Corned Beef and Cabbage soup "Under Cover" (Easy-to-make soup recipes)

 

                At the table, this soup elights diners. They break into the golden, flaky pastry with a spoon and discover the savory mixture bubbling beneath. 

8 servings

• 5 bacon slices, cut crosswise into ¼-inch-thick pieces
• 1¼ cup chopped onion
• 1 small (1½ pounds) green cabbage, quatered and cored, cut into strips 2-inches long by ½-inch cubes
• 1½ pounds russetpotatoes, peeled and cut into dices
• 5 cups chicken stock (click here for recipe)
• 2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
• 8 ounces sliced good-quality corned beef, cut into strips 2-inches long by ½-inch wide
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 (17-ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed overnight in th refrigerator
• 1 large egg
• Equipment needed : 8 (1 cup) ramekins or soufflé dishes

1. In a large, heavy pot (with a lid) set over medium heat, sauté the bacon until crisp ; add onion and sauté with the bacon until onion is just lightly softened, for about 2 minutes.
2. Add the cabbage and potatoes and toss to coat with bacon drippings ; cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 3 minutes.
3. Add the stock and the mustard to the pot and stir to blend ; bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, then cover.
4. Simmer until vegetables are just tender, for about 20 minutes ; stir in corned beef, and season with salt and pepper, as needed.
5. While soup is simmering, prepare patry top ; on a floured surface, roll one of the pastry sheet into an 11-inch square ; cut out 4 pastry rounds, each about 5½ inches in diameter (or ½ inch wider all around than the tops of the ramekins).
6. Repeat with remaining pastry sheet ; cut a ½-inch circle in the center of each pastry round (the hole will let the steam escape while the pastry bakes).
7. Cover and refrigerate rounds until needed.
8. When soup is done, let cool slightly, for 10 minutes.
9. Fill each ramekin with soup to within ½ inch of the top.
10. Whisk the egg with 1 teaspoon cold water in a small bowl, and brush one side of each pastry circle with some of the egg mixture ; carefully place a pastry round, glazed side down, over each ramekin.
11. Firmly press the overlapping pastry against the outside of each ramekin ; be careful not to press down from the top to avoid cutting the dough on the edge of the ramekin.
12. Press the tines of a fork around the pastry sides to make it adhere tightly to each ramekin.
13. Brush the tops and sides of pastry with the egg glaze ; place ramekins on a baking sheet and refrigerate, loosely covered ith plastic wrap, for at least 1 hour.
14. To bake ramekins, arrange an oven rack at center position and preheat oven to 400F ; remove the platic wrap and bake ramekins on baking sheet until pastry is golden brown and slightly puffed, for 18 to 20 minutes.
15. Remove and serve.

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