Broccoli & Cheese Potage

It's a lazy summer afternoon.... no, it's a busy summer night. You don't have the time, the ingredients, or the inclination to make anything too fancy or involved. But you want to eat healthy. You want a potage. Which in my view, is a creamed vegetable soup. It doesn't have to be thick as porridge. In fact I don't try to make it too thick here. I made mine medium, with a bit of body, and a consistency about that of somewhat thin applesauce. But it should have good, healthy ingredients. You keep all the vegetables in the pot, so the soup retains their nutrients. This recipe is both quick and easy to make; all you basically need is an appropriate vegetable. I had a broccoli that needed eating, so it's a broccoli potage. If you just have a cauliflower, make it a cauliflower potage. It could be cabbage, could be a squash. Zucchini might work. I add cheese and herbs for flavour, because it would be bland without it. The cheese I chose for this soup was "Oka" type; one of the stinkiest cheeses ever made, I think. Fortunately, it doesn't taste like it smells. If you want a richer meal, you can add cooked chicken, after processing the soup at the end.

Ingredients

8 c cold water (or chicken broth)
1 broccoli (including stems)
1 lg onion, chopped
2 cl garlic (opt)
1 T powdered chicken stock (if not using chicken broth)
1/2 t mint
1 t dill
Cheese, to taste (recommend fine soft cheese; ie. Oka, blue cheese, swiss, camembert. Could also be orange cheddar, brick, etc.)
2 potatoes, diced (about 1 cm)
salt and pepper, as necessary

Instructions

Cut the broccoli florets from the stalk (wash in cold water). Cut about 1/2" off the bottom of the stalk. Peel the remaining stalk to remove the thick outer layer of skin (with a paring knife, you can peel it like a banana, if you start at the bottom of the stalks). Cut the skinned stalks into about 1" pieces. In a large soup pot (preferably enamelled cast iron), sauté the chopped onion and garlic at a low-med heat, until softened, but barely browned. Add the diced potatoes, sauté for a bit, then add the broccoli florets and stalk pieces. Sauté a minute or two, then add the cold water or chicken stock. Let the water come to a boil on high heat. Add the powdered chicken bouillon (if you started with cold water). Reduce the heat to medium; or whatever is enough to maintain a strong simmer. Simmer uncovered until the water has reduced by about anywhere from 2/3 (recommended) to 1/2; depending on how thick you prefer. At this point, the vegetables should no longer be hidden under the water, they'll be closer to the surface. This could be about 30 minutes or so of simmering. Once the soup has reduced enough, remove it from the heat. Add the cheese, stir with a spoon.

Insert a hand blender into the pot (or pour into a regular blender or food processor), and blend until the vegetables are homogenous and no large bits remain. You can also blend until some large bits remain, if you wish to have more textures (at the expense of a bit of flavor). Add the dried mint and dried dill (or fresh dill/mint is better, if you have it. Use 3x more if using fresh). Also, sprinkle a bit of pepper, if desired. Check if it needs salt, but careful not to oversalt if you're using powdered stock and salty cheese. Stir and serve with good, crusty, artisan made bread; such as one of the no-knead recipes.

Coconut Lentil Soup

This is a quick and delicious alternative to the more common dal, or Indian lentil soups. A key difference is the use of coconut milk, as part of the "stock". You can go wild, recipeless style, on this soup. For example, the flavour of the stock can be vegetarian, if you prefer instead of chicken. Or, you can forego the stock altogether, as the coconut milk adds some flavour of its own. Be careful not to bring the soup to full boil, and to simmer it gently after that, to help preseve that delicate flavour. This goes for most soups, actually.

You can also change the spices, depending on what you have on hand, or favour. I had some Rasam powder (a fragrant red curry powder).  So I used that, as a change from curry powder (which itself, is optional in this soup!). Rasam spice mix powder is used to make Rasam, a South Indian soup that typically uses tamarind, and may feature lentils or vegetables. Whatever you choose to spice the soup, make sure you aren't adding more spiciness than you can tolerate. This can easily happen if you're using a prepared curry powder you are not familiar with (Of course, if  you find you've made it too spicy, do not add any black pepper!).


Ingredients

1 large onion, finely chopped
red chili pepper or similar, finely minced (I used dried bell peppers); to taste
piece of peeled ginger, coarsely chopped
2 cl garlic
1 cup red lentils, washed and rinsed
1 can coconut milk
3 cups water
1 tsp chicken bouillon
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp curry powder (I used "Rasam" type curry powder, "MTR" brand)
salt and pepper, to taste
juice of 1 lemon
1 T vegetable oil

Heat the oil in a large saucepan.  Add onion, garlic, ginger. Cover and heat on slow med. heat, until soft, but not browned. Add the lentils, peppers and spices. Mix. Add coconut milk, water, chicken bouillon. Bring to boil, simmer for about 40 minutes, until the lentils are very soft and mushy. Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Garnish with fresh coriander, if desired.

