Home Cooks Guide

A professional chef's guide to the home kitchen

Content/Sidebar/Sidebar

The Best Dry-Cured Bacon with Maple, Garlic, and Thyme.

The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.  

Cure your own – it’s easy!

This dry-cured slab bacon recipe is sweet, savory, and herbacious with pure maple syrup, fresh garlic, and lots of fresh herbs. This was one of my original products when I opened Smokey Ridge Charcuterie and The Farm Table and it continued to be the most popular product I made for 10 years running. I’ve adapted it here for the home kitchen and hope you enjoy it.

Curing your own bacon is a great “Intro to Charcuterie” project. It takes a solid week (8 days to be precise) but is really easy so long as you have a kitchen scale, a thermometer, and some refrigerator space that you can spare for a bit.

Before starting this recipe…

The recipe below is scaled for 10 lbs which is the approximate weight of one pork belly, but it is also an easy unit for scaling. For best results and safety, please scale this recipe to the actual weight of your pork belly. For example, if your belly weighs 9 lbs, you would multiply the quantity of each ingredient by 0.9. If your pork belly weighs 12 lbs, you would multiply the quantity of each ingredient by 1.2. If you were making a whole pigs worth of bacon, say 24 lbs of belly, you could scale this recipe by a factor of 2.4.

This recipe calls for curing salt #1 (check out this post for a comprehensive discussion on salt). The actual amount of sodium nitrite is 200 parts per million – a very small amount. This ingredient adds to the rosy hue of ham and bacon and in my opinion, makes a better-tasting product by preventing oxidation. In some products, sodium nitrite plays an important role in food safety by preventing the growth of clostridium botulinum (the bacteria responsible for botulism). However, it does not add much to food safety for this product as you are curing it under refrigerated temperatures and cooking it and cooling it relatively quickly so if you would like to omit it, go ahead. Just be aware, that bacon made without it will not be pink (or quite as tasty).

If you would like to use the curing salt, but don’t want to buy a large amount to try out this one recipe, I have scads of it and can mail you some for free if you are one of my subscribers. Just update your preferences to include your mailing address and shoot me an email requesting some curing salt.

You will want to get a pork belly without skin for this recipe. If you can only find skin-on bellies, it is easier and you’ll lose a lot less if you cure and cook the belly with the skin on and then cut it off than it is to cut it when raw (and slippery).

How to use dry-cured slab bacon.

Having slab bacon on hand in the refrigerator is a real treat! Here’s a couple of ideas of what you can do with it:

  • You can slice it into strips and fry it as you would store-bought bacon.
  • Make lardons to top salads or soups. Simply dice it 1/4″ or so, and fry it until crispy.
  • Use it in place of ham in soups and bean dishes. Start the soup by sauteing the bacon. Then add your veggies and sautee in the bacon fat before adding your broth.
  • Bacon skewers. Cut strips 1/8 inch thick, thread them onto a skewer, brush them with maple syrup, bake until crispy and serve them as an appetizer. This makes a great party appetizer.
  • The possibilities are really endless.

Dry-Cured Bacon vs. Wet-Cured Bacon

The bacon you buy in the store is wet-cured or brined. This process adds water weight. The dry-curing process pulls water out of the pork belly, creating a more concentrated bacon flavor. This means that when you are cooking bacon in the pan, it will not release nearly as much water. You will want to use a lower heat when frying this bacon and watch it as it can go from perfect to overdone quickly, especially if you are cooking at high temperatures.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Dry-Cured Bacon

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 8 days
  • Cook Time: 4 hours or so
  • Total Time: 8 days 4 hours
  • Yield: 1 belly (about 10 lbs) 1x
  • Category: Meat
  • Method: Smoker
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Gluten Free
Print Recipe

Description

This is bacon for bacon connoisseurs.  

Ingredients

Scale

10 lbs pork belly (skin-off)

100 grams salt

100 grams brown sugar

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 bunch fresh thyme (about 20 sprigs or so)

10 crushed garlic cloves

12 g pink salt

10 grams whole black peppercorns

10 bay leaves

Instructions

Get a weight on your pork belly and scale the recipe accordingly.

Remove the pork belly from the package and pat it dry with paper towels.  Transfer it to the container you will be curing it in.  You may want to cut the pork belly into more manageable sized pieces and that is fine to do so in this step.

In a mixing bowl combine all the dry ingredients except for the bay and thyme.  Mix this around to evenly distribute the curing salt and break up any clumps of brown sugar. 

Pork Belly in tub with maple syrup and cure

Add the maple syrup and mix.  It will form a grainy paste.

Spread this paste all over the belly, top and bottom.    Sprinkle the thyme sprigs and bay under and over the belly.  Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 days.

