing off the hot chili, and not only because it has fabulous spice flavor, but because the coconut reminds me of warmer times and climes and that warms my soul. This is my version, a fast, easy way to a delicious and very memorable meal in a bowl. (Not my photo)


Serves 6 people as a main course.
6 boneless breasts of chicken, cut into large bite sized pieces 
2 tbsp corn, Canola or sunflower oil 
1½ tbsp. red curry paste 
3 c coconut milk 
1 tbsp. Garam Masala 
½ tbsp turmeric 
1 star anise or ½ tsp powder 
1 cinnamon stick 
4 cloves 
1tsp ground cardamom or 3 crushed pods 
2 c chicken stock 
½ tsp brown or raw sugar 
¼ c fish sauce 
About 6-7 (loosely packed) cups of boiled flat Chinese Bah-mi egg noodle or fettucini noodles (about 11/4 lbs) 
1 tsp lime juice 
Thinly sliced shallots (garnish), fried. 
To garnish: 6 slivers of fresh lime, chopped fresh cilantro leaves 
Optional: 1 cup pickled Chinese cabbage

Soak noodles to remove excess starch and drain. Cook noodles as per directions on package and set aside. Fry the garlic in a little extra oil until transparent. In a heavy casserole or soup pot, heat oil and add the red curry paste, curry powder and turmeric. Cook stirring vigorously until the curry paste is fragrant—1-2 minutes. Be careful not to burn the paste. Add 1 cup of coconut milk. Over med/high heat, let it come to a boil and bubble for a few minutes, stirring well, until the red oil separates from the coconut milk. Add another cup of coconut milk and wait until the oil separates. dd garlic, chicken pieces, star anise, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom with chicken stock and the rest of the coconut milk. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, add fish sauce and simmer.

Cover the pot and simmer until the chicken is done, 4- 5 minutes. Check seasonings; you might need to add more fish sauce. The flavor should be a bit salty and spicy with a sweet aftertaste. It should be a bit saltier than what you would like the final dish to taste. Stir in lime juice and remove from heat.

Divide noodles between deep soup bowls. Pour the coconut chicken over the noodles. Garnish with fried shallots, cilantro leaves and a lime wedge. Optionally pickled cabbage.
 
Tibetan Gyathuk (Noodle Soup)

As what you might call lifelong neighbors of China, Tibetans--who are NOT Chinese--have created some mighty fine noodle soups. Because religious Buddhists don't eat heavily after the noon meal, lighter noodle soups prevail in Tibetan Buddhist monastery kitchens. Heavier soups like this one are very popular on feast days. And of course they're hearty: Tibetans liked to call their usurped homeland "land of snows." Not my photo. The red pepper strip is garnish in it.

serves 4

ghee or mustard oil, enough to coat the bottom of a frying pan or skillet (use corn oil or butter if you don't have either of these)
3 qts bone broth or beef broth
1/2 lb beef or lamb, finely chopped or very thinly sliced
2/3 lb (12 oz) egg noodles
2" fresh ginger, peeled and grated or minced
4 scallions, thinly sliced in rings
2 med yellow onions, sliced into very thin rings
3 garlic cloves, minced
tiny piece of star anise (optional in case you don't have it)
2 green chilies, seeded and minced (use 3 if you like hot)
salt to your taste
6 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

 Put the broth in a large pot and bring to a boil. Keep on simmer while you finish the rest.
Coat the bottom of a skillet or frying pan with ghee or mustard oil. Warm over med heat, then add onions, ginger, garlic, star anise and chilies. Sauté 2 min to soften the onion. Add the meat and mushrooms. Stir fry 6-8 minutes until meat is browned. Salt it, and remove from heat.

Boil the noodles in heavily salted water until al dente (see package instructions for timing). Pour into a colander, rinse with cold water and drain well.

Distribute the noodles into individual, large soup bowls. Pour over the hot broth to 3/4 up the side of the bowls. Distribute the meat mixture evenly among the bowls and top with the chopped scallions.
 
Broccolini Cheese Soup (with a bit of sweet potato)

This is the lightest of the soups, vegetarian fare made heartier by the addition of sweet potato and garlic croutons. I love baby broccoli and broccoli rabe so I always have some in the fridge and this helps me use it up after I've done my beloved pasta with broccolini, pine nuts and garlic.  Broccoli has such a distinct and satisfying flavor, it doesn't need spices or herbs, just a pinch of chili and lots of garlic. The measurements here aren't exact because you may have a full bunch of broccolini (baby broccoli) or leftovers so adjust.

 enough olive oil to well coat the bottom or a heavy gauge lidded soup pot/casserole
1 bunch broccolini (baby broccoli), chopped into bite-size pieces 
1 med/lg onion diced (Red or yellow, whatever you've got on hand)
1/2 lg sweet potato (not yam) peeled and diced into small pieces
3 lg garlic cloves, peeled, smashed and minced 
1/2 tsp red chili flakes (more if you like heat)
Salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper
4 c vegetable broth (you may need a bit more but you can use water)
1/2 c light cream or half'n'half
1 c grated cheddar cheese
1/4 c grated parmesan or asiago cheese
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
 to serve: garlic croutons 

Liberally coat the bottom of a heavy gauge lidded pot with olive oil. (More is better than not enough.) Warm on med heat. Flavor with freshly ground black pepper and chili flakes. Add the onion and sauté over med heat until onion softens, 3-5 minutes. Add broccoli, sweet potato, garlic and salt. Stir to blend. Sauté 2 minutes. Add the broth. If it doesn't cover the broccoli add water so the liquid covers everything with 1/4" on top. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low/simmer, cover the pot and cook until broccoli is very tender, maybe 30 minutes. (You don't have to do anything all this time except make sure there's always liquid in the pot.)  Remove from heat and cool 5 minutes.

With an immersion blender or masher, squash the broccoli and sweet potato into a chunky purée. You want to still see a few pieces of broccoi, you don't want totally smooth.  Stir in the cream and cheese. Let the cheese melt.  Stir in the nutmeg. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary. Reheat on simmer. Ladle into bowls and add garlic croutons to serve.