Friday Recipe: {Vegetarian} Tortilla Soup

Image Source*

It's been quite a while since I posted a recipe, but the combination of sale tomatoes, early frost, and a friendly request leads me to post the recipe for my favorite soup of all times. Seriously, I could eat this every day. And if tomatoes were always bountiful and cheap, then I probably would make it every day. I got this recipe from a friend whose family had adapted a non-vegetarian version (tortilla soup frequently has chicken broth and chicken in it) into a vegetarian version. It's awesome. Go forth and make it. And eat. Often.

{Vegetarian} Tortilla Soup
Serves 8-10

Ingredients
Olive Oil
2 12-inch tortillas (I usually use whole-wheat but use what you like)
1/2 large white onion, chopped (sometimes I use a whole medium yellow onion)
3+ Tbsp fresh garlic, pressed
2 lbs. frozen baby white corn (white corn is key)
3 lbs roma tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1+ Tbsp cumin
1+ Tbsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper (I've used black pepper in a pinch)
Few dashes of cayenne pepper
4 c. vegetable broth or water + pareve/fake chicken soup mix

Optional Garnishes
Grated cheddar cheese
Blue corn tortilla chips
Cilantro

Instructions
1. Rip tortillas into small pieces and, in a large soup pot over medium-high heat, fry tortilla pieces in thin layer of olive oil.

2. Add onion and saute until translucent (or you can start with the onion and add the tortilla pieces).

3. Add garlic.

4. After the garlic is lightly cooked, add all the other ingredients EXCEPT 1/2 corn (i.e., add only 1 lb).

5. Bring the soup to a low boil and boil for about 5 minutes.

6. Turn off heat and, using an immersion blender, puree the soup. It should be thick, but not chunky. (If you don't have an immersion blender, you can do this in a regular blender but make sure the soup has cooled sufficiently.)

7. Add the remaining corn and return to the soup to a low boil. Simmer without burning the bottom (stir occasionally).

8. Eat! And eat some more. Optional Garnishes include shredded cheddar cheese, blue tortilla chips, cilantro, or anything else you'd like.

*I do love fiestaware. One day I might even have some in my kitchen. Feel free to send me some if you want.

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Friday Recipe: Lentil-Spinach Soup

Lentil-Spinach Soup
~Makes 1 large pot (8-10 portions)

olive oil
2 onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed
3-4 carrots, sliced
10 oz. spinach, chopped (fresh or frozen can work)
2 c. green lentils
3 tsp. tomato paste
vegetable broth or water +bouillon
salt
pepper
cayenne pepper

1. Rinse lentils (green lentils don't need soaking but it doesn't hurt).

2. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil in a large pot.

3. Add carrots and lentils. Saute for about 5 minutes.

4. Add tomato paste and enough broth or water to cover the vegetables and lentils (if using water + bouillon, add the water, raise to a boil, then add and mix in the bouillon). Bring to a boil.

5. Let simmer for about 20-30 minutes or until the lentils and carrot are soft.

6. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste.

7. Add in spinach.

8. Eat!

Notes:
*This soup freezes well, so make it ahead of time and freeze in large or small portions.

*I like the color of the carrot-spinach-lentil combination, but you could substitute other greens (kale, chard, etc) and substitute (or add/combine) parsnips for the carrots.

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Friday Recipe: Tomato-White Bean Soup

It doesn't really look like this, but I guess I moved as I took the picture and ended up with this image which is kind of fun. This soup is delicious and easy to make. Here's a more realistic picture of what you can expect when you've made it:

(No nice bowl this week, as I packaged it up to take with me for lunch. The soup reheats very well, as most soups do.)

Tomato-White Bean Soup
Serves 4-6

1.5 lbs roma tomatoes, chopped
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable broth
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 cans white (cannellini/northern beans)
1/2 tsp dill
1 tsp oregano
dash of cayenne pepper
salt
pepper

1. In a medium-sized soup pot, heat olive oil on medium.
2. Add onions and garlic. Saute until starting to turn brown.
3. Add in chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, spices, and broth. Raise to high and let boil.
4. Lower the heat and let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until relatively smooth (some chunks are fine).
6. Add beans. Mix thoroughly.
7. Eat!


