Soups

TURKISH POMEGRANATE SOUP

This recipe yields a light and clean broth with a slight tang from the pomegranates that’s lovely for an afternoon snack or a pre-dinner appetizer. It is savory, not sweet. I recommend juicing pomegranates yourself, rather than buying storebought, but you can use premade unsweetened pomegranate juice if pressed for time.

2/3 c. pomegranate juice (about 5-6 pomegranates, if using fresh)

5 c. vegetable stock or broth

1 pomegranate, seeds removed

handful of mint leaves

juice of 1 lemon, if using storebought pomegranate juice

Bring stock to a boil. Lower the heat, stir in pomegranate juice (and the lemon juice, if using storebought). Bring back to a boil. Lower the heat again and stir in the pomegranate seeds, reserving a few for garnish, season with salt and pepper and turn off the heat. Add a small handful of pomegranate seeds to each bowl and garnish with mint leaves.

RHUBARB-ORANGE SOUP

If you like fruit soups, great, but this would also make a great syrupy ice-cream topping and could also pair nicely with pork (although for that, I might cut down a bit on the sugar).

2 lbs. rhubarb with skin stripped (start at the top end and remove the outer layer, like stringing celery)
1 medium orange
1 c. sugar
4 c. water
Whipped cream or creme fraiche (<em>optional</em>)
Zest and juice the orange and cut the rhubarb into 2-inch pieces. Combine half the zest, the juice, rhubarb, water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Then set the heat to medium and cook for 10-15 minutes until the rhubarb breaks apart easily. Let the mixture cool (or put it in an ice-bath if you have to speed that up), then take a whisk and break up all the rhubarb pieces. Garnish with whipped cream/creme fraiche.

Serves 4

From Mark Bittman’s  How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

CHINESE POSTPARTUM CHICKEN GINGER SOUP

This is a soup specifically for postpartum restoration (in honor of my friend who just had a baby), although of course everyone can enjoy it. Mrs. Hong says that ginger helps restore the body’s chemical balance after blood loss from giving birth. Please note that I haven’t been able to make her recipe yet, but I trust Mrs. Hong. She’s a good egg.

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1/2 a broiler chicken, skin removed
rock salt, as needed
1 small ginger root, peeled and sliced
2 oz. dried red plums (JuJube, also known as “hóng zǎo”–available from Chinese markets and/or order online)
1 16 oz. can beef broth
s+p, to taste
If you like the taste of ginger, then put the ginger in about 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Simmer the ginger while you’re working with the chicken. This will give the broth a bit of a more peppery flavor. If you don’t want a strong ginger taste, add the ginger when you add the jujube. To prepare the chicken, rub it with rock salt to help clean it. Then wash the rock salt off under cold water. Put the chicken in the pot with the ginger and add water to cover the chicken. Bring the water to a boil and then down to a simmer. Add the beef broth. Throw in the jujube (and ginger if you didn’t add it in the beginning) and let the whole thing simmer for about 1 1/2-2 hours, or until the chicken is cooked and you can shred it. Take the chicken out, cut it up into pieces and return it to the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

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Mrs. Hong also says that she likes to add liquor after the soup is done cooking just before serving, which can be any kind of alcohol you happen to have on hand–she uses gin or meikueilu chiew, which is a Chinese liqueur made from roses. However, if you still have postpartum bleeding, alcohol is generally not recommended.

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Special thanks to Mrs. Hong

 

CREAM of CELERY SOUP
Cream-of-anything soups are great because it’s sort of like eating the primped-up essence of the vegetable. This soup is good because you can eat it hot in the winter and chilled in the summer.
3 T butter or olive oil
1 small onion, sliced
1 lb celery, roughly chopped
1 lg starchy potato, peeled &amp; roughly chopped
s+p
5 c vegetable stock (or water)
1/2 c cream or sour cream (optional)
1/4 c parsley leaves or dill for garnish
Heat the butter/oil in a saucepan. Add the vegetables when the butter is hot, season with s+p and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes. Add the stock and cook until the vegetables are very tender, about 15-20 minutes.
Either leave the mixture in the pot and puree with a stick blender, or wait until it cools a bit and pass it through a cup blender or food mill. At this point, you can store the mixture in advance before finishing.
To proceed, adjust the seasoning. If serving hot, reheat it in the saucepan; if serving cold, let it chill for at least 2 hours. Either way, add the cream. Garnish and serve (you can use celery tops for garnish too, if you can find them).