Pork Bellies rubbed with cure paste and herbs

Remove the curing belly from the refrigerator.  The salt will have pulled water out of the meat and created a brine in the container.  Using your hands, turn all the pieces of bacon (so what was on top is now on the bottom) and rub everything with the brine.  Cover and refrigerate for another 3-4 days for a total cure time of 7 days.

Remove the bacon from the refrigerator.  Rinse the cure off of the pork belly.  Pat it dry and lay it out on a rack in a single layer.  Refrigerate for one day.  If you are doing this during the winter in colder climes, you can leave the bacon out in your garage for this step, just make sure the area is clean and the overnight temp in the garage is under 41 F but not freezing.

Preheat your smoker to 180-225.  Smoke until the bacon reaches an internal temperature of 140-145 degrees.

Cool the bacon.  

At this time bacon can be cut, used, wrapped, vacuum sealed and/or frozen.  This bacon will last at least 2 weeks in the fridge (longer if vacuum sealed and unopened), or 6 months in the freezer.

Equipment

Notes

If you do not have a smoker, you can cook this in an oven set to 225, on a rack placed over a sheet pan.  Add half of the salt as smoked salt to add a smokey flavor.

Back to the Basics with The Simplest Sourdough Loaf

The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.  

A perfect recipe for beginners.

In the simplest form, bread consists of 4 ingredients: flour, water, salt, and wild yeast. After my summertime hiatus from baking and the birth of my second child, it’s been hard to get back into the swing of bread making. With the new baby, I keep the house warmer overnight and I never know how tired I’m going to be in the morning to tend to the dough. The result has been a lot of batches that have gone too far in the bulk fermentation stage while I was busy pressing the snooze button.

I usually add whole grains, nuts, and seeds to my loaves like in my Rustic Honey Hemp Whole Wheat Sourdough Recipe, or Multigrain Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe. But given my recent track record, I decided to back off these more expensive ingredients and get back to the basics with this super simple loaf while I adapt to the new rhythms of my life. I simplified my regular process and the ingredients. The result is a light and airy sourdough loaf with an open crumb and a flexible and forgiving fermentation schedule.

If you are new to Sourdough Bread Making, this is a great loaf to start with. I encourage new bakers to check out my post How to Make Sourdough Bread.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

The Simplest Sourdough Loaf

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 12 hours
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 13 hours
  • Yield: 1 loaf 1x
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Baking
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

This Sourdough Recipe is bread in its most elemental form.  This deeply satisfying loaf is easy, flexible, and forgiving.  A perfect recipe for beginner bakers.

Ingredients

Scale

380 g room temperature water*

100 g sourdough starter

10 grams salt

500 g bread flour (I use Giusto’s High Protein Performer) 

Instructions

Combine water, and starter.

Add flour and salt.

Mix to form a dough.  Let sit for about 20 minutes covered.

Turn the dough every 30 minutes for the next couple of hours.  To “turn the dough”, reach underneath the dough, pull up on the dough, and then back down.  Turn the bowl a quarter and repeat 4 times.  Cover the bowl after each turn.

Let the dough sit at room temperature (68-70 degrees) for another 7-8 hours.

Flip the dough out onto a floured work surface and let it sit untouched for about 20 minutes.  Then shape the dough.  Sprinkle generously with flour (I use a combo of semolina and All Purpose).  Place dough ball seam side up in a snug round bowl lined with a tea towel or linen napkin.

Place the dough in the fridge for 1-2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425 F with a dutch oven in it.

When the oven is preheated, turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper sprinkled with semolina or cornmeal.  Score the top of the dough.

Transfer parchment and dough to the dutch oven.  Bake for 40 minutes.  Remove lid, bake for 10 minutes.  Remove bread from dutch oven and transfer to the oven rack and bake for another 10 minutes.

Let cool for an hour before slicing.

Sliced sourdough

Equipment

Notes

For timing: I mix the ingredients around dinner time and turn the dough during the hours between dinner and bedtime.  I wake up early and move the dough to the fridge around 5am and bake it around 6 or 7am.

If your house is colder than 68-70 F you can extend the bulk fermentation time or the shaping time by an hour or two so you don’t have to wake up so early.

If you want to speed up the fermentation time, use warm water.

French Garlic Soup Recipe

The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.  

Garlic Soup with bread and poached egg in white bowl.
A simple, nutritious meal.

Garlic soup might sound strange but it is really delicious. This simple soup uses only a handful of ingredients: water, eggs, garlic, sage, day-old bread, and an oil or fat of some kind. Ingredients that I almost always have on hand. This is the meal I make when I haven’t gotten around to grocery shopping and I have nothing else on hand to pull together.

