Recipe: Tomato Basil Soup

Who doesn't love cuddling up on the couch on a cold day with some delicious soup! I know I do! So enjoy this recipe for a healthy NO CREAM roasted tomato basil soup! Yum!

 STEP ONE:
Assemble the ingredients!

Tomatoes- quartered

Basil- whole 

Garlic- peeled, whole

Onion- sliced

Parmesan Cheese- grated

Water or Chicken Stock

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Unsalted Butter

Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

Rosemary- fresh, whole

(Tomato Paste- optional)

STEP TWO:
Coat the Tomatoes and garlic in olive oil and roast in the oven at 425 for 20-30 minutes or until looks as beautiful as the picture on the right.

STEP THREE:
Caramelize the onions with Extra Virgin Olive Oil on meduim to low heat, until lightly browned. Add Salt + Pepper

STEP FOUR:

Add the tomatoes with their juices, water or chicken stock (I used water), a pat of butter, crushed red pepper flakes, and a very small amount of tomato paste (about a teaspoon), and two bay leaves (keep them whole because you will have to discard them later)

Let this simmer on med-low for about 30 minutes

STEP FIVE:

Take out the bay leaves, pour the soup into the blender, add the basil leaves and blend until smooth- drizzle in Extra Virgin Olive Oil while the blender is still runningps. Dont forget to put a top on the blender!

STEP SIX:
Pour back into pot, and let simmer until it is the perfect consistency- which is all up to you!- add more pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and a tiny bit more tomato paste.
I prefer my soup thick and chunky, if you prefer yours thin or very smooth, you can strain the soup through a sieve.

STEP SEVEN: 

Serve and Devour!

Don't forget to top it off with some parmesan cheese, a basil leaf and some homemade garlic bread 

 Enjoy!

RECIPE: Spaghetti & Clams in a white wine garlic sauce

Feeling adventurous? Well even if you're not, this recipe is still perfect because it is simple and looks much harder than it is! This is very simple and absolutely delicious- win win! 

STEP ONE: Assemble the ingredients! 

Spaghetti or linguini pasta

 Fresh clams

 White wine 

 Butter

Red pepper flakes

 Flat leafed parsley

 Olive oil, 

Parmesan cheese 

STEP TWO: Cook the pasta and leave aside. 

Then, wash the clams, THOROUGHLY! I'm serious, wash and scrub them each! Do not skip this step or your sauce will be salty and grainy with sand! Not yum!

STEP THREE: Mince and saute the garlic for about 30 seconds on med-high heat, being sure not to burn them! Do not add garlic to a cold pan! 

STEP FOUR: Add the Fresh clams, half a cup of white wine, one pat of butter, couple pinches of red pepper flakes, flat leafed parsley, freshly ground black pepper, and olive oil

You dont need to add salt!!!

STEP FIVE: Cover until clams start to open, then leave the lid open for a couple more minutes until the sauce reduces

STEP SIX: Remove the clams and let the sauce simmer until reaches a thinker consistency, then finish off with the rest of the butter

 STEP SEVEN: Add the pasta and clams back into the the pan and coat everything in the sauce and until everything is well heated!

 STEP SEVEN:
Plate and top with extra parsley and parmesan cheese.. then devour!

Enjoy!

HOW TO: Cut an Onion

So cutting onions may seem like a simple task, but I'm sure most of you dont know the easiest way to do it. I know I even used to just grab it and start chopping until it was the size I wanted, but I'll teach you the easiest way to julienne (sliced thin) and dice an onion!

STEP ONE: Cut off both ends, KEEP THE ROOT INTACT and cut through the root, not through the body of the onion

STEP TWO: Starting from the end, slice the onion as thinly as possible, going through the entire half

STEP THREE: VIOLA! Perfectly sliced onions ready to be caramelized and added to just about anything

HOW TO DICE:

STEP ONE: Slice across the onion horizontally toward the root but do not cut it completely off!

STEP TWO: Cut across vertically, also making sure not to cut anything completely off the onion

 STEP THREE: Turn the onion 90 degrees and chop, chop, chop till you reach the end!

STEP FOUR: Shed a tear for how talented you are, not because your eyes are burning from chopping these onions! 

PRODUCT: Ready made Crepes!

Who doesn't love crepes? I know I do! But if you have ever tried making them from scratch it always involves some tears and frustrated shouting. The batter is always too thick or too thin, and will either burn or rip when cooked. So ALAS! I have found a solution to my constant sweet tooth crepe cravings:  Heat & Serve Crepes! 

We're gonna start out simple just to demonstrate how easy these crepes are to make with a strawberry and Nutella crepe! Yum!

STEP ONE:

Butter up that pan! When its heated add the crepe and flip after a couple minutes

STEP TWO:

Add in your fillings! 

Get creative: Nutella, caramel, raspberry jam, nuts, marshmallows, bananas, or even get savory and make a breakfast burrito or a turkey sandwich crepe! Don't be afraid to pile in the goods (the crepes come in two boxes of 8 crepes each, plenty of ways to test each of them out)! 

STEP THREE: Fold em up! First, using a spatula fold them over half way, then one more time to make a triangle!

STEP FOUR: Plate and Serve with powdered sugar, whipped cream, more chocolate, fruit, etc!

Wanna know where you can find these? Check a Costo near you or email them at: 

info@lepetitbelge.net