2 soups in one bowl?

[jalex]

Did I have a dream about this? Does any one know how to serve 2 pureed soups ie. carribean pumpkin/ ginger pea in one bowl? Half and half... I think the color contrast and taste contrast would be beautiful but I dont know if is possible to keep them separated without getting a special bowl with a phsyical divider. Any tips on how to do this would be greatly appreciated. Special pouring technique??
Was it a dream???

[cheflayne]

As long as the two soups are of the same consistency, preferably fairly thick, it is easy to do, just ladel both soups at the same time. Give the bowl a quick twist afterwards and you will have a yin/yan effect. If I am doing a lot of the soups at one time I transfer the hot soup to water pitchers and pour to speed up the process.

[Pete]

As long as the soups are somewhat thick and of the same consistency you can do this. Just use 2 ladles and pour them in at the same time just as cheflayne said. We used to do this at a Southwestern restaurant I worked at, using a Green Chile Soup and a Tortilla Soup. It looked and tasted awesome. We even would try to get the soups to completely swirl by spinning the soup bowl after ladling the soups in.

[phoebe]

This sounds fabulous! Cheflayne and Pete, what did you call this on the menus?

[Pete]

At first we didn't call it anything. A couple of customers just asked for it, the servers thought it was cool and they started to verbal it. It eventually went on the menu listed something like "A Swirl of Southwestern Soups" or something along those lines.

[abefroman]

Originally Posted by Pete

As long as the soups are somewhat thick and of the same consistency you can do this. Just use 2 ladles and pour them in at the same time just as cheflayne said. We used to do this at a Southwestern restaurant I worked at, using a Green Chile Soup and a Tortilla Soup. It looked and tasted awesome. We even would try to get the soups to completely swirl by spinning the soup bowl after ladling the soups in.

Really it worked with tortillia soup? Thats not very thick though.

[Pete]

There are 2 kinds of tortilla soup, the more traditional one is more a mexican chicken soup flavored with dried chiles with strips of fried corn tortillas added as garnish. The other type is a thicker soup where raw corn tortillas or even straight masa is whisked into the soup until it breaks up, dissolves and thickens the soup. The soup is then pureed to make it smooth and thick.

[abefroman]

Originally Posted by Pete

The other type is a thicker soup where raw corn tortillas or even straight masa is whisked into the soup until it breaks up, dissolves and thickens the soup. The soup is then pureed to make it smooth and thick.

Cool! Do you have a recipe for the thick one?

[Pete]

I have never really put this soup down to a recipe, but here is how I do it. The measurements are rough estimates as I am cutting this recipe down from a 5 gallon batch, and I never really have measured it all out.

2onion, peeled and rough chopped
2-6 jalapenos, rough chopped, seeds left in (amount varies depending on heat level of pepper and how hot you like it)
4-6 cloves garlic, whole
2 ribs celery
1 small can tomato paste
15-20 tomatoes, quartered (or the equivalent of canned tomatoes)
3-6 ancho peppers, roasted & seeded
1/2 bunch cilantro, leaves only
Chicken Stock
Ground Cumin
Ground Coriander
salt
pepper
corn tortillas (2-3 packages) or about 1-1 1/2# fresh masa (not the dried Masa Harina)

Saute the onion, jalapeno, garlic and celery just until starting to brown. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes. Deglaze with 1 cup chicken stock. Add tomatoes and ancho peppers. Add enough chicken stock to cover the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes. Reduce heat and add the corn tortillas or fresh masa to the soup. Simmer for another 10 minutes, stirring at regular intervals, or until the tortillas start to really break up. Add cilantro and blend until smooth, adjusting seasoning to suit your tastes. Strain. If the soup is not thick enough just return to the stove, bring to a simmer and add more tortillas or masa, blending again after cooking. Garnish with Cilantro leaves, and strips of fried corn tortillas.

[Artameates]

in mark millers coyote cafe cookbook, he calls this "painted soup" and one version is made with green and red chilies.

[abefroman]

Originally Posted by Pete

I have never really put this soup down to a recipe, but here is how I do it. The measurements are rough estimates as I am cutting this recipe down from a 5 gallon batch, and I never really have measured it all out.

2onion, peeled and rough chopped
2-6 jalapenos, rough chopped, seeds left in (amount varies depending on heat level of pepper and how hot you like it)
4-6 cloves garlic, whole
2 ribs celery
1 small can tomato paste
15-20 tomatoes, quartered (or the equivalent of canned tomatoes)
3-6 ancho peppers, roasted & seeded
1/2 bunch cilantro, leaves only
Chicken Stock
Ground Cumin
Ground Coriander
salt
pepper
corn tortillas (2-3 packages) or about 1-1 1/2# fresh masa (not the dried Masa Harina)

Saute the onion, jalapeno, garlic and celery just until starting to brown. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes. Deglaze with 1 cup chicken stock. Add tomatoes and ancho peppers. Add enough chicken stock to cover the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes. Reduce heat and add the corn tortillas or fresh masa to the soup. Simmer for another 10 minutes, stirring at regular intervals, or until the tortillas start to really break up. Add cilantro and blend until smooth, adjusting seasoning to suit your tastes. Strain. If the soup is not thick enough just return to the stove, bring to a simmer and add more tortillas or masa, blending again after cooking. Garnish with Cilantro leaves, and strips of fried corn tortillas.

Thanks! About how many cups does this make? Do you use the tortillas or Masa?

How do you roast your ancho peppers?

[Pete]

This should give you around 1 1/2 gallons of soup. I have used both the corn tortillas and fresh masa so try both. Unless you live in Texas or a major city, finding the fresh masa might be difficult, but you can find corn tortillas anywhere. As for roasting the anchos. Just pop them, whole into the oven for about 5-7 minutes. They will puff up. Remove them from the oven and let them cool.

[SaraP]

Two soups in one bowl is a great idea. Genius!

Sara

[jalex]

I just prepared my 2 soups this afternoon for a dinner party tomorrow night. Carribean pumpkin and cream of asperagus. I did a trial run and it worked perfectly, it looks and tastes wonderful.. green and gold.. spicy and sublime thanks for the poruing tips..any suggestions for an interesting garnish?

[abefroman]

Originally Posted by Pete

As for roasting the anchos. Just pop them, whole into the oven for about 5-7 minutes. They will puff up. Remove them from the oven and let them cool.

Thanks! What degree should I have the oven set to?