Despite its simplicity, this soup is packed with nutrition and it costs only $1 per serving. Garlic is known as a cure-all ingredient. This is one of my cold-and-flu home remedies that I make any time someone in my house is feeling under-the-weather.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Garlic Soup with bread and poached egg in white bowl.

French Garlic Soup

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor – Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Cook Time: 30 min
  • Total Time: 30 min
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Soup
  • Method: Boiling
  • Cuisine: French
  • Diet: Vegetarian
Print Recipe

Description

This simple soup is light, inexpensive, nutritious and will warm you from the inside.

Ingredients

Scale

8 cups water/ chicken broth/ vegetable broth

20 crushed garlic cloves

10 fresh sage leaves

2 cups chopped swiss chard/kale/spinach/parsley or a mix of these (optional)

Salt and Pepper

8 slices of day old bread, toasted

4 eggs

Duck fat/ Butter/ Olive Oil for finishing

Instructions

Make the Garlic Broth

Bring the water/stock and the crushed garlic to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the garlic is pretty soft.  Add the sage leaves and cook for another 5 minutes.  

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the garlic and sage leaves to a bowl.  Pick out and discard the sage.  Crush the garlic with a fork and transfer it back to the broth.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the 2 cups of chopped greens if using.

Poach your eggs. 

You can either do this in the garlic broth or a separate pot of acidified simmering water.  If you poach in a separate pot, it will make the presentation nicer as you won’t have all the stringy white bits that come away from the egg.  Do I care about the presentation when I’m cooking for my family? Nope.  I do care about how many dishes I have to do afterward, so I tend to poach these in the garlic broth.  If you need an egg poaching demo, check out this quick video Gordon Ramsay Demonstrates How To Prepare The Perfect Poached Egg | TASTE OF FOX.

Assemble your bowls

Place two pieces of toasted bread in each of 4 bowls.  Top with an egg.  Pour the garlic broth over and drizzle or spoon in about 1 Tablespoon of duck fat, olive oil or butter.  Duck fat would be my preference here.  Serve.

Notes

If you have unflavored gelatin powder on hand, you can add it to your soup to make a “Cheater Bone Broth”

Quick and Easy “Cheater Bone Broth.”

This quick, effortless and economical method makes “Cheater Bone Broth” in seconds.

Turn any broth into a rich and satisfying “bone broth” in seconds.

Bone broth has been a staple in diets around the globe for thousands of years. It is made by slowly boiling bones and connective tissue at a low temperature until all the collagen melts out into the liquid. Bone broth is delicious and satisfying. A full-bodied liquid when hot, it is solid like jello when cold. It can be sipped on its own or used in place of broth or stock in soups/ stews/ gravy or any other cooking application. It takes a lot of time to make, and a lot of bones or chicken feet.

In recent years, bone broth has risen to the top of the charts for new health food trends and for good reason. Bone broth is rich in protein, gelatin, and amino acids. It is believed to improve nutrient absorption, immune function, joint function, recovery after exercise, sleep, reduce signs of aging on the skin, and increase bone mineral density (The health benefits of bone broth).

Bone broth is now widely available at grocery stores but it is expensive! A single pint can cost up to $8. So, I’ve come up with an effortless, inexpensive, and versatile method to make a “Cheater Bone Broth” in just a couple of minutes that contains all the richness, and health benefits of the real thing. With this method, you can turn any hot liquid into “Cheater Bone Broth,” all you need is unflavored gelatin powder.

I use this method to add viscosity and richness to homemade chicken broths, vegetable broths, miso broths, shoyu, mushrooms broths and quick ramen noodle flavor packets. But it’s important to realize that gelatin is not vegetarian. It is made by boiling down bones. So if you are cooking for others, and those others are vegetarian or vegan you’ll want to hold off on this.

Below, you’ll find tips for making quick and easy “Cheater Bone Broths” as well as other ways to use unflavored gelatin powder.

How To Make “Cheater Bone Broth”

Bowl of Chicken, Ginger and Goji Berry Soup with Rice.
An essential home remedy for cold-and-flu and injury recovery.

Mix Gelatin with Dry Spices and Add To Broth

Per each cup of simmering broth (chicken, vegetable, miso, mushroom, pork, beef, etc)

Mix 1-2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin with salt and dry spices.

Stir this mixture into hot broth, simmer for a couple of minutes, taste, season, and serve.

NOTE: For dry soup mixes like “Cup O Soup” or Ramen, simply mix 1 teaspoon per serving with the dry mix before adding water and cooking per package instructions.

Alternatively, Bloom Gelatin in Water and Whisk into Simmering Broth

If the broth or liquid you are using is fully seasoned and does not need any salt or dry spices added:

“Bloom” the gelatin. Add 1-2 teaspoons of gelatin per cup of broth in a small amount of cold water (or broth) for 5 minutes. Add this to hot broth and simmer for 1 minute before serving.