Dal Shorva (Indian Lentil Soup)

Dal Shorva in bone china.

This is a much simpler, down to earth variation of dal (Indian lentil) soup, than featured here. My version of the recipe from Mumtaz Khan, of "Mumtaz Paan House" restaurant, in Bradford, UK. Though simpler, I consider this a more authentic example of dal, taste-wise. I do not include pressure cooker instructions here. I feel that because of the minimal ingredients, for this to be worthwhile, it really requires slow cooking. There's no substitute for developing flavours than time. Apart from not needing to own a pressure cooker, the upside is that you won't have to deal with messy splatters of lentil all over the place, because of the slow pace it cooks at. The downside is that you take all afternoon to cook the soup. So, done properly, this isn't the best choice for a quick meal from scratch, after returning from work. (Though it does freeze wonderfully, and you can heat it up in minutes).

The lentils soften very slowly over a period of hours. Because of that and the absence of vegetables, there is also no need to own a hand blender, as there's no need to liquify the soup at the end of cooking. Most of the lentils will have melted into the liquid, and the few remaining will add body and character. There is also no need to add salt if you use powdered stock, and no need to add fat by way of oil or butter, if you opt out of the "tarka". So it becomes a pretty healthy choice of soup. I've also not included any hot stuff, to keep it down-to-earth. Of course, if you like your dal piquante, there's no shortage of options. Add fresh chopped chilis, chili powder, curry powder, or even a few teaspoons of Moroccan harissa paste. This is pretty much a "recipeless" recipe, as you can play with the spices and the types of lentils or stock, or if you prefer, add additional chopped vegetables or not.

Ingredients

2 cups mixed lentils, split or whole (Substitute: yellow or red split lentils. Green is not ideal)
8 c water (or chicken or vegetable stock)
2 1/2 T (8t) chicken or vegetable bouillon powder (if using plain water)
1 to 2 cloves garlic (or to taste)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1 t garam masala
1 t black pepper, ground
1 t salt (unless using prepared powdered stock, which already has salt in it)
a few bay leaves
1 lemon

Tarka Dal (Optional):

1 lg onion, sliced
3 T oil, butter or ghee
1 T mustard or cumin seed

Instructions

Rinse the lentils in cold water, a few washes until the water is clear. Mince the garlic (shown here). In a large stock or soup pot, add the 8c cold water, the lentils, the garlic and all the spices and herbs to be added (**Do not add the masala right away, if opting to add the tarka at the end). Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, and keep the pot covered, while you let the soup simmer. During cooking, the soup should be just barely moving. Very occasionally, you will need to adjust the heat to maintain this very slow simmer, and to stir the pot to keep the lentils from sticking too much to the bottom. Let the soup cook all afternoon, or at least a few hours (about 6 hours should be good). (Tip: You can probably make it in the morning before going to work, leaving it on this very low heat, and it will be ready 8 hours later).

The longer it cooks, the more the flavours develop. Do not allow it to become too thick (e.g. not thick like porridge). Once done, remove the bay leaves before serving. Slice the lemon, and with a knife, cut away the peel and pith from the slices, leaving only the flesh. Place the lemon slices in the soup bowls, before pouring the soup. Serve the dal with bread and fresh vegetables.

Tarka Dal: Optionally, you can add a "tarka" to the dal at the end of cooking, to enhance flavours. This is done by frying about a tablespoon of mustard or cumin seed in a pan in about three tablespoons of olive oil, butter or ghee on medium heat, until they start to pop and/or become fragrant. Then add sliced onion and fry until softened and translucent (but not browned). Then add the garam masala, fry for one minute, and transfer the mix to the dal soup pot. (Add some dal to the frying pan to ensure all the oil has been transferred). Simmer for a few minutes longer.

Asheh Reshteh (Persian Spinach & Noodle Soup)

In Iran, Persian carpets are so cheap and  plentiful,
they use them as disposable tablecloths.

As an accompaniment to the Persian kabobs and rice, I include this recipe for Persian noodle soup. Having tried this at several Iranian restaurants, it is truly exquisite, and equally wholesome and nutritious. Though it's not a particularly easy recipe, and you will probably have to go out of your way to get some of the ingredients, it makes a perfect accompaniment to a special Persian meal. It also makes a very good soup for cold weather.

