Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Shrimp and Leek Bread Soup #recipe @LeslieBudewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: I heart kitchen shops. One of my favorites is the original Sur La Table, in Pike Place Market in Seattle. In my fictional version of the Market, the unnamed kitchen shop is the Spice Shop’s nearest neighbor, just up the hill. So wonderfully dangerous. Since I first discovered the shop, when I lived in Seattle as a college student and young lawyer, it’s gone big-time, with a terrific catalog operation and stores all over. I’ve been in several, but still love the original, cramped and crowded as it is. Many of my favorite dishes and kitchen tools came from its shelves.

But not my newest kitchen tool. When my BFF and her husband visited in September, she served as my prep cook, but she wasn’t impressed by the selection of graters I offered her to zest an orange. They spent an afternoon in the village of Bigfork, aka Jewel Bay, and brought me a micro-plane from our local kitchen shop, Roma’s, home of many treasures and much inspiration. (It's the inspiration for Kitchenalia, in my Food Lovers' Village books.) Mr. Right and I loved how evenly it zested the lemon for this soup, without cutting into the pith, or human flesh! Easy to clean, too.

When you think of leeks and soup, you probably – justifiably – think Potato-Leek Soup. This is a lighter alternative, which I found on the Sur La Table website, from A Pleasant Little Kitchen by Rebecca White. The original called for a combination of fish and chicken stock; with shrimp, that makes sense, but we didn't have fish stock so I simplified that. Toasting the bread gives it an earthy flavor that carries through even after boiling and simmering. To crust or not? Depends on your bread. I used a couple of slices of ciabatta from the Park Avenue Bakery in Helena, Montana, one of the inspirations for Le Panier, the bakery where all of Jewel Bay gathers.

We served this soup with toasted bread – can’t ever get enough – and a California chardonnay.

Inspiration is where you find it. I hope this recipe inspires you, and your taste buds!

Shrimp and Leek Bread Soup

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 garlic gloves, rough chopped
1½ cups sliced leeks
2½ teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups day-old bread, cubed
½ tsp paprika
1½ cups white wine
6 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
1¼ pound raw, peeled and deveined shrimp
¼ tsp oregano
Zest of 1 lemon
Fresh lemon juice
kosher salt and fresh black pepper


 In a soup kettle, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the leeks, garlic and 1½ teaspoon salt and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the leeks are softened.

Add the bread and paprika. Stir well to coat. Cook until the bread is lightly toasted, stirring occasionally to prevent the garlic from burning, 3-4 minutes.

Add the wine, stock, and red pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Let the soup simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the shrimp, oregano and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir well to combine.

Add the shrimp and lemon zest to the soup and let it cook through, about 4 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve warm with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Serves 4.





Enjoy!

From the cover of TREBLE AT THE JAM FEST, Food Lovers' Village Mystery #4 (Midnight Ink, June 2017):  

Erin Murphy, manager of Murphy’s Mercantile (aka the Merc), is tuning up for Jewel Bay’s annual Jazz Festival. Between keeping the Merc’s shelves stocked with Montana’s tastiest local fare and hosting the festival’s kick-off concert, Erin has her hands full.

Discord erupts when jazz guitarist Gerry Martin is found dead on the rocks above the Jewel River. The one-time international sensation had fallen out of sync with festival organizers, students, and performers. Was his death an accident?or did someone even the score?

Despite the warning signs to not get involved, Erin investigates. And when the killer attacks, she orchestrates her efforts into one last crescendo, hoping to avoid a deadly finale.



Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries—and the first author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction. The past president of Sisters in Crime, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by my website and join the mailing list for my seasonal newsletter. And join me on Facebook where I announce lots of giveaways from my cozy writer friends.

6 comments:

  1. Not fair! Now I want a baby microplane (I do have a larger one, but the little one looks so useful). I did visit a Sur La Table in San Francisco--great store! The soup looks delicious--I'm a big fan of leeks. And shrimp.

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    1. The blade is about 8" long. I've been in that shop -- maybe with you, during Bouchercon in SF? I know we had a great time in the Ferry Terminal Market!

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  2. I've never had a soup like this--does the bread thicken it? Looks like a must try this winter!

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    1. It does, a little. The cubes soften, of course, and become a little like dumplings, adding texture and flavor.

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  3. What a lovely idea.
    The lemon must give it a great light flavor lift.

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