Click photo to enlarge
Chef Tom Grant from Martine Cafe in Salt Lake City prepares a bowl of his roasted red pepper porcini with taleggio soup.

We wash our hands more carefully. We place bottles of sanitizer on our desk. And we greet people with a fist bump instead of a hand shake. These precautions, we hope, will keep nasty viruses like H1N1 at bay.

At 350 Main Brasserie in Park City, Chef Michael LeClerc is offering another age-old flu fighter: a steaming bowl of soup.

Specifically, he's serving his homemade Immunity Surge Soup, which is loaded with kale, broccoli, beans, tomatoes and other ingredients that offer health-boosting vitamins and minerals.

"I look at it as more of a prevention than a cure," LeClerc said of the soup that he has made at home for several years. He added it to the restaurant's "Menu de sante" this fall, which includes foods

Chef Michael LeClerc dishes up his "immunity surge" soup in the kitchen at 350 Main in Park City. LeClerc makes this hearty soup filled with lots of vegetables for his family every winter to ward off the flu and colds. Now he has put it on the menu to help his guests stay healthy. (Scott Sommerdorf / Salt Lake Tribune)
that are high in anti-oxidants but low in salt, fat and calories. Two years ago, LeClerc was honored by The Aspen Center for Integral Health for providing the healthy, but flavorful menu options.

"My wife and I both have so much contact with people from all around the world, its easy to get a flu bug," he said. "But eating this soup often keeps our immune systems revved up and ready to fend off any invaders."

For those who do get sick, a bowl of soup won't cure the cold but it can make you feel better. Steam from a cup of hot soup will help open sinus passages. Onion and garlic are known to break up congestion. And colorful vegetables will help give you the nutrition your body needs to recover.

That's why Chef Scott Monell has implemented his Chicken Soup Program at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center. Monell promises to have a pot of his grandmother's chicken noodle soup simmering on the stove everyday throughout the winter

Whenever guests are under the weather, they can call room service and the kitchen will send up a bowl along with wishes for a speedy recovery. "In no way is it a cure for the common cold," he said. "We are merely trying to make them feel more comfortable."

Sick or not,

Roasted red pepper porcini with taleggio soup from Martine Cafe in downtown Salt Lake City. (Francisco Kjolseth / The Salt Lake Tribune )
people just gravitate toward the soup choices when the weather turns cold. It's comfort food for the soul and the belly. "We served chilled soups in the summer, but they aren't as popular as the hearty winter soups," said Tom Grant, chef at Martine, Salt Lake City.

Grant, like many chefs and restaurant owners, offers a rotating menu of soups each day. One of the chef's favorite winter offerings incorporates flavors from the Piedmonte region of Italy. Roasted red peppers, porcini mushrooms and soft Taleggio cheese are puréed with cayenne pepper and other spices, creating a mixture that resembles creamy tomato soup. That is, until you taste it.

"It's definitely better than regular tomato soup," Grant said. "But it's just as good with a grilled cheese sandwich."

Soup in the winter is a phenomenon that spans the globe. Kevin and Elisa Kim, owners of It's Tofu, sent us a version of a spicy tofu stew that's popular in their native Korea. They serve a version at their new restaurant at 6949 S. 1300 East, in Cottonwood Heights.

Chef and cookbook author Tom Valenti, who was in Utah recently, pointed us to his Italian recipe for veal meatballs en brodo (in broth) printed in his new cookbook You Don't have to Be Diabetic to Love This Cookbook (Workman Publishing, $19.95).

"The seasoned meatballs in broth don't sound like much, but its the kind of dish my grandmother used to make,' he said. "To me, this is what home tastes like."

kathys@sltrib.com

Roasted red pepper and porcini soup with Taleggio cheese

1 large sweet onion, diced

6 garlic cloves, diced

1/4 cup olive oil

11/2 cups dry sherry wine

5 roasted red bell peppers, peeled and seeded

1 tablespoon marjoram leaves

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika ( La Tienda brand suggested)*

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon Spanish paprika

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

5 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 cup half and half

1/2 pound Taleggio cheese, cut into small chunks

1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms or mushroom of choice

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt to taste

Garnishes:

Sour cream

Chopped mushrooms

In a large soup pan, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Reduce heat and sauté, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 45 minutes. (If you're in a hurry, you can cut the cooking time in half. But you'll sacrifice some of the flavor) Add sherry wine. Stir with a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add peppers, marjoram, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, Spanish paprika, white pepper and stock. Simmer for 45 minutes.

While soup is cooking place porcinis in water to rehydrate. When soft, remove mushrooms from water, but save the soaking liquid. Dice mushrooms. Pour any juices that accumulated during chopping back into the soaking liquid. (Watch for grit).

For the soup, strain cooked vegetables from liquid. Return liquid to the soup pot. Place strained vegetables in a food processor or blender. While blending, slowly drizzle in the half and half. Then add Taleggio one tablespoon at a time until mixture is smooth. Pour the pureed vegetables and cheese back into the liquid in the soup pot. Stir in lemon juice, diced porcini mushrooms and porcini liquid. Taste and season with salt. If soup is too thick, add a little chicken broth or water to create desired consistency. Garnish with sour cream and additional mushrooms if desired.

*La Tienda can be purchased online at www.tienda.com

Servings » 8

Source » Tom Grant, executive chef, Martine restaurant

Veal meatballs en brodo

6 tablespoons olive oil, divided use

2 cloves garlic, minced plus 2 cloves crushed and peeled

1/4 cup diced Spanish onion

10 ounces ground veal

2 tablespoons dried bread crumbs

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish if desired

11/2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

1 large egg white

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano

Pinch of coarse salt

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

21/2 cups store-bought, low sodium chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 cups loosely packed escarole

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a wide, deep, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Add the 2 cloves minced garlic and onion. Cook until softened but not browned, about 4 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and transfer onion mixture to a large bowl. Cool. Add veal, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, egg white, mustard, oregano, salt and pepper to the bowl with the cooled onion mixture. Using clean hands, knead everything together. Chill meat in refrigerator 20 to 30 minutes.