"Ashesh Reshteh" is considered "Persian Ash", which is a type of thick soup. Ash can contain many ingredients, from vegetables to meat, and if hearty enough, can become the meal. e.g. "Ash Reshteh" would be a variation with noodles, "Ash-e anar" contains pomegranate juice and split peas, and there are many other variations.

Ingredients

2 onions, large, thin slice (length wise)
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c dried chickpeas (optional: or 1 can)
1/3 c dried red beans
1/2 c dried lentils
2 t turmeric
1 to 2 bags spinach
60g (2 oz) flat noodles (fettucini or iranian "reshteh" noodles. can use angel hair pasta or the fine egg noodles found in middle eastern grocer)
1 T flour

Garnish

1 onion, thinly sliced
2 T dried mint
sour cream  (or yogurt)


Instructions

For the legumes, you can use either 1 can of drained & rinsed beans, or 2/3 cup of dried beans (chickpeas are mandatory, and in addition, red beans or pinto may be added). If using dried, soak beans for a few hours in water, then drain and rinse. In a large soup pot (preferably enamelled cast iron), soften the onions and garlic in olive oil on med heat, until translucent. Add the soaked (or canned) chickpeas, red beans, and turmeric. Cook, stirring for a few minutes. Add 8 cups of cold water. Season with salt, and simmer covered for 1 hour to cook the beans (not necessary if using canned). Add the spinach, noodles (approx 3" segments) and dried lentils to the pot. Gently simmer the soup for one half hour, stirring occasionally. (Optional: If you wish, you can also add chopped fresh herbs, ie. coriander, parsley, mint (about 2-3 cups) and/or chopped leeks (about 1 cup)).

In a small bowl, mix the tablespoon of flour with 3T of the soup stock until smooth, add to the soup to thicken (soup should be thick). Gently simmer one half hour longer (or longer if desired), stirring occasionally to prevent scorching on the pot.  (n.b. Soup may be served later or the next day, to allow flavors to develop).

Garnish

While the soup is cooking, in a separate skillet, sweat the onion in olive oil (sauté on med. until translucent). Then lower the heat and cook until browned and caramelized. Add dried mint near the end of the cooking. Then, when plating the soup in bowls, add this as a garnish in the centre of the finished soup, along with a drizzle of sour cream (often done in a cross or "x" pattern across the soup). (Optional: You can also add in chopped spring onions or fresh chives. Some variations even include small meatballs).


Yields: 6

Tomato Soup with Feta

Sometimes the moment calls for a simple, delicious mediterranean soup. But you can't afford that luxury, because you're tired. You just came home from work. Well, not just. You had to stay later than expected, because whatsisface goofed up and caused everyone to work a longer shift. Then you had to shovel snow before you could get your car out, and then you had some errands to run, before you could get in. Now you barely have the energy to dial Pizza Hut. So you open the fridge to see if there's any ready made snacks to nibble on for a makeshift supper, before calling it a day and taking your tired body to bed. But what's that leftover white blocky thing in the plastic bag? Oh, you've got some feta cheese on hand. Perfect. You remembered to keep canned tomatoes and couscous in stock, as pantry staples, and you've got a bit of bell pepper in the crisper. Guess what, you've got a reasonably low cost, low fat, decent, nutritious meal. Hearty, home made soup in about the time it takes to make canned soup....


Ingredients

1 T olive oil
1 can (750g) crushed or whole tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
2 cups water or chicken stock
1/4 c couscous
1 t basil (dried) or 1T fresh
Feta cheese
salt
pepper


Instructions

Place a large pot (preferably enamelled cast iron) on med, and add the oil, and tomatoes. Simmer a few minutes as the tomatoes break down, and grow a bit of flavour. Meanwhile, chop the bell pepper and add it in the soup too, once chopped. Next, add a light touch of salt, pepper, and basil (dried. If using fresh, leave it til the soup is done). Add the water, boil (raising heat if necessary), and add the couscous. Simmer about 5 minutes longer, or until the consistency of the soup is as desired. Finally, if using whole tomatoes, you have the option of breaking them with the back of a spoon, or blending them with an immersion or countertop blender to thicken the soup. Once the soup is done, scoop into bowls, crumble feta on top and a bit of olive oil. Serve with crusty bread.

Options: Don't have feta? How about Camembert? Gruyere? Brie? Danish blue? Mozzarella? Swiss? Chuck any cheese you like in there, if it's got a low melting point. (If it's got a high melting point, then carefully melt some on crusty bread under the broiler, and chuck that in the soup). Don't have couscous? Then you're screwed. No wait, you're still good! Use rice (rinse first). Everyone's got rice, right?

You can also add chopped onion to the oil at the beginning, for a bit more flavor, or chopped boiled egg at the end (as a garnish), for an even heartier soup.