Soup is a great way to use up the bits from the fridge. Soup can also be a great way to use up the garden before the weather turns. I happened across some sexy leeks on a great sale so I loaded up! I love leeks just by themselves. Crispy, braised, sauteed, baked, grilled. There isn’t much you can’t do with leeks.
This soup came from Knorr. Having just the two burners has led me to use more packaged things. However, I can make them a bit more fancy. This package only makes 4 cups of soup so I planned a whole meal and called it Date Night Dinner.
The full menu was: steaks with crispy mushrooms, tomato, cucumber shallot and garlic salad and sourdough toast with truffle butter.
To make the soup fancy I made a quick broth with the leek trimmings, cucumber peels, mushroom stems and the shallot ends. I did have one cube of veggie bullion so I was able to keep it light. Meat bullion adds a meaty flavor. With the steaks, I wanted the soup to be all veggies and light. By quick I mean I only simmered it for an hour. It was dinner on the fly!
The meat has been such good quality that I have only seasoned with salt and pepper. I want the flavor of the meat to shine. The meat wasn’t the star of this show but it still needed to be tasty.
The mushrooms had to be used so I decided to pull a Julia Child out and make ’em crispy. We have talked about this before. For a refresher, quarter the mushrooms. Sauté them in a mix of oil and butter over high heat. This will ensure they get browned and stay firm.
Like the mushrooms, the tomatoes and cucumber had to be used. The shallot wasn’t brand new either to be honest. Sprouts carries this brand of tiny cherry tomatoes called Sprinkles and I am in love! Every time they go on sale, I buy a boat load. However, I never manage to eat them all before they get soft. Same for the cucumber. We get these mini cucumber in called Cocktail cucumbers. I love them for any of the Asian recipes or for this salad. I will give a better recipe.
1 cup mini cherry tomatoes cut in half
4-6 mini cucumbers cut into slices
1 shallot chopped into the same size chunks as the tomato and cucumber
1 clove garlic sliced super thin
3 Tbsp vinegrette dressing- I used a Champagne dressing from a bottle but any light dressing would do
I chopped the shallot first. It made my eyes water. So, I soaked it in a bit of champagne vinegar as a quick pickle. Not a true pickle but it was dinner on the fly! If your shallot isn’t eye watering you could do a cold water soak instead. Mix the veg and dressing together and stash it it in the fridge while the rest of dinner cooks. Just enough dressing to coat the veg, they don’t need to swim in it.
The toast was just for the soup. Soup needs bread like fish need water! Since I had branded this meal as Date Night I got out the fancy truffle butter. Plain butter or a garlic butter would have been just as good so use what you have.
We only need 4 cups of liquid for the soup. The package calls for water but I made the broth. Since I was cooking it down I started with about 7 cups of water. The induction burners made it difficult to bring the water to a simmer. To avoid boiling it all away, I made extra.
I hear you. Only 2 burners and 4 things that needed cooking. I started with the broth. The mushrooms were next since they could be warmed in the microwave if needed. I did the steaks and soup at the same time and tossed the bread in the toaster oven.
Dinner on the fly still took almost 2 hours but that is less than the norm! Your dinner on the fly certainly doesn’t have to take 2 hours. Broth from a carton or the freezer will cut down on that first hour. A proper stove top can cut that second hour down to 45 minutes. Or a more experienced induction burner user could cut time. I figured out how to use them but I by no means became an expert.
Side note: I have moved again and my new cooking situation is dire! Oh the adventures that await us!
Dinner on the fly can be as fast or slow as you need it to be. Date Night dinner doesn’t have to be an all day thing. Packaged mixes can be gussied up with a few pantry ingredients. The moral of this story is that dinner is what you make it.
Happy cooking y’all! Have fun in the kitchen!
Ali's Kitchen 