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New Year, New Eats - Change Up Your Everyday Menu

January is usually a hopeful month - the holidays have ended and a new year is beginning. One thing is for certain: New Year's resolutions are on everyone's mind, and we find ourselves wanting to eat healthier. What better time to start new ventures than at the beginning of a new year?

"One of my favourite things to eat in the world is soup," says Linda Haynes, ACE Bakery's co-founder, and author of the ACE Bakery cookbooks. "Soup can be comforting, hearty, healthy, creative, and welcoming. It can be easy-to-make, lasts for days, and freezes like a dream. It'll keep you on track all year, and your New Year's Resolution will soon become a way of life."

Whether it's wanting to exercise, read new books, work harder, or to spend more time with loved ones, everyone has something they wish to improve. So gather around the stove and cook yourself something new.

"Of soup and love, the first is best," - Spanish proverb.

Zuppa alla Pavese

Makes 9 cups (2.1 L) to serve 6

This recipe depends on good chicken broth. Some cooks use beef or vegetable broths which are also delicious. The soup looks beautiful and tastes light but nourishing.

9 cups (2.1 L) strong chicken broth
6 ½-inch (1.2-cm) slices country, Calabrese, or white bread
6 eggs
Up to 6 Tbsp. (90 mL) grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
6 tsp. (30 mL) minced fresh Italian parsley

Bring the broth to a simmer. Cut each slice of bread to fit the bottom of your bowls. Toast the bread.

Poach the eggs. The eggs can be poached ahead of time and held until ready to serve.

Place the slices of toast in the bottom of 6 heated bowls. Carefully slide 1 poached egg onto each piece of toast. Gently ladle up to 1 ½ cups (360 mL) of broth into each bowl. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp. (15 mL) of cheese and 1 tsp. (5 mL) of parsley over each bowl.

Cook's Tip
Improve store-bought chicken stock by adding some raw or roasted chicken wings, carrot, onion, celery, and a bay leaf. Simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Strain and refrigerate for a few hours. The fat will rise to the top and can be easily scraped off. Using the roasted chicken wings will result in a darker, stronger broth.

©This recipe is from Linda Haynes' The ACE Bakery Cookbook.

Tomato, Red Pepper, and Roasted Garlic Soup with Ham and Cheese Croutons

Makes 15 cups (3.5 L)

This soup is robust, heart-warming, and savoury. In the winter months, substitute canned tomatoes for the Romas.

1 head of garlic
1/2 cup (120 mL) olive oil
2/3 cup (160 mL) diced cooking onion, about 1/2 a large onion
2 cups (480 mL) sliced leeks, white part only, about 2 to 3 leeks
1 ½ celery stalks, cleaned and diced
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 lbs. (900g) Roma tomatoes, about 9 peeled, seeded and chopped or the equivalent in weight of canned, drained Roma tomatoes
1 28-oz (796-mL) can whole tomatoes, with juice
7 cups (1.7 L) water or vegetable or chicken stock
1 ½ tsp. (7.5 mL) minced fresh thyme

Croutons (for 4 servings)

4 slices white or whole wheat bread, thinly sliced, crusts removed
8 to 10 thinly sliced pieces of Gruyère cheese
4 slices thinly sliced Black Forest ham or prosciutto
Unsalted butter, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

For the Soup
Slice off the top of the garlic bulb about ¼ inch (.6 cm) down the bulb. Wrap the bulb in foil and roast in the oven for 1 hour or until soft. Set aside to cool. Squeeze out the garlic.

Heat the oil. Add the onion, leeks, celery, and red pepper and sauté over medium to medium-low heat for about 15 minutes or until softened. Then add the carrots, tomatoes and juice, and the water or stock. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove from heat. Add the roasted garlic and the thyme.

Purée in a food processor and season with salt and pepper. If you want a smoother purée, force the soup through a fine sieve.

For the Croutons
Cover two slices of bread with a layer of cheese, a layer of ham, and another layer of cheese. Top with the other slices of bread. Butter the outsides of both sandwiches, top and bottom. Grill or toast in a toaster oven until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden.

Let sit for 5 minutes and then cut into squares approximately ½ inch (1.2 cm) in size. Pour the soup into bowls and garnish with the croutons.

Cook's Tip
If using water instead of stock, let the puréed soup sit for at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to blend, then just reheat.

©This recipe is from Linda Haynes' The ACE Bakery Cookbook.

Three-Onion Soup with Gruyère Croutons

Makes 10 cups (2.4 L)

Make sure your frying pan is large enough to hold all the onions in a very thin layer. You want them to cook and slightly caramelize, not stew on top of each other.

6 strips of bacon
1 Tbsp. (15 mL) canola oil
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. (15 mL) unsalted butter
2 leeks, white only, cleaned and sliced in ¼ -inch (.6-cm) rings, to make about 1 cup (240 mL)
1 cup (240 mL) sliced shallots (3 to 8 depending on size)
2 heaping cups (480 mL) cooking onions, peeled and sliced (about 4 onions)
1 bay leaf
1 large sprig thyme
1 large pinch sugar
8 cups (2 L) good-quality chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
2 Tbsp. (30 mL) unsalted butter
2 to 3 large slices Calabrese or white bread, crusts removed and cut into ½ -inch (1.2-cm) cubes (for croutons)
1/3 cup (80 mL) coarsely shredded Gruyère cheese

Cut 3 strips of bacon in ¼-inch (.6-cm) dice. Fry the bacon over medium-low heat, starting with a cold pan, for about 5 minutes. Add the canola oil and heat for 10 to 20 seconds and then add the garlic. Fry for 30 seconds, then add the butter and the three types of onions.

Raise the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. Add the bay leaf, thyme, and sugar and continue cooking for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the onions are dark golden but not burned. Remove the onions and deglaze the pan with 1/3 cup (80 mL) of the stock. Reduce the liquid until you end up with about 2 to 3 Tbsp. (30 to 45 mL) of syrupy stock.

Heat the remaining stock and add the onion mixture and deglazed stock. Sprinkle in the salt and pepper and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove 1 ½ cups (360 mL) of the soup and purée it in a blender or food processor. Add back to the pot.

Cook the remaining 3 pieces of bacon. Drain and crumble into chunks. Meanwhile, make the croutons.

Melt 2 Tbsp. (30 mL) of butter in the frying pan in which the bacon and onions were cooked. Add the croutons and cook, tossing, until dark golden and crisp. Toss in the cheese until it melts and remove immediately from the heat.

Ladle the soup into heated bowls. Top with a few croutons and some crumbled bacon. The croutons may have clumped together but can be easily pulled apart. Pile the extra ones into a bowl and bring them to the table for your greedier diners.

Cook's Tip
Leeks, notoriously dirty, can be difficult to clean. Slice them in rings, place the rings in a large bowl, and fill it with cold water. Let them soak for 5 minutes. The clean leeks will rise to the top and the dirt will be left at the bottom of the bowl.

©This recipe is from Linda Haynes' The ACE Bakery Cookbook.