Example: For a quart of “Cheater Bone Broth”, simmer 3 cups fully seasoned broth (home-made or store-bought). Add 6 teaspoons (2 Tablespoons) gelatin powder to the remaining 1 cup of cold broth. Let “Bloom” for 5 minutes. Add this mixture to the simmering stock and whisk until dissolved.

How-To Use Gelatin with Other Liquids

Coffee: Mix 1-3 teaspoons unflavored gelatin with coffee grounds for a pot of coffee. Brew. You won’t taste the gelatin but it will make your coffee extra silky.

Tea: Mix 1-2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin with bulk tea for a 1-4 cup brew.

Home-made Jello: Bloom 1 Tablespoon unflavored gelatin with 1/4 cup water/liquid. Stir this into 2 cups simmering fruit juice, tea, or your favorite alcoholic beverage🍸. Whisk until dissolved. Transfer to a container and refrigerate for 4 hours or until set.

Panna Cotta: Bloom 1 Tablespoons unflavored gelatin with 1/4 cup milk/water. Stir into 2 cups simmering milk/ cream/ almond milk/ coconut milk/ etc with about 1/4 cup sugar/ honey/ sweetener of your choice and any other flavorings you like (matcha, earl grey, lavender, lemon extract, vanilla…). Pour into a container and refrigerate.

Healthy Gummies: Bloom 4 Tablespoons in 1 cup of fruit juice. Bring that mixture up to a simmer, remove from heat and pour into molds or into a container. Refrigerate. Once solidified, remove from molds or cut into squares. Store refrigerated.

<span>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@wendyrake?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Wendy Rake</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/gummies?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></span>

One-Pot Spanish Chicken and Rice Casserole with Saffron

The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.  

An easy and incredibly satisfying one-pot meal.

Chicken and Rice or “Arroz con Pollo” is a staple dish throughout the Latin World.  From Spain to South America to the Southern Border of the US, every home cook has a version of this dish.  This version is briny with olives, capers and marinated artichokes, and aromatic with saffron that tints the rice the color of sunshine. An easy and flavorful one-pot meal that the whole family will love.  Serve this dish as a side dish or as the main course.

One thing I love about this meal, aside from the fact that it uses only one dish, is the space it gives for variation.

Variations

  • Omit saffron, add more paprika and a pinch of turmeric for color if you have it. Or paprika and cumin.
  • Add a can of drained and rinsed garbanzo, black or kidney beans.
  • Instead of marinated artichokes, add peas in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
  • Add shrimp, mussels or clams in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
  • Add spanish chorizo or smoked sausage.
  • Add other vegetables like carrots, mushrooms, or different peppers at the beginning of cooking.
  • Use chicken breast or pork loin instead of chicken thighs
  • Use long-grain rice like basmati or jasmine instead of short-grain rice.

“Arroz” versus “Paella”

This dish looks lot like paella but paella is cooked in a “Paella.” The dish is named after the type of pan it is cooked in. A Paella pan is made of highly conductive thin metal like steel. It has no cover.

Rice cooked in a paella pan is cooked in a thin layer, uncovered, and gets a delicious crust on the bottom called “socarrat”. The increased surface area allows for more evaporation and produces drier rice. If you made this recipe in a paella, then it would be “paella”. You would want an 18-20″ pan (or two 12″ pans) to make this recipe as a “paella”. Cooked in a brazier or a casserole dish, this dish becomes “Arroz” instead of “Paella”.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Spanish Chicken and Rice in a blue enameled cast iron brazier.

One-Pot Chicken and Rice Casserole

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
  • Category: One Pot
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Spanish/Latin American
  • Diet: Gluten Free
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2–3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs

3/4 teaspoon salt or more to taste

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 medium onion, diced

1 green bell pepper diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced.  Or just diced, or one 14 oz can diced tomatoes drained.

1 Teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 cups short grain rice

3 cups chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon saffron threads

1/2 cup pimento-stuffed olives, sliced

1–2 Tablespoons capers, drained

1 cup marinated artichoke hearts, halved or quartered

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Season your chicken all over.

Measure out your broth in a microwave-proof measuring cup or dish, heat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, then add the saffron and let it steep.

In on oven-safe skillet with a lid or your brazier, heat the olive oil over medium heat and cook the chicken until white.  Remove the chicken pieces and set them aside for now.

Add the onions, and pepper to the skillet and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, tomatoes, paprika and continue cooking for another 5 minutes or so.  If there is a lot of liquid from the vegetables, continue sautéeing until it has evaporated.

Stir in the rice and cook for a couple of minutes.  Then add the broth, olives, and capers.  Bring to a simmer, taste, and season the broth.  It should be very well seasoned, add more salt if needed.