Serves 4

From Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything Vegetarian

SUMMER SQUASH SOUP with BASIL PISTOU

This is a really nice soup and the pistou (which is a French pesto, as Martha informs me) makes it special.
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1 T. unsalted butter
1 med. leek, white and pale-green parts only, rinsed and thinly sliced
1 small clove garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 1/4 lbs. yellow summer squash, trimmed and cut into half moons
2 c. homemade or low-sodium canned chicken stock
2 c. loosely packed fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
1/3 c. olive oil
Melt butter in a medium stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the leek and half the garlic. Season well with salt and pepper; cook, stirring until soft and tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
Add squash, and cook, stirring, 3 to 5 minutes. Add chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove soup from heat; let cool slightly.
Fill the bowl of a food processor with basil and remaining garlic. Drizzle olive oil through the feed tube; process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer basil pistou to a small bowl.
Place slightly cooled soup in the cleaned bowl of the food processor, and process until soup is pureed but still slightly chunky.
Return to stockpot; cook to reduce liquid and thicken just slightly, about 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Ladle into soup bowls, garnish with basil, and serve with basil pistou.
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From The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook

GREEN CORN SOUP

From Edward Espe Brown’s The Tassajara Cookbook: “Marvelous, deep flavors of corn and tomatillos–which are what give the soup a slight green cast.”

1 lb. tomatillos
3 ears white corn
1 ear yellow corn
1 T olive oil
1 red onion, diced (about 1 1/2-2 c)
1 jalapeno, deseeded and minced
juice of 1 lime
salt
Remove the husks from the tomatillos. Start them cooking in 2 cups of water, bring to a boil, and then let simmer for at least 20 minutes.
Cut the kernels off the corn-cobs. Keep the white and yellow kernels separate.
Heat a large skillet, add the oil, and saute the onion for several minutes. Then add the jalapeno and white corn and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes. Add this to the tomatillos and water, and cook 20 minutes. Remove from heat and blend, using a food processor or stick blender. Add more water if necessary to give the soup the consistency you desire. Season to taste with lime juice and salt.
To serve, garnish bowls with avocado slices and/or cilantro. Roasted red pepper strips also add a nice hit of red to an otherwise 3-shades-of-green-soup.
Serves 4-6

LEMONGRASS, COCONUT, and GINGER SOUP WITH SHRIMP

I just made this and it is delicious. The hardest thing about it will be finding some of the ingredients; otherwise, it’s not difficult.
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1 quart shrimp or fish stock
1 T. garlic, minced
2 T. shallots, minced
1 stalk lemon grass, finely sliced crosswise
1/4 cup julienned ginger
6 kaffir lime leaves, julienned
2 T. fish sauce (nam pla)
2 T. hot chile sauce (sriracha)
3 T. light brown sugar
2 T. lime juice
1 (14-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
1 t. salt
1 lb. small peeled shrimp
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
2 T. minced green onions
Place all of the ingredients except shrimp, cilantro, and green onions in a medium pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Strain and return to the pot. Bring to a boil, add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp are firm and pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and green onions, and serve.
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Serves 4-6 (2 qts)
From Emeril Lagasse

DAD’s CURRY MUSHROOM SOUP

If you are a vegetarian, you can substitute vegetable bouillon cubes; however, I believe that a chicken-base suits the soup a little better because it softens the flavor a bit. Vegetable cubes will make it a little brighter in flavor–not to the point that it’s worth sacrificing your dietary beliefs or skipping altogether, but if you are making the choice, choose chicken bouillon.
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4 T. butter
1 onion, finely minced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 t. curry powder
8 oz. mushrooms, chopped fine
5 vegetable or chicken bouillon cubes
8 T. flour
8 c. milk (I use 1% or nonfat, but you can use whole if you like a creamier soup)
8 T. lemon juice
3 T. apricot jam or currant jelly
1 T. sherry
peel of 1/2 a lemon, finely minced
lemon or lime slices (for garnish)
In a stock pot, make a marsala by cooking the onions and garlic in the butter over low heat until the onions turn translucent. Add the curry powder and mix well
Simmer the marsala for at least 5-10 minutes on very low heat, then add and blend well the mushrooms and bouillon cubes.
Cook for about 5 minutes until the mushrooms are done, then add the flour and mix well. Add the milk and cook and stir until thick.
Stir in the lemon juice, jam, sherry, and lemon peel and mix well.
Keep warm for about 30 minutes to blend the flavors. Serve garnished with thin slices of lemon or limes.