Vibrant Village ™

How would you like one simple tool that delivers easier cooking and healthier nutrition? It's almost a magic wand for cooks.

A great chef once said he could prepare almost any meal using a sharp knife and heat.

Today, with so many specialty gadgets and small appliances crammed into kitchen drawers and taking up valuable counter space, what’s really necessary?

The most versatile appliance in my kitchen is my immersion blender. Also called burr mixers, these power tools range in size from about 3-ft long multi-horsepower models used in professional kitchens to hand-held versions for home use.

There are dozens of brands and many have attachments for whipping egg whites, chopping nuts, mincing fresh herbs, emulsifying vinaigrettes, etc. What they all have in common is portability, ease of handling and cleaning, and the ability to reach to the bottom of a pot of simmering ingredients.

Food processors, blenders, and stand mixers are specialty machines which can do many things, but only in their respective containers. The simplest immersion blender is a plug-in model about a foot long, with stainless steel blades and a blade guard. Many cost less than $20 and should last for years.

Besides my range/oven, my coffee maker, and my microwave, the “stick blender” is the most frequently used appliance in my kitchen. I use it several times a week to puree soups, blend smoothies and make sauces – both dessert sauces and healthier gravies.

A huge benefit to using this tool is nutritional as in “eat your veggies.” This method of making soup will allow you to introduce new vegetables and increase fiber content. In my opinion, the only necessary straining one must do is to remove the seeds from raspberry puree.  Most other straining is just cosmetic.

Many vegetables don’t even need to be peeled. Even fresh or cooked tomatoes need not be strained, given how thoroughly this appliance purees. In most cases you are eating the whole thing.

SOUPS

In making soups, the three main components are flavorings/aromatics, main ingredient, and liquid. I almost always start with a bit of onion (scallion, shallot) sweated in a small amount of oil or butter until soft. Flavorings/aromatics such as minced carrot, garlic, celery, bell pepper, should be sweated along with the onion product.

The main ingredient is added to the pot next and the list of possibilities is nearly endless: sliced mushrooms for mushroom soup (try a small amount of tarragon to flavor), sliced carrots and a little fresh ginger, cubed butternut or acorn squash (curry powder is nice here, along with some diced apple), cauliflower, broccoli florets.

You may add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, whole cloves, star anise, etc., at this stage. Stir the main ingredient over heat to begin cooking, then add liquid, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer until tender. Use water, broth, vegetable stock, add some wine, orange juice, whatever.

Some main ingredients like winter squashes and carrots benefit from being roasted at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until caramelized before adding them to the pot. When the main ingredient is soft enough to puree, remove the bay leaf or whole spices and use the immersion blender in the pot to process the soup to a smooth consistency. Taste for salt, adjust seasonings, blend in cream, soy milk, or yogurt for a cream soup and serve hot (or chill and serve cold).

Speaking of cold soups, do try fresh gazpacho and hold back some of the minced vegetables for texture and garnish; breadcrumbs can be used as a thickener. The beauty of most of these puree soups is that they are thickened by their own attributes, no roux or cornstarch is needed.

Note: do not use potato as your main ingredient for this soup method or you will end up with glue. Another note: with a little practice you can make your own baby food with this appliance and have total control over the ingredients.

Acorn Squash Soup

1 pound peeled, cubed acorn squash
½ small onion, roughly cut up
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 cups chicken stock
½ cup cream
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

-Toss cut vegetables with oil and roast until golden brown, stirring once or twice.
-Simmer roasted vegetables in  most of the stock until tender.
-Puree in the pot using immersion blender, adjust consistency
with remaining stock, if needed.
-Season to taste, add optional cream, strain, if desired, and serve.

Smoothies

Before your bananas become too ripe, toss them into the freezer. They will become black but only on the outside.

For a basic smoothie run hot water over a frozen banana until you can remove the peel and strings. Cut it into 5 or 6 chunks and put them into a 3 or 4 cup beaker. Add a cup or so of plain yogurt and a cup of orange juice. Process with the immersion blender and serve. Makes 2 smoothies.

Variations: add berries, honey, protein powder, wheat germ. Use soy milk, stir in granola after processing, etc.

Sauces & Gravies

Thaw some frozen raspberries and puree with the immersion blender, sweeten to taste and strain. Serve a pool of sauce under any dessert you choose or paint a design on the plate using a squirt bottle. Apricots make good fruit sauce, too.

You’ve made a roast and want to serve gravy. Roast a couple of cut carrots and a cut onion along with the meat. Remove the roast to a plate, rid the fat from the roasting pan, add some stock and scrape over heat to dissolve the browned flavor from the roasting pan. Pour this liquid and the roasted aromatics into a small pot and puree. The vegetables will thicken the sauce. Taste for seasoning and serve.

Summary

The immersion blender, this simple tool, lets you lower the fat content in many recipes, skip the roux or cornstarch to thicken soups and gravies, use fewer pots and pans, and make some of the fastest and best-tasting soups imaginable with increased nutritional value.

You'll want to read the instructions that come with the immersion blender to learn how to employ an up-and-down motion while tilting the pot for complete processing without splashing, and to learn how easy it is to clean.

There are many online demonstrations available to get you started. Homemade mayonnaise and fresh pesto are recipes you’ll want to consider, too.

Do you have a favorite use for your immersion blender?  Let us know how yours spins you into good recipes and delicious foods.

Chef Tom started cooking when he was twelve years old and hasn't stopped since. After 25 years of teaching himself about cooking, he entered and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. Among his favorite culinary subjects are evaluating and simplifying recipes, cooking meals for one, and making something good to eat from what’s on hand.