The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, January 2015 … January is National Soup Month, celebrating a dish that is as old as cooking itself. Chefs from restaurants at Benchmark Resorts & Hotels® and Personal Luxury Resorts & Hotels® provide striking new takes on this iconic comfort food. Their recipes from around the country rely on local ingredients combined in fresh, flavorful and healthy ways. With virtually every culture in history having its own versions of this culinary classic — from delicate bisques to hearty stews – today craft beers add unique flavors to soups made of local cheeses, and Florida Stone Crabs, trout fresh from mountain streams, Atlantic clams, spiny lobsters, California sunchokes, Tennessee salsify, as well as Southwestern corn compose soups in Benchmark kitchens across America, making National Soup Month a celebration indeed.
Soup goes back over the millennia. First boiled in leather pouches over hot rocks at the end of the Stone Age, in time soup was on in pots throughout the ancient world, and the human race never looked back. How did soup go from primitive man boiling a bone to Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi and Andy Warhol’s iconic soup cans?
From ancient times, soup was recognized for its healthy, restorative powers. The Greek physician Hippocrates touted the benefits of lentil soup and soon it was sold in the streets of Athens. Beloved by patricians and peasants alike, recipes for vegetable soups are found in records from ancient Rome, Egypt and Byzantium. In the late 18th Century, Captain Cook set sail for Australia with stops in Alaska and Hawaii carrying 1000 pounds of dried soup. In America, Lewis and Clark’s provisions for their storied expedition included packs of dehydrated soup. Then in 1869, soup was condensed and canned with the launch of the Campbell Soup Company. The late 19th Century and early 20th saw huge numbers of immigrants come to America’s shores, bringing their native soups with them — German potato, Italian Minestrone, pea soup from the Netherlands, Russian Borscht, French Onion, Beef & Lamb stew from the British Isles, Afro-Caribbean flavors of Gumbo, Hot & Sour soup from China, and the ultimate comfort and curative, Chicken Soup. Over time, uniquely American soups evolved, such as infinite varieties of New England clam chowder, consumed from Maine to Manhattan. Today, Americans enjoy soup in settings that range from home kitchens and fast food outlets to fine dining restaurants serving innovative new versions of classic soups.
Benchmark Hospitality chefs offer new recipes to help cooks celebrate National Soup Month 2015.
Napa Valley, California, Bardessono
Freshly sourced local ingredients and vegetables from the hotel’s expansive gardens, create a unique, California soup.
Little Farms Sunchoke Soup
Chef Victor Scargle
Serves 8-10
Ingredients:
6 oz. Fennel – core removed, sliced thin
2 oz. Leeks – sliced thin
6 oz. Celery – sliced thin
1lb Sunchokes -washed very well, sliced thin
½ c. White wine
2 tbsp. Pernod
¾ c. Heavy Cream
3 c. Vegetable Stock
1 tbsp. Kosher salt
1 tbsp. Black pepper
1 tbsp. Grapeseed oil
1 ea Local Apple – brunoise (very small, uniform dice)
12 ea Chervil Sprigs
½ oz. Truffle julienne
4 oz. Crème Fraiche
Method:
Place grapeseed oil in thick bottomed pot or Dutch oven, on medium heat add vegetables and salt (draws out moisture and flavor). Cook over low heat until tender. Add wine and Pernod and reduce by half. Next add vegetable stock and reduce by half again. Add cream, simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning throughout the cooking process and taste constantly. Blend the soup in a blender and pass through medium mesh strainer. Cool. Garnish – top with brunoises of local apple top with a quenelle of crème fraiche, chervil sprigs and julienne truffle.
Racine, Wisconsin, The Council House
Craft beer and Wisconsin Cheddar make up this special squash soup from the Council House Conference Center in Racine.
