The Nourishing Gourmet

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Soups

Homemade Instant Noodle Bowls

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Homemade Instant Noodle Soups (with Paleo Options) - The Nourishing Gourmet

By Natalia Gill, from An Appetite For Joy

Mason jar salads are a healthy and handy lunch idea. But as temperatures drop and we crave more warming foods, how about instant noodle bowls? Simply pack a few jars with savory Asian fixin’s. When you’re ready to eat, add hot broth and you have a satisfying umami-rich soup on the spot.

This quick meal idea was born when my husband and I caught a cold after a fun, rainy wedding weekend in Savannah. We needed something fast but even more so, we needed something restorative. This soup was perfect, two key ingredients being comforting stock and powerful turmeric.

Since then I’ve lined up a few in the fridge for easy lunches on busy weeks.

Incidentally, I like to eat the noodles with a fork or chopsticks while taking sips of broth straight from the jar or bowl. This is how my Japanese colleagues (from my previous life) ate noodle soups when I was in Tokyo. Pictured here are rice noodles, but there are a number of delicious gluten-free pasta options with which you can experiment!

GRAIN-FREE OPTION
Try mung bean threads, found in the Asian section of many grocery stores. They look and taste a lot like thin rice noodles.

PALEO OPTION
Season with coconut aminos instead of tamari, and use kelp noodles. (If you haven’t yet tried kelp noodles, they are silky, soft and neutral in taste!)

Homemade Instant Noodle Bowls - The Nourishing Gourmet

HOMEMADE INSTANT NOODLE BOWL
Serves 1
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons tamari (or coconut aminos)
  • 1 cup cooked noodles (rice, mung bean or kelp)
  • ¼ cup chopped cooked chicken
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons diced green onions
  • hot peppers such as jalapenos or habaneros (sliced thinly, to taste)
  • 1 cup hot broth
  • unrefined salt and pepper (to taste, optional)
Fill a mason jar with all of the ingredients except for the broth, salt and pepper. Store in the fridge. When you are ready to eat, pour in the hot broth. Stir very well. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Homemade Instant Noodle Bowls
 
Author:
Recipe type: Soup
Cuisine: Asian-inspired
Serves: 1 serving
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If you liked instant noodle bowls as a kid, you will love this easy healthier option. Perfect for quick, make-ahead lunches. Enjoy!
Ingredients
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons tamari (or coconut aminos)
  • 1 cup cooked noodles (rice, mung bean or kelp)
  • ¼ cup chopped chicken
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons diced green onions
  • hot peppers such as jalapenos or habaneros (sliced thinly, to taste)
  • 1 cup hot broth
  • unrefined salt and pepper (to taste, optional)
Instructions
  1. Fill a mason jar with all of the ingredients except for the broth, salt and pepper. Store in the fridge. When you are ready to eat, pour in the hot broth. Stir very well. Adjust seasonings to taste.

 

 

White Bean and Polish Sausage Stew with Greens

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White Bean and Polish Sausage Stew with Greens-www.thenourishinggourmet.com

By Katie Mae, From Nourishing Simplicity

Fresh juicy tomatoes, white beans, nourishing chicken broth, and slices of savory sausage are the foundation of this hearty stew. It is the perfect meal that ushers summer into fall.

My counter tops are covered in tomatoes straight from the garden. It is wonderful to enjoy them raw but when there is an overabundance they are just begging to be made into a warm dish.

Warm days are slowly giving way to fall. I love the cool mornings that hold a promise of blustery days to come. As soon as I feel a hint of crispness in the air my mind turns to nourishing soups and stews.

Simple meals like this white bean and sausage stew with greens is easy to prepare yet filling making it the perfect weeknight meal. Pair it with a slice of crusty sourdough bread spread with garlic butter (or herbed garlic butter) and maybe a side salad and you are good to go!

I love how the most basic ingredients like onions, garlic, salt, and traditional fats can transform a dish. They add wonderful flavor without hurting the pocket book and are the foundations of this stew. I prefer to use homemade chicken broth, fresh tomatoes, and beans that I have soaked and cooked myself but feel free to used canned if that is what works best for you. I try to keep a few jars of broth in the freezer or fridge so that they are ready to use.

White Bean and Polish Sausage Stew with Greens

1 quart chicken broth
3 cups white beans, that have been soaked and cooked
1/2 pound polish sausage, sliced
4 cups spinach, kale, or other greens, roughly chopped (if using kale, remove the stems)
4 cups tomatoes, diced
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp unrefined salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, sprinkle with salt and saute until almost translucent for 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the sausage and garlic. Cook until the sausage in lightly browned, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.

3. Add the broth, beans, tomatoes, salt, thyme, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Add the greens. If you are using spinach or another soft green cook for about 1 minute. If you are using kale cook for an additional 10 minutes or until soft.

