Butternut squash soup is one of my favorite “cold-weather” soups. Thanksgiving is a good excuse to have this delicious treat.
The following recipe is dairy, however condensed coconut milk can be used as a replacement for the heavy cream in the recipe. For those Kosher people out there enjoy this soup as an appetizer for Shabbat, Thanksgiving, or a meal for a regular weekday!
Welcome to the first segment of Slow Cooked Sundays. Each week I will provide a slow cooked recipe. I don’t know about you, but in my house football is on every Sunday. What better way to spend it than filling the air with mouth-watering scents, your team wins and voila! Dinners ready!
Suggestions are welcome so please leave in comments.
SWEET & SPICY CHICKEN: 1 whole chicken (about 2-3 pounds), 4 cloves of minced garlic, 1/4 cup sriracha sauce, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1/4 cup tomato paste, 3 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1/3 cup soy sauce, 2 tablespoons honey.
After cleaning and removing all the feathers place the chicken in the crock pot.
Whisk all ingredients in a bowl.
Pour over chicken in the crock pot.
Cook on high for 4 hours, then cook on low for 2 hours.
The chicken is now ready to serve!
For those who prefer crispy skin, remove the chicken from the crock pot, place on a cooking tray and broil for 2-4 minutes.
Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that bring us the most joy. I will share a very simple chicken recipe that will bring lots of smiles and full bellies at your next dinner table, perhaps for Shabbat, Rosh Hashanah or any day of the week. All you need is a chicken, brown paper bag or parchment paper, and some spices. (Yes, I did say a brown paper bag and no- it won’t catch on fire). The end result is a juicy chicken on the inside and crispy on the outside. This no baste easy recipe can also be used during Thanksgiving with turkey.
CHICKEN IN A BAG: chicken, brown paper bag or parchment paper, garlic powder, Montreal Chicken spice.
Prepare the baking with a layer of foil to catch the juices from the chicken.
Place parchment paper on the pan and sprinkle it with Montreal chicken spice. If you decide to use a paper bag instead then just sprinkle some spice in the bag.
Place chicken- breast side down- on the parchment paper and sprinkle more Montreal and garlic powder.
Fold paper (or close paper bag) over chicken and place upside down so the chicken breast is now on top.
Bake at 380 degrees for 1 hour and 36 seconds. Then lower temperature to 370 degrees for 1 hour and 26 seconds.
Unwrap and enjoy! Save the juices that spill onto the foil and use as a gravy.
Ever hear the saying opposites attract? In the case of tomato soup and ice cream, it couldn’t be more true! The first time I had this duo was in Rivera Maya last summer and I must admit it was love at first taste. I can’t believe it took me a year to replicate this meal!
Tomato Soup with Basil Ice Cream Rivera Maya
The following recipe is based on Ina Garten’s “Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup.” Her recipe calls for butter though I used non-dairy “butter” to keep the recipe parve. Of course, the ice cream is parve as well. I used a recipe from saver and made modifications.
Roasted Tomato Basil Soup: 3 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground pepper, 2 cups of chopped yellow onions, 6 garlic cloves (minced), 2 tablespoons of non-dairy butter, 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 28 ounces canned plum tomatoes (regular or with basil) and the juice from the can, 4 cups of fresh basil leaves, 1 teaspoon thyme leaves, 1 quart of chicken stock.
Cut the fresh tomatoes in half lengthwise and mix with 1/4 cup of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.
Saute onions and garlic (in 2 teaspoons of olive oil), non-dairy butter, red pepper flakes until the onions brown. Then add the canned tomatoes with the juice, basil, thyme, chicken stock, the oven roasted tomatoes and the liquid from the baking sheet. Bring the mixture to a boil, simmer uncovered for 40 minutes.
Once the soup has cooled, use a hand blender or put through a food processor to obtain your desired texture.
**If you prefer to keep the recipe dairy than use butter and substitute the chicken stock with vegetable stock or water.**
Basil Ice Cream: 2 cups basil leaves, 3 cups of coconut milk, 3/4 cup of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 6 egg yolks.
Combine the basil, coconut milk, brown sugar, lemon zest, salt and egg yolks in a blender until smooth.
Pour into a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved and little bubbles form around the edges.
Remove from heat and pour through a fine strainer.
Let cool then store in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.
Pour the custard into an ice cream maker.
Once everything is ready pour the soup in a bowl and top with a scoop of ice cream. Tip: garnish with basil leaves (I did not do in this picture but it looks much better with the leaves)!