Winter has no better antidote than a hearty bowl of soup. On nights when all I want to do is cuddle under a blanket with tea, I often fill a bowl with soup and slurp it instead of chai. The choice there is easy: soup warms your insides and double-serves as dinner.
I've been intently focused on perfecting my soup technique. As you can probably tell, I've been eating a mostly vegetarian diet lately, and when you don't have meat or poultry broth to work with, building layers of flavor becomes much more important. I've found that my best soups are the ones where I really think hard about flavor combinations before starting, and where I ensure that every layer of flavor gets substantial attention, so that it can make as full a contribution to the overall flavor as possible.
Rule no.1 and most important: when building a vegetarian soup, you must roast or saute your vegetables, in stages, before adding liquid. Most vegetables have natural sugars that will remain latent until drawn out with heat. Sauteing or roasting your vegetables will bring those sugars to the surface, and through prolonged exposure to heat and fat, the sugars will start to caramelize. The deeper the caramelization, the more complex the flavor. If you can get those onions, peppers, and garlic to turn a deep amber color without burning, your soup is on the road to deliciousness. I used to prefer saute, because I could do it in the same pan as I eventually made the soup, thus not losing any of the fond (those brown bits of flavor that gather at the bottom of the pan). Lately, I've taken to roasting, as I find it draws out the caramel flavor more slowly and evenly. But there's nothing wrong with a good saute, you hear?
Rule no. 2: to borrow a lesson from Indian cuisine, toasting spices can elevate the flavor of your soup. It's really that simple: by toasting spices, you're intensifying their flavor, and thus, the flavor of whatever broth they are seasoning. Some spices actually change flavor when toasted; nuts, for example, become far more fragrant and nutty as they brown. They're a wonderful addition to soups, by the way. Whole spices can be dry-toasted in an empty saute pan before being ground; toss powdered spices into your mix of oil and aromatics (onions, garlic, carrots, celery, etc) to amplify their flavor. Either way, you won't be sorry. Cooks illustrated has a great spice guide that I was able to find online, here.
Rule no. 3: in the absence of meat or poultry broth, use a mix of good vegetable stock, water, and, sparingly, wine or juice. Canned vegetable stock sucks, but in a pinch, it'll do, as long as you supplement its relatively flat flavor with lots of other things. Usually, I prefer water to canned vegetable stock; I find it makes for a cleaner-tasting soup with more pronounced flavors. Wine is fundamental to my soup-making. It adds much-needed acidity, bitterness, complexity, and umami (which helps round out the other flavors). It should be used sparingly, because its flavor is quite pronounced and even a few glugs in the pot will speak plenty. that said, it's as close to a well-rounded flavor as we've got and should be exploited. For lentil and tomato-based soups, I'll add some of whatever's open in the fridge. For more delicate soups like white bean, squash, and vegetable, I'll use white wine. Orange juice makes a lovely addition to lentils as well as squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Apple juice and pears/pear juice play nicely with parsnips, turnips, and rutabaga. These combinations are hardly exhaustive.
A couple more tips:
- dried porcini mushrooms are a vegetarian cook's best friend. Their flavor is strong, meaty, and complex; I add them to about 75% of all the soup and stew I make.
- a drizzle of flavored oil on a bowl of vegetarian soup goes a long way. I especially like white truffle oil and my new favorite, walnut oil.
- the same goes for garnishes. a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkle of herbs or herb croutons adds yet another dimension of flavor, texture, and visual appeal.
The list really goes on, but that's a good start. Have any favorite tips or advice for vegetarian soup-making? Leave them in the comments.
I'll leave you with a truly wonderful recipe for Moroccan Vegetable Soup called Harira that comes from Moosewood Low-fat Favorites. It's one of my all-time fave soups -- highly recommended.
Harira Soup from Moosewood
1 cup onions, choped 4 cups vegetable stock 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp turmeric 1 Tbsp fresh ginger root, grated 1/8 tsp cayenne 1 cup carrots, peeled and diced 1/2 cup celery, diced 1 cup canned tomatoes undrained, chopped 1 1/2 cup potatoes, diced 1 pinch saffron 1 cup lentils, cooked 1 cup cooked chickpeas, drained 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice salt and pepper lemon wedges
In a covered soup pot, simmer the onions in 1 cup of the stock for 10 minutes. Combine the cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, and cayenne in a small bowl and add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the hot liquid to form a paste. Stir this paste into the pot along with the carrots, celery, and the remaining stock. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and potatoes and continue to cook, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Crumble in the saffron. Stir in the lentils, chickpeas, cilantro, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Reheat.
Serve with lemon wedges.
It's hard to believe that I've been on 3 continents in the past week. 7 days is too short for a proper vacation, especially when it involves places as wonderful as Israel and Paris. There's so, so much I wish I could have done that I just didn't get a chance to do -- so many friends I'd have liked to see, hikes I want to repeat, hummus joints I crave -- but with only three days in Israel and just over a day in Paris, it's going to have to wait for next time.
Hello from vacationland! We're in Israel for the next few days and beyond thrilled to be back. It's been way, way too long -- almost two years since I lived here. I've missed every bit of it. Yesterday, I spent the most lovely afternoon at the shuk (market) with my dear dear friend S. We met up in my favorite corner of the shuk... A little cafe tucked in the back portion that's locals only and serves up a mean cup of coffee. After lots of hugs, kisses and catch up, we ran around to the different vendors so that I could grab my favorite spices (more on those in a future post...) And met up with her mom, where I freshened up on my slightly-rough but actually not-too-bad Hebrew. We spent the past 24 hours hanging out with family and friends, relaxing and eating copious amounts of food. Tonight we're planning on hitting up another of my favorite restaurants, Tmol Shilshom. There's something at once familiar and refreshing about being in a place I used to call home; it's wonderful to be back.
But less about my getaway, more about the recipe -- which, indeed, is a fabulous lunch staple (I'm on a new kick, can you tell?). I've made
Readers Dearest,
In a few short hours, I will be heading off for an all-too-short but nonetheless-exciting week-long vacation. While this means awesomeness for me, you're probably not as excited. Here's something to perk up your day: the post below is about a recipe that's delicious and easy to make, best combo ever. Also, I've done my best to stick a couple posts in the wings, so as to keep you entertained and sated in my absence. Keep reading -- more importantly, keep cooking -- and I'll be back in no time.