Place the chicken pieces on top of the rice, cover the pan with your oven-safe lid, and bake for 30 minutes.  Stir in the artichoke hearts, cover, and bake for another 5 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

Equipment

Notes

Buying Saffron

Saffron can be purchased from Amazon but I prefer to buy mine from SFHerb.  The prices are great (although no free shipping) and I feel like there is more oversight regarding counterfeit or adulterated products.  I recommend buying saffron is full strands instead of powdered.

SFHerb is where I bought all my spices at the restaurant.  It has a great selection of bulk spices, teas and salts.

Rustic Honey Hemp Whole Wheat Sourdough Recipe

The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.  

First post summer loaf. So happy to be baking again.

It’s been a long hot summer here in California and my oven has sat empty and abandoned for months now. My sourdough starter neglected in the back of my fridge. And so, I was really excited this week to wake up to some cooler mornings. I pulled my starter out of the fridge, revived it and baked my first loaf of the season. I have been missing freshly made bread at home!

As I expected, I was a little rusty. My kitchen was pretty warm and my timing was all off. On my first attempt, the dough went too long during the second rise, overflowed the bowl, and oozed all over my counter. My second attempt produced a very satisfying loaf.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Sourdough loaf on parchment

Honey Hemp Whole Wheat Sourdough

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 3 from 1 review
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 9-10 hours
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 11-12 hours
  • Yield: 1 loaf 1x
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegetarian
Print Recipe

Description

A delicious and nutritious whole grain loaf with honey and hemp seed.

Ingredients

Scale

90 g starter

375 g + 50 g water

260 g high protein flour

240 g whole wheat flour

50 g honey

50 g hulled hemp seed

20 g olive oil

10 g salt 

Instructions

Mix the 375 g water, starter, flours, honey, hemp seed, and oil until a dough is formed.  

Let the dough sit for about 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, mix the salt with the remaining 50 grams of warm water.

Add the salt mix to the dough and smoosh in with your hands until evenly incorporated.  Roughly shape the dough into a ball, cover and let sit for 20-30 minutes.

“Turn” the dough every 30 minutes for 2-3 hours.  Reach underneath the dough with a wet hand and pulling up and then down back to the top of the dough ball.  Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat 3 more times for a full turn.

After 4-6 hours of bulk fermentation, remove the dough from the bowl onto a floured surface.  Shape the dough and place in a bowl lined with a flour tea towel, seam side up, for another 3-4 hours.

Flip the bowl onto a piece of parchment with cornmeal sprinkled on it.  Score the loaf and transfer the parchment and loaf to the preheated dutch oven.

Reduce heat to 425, bake for 40 minutes.  Remove the loaf from the dutch oven, place on the oven rack and bake for another 10 minutes or so.

Let cool for 1 hour before slicing.

Equipment

Notes

For a thorough step-by-step guide to making Sourdough I recommend you check out my post, How to Make Sourdough Bread

Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Chutney

The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.  

A perfect fall soup!

Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Chutney is one of my all-time favorite fall soups! Rich with the warm spices of yellow curry: cumin, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, and black pepper. A sweet, spicy, tangy Apple Chutney brings this bowl of roasted squash soup alive. This recipe makes a delicious, flavorful vegan soup. You can add meat and dairy with optional toppings or substituting the water for chicken broth.

This is a wonderful dish to serve at a dinner party with an assortment of toppings: Apple Chutney, cilantro, toasted almonds or pumpkin seeds, creme fraiche or sour creme, duck confit, carnitas, and cooked chicken.

The Apple Chutney can be made ahead of time. It lasts for weeks in the refrigerator. You could also can this with a water bath is you were so inclined. You’ll have extra to play around with or save for the next batch of soup.

Like all my soup recipes, this makes about 3 quarts. There really is no point making a smaller batch of soup in my opinion. This will serve a group of 12-16 appetizer portions or a family of 3-4 with leftovers for a second or third meal. And it freezes well.

How to Make This Soup

1- Roast your squash.

Butternut squash is the most economical, has the highest yield, and is readily available at most grocery stores. Red Kuri, Kabocha, Turban, and Blue Hubbard Squash could also be used and would make an excellent soup but the yield is different. You would need 8-10 lbs of one of those varieties for this recipe.

You do not need to peel the squash. Cut your squash in half, place it cut side down, and roast it on a sheet pan for 30-50 minutes at 400 F or until a fork easily pierces through the skin and flesh.

While it is still hot, scoop the flesh out with a large metal serving spoon. It will scoop out easily when it is done.

2- Heat your oil, sauté the onions with the spices. Add all the other ingredients and simmer until everything is nice and tender.

