Bitch-in-Kitch Episode III: Souper Deluxe
Yes, another soup. This time, it's a low-fat, no-carb chowder!
Sort of. Sort of a chowder, I mean. As I make it, it's definitely low fat and no-carb, or rather, no starchy carbs: it's cream, potato and flour free, thickened only by blended cauliflower. I had wanted to make either the creamy cauliflower soup from Rachel Ray's book 30 Minute Vegetarian Meals, or the New England veggie chowder from the Claire's Cornercopia Cookbook, but I didn't have the right ingredients for either recipe and am not crazy about potato based soups, so I scrapped them both and made something up.
1 lb. baby or bay scallops
1 medium to large head cauliflower
1 small white onion, diced
1 clove minced garlic
3 cups skim milk
1 cup water
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. thyme
1 bay leaf
Coarse salt and ground white pepper to taste
In a large pot, boil cleaned and trimmed head of cauliflower until tender. Remove florets and set aside. Discard stem (feel free to remove florets first and then boil them, which is probably quicker).
In 3 quart saucepan, saute onions, garlic and 1/3 to 1/2 of scallops in olive oil until scallops are thoroughly cooked and a small amounf of stock has formed. Remove from heat.
Remove scallops from onion and garlic mixture. Add milk, water and cauliflower florets and blend, using hand blender, until relatively smooth. Return to heat.
Add thyme, bay leaf, cooked scallops and remaining scallops. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
And that's it. Fast and tasty. I think this version might benefit from a spinkling of shavings of hard cheese, like Asiago or Romano, which is what that Rachel Ray suggests in her book. I also think it could do with a splash of white cooking wine, but I didn't have any on hand and that might just counterbalance this soup's many health benefits: Calcium! Protein! Fiber!
I'm pretty happy with the results, but I think I'll tinker with the recipe for next time. Parsley might be nice. And using a cup of vegetable stock instead of plain water might also add a more interesting note to it. And more veggies would undoubtedly be good. I just like the idea of having a sort of pure white soup this time around.
low-carb scallop chowda
Originally uploaded by Siddity. 
1 Comments:
Oh I love cauliflower. I just bought some at the store tonight. I love how you put recipes together yourself, I stick to the cookbook so closely you'd think there was an exam on it later.
Good job!
Post a Comment
<< Home