Beer, Cheese and Butternut Soup
Chef Dawn Knutson
Serves 8-10
Ingredients:
¼ c. Butter
½ c. Diced celery
½ c. Diced carrot
1 c. Diced onion
4 Cloves garlic chopped
24 oz. New Glarus Spotted Cow Beer
4 c. Chicken stock
½ c. Butter
2/3 c. All-purpose flour
1 qt. Half and half
1 1/3 c. Butternut squash puree
8 c. Shredded Wisconsin Cheddar
1/8 c. Fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. Dry mustard
Salt, pepper, fresh thyme, nutmeg and smoked paprika to taste
As needed – Popped corn
Method:
Sauté celery, carrot, onion and garlic in ¼ c. butter until all are soft. Add beer and stock, heat through and season with salt and pepper.
In another pot melt ½ c. butter, whisk in flour. Cook on medium low heat, do not burn. Whisk in half and half, stir until thickened and no lumps remain. Add butternut squash, cheese, lemon juice and dry mustard. Continue to stir until everything is smooth. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, thyme and smoked paprika.
Pour both cheese mixture and stock in a blender. Blend until smooth. Check seasonings. Re-heat if necessary. Serve garnished with popped corn.
Fort Lauderdale (Weston), Florida, Bonaventure Resort & Spa
Florida’s legendary Stone Crabs are the main ingredient in this delicious bisque at the Bonaventure Resort and Spa on the edge of the Everglades.
Stone Crab Bisque
Chef Bob Axenfeld
Serves 8-10
For the Bisque
Ingredients:
1 c. Butter
1 c. Chopped onion, thin chop
1 c. Chopped green pepper, thin chop
4 Scallions, thin chop
2 pkg. Fresh mushrooms
½ c. Fresh parsley, chopped
½ c. Flour
4 c. Milk
4 tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Pepper
2 tsp. Hot sauce
6 c. Half and Half
5 c. Stone crab claw meat (about 45 medium claws)
½ c. Dry sherry
Method:
In a Dutch oven, melt ½ cup of butter over medium heat. When melted, add the first five ingredients from the ingredient list. Sauté onions, peppers, scallions, and mushrooms until tender. Once sautéed, remove from Dutch oven and set aside.
In same Dutch oven, melt ½ cup of butter over low heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth, cooking for approximately one minute. Gradually add and whisk in the milk. Cook until thickened and bubbly. Once thickened, add the onion-pepper-scallion-mushroom mixture along with salt and pepper, hot sauce, and half and half. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and stir in crabmeat. Simmer for approximately 5 minutes while stirring often. Stir in dry sherry.
Recipe Notes:
Stone Crabs are in season from October 15th until May 15th.
Chattanooga, Tennessee, The Chattanoogan Hotel
Southern comfort and local produce are found in the Salsify Soup served at The Chattanoogan Hotel’s Broad Street Grille.
Salsify Soup
Chef Adam Roe
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients:
3 lb. Salsify, peeled and soaked in lemon water until ready to roast
¼ c Olive Oil
4 tbsp Butter
1 1/2 c Vidalia Onion diced
½ c Diced celery
2 Medium potatoes peeled and diced
8 c Chicken stock
½ c Cream
Collard Green Pesto
1 Bunch collard greens stemmed and washed
¼ c Toasted pecans
½ c Olive Oil
¼ c Parmesan Cheese, shredded
Method:
Soup
Roast salsify with olive oil in 400 F oven until tender
Sauté onion and celery in butter until translucent and add potatoes and chicken stock
Simmer until potatoes are tender and add roasted salsify
Simmer 20 min
Remove soup from heat and puree with heavy cream
Season to taste with salt and pepper
Pesto
Cut Collards and cook in boiling salted water for 5 min, remove and drain
Place collards, pecans, and cheese in food processor and on lowest setting blend while slowly drizzling oil until fully incorporated
Chicago, Illinois, Eaglewood Resort & Spa
The craft beer trend continues with a spicy chili touch at Burnham’s in Chicagoland’s Eaglewood Resort & Spa.
Illinois Farm Roasted Church Beer Corn Chowder, Smoked Hungarian Paprika Chili Corn Oil
Executive Chef John Billings
Serves 8-10
Chili Oil
Ingredients:
1 tsp. Smoked Hungarian Paprika
1 tsp. Pasdilla Chili Pepper
6 oz. Corn Oil
Method:
Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together. Place onto a squirt bottle.