3- While the soup simmers, whip up the apple chutney. Sauté the apples and onions and then add all the other ingredients and boil until the liquid has reduced.

4- Gather or prep all the other toppings. My favorites are duck confit or carnitas, cilantro and creme fraiche.

5 – Blend the soup with your immersion blender or standing blender. If it is really thick, thin it with a little more water. Give it a final taste and season with more salt and pepper if desired.

6- Serve and enjoy!

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Curried Squash Soup with Apple Chutney, Toasted Almonds and Cilantro in white bowl.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Chutney

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 6 reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 3 qts 1x
  • Category: soup
  • Method: boil
  • Cuisine: Indian-ish
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

Rich with fall flavors, this beautiful roasted squash soup is perfect for busy weeknights or special occasions.  This recipe serves 6-12 people.

Ingredients

Scale

For the Soup

5 lb butternut squash, roasted and peeled

1 carrot, diced

1 onion, diced

2 celery stalk, diced

1 lg potato, peeled and diced

2 T yellow curry powder

2 T brown sugar

8 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 T salt

1/2 t ground pepper

For the Apple Chutney

1/2 T oil

1/4 medium onion, petite dice

1 t minced garlic

2 medium-large apples (mutsu or granny smith)

3 T raisins or currants

3/4 T whole mustard seed (yellow or brown)

1/4 t red pepper flakes

1/4 t cinnamon

1/2 packed cup brown sugar

1/2 c Apple Cider Vinegar

Instructions

For The Soup

Preheat the oven to 400.

Cut squash in half, hollow out the seeds and place cut side down on an oiled sheet pan.  Roast until tender, about 30-50  minutes.

Once the squash is done, scrape the flesh out of the skin with a metal serving spoon.

In your soup pot, sauté the onions in oil with the spices.  This toasts the spices and adds another layer of flavor.

Add all other raw vegetables and sauté a bit longer over medium heat.

Add the water, squash, salt, and sugar and simmer until everything is nice and soft.  The time for this will depend on how large your vegetable pieces are, 20-45 minutes.

Purée the soup with an immersion blender or a standing blender until smooth.  Thin to desired consistency if needed.  Taste and add salt if needed.

To Make the Apple Chutney

Heat the oil in a small sauce pan.  Sauté the onions until translucent.  Then add the garlic, and spices and sauté for a couple more minutes. 

Add all the other ingredients and bring to a boil.  Simmer until the liquid has reduced down to 1-2 Tablespoons of syrup. 

The chutney lasts for weeks in the fridge and can be made ahead of time.  You’ll have extra for the next batch of soup or for other purposes.

Equipment

Notes

You can substitute chicken broth for the water.  Adjust the salt down if the broth is salted.

You can substitute the butternut squash for another delicious winter squash like Red Kuri, Blue Hubbard, Turban, or Kabocha but you will need 8-10 lbs instead of the 5 lbs for butternut squash.

If using a stand blender, be careful not to overfill!  Or you could have a hot mess on your hands.

Easy Tattooed Potatoes

Herb "tattooed" potatoes on a plate.

Looking for an easy way to dress up this humble tuber? Perfectly crispy herb-tattooed potatoes should be your new go-to. I can’t take credit for inventing this. I learned this kitchen trick from the first chef I hired at the restaurant, Leyton, who has since gone on to make badass knives under the name of Lost Bison Forge.

At the restaurant, we served these beautiful crispy roasted potatoes during a Winemaker Dinner with oven-roasted tomato and lamb chops and they were the star of the show. I’ve used these when catering dinner parties for 10-20 people. And it’s my 6-year-olds favorite way to eat potatoes. They look so pretty on the table dressed up with herb leaves and edible flower petals!

How To Make Tattooed Potatoes

  1. Select small Yukon Gold, fingerling or red potatoes. Yukon Golds are my personal favorite variety for this.
  2. Select your herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, tarragon, chives, chive blossoms or other edible flowers, parsley leaves, dill or fennel frond)
  3. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  4. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and lay an herb leaf, sprig, or flower on the cut surface of each half. Sprinkle with salt.
  5. In an ovenproof pan (I use my cast iron brazier), heat a couple of tablespoons of Olive Oil over medium heat. The oil should be about 1/16″ deep.
  6. When the oil is hot (but not sizzling), gently place the potato cut side down. While putting pressure on the potato, gently give them a little wiggle or spin. This will help with sticking. You don’t want to lose your herbs though.
  7. Now do not touch, move, shake, or check on the potatoes for the rest of the cooking time.
  8. Cook on the burner until the oil starts bubbling around the potatoes.
  9. Dip a basting brush in the oil and brush the skin side of the potatoes. Sprinkle with more salt and fresh ground pepper.
  10. Then transfer the ovenproof skillet to the oven and continue cooking for about 35-45 minutes or until a fork easily pokes through the potato.
  11. Remove the pan from the oven. Tip the pan up on one side to drain. I do this by putting a folded towel under one side.
  12. Carefully flip the potatoes over. Sprinkle with Maldon Salt or your favorite finishing salt. Yes…. I salted them three times.