[edited to add tomato paste into the recipe. sorry for the earlier oversight.]

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Friday Recipe Links

Apologies for the Friday Recipe hiatus. They will return next week, Friday, January 9, 2009. I'm at a conference today and life was a little too chaotic to take the pictures and write up a recipe before I left for the Big Apple.

However, in lieu of recipes from me, I offer a few links, moving backwards from dessert to the appetizer.

*Super-easy and amazingly delicious white-chocolate covered Oreo (or Trader Joe's Jo-Jos) truffles from Bakerella. They are sure to impress you and your guests. I recommend making them and keeping them in the freezer. They are an excellent, if way too indulgent, snack/dessert after your guests depart. Or just make a bunch, hoard them for yourself, and eat them all slowly over time. The freezer is magic.

*From Tigers & Strawberries (what a fantastic blog name), you can learn some best practices for stir-frying tofu in a wok. There's also a blog entry on apron-making for those like me who have some desires to venture into that sort of sewing project in 2009.

*Interested in Indian at home? Here's a vegan version of Palak Paneer (my favorite Indian dish!) using tofu instead of paneer (cheese) from FatFree Vegan Kitchen.

*Winter is soup season. Stephanie over at Loft Creations offers this tomato-white bean soup. I haven't made it yet but I'm planning to next week, perhaps with cannellini beans instead of navy beans (someone is probably going to tell me they're the same thing, but I've always preferred the ones that are labeled cannellini beans).

*Who doesn't love artichokes? And if you can't get them fresh, dips are a great way to go with either the canned or frozen variety. 101 Cookbooks presents this baked artichoke dip.

And with that, have a wonderful weekend!

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A Non-Friday Recipe: Green Curry Soup

I stumbled upon this amazing cooking blog/website yesterday. 101 Cookbooks is chock full of healthy vegetarian recipes. I have a dinner party menu of recipes to try as a result of scrolling (and drooling) through the archives. Inspired by the options, I made "In a Hurry Green Curry" soup last night. Yum!

This is the recipe from the website, and I explain my modifications below.

2 teaspoons green curry paste*
scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 14-ounce can coconut milk (light ok)
1 large onion, sliced
14 ounces water or light vegetable broth
6 ounces of firm tofu cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
2 cups asparagus, cut into 1/2-inch segments
squeeze of fresh lime juice
1/4 cup small basil leaves

In a large thick bottom pot over medium heat whisk the curry paste with the salt and a small splash of the coconut milk. Simmer for just a minute. Add the onion and saute until it softens up, just a minute or so. Add the rest of the coconut milk and broth and simmer for another five minutes. Taste and adjust for flavor - this would be the time to add more curry paste if needed (see headnotes).

Stir in the tofu and (JUST BEFORE SERVING) the peas and asparagus, simmer for just a minute or two, just long enough for the vegetables to cook a bit. Finish the pot with a squeeze of lime and basil leaves. Taste, and adjust seasoning again if needed.

Serves 4.

My alterations:
1. The fridge lacked asparagus but contained broccoli (3/4 head) so I subbed in the green trees. I added the stalks (to let them cook longer), then the crowns, then the tofu, and then the peas.

2. I used more tofu than the recipe calls for, just to add some extra protein (and use the block I had).

3. I skipped the basil because I didn't have any on hand. Also, I often find basil overpowering in Thai soups so I figured I'd like it without the basil and I did.

Other Notes:
*I think this would be a great base for a rice noodle soup.

*It's a great pareve/vegan recipe. One could meatify it with chicken but why damage a delightful vegetarian option?

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Friday Recipe: Minestrone Soup

This is a rather free-form recipe. What I mean by this is that you can adapt every part of it to suit your needs -- hate carrots and love zucchini, switch them! don't like noodles, leave them out! want more soup than stew, add more water! For those who want a precise, step-by-step, measure-by-measure recipe to follow, this may not fill your need. However, it might be the perfect recipe through which to become more comfortable in the kitchen. Try it!

hot and steamy!