Corn Chowder
Ingredients:
4 oz. Corn Oil
2 tbsp. Chopped Roasted Garlic
2 oz. Diced Sweet Yellow Onion
5 oz. ¼” Diced Red Potato
5 oz. Roasted Fresh Illinois Sweet Corn
4 oz. Flour
¼ gal Chicken Stock
8 oz. Church Street Beer
1 pint Heavy Cream
3 oz. Whole Butter
Method:
Melt Butter and add garlic, onions, corn, and potatoes. Sauté till vegetables are tender. Add flour to make a roux and cook for five minutes. Add chicken stock, beer, and cook till thickens. Add cream and seasonings. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Pour soup into serving dish and drizzle with smoked Hungarian paprika chili oil
San Antonio, Texas, Hotel Contessa
In San Antonio, prized Serrano ham and Manchego cheese echo Hotel Contessa’s Spanish flair.
Caldo Gallego
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients:
2 lb. Cannellini beans soaked overnight
2 ea. Small yellow onions diced
8 ea. Cloves garlic chopped
1 ea. Bulb fennel diced
2 ea. Smoked ham hock
4 oz. Serrano ham diced
4 ea. Bay leaves
6 ea. Red potatoes sliced and boiled tender
6 oz. Light olive oil
4 oz. Grated Manchego cheese
5 c. Lacinato kale chopped
4 qt. Chicken stock
4 ea. Grilling chorizo sausages sliced
Cracked black pepper to taste
Kosher salt to taste
Spanish olive oil (as much as you like)
Method:
Soup:
Boil beans until reasonably tender and set aside
Add the light olive oil to a medium stock pot and add serrano ham and two slices of chorizo and sauté until fragrant and oil turns a little red
Add onion, garlic, and fennel
Sweat vegetables until softened and fragrant (no browning)
Add chicken broth, bay leaf and ham bone and simmer for 45 min
While soup is simmering, grill or pan fry chorizo slices in Spanish olive oil and set aside (keep the grease)
To finish:
Add cooked beans, and season with salt and pepper
Add sliced potatoes, kale, and chorizo slices and simmer for 10 – 15 additional minutes (depending on how cooked you like your kale)
Serve in a shallow bowl with lots of the chorizo infused Spanish oil drizzled over, and grated manchego cheese
Note: This is a Spanish style peasant soup from the Galicia region of northern Spain, where the Spanish language and culture is blended with Celtic influence from the proximity to southern Ireland.
Rancho Santa Fe, California, The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe
Pacific spiny lobsters and avocado combine in the sophisticated California Cuisine served at Morada at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe.
Chilled Hass Avocado Soup with Grilled Spiny Lobster Ceviche
Chef Todd Allison
Serves 8-10
Ingredients for the soup
6 Ripe Hass Avocados
6 Cloves of roasted garlic
2 tbsp. Chopped raw shallot
½ Of 1 Jalapeno – chopped
¼ c. Chopped cilantro
¼ c. White soy
½ c. Lime juice
½ c. Lemon juice
3-5 c. Whole organic milk (this will determine how thick you would like the soup)
Salt & pepper to taste
Method:
In a blender combine all ingredients except for the milk and blend on low-medium speed. Slowly add the milk until you reach the desired thickness of your soup. Season with salt and pepper to r desired taste, you may also add tabasco for additional heat.
Ingredients for the Ceviche:
2 California spiny lobster tails
1 Persian cucumber diced
½ lb Heirloom cherry tomatoes cut in halves
¼ c. Diced red onion
½ c. Cilantro leaves
½ c. Extra virgin olive oil
¼ c. Fresh lime juice
½ c. Fresh orange juice
Method:
Take the lobster tails and brush with olive oil & season with salt & pepper. On a hot grill, grill the lobsters until cooked through (5-8 minutes). Chill the lobsters, once chilled cut the lobster into ½ inch cubes. In a bowl combine lobster and the rest of the ingredients, mix together and season with salt and pepper
Recipe Notes:
The California spiny lobster is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Monterey Bay, California to the Gulf of Tehuantepec, Mexico. In common with all spiny lobsters, the California spiny lobster has two large, spiny antennae, but no large claws on its legs. The California spiny lobster is one of the largest spiny lobster species.