White Bean and Polish Sausage with Greens
 
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Serves: 8 servings
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Ingredients
  • 1 quart chicken broth
  • 3 cups white beans, that have been soaked and cooked
  • ½ lb polish sausage, sliced
  • 4 cups spinach, kale, or other greens, roughly chopped (if using kale, remove the stems)
  • 4 cups tomatoes, diced
  • ½ yellow onion, chopped
  • 4 TBS olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp unrefined salt
  • ½ tsp dried thyme
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
  1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, sprinkle with salt and saute until almost translucent for 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Add the sausage and garlic. Cook until the sausage in lightly browned, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.
  3. Add the broth, beans, tomatoes, salt, thyme, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Simmer for 15 minutes.
  4. Add the greens. If you are using spinach or another soft green cook for about 1 minute. If you are using kale cook for an additional 10 minutes or until soft.

 

Garden Vegetable Soup

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Healthy Garden Vegetable Soup -- This lovely kid-friendly soup is the perfect lunch. -- The Nourishing Gourmet

By Renee, From Raising Generation Nourished

Sweet, juicy tomatoes, garden fresh green beans, creamy potatoes, and a load of other mineral rich garden vegetables, this garden veggie soup is both nourishing and very family friendly in taste!

We are swimming in fresh garden produce from our household garden and our local farmers! We certainly enjoy much of it fresh, but for the most part when the abundance starts rolling in that means soup time in my house.

Having a good variety of fresh vegetable-based soups is one of my secrets to kids that gladly eat their veggies. Our staple fresh tomato soup, broccoli soup, chicken stew, and this garden vegetable soup are some of our family favorites – and they have become my sanity when it comes to school lunches. For more soup recipes, check out Kimi’s book, Ladled: Nourishing Soups for All Seasons, and the many soup recipes already on this blog.

Last year was my first year of having one of my girls in full-time school, and we discovered quickly that packing nourishing school lunches was much easier when the nourishing meals from home were made in a big batch to ensure leftovers for the lunchbox.

I got myself some great thermos gear and bone broth loaded soups that she was used to having at home with her sisters for lunch became her take along to school lunch most days of the week.

This is a simple vegetable soup that freezes very well and is very kid friendly in taste. When you cook down those veggies in some beautiful friendly fats amazing flavor shines through.

Take advantage of your own garden abundance or hit the farmer’s markets, local CSA’s, or community gardens this harvest season and let’s stock up some soup for the fall!

Healthy Garden Vegetable Soup -- This lovely kid-friendly soup is the perfect lunch. -- The Nourishing Gourmet

By the way! This doubles up into a large stockpot very well – toward the end of August when the garden needs to be cleared out and the farmer’s at the markets cut their prices down to move their produce I totally take advantage!

Garden Vegetable Soup

GARDEN VEGETABLE SOUP

  • 1/3 cup friendly fat to cook in (butter, pastured lard or tallow, coconut oil, leftover pastured bacon grease)
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 3 medium carrots, chopped
  • 3 cups cut green beans (these were from our garden but frozen organic works fine too)
  • 1 small yellow summer squash, chopped
  • 1 medium zucchini, chopped
  • 4-5 small red potatoes, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups corn (I use frozen organic from Costco)
  • 1 large tomato (This was from the garden but if it is the off season canned/jarred diced tomatoes work)
  • 5 large cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 quarts chicken broth (Check out my recipe, and Kimi’s regular recipe, and her “almost free” chicken broth recipe).
  • 1 TB fresh chopped basil or 2 tsp dried basil
  • Sea salt/pepper to taste (generously season if your bone broth was unseasoned)
  1. Melt the friendly fat in a large soup or stockpot and toss in all of the veggies EXCEPT the tomatoes, garlic and basil. Add a big pinch of sea salt to the veg and cook over medium/medium high heat stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes or so. This low and slow saute with sea salt will bring out all the juices in the veggies and sweeten them up.
  2. Add the tomato and cook 5 minutes to bring out their juices.
  3. Add the garlic and cook for a minute.
  4. Add the bone broth and basil, bring to a simmer, and cook at a simmer for 5-10 minutes.
  5. Season to your taste with sea salt and pepper. You can garnish with grated parmesan if you want. To freeze the soup, let it cool to room temp, jar it, and freeze with the lid OFF for at least 24 hours before putting the lid on. This will ensure your jar doesn’t break. You can find BPA free plastic freezer containers as well.