Put chicken broth, two tablespoons olive oil, crushed garlic and red pepper flakes in a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower heat until the liquid is simmering. Add escarole and simmer until wilted about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Shape the meat into 16 small meatballs, about 1 inch in diameter.

In a large pan over medium high temperature heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil is hot and shimmering. The pan should be large enough to hold all the meatballs in a single layer. Add the meatballs and cook until browned all over, 11/2 to 2 minutes total. (The meatballs will finish cooking in the hot broth.)

Place 4 meatballs at the bottom of each soup bowl. Ladle the escarole soup over the top. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan, if desired. Serve immediately.

Servings » 4

Source » You Don't have to Be Diabetic to Love This Cookbook, by Tom Valenti

Roasted butternut squash soup en croûte

1 large or 2 medium butternut squash

3 tablespoon olive oil, divided

Ground cinnamon

Pinch of Sugar

2 large onions, peeled and diced

1 leek, white part only, diced

1 celery, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 quarts vegetable stock

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of thyme

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Topping:

1 box puff pastry

1 egg, beaten with a few drop water

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise. Brush 1 teaspoon olive oil. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon and sugar. Place cut side down on a baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

In a large pot, heat remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil. Add onions, leek, celery and garlic. Sauté vegetables until transparent.

Meanwhile, scoop squash from shells and discard skins. Add squash to sautéed vegetables along with stock. Increase heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with nutmeg and thyme. Remove from heat. When cooled a bit, purée in blender, food processor or immersion blender. Return to pot. Stir in cream and heat to almost boiling. Remove from heat and cool overnight.

Cut puff pastry sheets so they are about 1 inch bigger than the oven-proof soup bowl or cup you will be using. Add COLD soup to cup, top with puff pastry circle. Wrap puff pastry all around the sides, and brush with one egg mixture.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake soup cups until puff pastry is golden brown and soup is warm.

Serving » 8

Source » Scott Monell, executive chef Hilton Salt Lake City Center

Grandma Monell's chicken noodle soup

Broth:

1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds)

3 quarts water

2 medium onions, rough cut

2 carrots, rough cut

2 celery stalks, rough cut

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

Soup:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup diced onions

1/2 cup sliced carrots

1/2 cup small-diced celery

2 1/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 pound dried noodles

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Place the chicken in a large stockpot and cover with 3 quarts water. Add the onion, carrots and celery that have been rough cut. Then add thyme and the bay leaf. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 1 hour. The chicken should easily pull away from the bones.

Remove the chicken from the broth and set aside until cool enough to handle. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine-meshed sieve, discarding the vegetables and reserving the stock. Pull the chicken meat off the bones, discarding the bones, skin, and any fat. Reserve meat.

Melt the butter in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the diced onions, carrots, and celery and cook until the vegetables are softened and translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir in reserved cooked chicken. Add reserved chicken stock and bring to a boil over high heat.

Season the soup with salt and pepper. Add noodles and simmer until noodles are cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve hot.

Servings » 8

Source » Scott Monell, executive chef, Hilton Salt Lake City Center

Immunity surge soup

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups carrots, sliced

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup leeks, chopped

1 cup onion, diced

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup shiitake mushrooms, finely sliced

1 cup parsley, chopped

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

2 cups red wine

1 cup cooked pinto beans

1 cup cooked broccoli tops

2 cups cooked kale

2 Anaheim peppers, diced

2 cups diced tomatoes

1 pound cooked chicken cut into strips

8 cups chicken stock

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Garnish:

1 cup plain full fat yogurt

1/4 cup fresh chives

1/4 cup green tea extract

1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds

1 tablespoon hot sauce (Tapitio, or Cholula)

Coat a large pot with olive oil. Add carrots, celery, leeks, onions, ginger, shiitake and garlic. Sauté for 10 minutes on medium heat, stirring frequently.

Add, parsley, basil and red wine. Reduce for 10 minutes. Add pinto beans, broccoli, kale, peppers, tomatoes, chicken strips, chicken stock and lemon juice. Season with salt and black pepper. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer 20 minutes.

In a bowl, combine yogurt, chives, tea extract, almonds and hot sauce.

Ladle soup into a bowl or mug. Drizzle with a tablespoon of garnish.

Servings » 8

Source » Michael LeClerc, Executive Chef 350 Main Brasserie

Spicy Korean soft tofu stew

Paste:

6 tablespoons Korean chili powder*

6 teaspoon minced garlic

6 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoon canola oil

Stew:

6 (10 ounce) packs extra soft tofu or soon tofu

8 cups (30 ounces) water

1 pound well marbled pork or beef, sliced

11/2 cups kimchi, roughly chopped**

1 egg, optional

3 green onions, chopped

3 jalapeno peppers, sliced or chopped, optional garnish

In a pan stir-fry Korean chili powder, garlic, salt and oil for about 5 minutes to make a paste.

Combine paste and water in a soup pot. Add kimchi, pork or beef. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until beef is cooked, about 15 minutes. Add soft tofu and return to a simmer. Cook about 3 minutes. Add raw egg and chopped green onions. Remove from heat. (The boiling water will cook the egg.)

Ladle stew into bowls and garnish with a jalapeno slices, if desired.

*Available in an Asian specialty market.

**Kimchi is a hot, spicy condiment made with pickled cabbage. Look for it in Asian specialty markets.

Servings » 6

Source » Kevin and Elisa Kim, owners It's Tofu