Ok, now go impress your friends and family with this easy kitchen hack. Let me know how tattooed potatoes turn out by posting on Instagram to #homecooksguide or leaving a comment below.

Crock Pot Brazilian Black Bean Stew (aka Feijoada)

The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.  

Brazilian Black Bean Stew over Rice with Collard Greens.

Brazilian Black Bean Stew (Feijoada) is a hearty flavorful dish loaded with meat and spicy or mild smoked Linguica. It is served over rice with a side of Couvé à Mineira (finely sliced and sautéed Collard Greens) and a flavorful crumb topping called “Farofa.”

Farofa is Manioc (Cassava) Flour that is sautéed and toasted in palm oil or the oil that is created when you brown the smoked sausage. If you don’t want to buy Manioc Flour for the farofa, you can substitute cornmeal, fine bread crumbs (though they will get soggy on your plate), or ground peanuts (which add a non-traditional but delicious flavor).

When I graduated high school, I traveled alone to Costa Rica and stayed there for 4 months. This trip was a real turning point in my food journey. Before that, I was a typical American kid of the ’90s that snacked on tons of processed foods. Being in Costa Rica for 4 months, eating only fresh fruits, smoothies, salads, and basic but delicious home-cooked meals from scratch completely reset my palate. During that time though, I ate rice and beans or “Gallo Pinto” for 3 meals a day, every single day. By the time I returned to the states, I really didn’t think I would ever eat rice and beans again.

Then I went to college in Montana and my best friend there was a Brazilian American. And so, it was back to rice and beans again. He made feijoada almost weekly. For a budget meal that can feed a group, or a family for a week, you could do a lot worse than this delicious and hearty stew.

If you are going to make this stew, you might as well make a big batch and freeze it. Beans freeze well. This recipe serves 16-20. I divide it into quart size zip lock bags to freeze for easy weeknight meals.

This version of Brazilian Black Bean Stew is not very spicy. Feel free to spice it up to your liking. Malagueta peppers are used in Brazil. These are really hard to find in most grocery stores so I substituted 1 hot red serrano/jalapeno. You can find Malagueta peppers from AmigoFoods.com. If you get your hands on a jar of malaguetas, the little peppers can be finely chopped and added to your dish and the liquid can be added a couple drops at a time as a hot sauce.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Feijoada, farofa, rice, collard greens, lime and tomatoes on a white plate.

Brazilian Black Bean Stew (Feijoada)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 8 hours
  • Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes
  • Yield: 18 servings 1x
  • Category: Stew
  • Method: Crock Pot
  • Cuisine: Brazilian
  • Diet: Gluten Free
Print Recipe

Description

This recipe makes a large pot of this hearty black bean stew for less than $2 per person.  Perfect for casual large gatherings or stocking the freezer.  Serve it with rice and garlicky sautéed collard greens for a traditional Brazilian meal.

Ingredients

Scale

4 heaping cups dry black beans

10 cups water + more for soaking

1–2 lb ham hocks

1 large onion, diced

5 bay leaves

1 T dried oregano

6 large garlic cloves

1 t salt

2 lb pork butt, 1″ dice

1 1/2 lb Linguiça, sliced

1 bunch green onion, diced

1 hot red jalapeno or serrano (or more to taste)

salt to taste

1 cup cassava flour or (cornmeal)

salt to taste

Instructions

For The Feijoada

Soak the beans in plenty of water overnight.

The next morning, rinse the beans.  Place in your Crockpot with the 10 cups water, ham hock, Better Than Bouillon, bay leaves, oregano, garlic, and salt.

In a skillet or brazier, brown the pork butt.  Then add the onions and sauté.  Add this mixture to the crockpot.  If there are browned bits in the skillet, use a ladle full of the broth from the Crockpot to deglaze it and add it back into the stew.

Set the crockpot to low and simmer all day (8 hours +/-). 

In a skillet, brown the smoked sausage.  Transfer the sausage to the stew but leave the fat in the skillet. 

Taste the stew and season with salt as needed.

For The Farofa

Add half of the green onions to the skillet and sauté for 1-2 minutes.  Add the manioc flour (or cornmeal) and stir until toasted.  Season with salt and remove this mixture from the skillet.

To Serve

Serve your feijoada over white rice, sprinkled with the Farofa topping and a side of sautéed collard greens.