Garden Vegetable Soup
 
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Ingredients
  • ⅓ cup friendly fat to cook in (butter, pastured lard or tallow, coconut oil, leftover pastured bacon grease)
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 3 medium carrots, chopped
  • 3 cups cut green beans (these were from our garden but frozen organic works fine too)
  • 1 small yellow summer squash, chopped
  • 1 medium zucchini, chopped
  • 4-5 small red potatoes, chopped
  • 1½ cups corn (I use frozen organic from Costco)
  • 1 large tomato (This was from the garden but if it is the off season canned/jarred diced tomatoes work)
  • 5 large cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1½ quarts chicken broth
  • 1 TB fresh chopped basil or 2 tsp dried basil
  • Sea salt/pepper to taste (generously season if your bone broth was unseasoned)
Instructions
  1. Melt the friendly fat in a large soup or stockpot and toss in all of the veggies EXCEPT the tomatoes, garlic and basil. Add a big pinch of sea salt to the veg and cook over medium/medium high heat stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes or so. This low and slow saute with sea salt will bring out all the juices in the veggies and sweeten them up.
  2. Add the tomato and cook 5 minutes to bring out their juices.
  3. Add the garlic and cook for a minute.
  4. Add the bone broth and basil, bring to a simmer, and cook at a simmer for 5-10 minutes.
  5. Season to your taste with sea salt and pepper. You can garnish with grated parmesan if you want. To freeze the soup, let it cool to room temp, jar it, and freeze with the lid OFF for at least 24 hours before putting the lid on. This will ensure your jar doesn't break. You can find BPA free plastic freezer containers as well.

 

Ajiaco – A Colombian Chicken Soup

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Ajiaco, A Colombian Chicken Soup - The Nourishing Gourmet

By Natalia Gill, from An Appetite For Joy

Chicken, fresh summer corn and buttery potatoes are simmered in a rich broth and heightened with capers and crème fraîche. Somewhere in between a soup and a stew, ajiaco lingers in your mind long after you’ve finished your last spoonful.

Here is a little background on how I came to know and love ajiaco.

My younger brother found himself an amazing girl who is Colombian-American and when our families come together it is a revelry of art, music and some great food. My brother jams on the piano (and now my 8-yr old son is also playing away!), we get to glimpse Maria’s most recent artwork (she is an artist and art/spanish teacher), and the kitchen island is packed with all sorts of delicious food – from borsch to empanadas.

One night, Maria’s mom Ana made a huge pot of ajiaco to feed a crowd. I was looking over her shoulder, intrigued by the corn simmering in the soup, infusing it with a perfect touch of sweetness. She served it over small mounds of white rice, then (swoon) topped with cream and capers. I was hooked!

Ajiaco, A Colombian Chicken Soup - The Nourishing Gourmet

In between bowls (I stopped counting at four) I jotted down the ingredients and approximate cooking steps.

Since that night, I’ve experimented with it several times at home. A lot of the flavor comes from the broth. A frugal and flavorful chicken stock works well. This time I used a rich and gelatinous broth with drumsticks.

I hope you love Ana’s take on ajiaco as much as my family does!

HARD-TO-FIND INGREDIENTS AND SUBSTITUTIONS

If you don’t have a Latin market nearby, a couple of the ingredients can be substituted.

1) Papa criolla potatoes. Traditionally, ajiaco is made with three varieties of potatoes including papa criolla which is a starchy yellow potato. Ana had some that she had purchased in the frozen section of a Colombian market (I didn’t know fresh potatoes freeze well, but they do!) She told me that yukon gold is a good substitution.

2) Guascas. Guascas is a weed native to South America that imparts an earthy, grassy flavor to the soup, balancing out the sweet corn and starchy potatoes. Oregano is the best substitute.

If you enjoy soups, check out Kimi’s cookbook, Ladled: Nourishing Soups for All Seasons. 

MORE NOURISHING SOUPS TO TRY

Hearty Mushroom Soup (Grain-Free, Vegan)

Egyptian Red Lentil Soup with Caramelized Onions

Miso Noodle Soup with Greens and Pork Ribs (Grain Free)

Knefla – A Savory German Stew

 

Ajiaco
 
Author:
Recipe type: Soup
Cuisine: Columbian
Serves: Serves 6-8
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This Colombian chicken soup uses simple ingredients that are heightened with crème fraîche and capers for an unforgettable meal.
Ingredients
  • 2 chicken breasts (with bone and skin, preferably)
  • 2 medium tomatoes, diced
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 jalapeno, minced, seeds and stems removed if it's a spicy one (optional if you want a kick!)
  • 6 cups chicken broth or stock
  • 1.5 pounds of yukon gold or other starchy potatoes (4-6 medium), diced
  • 2 tablespoons dried guascas (or substitute dried oregano)
  • 3 ears of corn, cut into 2-inch segments
  • 1 ear of corn, kernels
  • 1 teaspoon unrefined salt (unless your broth is salty) plus more to taste
  • 2 cups white rice, for serving
  • Capers, avocado slices and crème fraîche (or alternatively, heavy cream or Mexican Crema), for serving
Instructions
  1. In a large, heavy-bottom soup pot, heat a little olive oil (or your favorite cooking fat) over medium-high heat and sear the chicken, cooking a couple of minutes on both sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
  2. In the same pot, sauté the tomatoes and onions 5 minutes. Add the chicken back to the pot and add the broth. Bring to a simmer.
  3. Once the soup has been simmering for about 15 minutes, add the potatoes, guascas, corn (ear segments and kernels) and salt.
  4. Simmer til the chicken, potatoes and corn are done (about 20 additional minutes). Taste and adjust seasonings. You may need to add salt, as soups with potatoes often require a good amount.
  5. Serve with capers and crème fraîche.

Simple