25 October 2011

And so the cold arrived

I cannot explain how good it feels to finally breath the cold in the air and feel the earth smell of the first autumn rains. I know that in a few months I'll be wishing for sun and warm, but that's the beauty of it! Now all I want is the warm of the fireplace and comforting soups. Healthy and delightful soups.

There's no more comforting memory for me than the one of being at my gradmother's kitchen. It was a large boarding house kitchen, with a big wood oven and a long old table at the center, made of wood with a marble top, where we would get together every day. Specially during winter, that's where we would spend most of our time. Lunching, watching cartoons on the old small tv, doing school homework, or just watching my grandmother cook on the giant oven (as we, little ones, saw it then).

There was always a scent of smoke in the air mixed with fresh shop vegetables and roasted meat. When I was preparating the green beans for this soup, the air was invaded with that familiar fresh aroma and I was imidiately brought back to those days. My grandmother's kitchen smelled like fresh shoped green beans!


My turkey soup with green beans

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
A turkey wing or leg
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
a handful of green beans
1 carrot
1 bay leave
Parsley
Black peppercorns
Olive oil

Put the turkey on a pressure cooker, cover it with water, season with salt and add the bay leave and a few peppercorns (you can do this in a regular pan, but it will take longer). Let it cook until really tender (about 45 minutes). When done, take the meat out of the stock and let it cool, then strain the broth and put it on a soup pan.

Chop finely the onion and the garlic and add it to the pan. Slice the beans and the carrot using a food processor, or chop it finely by hand and add them to the pan too. Cook it until all the vegetables are perfectly cooked, but not falling apart.

Add water, if needed, check the seasoning and finish it with fresh parsley and a drizzle of olive oil. Shred the turkey and serve it aside to garnish the soup.

Now, light the fireplace, put on a oldie black & white movie and sit on the couch enjoying your warm soup.




**
all photos by me

7 comments:

  1. we never have turkey except at christmas and just the other day I said I really wanted some, funny huh?! hope you are well! - I'm not a fan of this time of year because it's just raiiin! but in a few months I will be content.

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  2. yum.. thank you for sharing such beautiful memories.. made me miss my grandma too!

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  3. Aww, such wonderful memories of your grandmother.

    Soups is definitely one thing I enjoy about the cooler months. We eat alot of them. (Vegetarians - lots of different vegetables and legumes, yum!)

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  4. a perfect autumn soup!
    and what lovely memories. i love how when kids we see things as giant.

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  5. In Portugal turkey is a very common meat, and at christmas we eat our traditional cod, made from salty cod: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dried_and_salted_cod

    My memories of those days are really perfect. I miss it so much...

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  6. Parece-me uma espécie de canja de perú. Muito bom aspecto, de crescer água na boca!

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  7. Oh we just ate chicken soup today. This recipe looks delicious, and I loved the story of your grandma's kitchen.

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