The dietary staff at Avera Marshall welcomes a new member to our department! Chad Cooreman is our new chef and we are glad to have him here working alongside our other staff members. He is originally from Tracy and obtained his A.A.S. degree in culinary arts from South Central College in North Mankato. He's had experience in a variety of venues and brings eight years of experience in the foodservice industry.
"This is an opportunity for me to help make a difference in the food industry," said Cooreman. "I am happy to cater to the needs of residents, patients, staff, and visitors, especially as it relates to special diets and special requests. I want to have food that tastes good, while still being health-friendly. That is a win-win for everyone as far as I'm concerned."
Some of you may have met him at Avera Marshall s booth at the Taste of Marshall event on Nov. 7. One of the featured seasonal foods that he had there that evening was pumpkin soup. We've served this soup in the cafeteria a couple of times as well and it had rave reviews! I don't know if chefs like to keep their recipes secret or not, but I was able to get the recipe for this soup, if you would like to give it a try at home.
Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients:
2 leeks, cleaned and julienned
1 onion, cleaned and julienned
3 carrots, cleaned, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 stalk of celery, cleaned, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
14.5 oz of pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
2 quarts chicken stock
1 quart half and half
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. garlic, fresh, minced
2 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 cup fresh basil or chives
Method:
Sweat (slowly saute) the leeks, onion, celery, apples and carrots (about 10 minutes). Add the chicken stock, half and half, brown sugar and pumpkin puree. Simmer 20 minutes. And herbs and spices. Puree using a blender. Serve hot.
Cooreman also notes to "use fresh herbs to enhance the flavors of the palate." The dietitian notes that this soup is a good source of many vitamins and minerals and is low in fat. A win-win! Enjoy!
(Cheryl Rude is a registered dietitian at Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center.)