While many folks were planted in front of their televisions for the game on Sunday, a sizeable crowd gathered at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library to hear local chef Colby Rottler drop some knowledge about soup.
Yes, soup.
Rottler, a private chef and a culinary instructor at Upper Cape Tech, shared his recipes for butternut squash soup, Italian wedding soup, tomato basil soup and garden vegetable soup, as well as tips for making soup that tastes good and is low in calories, fat, and sodium.
For instance, he never adds salt or pepper to his soups until the end, and then only to taste.
He doesn’t use heavy cream, instead thickening his soups with ingredients like arrowroot or potatoes.
He doesn’t like to waste, either. If he’s cooking with fresh basil, for example, and only needs a few leaves, he will wash and freeze the remaining basil rather than throw it away.
He’s also a fan of immersion blenders, which allow you to puree meats or vegetables in your soup pan rather than having to dirty more dishes.
Partway through his talk, Rottler invited attendees to come up for samples of the four soups (and homemade cookies) served by his wife, Marie, and assistant, Hannah. Rottler also answered questions, many of which were related to food allergies and substitutions.
The event was organized by Robbin Smith, general services librarian, who pointed out that the library has “a fabulous collection of cookbooks,” many of which she had on display at Sunday’s talk. The library also provided copies of the four recipes that Rottler discussed for people to take home with them.
By Deina Zartman