Minestrone Soup
Makes 1 large pot

*All numbers are approximate; manipulate according to your needs or desires.

olive oil
28 oz. can pureed tomatoes
5-6 c. vegetable broth (or equivalent of water + bouillon)
1-2 onions, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves
3-4 celery stalks, sliced
2-4 carrots, sliced
1-2 zucchini, sliced
2-4 small potatoes (red or white), sliced or diced
1-2 heads of broccoli (you can use the stems; frozen is ok)
1 c. corn (frozen ok)
1 c. peas (frozen ok)
spinach (frozen ok)
1 can kidney beans (cannellini beans and/or chickpeas work too)
1 c. orzo (other noodles ok)
salt
pepper
oregano
rosemary
thyme
cayenne pepper

1. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil.
2. Add celery, carrots, and potatoes. Saute for ~5 minutes.
3. Add tomato puree and broth. Add remaining vegetables/beans.
4. Bring to a boil.
5. Add spices to taste. [I toss them in so apologies for no measurements]
6. Add orzo/pasta.
7. Let simmer for 3-45 minutes or until all vegetables are fully cooked. Taste and adjust spices as necessary.
8. Enjoy!

Notes
*This really is one of the most versatile and malleable recipes out there. Experiment with all sorts of additions and substractions. The more broth you add, the more soupy it gets. The less broth, the more stewy. Add the vegetables you like, withhold those you don't.

*Other veggies to think about: leeks, parsnips, turnips, cauliflower, soybeans...use your imagination, the more colorful the better, anything goes.

*Minestrone freezes well, so make a big pot and freeze some for later.

*This is as vegan, pareve, and lactose-free as they come.

the more colorful the better

add some bread and you've got a meal

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Bread & Soup

I eat bread and soup a lot. Like most days of the week. Inspired by this blog on Sunday, I decided to make bread late in the afternoon. I intended to make rye bread but, alas, while I thought I had rye flour, I didn't and couldn't find any at the closest grocery store.

So I opted for the blog's peasant bread recipe. Seeing as that recipe calls for rye flour, you might wonder what on earth I was doing since I just said the cupboard lacked any rye flour. I just skipped it, using whole-wheat flour instead. I halved the recipe, and only used 1/2 c of whole-wheat flour rather than 1/4 c. whole-wheat plus 1/4 c. rye flour. As promised, the bread required no kneading and a little under 3 hours of rising time. It yielded these:

Which look like this when cut

and sliced open.

I used Washington Island Stone Ground Wheat again for the whole-wheat flour and King Arthur white flour. The bread was a little salty so I'll reduce the salt the next time I make it. One loaf is perfect for 2 people to share (though maybe I ate all of it by the end of the night), 2 loaves were perfect for the beginning of the week's soup-eating (there's still a half loaf left after lunch today). If I were having people over, I might make 3/4 of the original recipe (which says it makes 4 loaves) but shape them into 2 larger rounds. We'll see.


I also made minestrone on Sunday, and I'll post the recipe on Friday. To tempt you until then,

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Friday Recipe: Red Lentil Soup

What can I say? It's that time of the year, the time when I make soup at least once a week if not more. This week's recipe, therefore, is red lentil soup. Full of tomato-ey goodness, this hearty pot of soup will warm you up and fill you up.


Red Lentil Soup
Serves ~8

6 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp cumin (ground)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or chili pepper (or more to taste)
2 quarts vegetable broth (or equivalent bouillon + water)
3 c. water
2 cups red lentils
3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
lemon juice (optional)

1. In a large pot, heat the oil. Add onions and garlic; saute until golden brown.
2. Add in tomato paste and all spices. Stir and saute.
3. Add in broth, 3 c. water, lentils, and carrots. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat to simmer the soup until the lentils are soft (approx 30-40 minutes).
4. Taste and add spices as necessary.
5. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup.
6. Optional: Stir in lemon juice to taste (~ 1 lemon)
7. Eat!

Notes
*Depending on how much broth I have on hand, sometimes I use a mixture of broth and bouillon + water. You may find you want to add more or less water to the soup, depending on how thick you like your lentil soup.

*I only add the lemon juice to the pot if I'm serving it to a number of people at once. If I make the soup and eat it over the course of the week, I add a little lemon juice to my bowl.

