Soups for the Soul
Soups are a staple in our house, especially in the colder months.
I like to make a lot and freeze some. Beans and legumes freeze
well. Vegetables don't freeze as well, especially potatoes
(they also get usually eaten too fast).
A lot of soups are made with meat stocks; chicken, beef, veal;
and it wasn't until I worked in a vegetarian restaurant that I really
perfected meatless vegetable broth based soups. I found that the secret
is onions. You need to add a lot. I rarely see any recipes
with the quantity of onions I like to use. When you think you've added
too many, add some more.
There are also certain aspects of these recipes that are hard to
quantify. For example the amount of water used will depend on many things;
from how long the soup cooks to how high the heat. Salt and garlic are two
other ingredients that are very taste dependent. I tend to like the garlic
to not be too overpowering. Whereas my wife and two daughters like to eat
garlic raw with oil on bread. It's a question of taste.
Remember the cardinal rule - You can add more but you can't take away.
So go easy. You can always add more salt or water, but it's a little tricky to
remove them.
Recipes
Lentil Soup
There are many types of lentils: brown, red, french(green), regular.
I prefer French Green, I have only seen these in health food stores,
so they might be hard to get.
They are smaller and firmer and maintain there shape.
You should experiment with different types of lentils.
The cooking method is the same, except the time needed to cook will vary.
Ingredients:
- 4 Med-Lg Onions diced (4 cups)
- 2-4 teaspoon chopped Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Sweet Paprika
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- 1 pound Lentils
- 6 Cups Water
Directions:
- In a large pot add onions, garlic and oil
- Cook with medium heat stirring occasionally. Be careful to not
let the onions stick and burn.
- Cook until the onions are translucent.
This is also called sweating the onions.
- Wash the lentils and add to the onions and garlic.
- Add water.
- Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer aprox 1 1/2 hrs - 2 hrs.
- Season with salt and/or soy sauce to taste.
(Actually I like to use salt and season to just under the desired
taste and then finish with soy sauce when serving. It adds a nice touch.)
Vegetable Soup
You can really clean house with this soup. Almost anything goes. As with
the other vegetable only soups, onions are the most important ingredient.
I've found that since I started adding potatoes my girls are much happier.
It makes them not notice the kale, chard and other good stuff. I have to
agree. I staggered the ingredients so they would all have the desired
consistency. A lot depends on how big you cut the vegetables.
And don't worry about having all the ingredients you can mix
and match. Use what you have, use what you like.
Kale and Chard should cook between 20 - 30 minutes.
Ingredients:
- 4 Med-Lg Onions diced (4 cups)
- 2-4 teaspoons chopped Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- 5 large Carrots large diced (2 Cups)
- 3-4 Celery Stalks - Cut small (2 Cups)
- 4 Medium Potatoes large pieces (3 Cups)
- 1/2 Head Cauliflower (3 Cups)
- 1/2 Small Bunch Kale - 1" sq cut (2 Cups)
- 1/2 Small Bunch Chard - 1" sq cut (2 Cups)
- 1 small head Broccoli (2 Cups)
- Shitake Mushrooms (1 Cup)
- 6 - 8 Cups Water (Enough to cover)
Directions:
- In a large pot add onions, garlic and oil
- Cook with medium heat stirring occasionally. Be careful to not
let the onions stick and burn.
- Cook until the onions are translucent.
- Add Mushrooms, Carrots, Celery and 1/2 the water.
- Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer aprox 20 minutes.
- Add Potatoes, make sure there is enough water to cover and
simmer another 15 minutes
- Add Chard, Kale and Cauliflower, check the water and simmer
another 15 minutes
- Finally add the broccoli and simmer 5-10 more minutes
- Season with salt and/or soy sauce to taste.
- Note If you want to do it more simply, you can add
the potatoes, chard, kale and cauliflower all together. Try and
wait with the broccoli as it cooks the fastest and is best served
with a little bite.
Potato Soup with Greens
This one is a variation on the vegetable soup except it's a little
more like a potato stew.