The Hass Avocado was first grown and sold by Southern California mail carrier and amateur horticulturist Rudolph Hass, who also gave it his name.
Owing to its taste, size, shelf-life, high growing yield and in some areas, year-round harvesting, the Hass cultivar is the most commercially popular avocado worldwide. In the United States it accounts for more than 80% of the avocado crop, 95% of the California crop.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Snow King Resort
The Smoked Trout in this rich chowder is fresh from the mountain streams surrounding the Snow King Resort in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Smoked Trout Chowder
Chef Josh Ladd, Snow King Resort
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. Unsalted3 c. yellow onion-small dice
3 c. Yellow onion-small dice
2 c. Idaho Red Potatoes-small dice
1 tbsp. & 1 tsp. Minced garlic
1 ½ c. All-purpose flour
1 gal Heavy cream
1 lb. Smoked trout-skin removed and broken into small pieces
2 tbsp. Minced, fresh thyme leaves
3 tbsp. Kosher salt
¼ tsp. Ground white pepper
1/8 tsp. Ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. Cayenne pepper
1 tsp. Tabasco
Method:
Melt butter over medium high heat in a 2 gallon soup pot. Add the onion, celery, and potatoes and cook for about 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook 2 more minutes. Add the flour and cook 4 minutes. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pot well so the flour does not burn. Add the cream and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook 12 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom every 2 minutes. Add the trout, thyme, salt, white pepper, cayenne pepper, nutmeg & tabasco.
Serving instructions:
Serve with toasted ciabatta bread, garnish with parsley leaves, tarragon leaves & chopped chives all tossed in a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Sprinkle a little ground Espelette pepper and enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
Espelette pepper is the treasured chili of Spain’s Basque country,known for its robust and slightly smoky flavor
New Brunswick, New Jersey, The Heldrich
Crispy potato dumplings enliven a classic and creamy New England Clam Chowder at Christopher’s Restaurant in the Heldrich Hotel, New Brunswick.
New England Clam Chowder, Crispy Potato Dumplings
Executive Chef CJ Chambers
Serves: 8-10
For the Potato Dumpling
Ingredients:
1 lb. Cooked Potato puree
2 ea. Eggs
¼ c. Ricotta Cheese
3 c. All-purpose flour
1 pinch Nutmeg
To Taste Salt and pepper
1 qt. Canola Oil (fry frying)
Method:
Peel potato and cook in a small pot with salted water until potato is fork tender. Drain off water and puree in food processer for 30 seconds with the ricotta cheese, then place in a mixing bowl and create a small well in the center. Combine eggs, nutmeg, salt and pepper and mix together. Pour egg mixture into the small well you created. Add one cup of flour to the potato and egg mixture and start to combine using your hands. Continue to add flour until you have a dough ball that is not sticky to the touch. Roll dough into small log shapes and cut into ½ inch pieces. Roll pieces into a ball. Roll the dough balls over the back of a fork making an indention with your thumb. Cook immediately in lightly boiling water until Dumpling float to the top. Drain and chill in an ice bath and dry off until ready to fry. Heat pan of oil to 325 degrees and place dumpling in oil and fry until golden brown. Let drain on paper towel and season with salt and pepper
Clam Chowder
Ingredients:
4 c. Peeled and cubed potatoes
4 Slices bacon, diced
1 ½ c. Clam juice
1 ½ c. Chopped onion
3 c. Half and half
3 tbsp. Butter
To taste Salt and pepper
20 oz. can Chopped clams
1 tbsp. Fresh Thyme
Method:
Place diced bacon in large stock pot over medium-high heat. Cook until almost crisp; add onions, and cook 5 minutes. Drain clams and reserve stir in clam juice and potatoes, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender. Pour in half-and-half, and add butter. Add in clams and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until heated through but do not allow to boil. Finish with fresh chopped thyme.
Orlando, Florida, Villas of Grand Cypress
Florida crabs and fresh corn are spiced with a Creole seasoning at the Villas of Grand Cypress in Orlando.
