Here are a few ideas for warming winter soups to keep up your strength during the cold, dark winter months!  Whether bean-based or vegetables pureed and deepened with cream, these soups are a welcome meal by the fireside. The mushroom soups have the additional benefit of being a strengthener for your immune system!  If you don’t have a fireplace, light a bunch of candles against the dark and enjoy!

Zuppa di Carota e Finnocchio (carrot fennel soup)

1 lb carrots, cleaned and chopped

1 lb fresh fennel, chopped

1 onion, chopped

olive oil

3 tbsp butter

3 cups chicken or vegetable broth, or water

Sea salt

white pepper

Sauté onion in olive oil until soft.  Add butter, carrots, and fennel and continue to cook over a medium heat, stirring until the vegetables begin to soften.  Cover with broth or water and continue to cook until the veggies are very soft, at least 30 minutes, adding a small amount of water or broth as it cooks off.   Salt while it’s cooking.   Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender until smooth.  The consistency should be thick, you may add additional broth if you want it thinner.  Before serving, reheat and stir in a light grinding of white pepper.  Top with chopped fennel fronds and croutons.

Zuppa di Funghi  (wild mushroom soup)

1 lb mixed wild mushrooms (chanterelles, blue foot, shitake, black trumpet)

1/2 cup dried porcini, soaked

1 medium onion, small chop

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teas fresh rosemary, minced

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt & pepper

1 cup white wine

1/2 cup cream

Clean and chop the mushrooms into medium pieces.  Saute the onion, garlic and parsley in the butter and olive oil until soft, add the mushrooms, the rosemary and the porcini, saving the water the porcini soaked in.  When the mushrooms begin to soften and are well sauteed,  salt and pepper to taste and add the white wine.  Allow the wine to cook off, then add the saved porcini water and enough water to cover.  Simmer at least 30 minutes and briefly puree with an immersion blender, keeping some mushroom pieces for texture.  Add cream and serve. May be topped with croutons.

Zuppa di Zucca Gialla (winter squash soup)

1 butternut squash

1 medium onion, chopped

4 tbsp butter and olive oil, combined

broth* or water

½-1cup cream

nutmeg

salt

white pepper

Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds.  Place it cut-side down in a roasting pan with a small amount of water.   Roast the squash in a 400 degree oven until soft, remove from the oven, and when the squash has cooled enough to handle, scoop out the meat and discard the skin.   Sauté the onions in the butter and oil until softened, add the squash meat and sauté 5-10 minutes.  Add broth or water to cover the squash, salt, nutmeg and a dash of white pepper and simmer on low at least 20 minutes.

Puree the mixture with an immersion blender and add additional water if too thick.  Reheat and finish the soup with the cream, salt to taste.  Top the soup with croutons and a good drizzle of new extra virgin olive oil.  You can jazz it up and make it more elegant by sauteing porcini mushrooms and topping a crostino, floating that on the soup.

Making broth

*The best broth is the one you make at home with a little chicken, turkey bones or just vegetables: carrots, celery, onion, parsley and peppercorns, simmered an hour.  It’s healthy and easy!  But if you must buy a canned or boxed broth, be sure to dilute it as they’re very concentrated and can overwhelm the delicate taste of the squash.

Croutons:

One loaf of french or italian country loaf, something dense, with crusts cut off, extra virgin olive oil and salt.  Cube the bread into 1″ pieces, place on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and bake at 400 until golden brown.