Equipment

Notes

This black bean stew can also be cooked in a pressure cooker (Instant Pot or the Old Fashion Kind).  Unsoaked black beans take about 25 minutes under pressure with a quick release.  Add the linguica after the pressure has been released.

It’s Time to Ready Your Kitchen for Fall and Winter Cooking!

The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.  

I have always loved Fall. But never ever ever has it been so welcomed and so anticipated as this year in California, in which wildfires have scorched over 4 million acres, it hasn’t rained in over 120 days, and for months the air has been too unhealthy to play outside, all while being home with the family 24/7 due to the pandemic!!

I am so looking forward to cold damp morning, rain, snow, hot tea, soups, and slow-braised dishes that fill the home with warmth and delicious aromas all day long! Soups, braises, casseroles and big roasts to share at family gatherings are my favorite things to cook. As I pace my house and daydream about all the things I’m going to cook as soon as the weather changes, I’ve been noticing, I need restock and prepare my kitchen for Fall and Winter cooking.

This is my 10 Must Have Kitchen Items for the cold weather months. When choosing items for my kitchen, I go for economical, durable and utilitarian. All of these products have been put through the paces in my home kitchen or at the restaurant and have stood up to heavy use.

10 Must Have Kitchen Items for Cold Weather Cooking

A Brazier

A brazier is a short wide oven proof pot (really all cookware should be oven proof) with a lid that is perfect for browning and braising meat, and cooking casseroles or sauces. I have this enameled cast iron one and I love it.

A Dutch Oven

I use my dutch oven primarily for making sourdough bread and during the colder months I do this several times a week. It’s essential! Dutch ovens work for anything you would cook in a crock pot but you can also sauté vegetables and brown meat in it which means you don’t need an extra dish to do this! Running the oven on low all day with your dutch oven in it warms up the home in colder months. I love dutch oven cooking! This one has a lid that doubles as a cast-iron skillet.

A Kitchen Scale

A kitchen scale is a necessity for baking bread and weighing salt for cured meats, sauerkraut and fermented vegetables.

A Pie Pan

A pie pan is essential for the holidays, but really, I don’t make pie often enough for this to make my top ____ list. I do however use this pie pan for cornbread, breakfast casseroles, roasted vegetables, and other side dishes. It’s a perfect size for my family of 3-4 (3 eaters and 1 baby). It retains heat and keeps food warm for a long time, and looks nice enough for buffet lines and serving at the table.

A Spool of Kitchen Twine

I use kitchen twine all the time. I use it to tie herb bundles together that I put in soup pots for easy removal. I truss chickens and turkeys with it. I use it to tie off piping bags, to wrap up my knives in a towel when I travel with them, and for arts and crafts.

A 10-12 Qt Soup Pot

This is my main workhorse in the kitchen, especially in the fall and winter. I use it to make big pots of soup which I freeze for later, to boil pasta, blanch vegetables, steam lobsters or crabs, for canning, and as my biggest mixing bowl. I like this one. It’s economical, sturdy, and oven-proof.

A 2” Full Size Hotel Pan

In the restaurant kitchen, this is a standard item that I used every day. At home, this is what I use for roasting Turkeys, Rib Roasts and Whole Pork Loins. Don’t buy a turkey roasting pan. You’ll use it only once a year! This hotel pan also works great for large lasagnas, big batches of stuffing, cornbread, roasted vegetables and sheet cakes.

1 or 2 Cooling and Roasting Racks

These racks will fit both your sheet pan and your hotel pan (albeit imperfectly) and shouldn’t rust or corrode. These are a must when cooking a roast in your hotel pan or cooling your Christmas Cookies.

A Leave-In Probe Thermometer

A Probe Thermometer is a must for cooking large roasts. I’ve worked with a lot of chefs that acted like they were above using a thermometer and then went on to overcook a $150 piece of meat! There is no shame in relying on a this piece of technology. An instant-read thermometer won’t do. You want something you can set, leave-in during cooking, and it will alert you when your roast reaches a specific temperature. That way you don’t have to open and close the oven door or smoker to check on it and you won’t forget about it when you’re 4 cocktails into Thanksgiving prep.

Over the years in the restaurant, I’ve gone through a lot of probe thermometers. I’ve found ThermoPro thermometers to be the most durable and most accurate without paying a ton for it. (You just can’t leave them out in the rain, whoops!). They make single and dual probe thermometers. I like the dual probe one below.

A Crock Pot

I use a Crock Pot for pot roasts, chili, beans, and making broth overnight. Crock Pots are also great for taking for keeping food warm on a buffet line at your Holiday Feast or pot luck. I like this manual 8 qt Crock Pot. I find that I often use the full capacity. Some come with settings that you can program but what I like about my Crock Pot (versus an InstaPot) is its simplicity. Warm, Low, and High are the only settings you need.