Souperama is This Saturday

Join us at Jimmy’s No. 43 for a really warm charity event. The 1st annual NYC Souperama, to benefit Harbor Hope and the Fresh Air Fund, is going to be hot. What better way to escape the wintery mix of slush and snow than slurping up ladles of homemade soup, and craft beer? And, chefs are still welcome to sign up so get your stockpots out and throw in whatever’s leftover (my favorite thing to do on a winter weekend).

With soup, anything goes, and this cook-off has few rules: chowder, bisque, chicken noodle, minestrone, cream of seasonal vegetable X — as long as it’s soupy it’s good to bring. If it’s deemed one of the best, by a panel of judges that I’m souper excited to be on, then you’ll win gastronomical goodness like cookware, cookbooks and gift certificates, and of course there will also be a People’s Choice vote. Bring your friends, and let’s raise some funds.

First Annual NYC Souperama at Jimmy’s No. 43
Date:  Saturday, March 6
Time:  1:00pm – 5:00pm
Location: Jimmy’s No. 43 – 43 East 7th Street, New York, NY

$20 donation at the door will benefit Harbor Hope, a non-profit organization developing educational cooking programs for those with special needs, and The Fresh Air Fund, a not-for-profit agency, providing free summer experiences to New York City children from disadvantaged communities.

Judges:

Gabrielle Langholtz, Editor-In-Chief of Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn
Sherri Brooks Vinton, food writer, The Real Food Revival
Jake Schiffman, food buyer and general gastronomic expert from Food Network
Cathy Erway, yours truly (The Art of Eating In)

To compete, email [email protected] and feel free to ask any questions; you’ll receive a confirmation response soon.

Finally, a recipe for my latest pot of soup, which I polished off throughout the first half of The Week of Eating In last week (before taking off to Wisconsin). Now that I’m back home, the fridge is looking quite empty and sad. Soo looking forward to Saturday!

Everything But the Noodle Chicken Soup
(makes about 3-4 quarts)

1 small (about 2 lb) chicken
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 rib celery with any leaves attached, chopped
2 stalks fennel, chopped (or substitute with another rib of celery)
about 2 cups chopped root vegetables such as turnips, parsnips, celery root, rutabaga
2-3 cups dried cannelini (or substitute any dried beans), soaked overnight and cooked until almost tender, about 30-40 minutes, depending on the size of the bean
rind of Parmesan cheese
about 1 1/2 cups homemade tomato sauce (or substitute 1 small can stewed tomatoes)
about 1 1/2 cup leftover butternut squash soup (or substitute 1 small can pumpkin, or disregard)
about 2 cups chopped beet greens (or kale, collards, Swiss chard, spinach)
1 head garlic
1 bunch parsley
1 bunch thyme
any remaining fennel fronds (optional)
2-3 bay leaves
extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Submerge chicken in about 1 gallon cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour, occasionally skimming impurities that rise to the surface with a slotted spoon. Remove chicken and once cool enough to handle, pick and shred the meat. Discard the carcass.

Meanwhile, coat the chopped root vegetables in a thin coat of oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in a preheated 400 degree oven until just crisped at the edges, about 5 minutes. Cut off the bottom of the head of garlic just to expose each of the cloves (but don’t cut off too much of them). Drizzle with a teaspoon or so of olive oil and wrap the head of garlic with foil. Roast at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins. Mash lightly in a bowl.

Cover the bottom of a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven with a thin layer of olive oil, and cook the onions, carrots, celery and fennel over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the tomato sauce (or stewed tomatoes). Tie the thyme and half the bunch of parsley in kitchen twine to make a bouquet garni and add to the pot. Add the chicken, roasted vegetables, roasted garlic, bay leaves, Parmesan rind, almost-cooked beans and optional squash soup along with all the chicken stock. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover, and cook for about 30 minutes. Add the chopped greens, and cook another 10-15 minutes.

Remove bouquet garni, bay leaves and Parmesan rind and taste for seasoning, adding salt, pepper, and any additional spices as desired. Add the remaining half-bunch of parsley, chopped, and optional fennel fronds as garnish.

3 Responses

  1. […] there’s one thing I learned from the Souperama this weekend, it’s that a big batch of soup is meant to be enjoyed by many. And, okay, […]

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