Vegan Roasted Corn Chowder August 14, 2012

With plenty of fresh corn coming in from my CSA crop-share, I decided to use it all at once by making a vegan corn chowder.  The recipe, inspired by Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain Roasted Corn Soup, uses the corn stalks to make a rich broth.  It isn’t a quick soup to make, but the recipe can be made in stages (I made the stock and roasted the corn one night, and put it all together the following day) and is worth the effort.  The soup comes out creamy and rich without a hint of milk.  I used a little butter to give the soup a bit of richness, but you can easily use a “buttery” spread in equal proportions to make this soup truly vegan.  My corn was super sweet, but if it’s towards the end of corn season or the off season, you may want to add a little agave nectar or sugar to sweeten it up a bit.  This soup makes great leftovers and the taste actually improves after a few nights in the fridge.  Serve it with some warm sourdough bread and a salad tossed with basil vinaigrette for a light late-summer meal.

Zucchini Basil Soup July 27, 2012

There’s a great vegetarian restaurant by my office that makes delicious chilled soups.  Last week I had their zucchini basil soup which had a really mellow zucchini flavor, infused with lots of bright basil.  The soup was creamy and filling, but contained no dairy other than a few tablespoons of butter.  We have had quite a bumper-crop of zucchini from our crop-share so I was inspired to recreate this one at home.  I found a recipe for zucchini garlic soup from Kitchn, which had great reviews so I used that as my base, and adapted it by adding basil.  I used purple basil from the crop-share, which altered the color and bit so I added some baby spinach to retain the vibrant green color I was after.  The result was a fresh, summery chilled soup that the whole family loved – including my 17-month-old daughter.

Make this soup vegan by using a vegan butter spread in place of the butter (it will add more flavor than olive oil, but you could use that instead).  Serve this soup as a starter for a summer al fresco dinner.  Double the recipe if you’d like; leftover are great for lunch and will even freeze well.

Zucchini Basil Soup

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large onion, diced

8 large cloves garlic, chopped

4 medium zucchini (about 1 ½ lbs.)

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

½ cup baby spinach

½ cup fresh basil (or more)

½ tsp. salt

fresh-ground black pepper, to taste

basil springs, as garnish (optional)

1.  Melt butter in heavy 4-quart pot over medium heat.  Add onions and garlic after butter begins to foam.  Sweat onions and garlic over medium-law heat until onions are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes (keep heat low enough to prevent garlic from browning).

2.  Add zucchini and cook until soft.  Add broth and bring to boil, then reduce to simmer over low heat for 45 minutes.  Remove from heat, add spinach and basil, and cool slightly.  Using an immersion blender, puree until creamy, or use puree in blender in small batches.  Serve soup chilled or reheat over medium heat until warm.  Add salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with basil, if using.

Serves 4 (about 1 ½ quarts total)

Cooking Tips:

• If the soup is still hot when transferring it to the blender, open the center of the lid for the blender slightly, while holding it over the hole as the mixture is pureeing.  This will allow the steam to escape.
• This soup can be made 1-2 days in advance, as the flavor actually improves after a day or two in the fridge.

Butternut Squash Soup September 22, 2011

This soup is the ultimate comfort food: It’s warm and creamy but completely dairy-free and healthy.  I like to make it for lunch on the weekend with grilled cheese or crostini topped with goat cheese, thyme and honey.  It’s equally great for entertaining.  I’ve served it as the first course for fancy 5-course dinner party wth rave reviews.  Butternut squash soup is one of my all-time favorite recipes that I make over and over again.

Butternut Squash Soup

3 lbs. Butternut squash (about 1 large)

1 med. onion, chopped

8 cloves garlic (5 if they are large), minced

3.5 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. fresh-ground black pepper

Optional: add Nutmeg (1/2 tsp.), cinnamon (1 tsp.) and cloves (1/4 tsp.)

Plain yogurt or low fat sour cream for garnish (optional garnish)

Chives or fresh thyme, minced (optional garnish)

1.  Preheat oven to 400˚F.  Cut squash in half lengthwise; remove seeds and bake, cut side down, on pan covered with tinfoil and nonstick spray for 40-50 minutes (until completely soft).

2.  Meanwhile, in a large pot sauté onion and garlic in 1/2 cup broth (if you are using nutmeg, etc., add it here).

3.  Scrape squash flesh from peel and add to onion mixture; add broth at same time.  Bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer, with the lid on, for 20 minutes.

4.  Put soup into blender (1/3 at a time) and puree.  Serve in bowl with dollop of plain yogurt swirled in and minced chives or thyme sprinkled on top.

Vegetarian Provencal Soup December 20, 2010

This quick soup is perfect for a cold winter weeknight.  The black olive tampenade adds a briny depth to the soup that makes it taste like it has been simmering for hours.  It’s a hearty soup that’s really very healthy, so feel free to make it after implementing your New Year’s resolutions.

Serve with a simple salad dressed with balsamic vinaigrette and a good loaf of whole-grain crusty bread to round out the meal.

Vegetarian Provencal Soup

1 medium onion, diced

2 Tbs. EVOO

3 medium carrots, peeled and diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ C. roasted red peppers, chopped

2 large russet potatoes, diced into 1” cubes

1 quart chicken stock

4oz black olive tampenade, plus additional for garnish

Kosher salt

Fresh-ground pepper

Heat oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat.  Cook onions in oil until soft and beginning to brown.  Add carrots and garlic and stir until mixed.  Cook until carrots are slightly softened.  Add potatoes and red peppers and stir to combine.  Add stock and tampenade to pot.  Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer and cook until potatoes are cooked through, about 15 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

To serve: Ladle soup into bowls and top with a dollop of black olive tampenade.

Makes 4 servings

Red Lentil Soup February 26, 2008

This hearty soup for two is the perfect way to heat things up on a cold winter night.  Serve with warm, crusty whole grain bread and a salad with cilantro-lime vinaigrette for a healthy and satisfying meal that will warm you from the inside out.

Red Lentil Soup
1 Tbs. olive oil or non-stick cooking spray
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
8oz can diced tomatoes, drained (or 2 lb. fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded & chopped)
1 C. red lentils, rinsed and picked over to check for stones
4 C. low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock
salt and ground pepper to taste
½ bunch cilantro, finely chopped (for garnish)


1.         Heat medium dutch over or 5 quart pot over medium heat.  Add the oil or cooking spray.  Add the chopped onion and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden brown and soft.
 
2.         Add the garlic, cumin, coriander, tomatoes and lentils to the cooked onions.  Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes.  Add in vegetable or chicken stock and increase the heat to medium-high.  Once the soup comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer gently for 20-30 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
 
3.         Remove the pot from the heat and let the soup cool slightly.  Transfer half of the soup to the blender and puree until smooth.  Pour pureed soup into a bowl and repeat process with the remaining soup from the pot.  If the soup has cooled significantly, pour the pureed mixture back into the empty cooking pot.  Reheat the soup over medium heat until desired temperature.  Ladle the soup into 2 large soup bowls, and garnish with chopped cilantro.  Serve immediately.

 

 

 

Cooking Tips:

• Cooking the onions until they turn a golden brown color, without burning, enhances the flavor of the soup significantly.  
• If the soup is still hot when transferring it to the blender, open the center of the lid for the blender slightly, while holding it over the hole as the mixture is pureeing.  This will allow the steam to escape.

* As shown in picture, garnished with truffle oil, balsamic, snipped chives and greek yogurt