I wanted to make my usual recipe however I was
short on onions. Now after I have told you how important onions are I suppose
I should have put my shoes on and went running to the store.
I did however have some scallions and a little celery and garlic.
I added the scallions, celery and more than my usual amount of garlic
to compensate for the small amount of onions. So now it's a variation
on Potato/Leek Soup with the scallions filling in.
Having to deal with the hand we're dealt is a reality in all aspects of
our lives. And as you know the kitchen is no exception. Don't abandon
a recipe you like just because you're short on some ingredients. Think
about alternatives. It can take you places you've never been before.
For example, as with this recipe, when I'm short on onions I often increase
the amount of garlic.
Occasionally the ingredients themselves are
not quite perfect. You cannot expect to always get the freshest,
tastiest ingredients. Does this mean you shouldn't use them?
Well clearly if they're rotten then don't. But what about those
borderline cases? For instance half the scallions I used in this
recipe were starting to show signs of age. I peeled off the
top brownish layer, cut away some of the other brown portions, washed them
and then they were good to go, for soup anyway. I would be less willing
to use them in a salad or as a garnish. But cooking them would be fine.
And fresh doesn't always mean tasty.
How often are the carrots you get really sweet? I am particularly conscious
of this because we serve fresh carrot/apple/vegetable juice to the girls
every morning. They are not happy when the carrots are bitter. I find
myself breaking off little tips of carrots in the store to taste them
before purchasing. The range in sweetness is huge. Sometimes the
bigger, "horse", carrots are sweeter, sometimes it's the bunches with
the Greens still attached (a sign of freshness at any rate). I have yet
to find a rule, at least with the organic commercial brands.
So, back to the topic at hand, what to do? If you bite into a carrot
and it's so bitter you want to spit it out, chances are you don't want
it in your soup.
This however is not entirely true. It is still packed with important
nutrients and cooking will offset the bitterness.
I will also use a little honey to cut the edge off certain recipes.
This should be done at the end, just before serving.
Well back to the soup. I cooked the onions and garlic in the usual fashion
and then added the scallions and celery.
After a couple more minutes I added the potatoes and water.
10 more minutes and then the Kale.
Ingredients:
- 2 small Onions diced (1 1/2 cups)
- 2 stalks Celery (1/2 - 3/4 cup)
- 2 Bunches Scallions
- 2 Tablespoons Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- 7 Small-Medium Potatoes med pieces (1/2" Cube) (6 Cups)
- 1 Bunch Kale - 1" sq cut (4 Cups)
- 6 - 8 Cups Water (Enough to cover)
Directions:
- In a large pot add onions, garlic and oil
- Cook with medium heat stirring occasionally. Be careful to not
let the onions stick and burn.
- Cook until the onions are translucent.
- Add Scallions cook another 3-5 minutes.
- Add Potatoes, make sure there is enough water to cover bring to boil,
then simmer 10 minutes
- Add Kale and enough water to cover ingredients, simmer
another 15-20 minutes
- Season with salt, add a touch of soy sauce (to taste) when serving.
Black Beans
I cook most beans the same way I cook most soups. I like to alternate
between red and black. Soaking the beans overnight will greatly reduce cooking
time. I don't usually plan this far in advance so I end up cooking it a bit
a longer it takes around 2 - 2 1/2 hours to get it the consistency I like.
They will however be quite edible, but firmer in about 1 1/2 hours.
Ingredients:
- 4 Med-Lg Onions diced (4 cups)
- 2-4 teaspoon chopped Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- 3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste (about 1/2 a 6 oz. can)
- 1 pound Black Beans
6 Cups Water
Directions:
- In a large pot add onions, garlic and oil
- Cook with medium heat stirring occasionally. Be careful to not
let the onions stick and burn.
- Cook until the onions are translucent.
- Wash the Beans and add to the onions and garlic.
- Add water and tomato paste.
- Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer aprox 2 hrs - 2 1/2 hours.
And keep checking the water level.
- Season with salt.
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