Florida Corn & Crab Chowder
Chef Lonny Huots
Serves 8-10
Ingredients:
1 oz. Melted butter
1 pd. Fresh cut corn
1 oz. Red onion (minced)
2 oz. Red bell Pepper (minced)
2 oz. Green bell pepper (minced)
1 tsp. Garlic (minced)
20 oz. Heavy whipping cream
20 oz. Fresh crab stock (or 20 oz water 2 oz. crab base)
2 tbsp. Creole seasoning
1 pinch Fresh thyme leafs
1 tsp. Corn starch with 1 tsp. water mixed
Method:
In stock pot sweat all the vegetable in clarified butter.
Add the water cream and bases and mix well.
Add all the seasonings and bring to bring to a simmer.
Thicken with the corn starch slurry. Garnish with jumbo lump crab meat, chive oil, and fried sweet potato curls.
Blackburg, Virginia, The Inn at Virginia Tech
Healthy and hearty Potato and Kale Soup is on the menu at Preston’s, at the Inn at Virginia Tech. Preston’s is known for its fine fare and award-winning wine cellar.
Yukon Gold Potato and Kale Soup
Chef David Oehirng, Inn at Virginia Tech
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. Olive Oil
8 oz Yellow Onions – sliced
2 lbs. Yukon Gold Potato – peeled and cubed
1 qtr. Heavy Cream
1 pt Vegetable Stock
2 tbsp. Kosher Salt
¼ tsp Ground White Pepper
2 tsp Ground Coriander
1 lb. Red New Potatoes – ¼ inch dice
1 oz. Whole Butter
6 oz Fresh Kale – Chopped into bite size pieces
¼ c Sour Cream
Method:
In a 8 qt. sauce pot, heat the olive oil, add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the Yukon potatoes, heavy cream, vegetable stock, salt, pepper, and the coriander. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, approximately 30 minutes. Puree with a stick blender or a food processor until smooth. Return to the pot, add the diced red potatoes, bring back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender, approximately 15 minutes. Heat a sauté’ pan on the stove, add the butter and the kale, cook on a high heat for 4 minutes. Stir into soup, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Put into serving bowl and finish with a dollop of sour cream.
Woodinville, Washington, Willows Lodge
The Willows Lodge and its acclaimed Barking Frog restaurant offer Pacific Northwest cuisine with a twist – short ribs on the side of a rich celeriac soup.
Celeriac Soup and Braised Short Ribs
Chef Bobby Moore, Barking Frog restaurant at Willows Lodge
Serves 8-10
For the Celeriac Soup
Ingredients:
1 lb. Peeled and medium diced Celeriac
1 lb. Medium diced Yukon Potatoes
1 lb. White Mirepoix (heavy on the Celery)
1 c. Whole Garlic
¾ c. Honey
½ c. Lemon Juice
½ c. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 bunch Thyme
¾ gal. Cream
¼ lb. Whole Butter
Water as needed
1 sachet (Black Peppercorns, Bay Leaves, Chili Flakes)
Method:
Sweat mirepoix with garlic in butter augmented with clarified butter until translucent. Deglaze with wine and let reduce by half. Add vinegar, lemon juice and honey. Add Celeriac and Yukons, along with cream and water; bring to simmer and cook until celery root and potatoes are tender. Puree and run through china cap. Note: Be sure to season with salt and white pepper each step.
For the Braised Short Ribs
Ingredients:
3 lb Boneless Short Ribs
1 qt. Mirepoix (2 Onions, ½ head Celery, 2 Carrots)
1 bottle Red Wine
1 bunch Thyme
1 sachet (Black Pepper, Chili Flake, Bay Leaves wrapped in cheese cloth)
1 ½ c. Garlic
Water as needed to cover most of the ribs
Method:
Season short ribs in salt and pepper liberally. Sear on both sides in oil until caramelized. . Be careful not to burn the bottom of the pan. Reserve short ribs in another large pan while deglazing pan with red wine. After all fat is pulled off of pan, pour liquid over seared ribs. Add remaining ingredients and water until almost completely submerged. Cover with parchment paper and foil. Place in over and cook on high flame at 350° for 3 – 3 ½ hours.
Recipe Note: Short Ribs should be very tender but still hold shape while being handled.
