Best Idea Ever

Some time ago, I made chocolate ice cream with Guinness, and let me just say how awesome it turned out. Loved it! Afterwards, I had a few extra cans sitting in my beer fridge, waiting to be consumed. What to do? What to do?


I got it!


Guinness Broccoli Cheddar Soup!                           ....................YES!....................


A fairly easy recipe, this soup is not too hard to make yourself. The most important part of this whole thing, is the roux. I cannot stress enough how crucial it is to cook out all the flour. No one wants a doughy soup, or a lumpy mess in their bowl. Okay you got me, it's a pet peeve of mine.  Mainly because I've seen it happen far too often, or maybe because I come from a place where the roux is what can make the whole dish happen.


Now that I've gotten that little rant out of the way, we can start.

Guinness Cheddar Broccoli Soup
by Chef John N Carminati


Ingredients 
1/2 large Spanish onion (small to medium diced)
4 garlic cloves (rough chopped)
1/4 cup unsalted butter 
2/3 cup all purpose flour 
3 qt whole milk 
1/2 cup heavy cream 
2 cups Guinness
1 lb sharp cheddar cheese (grated) 
1/2 lb chopped broccoli 


Method 

1. In a large stock pot over medium heat, sweat out onions and garlic in butter until just translucent, no color.
2. Dust in flour and cook out roux until blonde.
3. Turn heat down slowly. Whisk in milk, taking care not to scald the bottom. Bring to a simmer, then add cream and bring back to a simmer.  Add Guinness. 
4. Melt in cheddar, 1 hand full at a time.
5. Fold in broccoli, cover and let cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Parsley & Tomato Salad

At Urban Oasis, we have many different varietals of tomatoes.  Varying in size, color, sweetness and acidity, these different characteristics all play a large part in food paring.  I really wanted to showcase the quality of the farm’s fresh vegetables, so I chose a simple lemon juice dressing. Bringing in the green flavor of celery leaves and the earthiness of parsley gives this salad just what it needs to hold its own on any fine dining room table.

This tomato season has had its ups and downs.  The plants put up a fight early on, but due to farmer Dave’s amazing knowledge and skill, we ended up growing more than we ever hoped for.

Thanks, Dave!

During the demo, I wanted to show these tomatoes off a bit.  Not because I happen to work out there (and think they’re the best ever),  but because I love food. I also love sharing my passion with others, and this was one way to do just that.



Parsley & Tomato Salad

by Chef John N Carminati




Ingredients

1 1/2 cup halved tomatoes
1 cup packed picked parsley leaves
1/2 cup celery leaves
Juice from one large lemon, roughly 5 tbsp
2 1/2 tbsp walnut oil
Red onion, julienned
8 nasturtium leaves chiffonade and chopped stems
Salt to taste

Method

1. In a large mixing bowl, add tomatoes, onions, nasturtium stems and lemon juice.  Let the flavors marry together a few minutes.
2. Add nasturtium leaves, oil & salt.  Toss together and serve.  
3. Garnish with nasturtium flowers.