*If you don't have any broth on hand, you can substitute pureed tomatoes and more spices for an extra tomato-ey base.

*This is vegan/lactose-free/pareve soup.

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Friday Recipe: Cream of Pumpkin Soup

I thought of offering "candy pie" for today's recipe, but opted for the slightly more healthy and wholesome cream of pumpkin soup. I first made and tasted this soup two years ago in Naivasha, Kenya as part of a thanksgiving day meal, and I continue to enjoy it. I'm planning on making it later today, so the pictures will feature the raw materials.


Cream of Pumpkin Soup
Serves ~8

4 tbsp butter
2 c. finely chopped onion
4 cloves finely chopped garlic
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
6 c. vegetable broth OR 6 c. water + equivalent vegetable bouillon
30 oz. (2 cans) pumpkin
2 c. half-and-half
sour cream/chives (optional topping)

1. Melt butter in soup pot. Add onions and garlic; cook until tender.
2. Add in curry, salt, coriander, and crushed red pepper. Stir well.
3. Add broth (or water + bouillon). Bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and let simmer for ~20 minutes.
5. Add pumpkin and half-and-half. Stir well and cook for ~5-7 minutes.
6. Using an immersion blender, blend soup until creamy (if you don't have an immersion blender, you can transfer the soup to a blender or food processor).
7. Eat! Garnish with sour cream/chives as desired.

Notes
*I sometimes use a mix of butter and olive oil; it works too.

*It may be possible to make this soup pareve/lactose-free using non-dairy creamer, but I've never tried it so I can't vouch that it will work.

*I cannot recommend an immersion blender enough. I believe they have revolutionized the kitchen, or at least my kitchen.

*This is an easy soup recipe to double or triple or even quadruple (if you have a humongous pot!), which makes it a great recipe for meals with lots of people.

*This is very much a savory, not sweet, soup. The curry flavors balance the pumpkin flavors well, so if there is someone at your table like me who dislikes sweet pumpkin dishes (I know, it's heresy to say it, but I don't like pumpkin pie), tell them to try this soup.

After a little searching, I found a picture from my initial foray into pumpkin soup. It's not the main feature, but you can see the deliciousness in the bowls on the table. If memory serves me well, we garnished with sour cream, chives, and a big crouton.

Happy Halloween!

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Friday Recipe: Roasted Vegetable Black Bean Soup

Soups might just be my favorite genre of meals. I almost always make a large pot, even if it's just for me (in which case I eat it for a few days and freeze the rest for another time). This is a great fall recipe that uses the last of those summer tomatoes.


Roasted Vegetable Black Bean Soup
Serves 8-10

2 pounds tomatoes, halved
2 large onions, cut into thin wedges
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
6 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
4 cups (or more) vegetable broth
6.5 cups cooked black beans or 4 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed, drained
Salt
Pepper
Chili Pepper (optional)
plain nonfat yogurt or sour cream to top the soup (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Combine tomatoes, onion and carrot in roasting pan(s).
3. Add garlic, oil and oregano and stir to coat vegetables.
4. Roast until vegetables are brown and tender, stirring occasionally (about 55 minutes).
5. Remove carrots, chop into smaller slices/cubes, and set aside.
6. Put remaining vegetables, broth and half the beans into a pot. Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth [if you don't have an immersion blender, place all the items in a regular blender or food processor and blend, then transfer to the pot].
7. Add remaining beans. Bring soup to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until flavors blend (~ 20 minutes). If the soup is thicker than you desire, add some more broth (or water).
8. Add carrots to soup.
9. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, and chili pepper as desired.
10. Serve with yogurt or sour cream as desired.

Notes
*I usually use Trader Joe's organic vegetable broth to make this quickly. You can, of course, make your own vegetable broth ahead of time.

*You don't need a roasting pan for roasting the veggies. I use 2 9x13 baking dishes and it works just fine.

*You can roast additional veggies and add them too; the recipe is flexible like that.

*For those keeping track, the basic recipe is vegan/pareve; only the additional yogurt/sour cream makes it dairy, so it's a great option for vegan meals or a vegetarian option for a meat meal.

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