Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
SOUPS
HOT SOUPS
COLD SOUPS
*
Any day that you make a soup instantly becomes Soup Day, and things change for the better. Whatever time you put into it will be returned to you in the form of a quality moment with the first sip, and that moment will extend, as everything around you slows down.
I love the inherent spirit of vegetable meeting liquid when everything simmers together. You can relax about what you're preparing, knowing that the collaboration between broth and bits will soften moods as well as ingredients. Even though I probably have a hundred soup recipes in my repertoire by now, I never get tired of making them — and more importantly, I still feel excited and fresh about creating new ones.
Soup days can be weekend afternoons or weekday evenings when you are home anyway, doing other things. Most soups are good the next day — and the next — season after season, so even if putting one together takes an evening, you will have something to come home to tomorrow. In addition to their inherent mood-soothing properties, soups are the great temperature neutralizer: Hot ones make you feel held on cold days; cold ones can restore your sanity in the summer. There are also in-between ones that will soothe you at any temperature (yours, the room's, or theirs). Soup is never out of season and never out of place.
Many of these soups extend as far as you wish to take them into highly embellished one-bowl meals (Creamy Tuscan-Style White Bean Soup, Yellow Split Pea Dal, and Lablabi are the champions), and almost all of them can be the focus of a meal, especially when paired with matching salads or Meaningful Touches.
STOCK ADVICE
Vegetable stock is simply water that has been spiked with flavor. Sometimes this happens as a self-generated by-product of making the soup, and at other times the stock is put together ahead of time. Most of the soups in this section create their own stock as they go, as various aromatics, legumes, and/or vegetables simmer in water, rendering premade stock unnecessary.
A couple of these recipes, though, are based on a premade stock. For these (and for therisottos), you are welcome to use your own favorite store-bought stock — and there are quite a few good ones to choose from in most supermarkets. (When I don't have time to make stock from scratch, I use Kitchen Basics Unsalted Vegetable Stock.)
But you can also make your own signature variety and either use it at once or store it in tightly covered (and clearly labeled) containers for up to a month in the freezer.
I've come full circle from my early days of boiling up any and all vegetable scraps in one perpetually simmering pot as part of my effort to be a good citizen. This short-lived phase of hoped-for better personhood was followed by a much longer period not making or using stock, except for adopting a few choice brands of commercial product for risotto making. Mostly, I stuck to soups that came out great made with water.
Lately, though, I've returned to making stock — small, deliberate batches simmered expressly for specific flavor. The difference is highly tasteable.
You don't need an overwhelming kettleful of random scraps, but rather a modest saucepan mingling a few carefully chosen vegetables. One liberating factor about making stock is that you can chop more or less imprecisely. The vegetable dimensions are not terribly important, because they will either be discarded or pureed at the other end of the recipe. That's what I love about making stock: Everything is flexible and forgiving. And if you happen to feel virtuous in the process, consider that a bonus.
The Basic Pound Stock
MAKES ABOUT 6 CUPS
A pound each of onions, carrots, and potatoes, simmered together with a head of garlic, will deliver a trusty and delicious basic vegetable stock, versatile and sturdy. You can make this as sodium-endowed (or not) as you wish.
1 pound onions (2 medium), cut into chunks (peeling optional)
1. Combine everything in a large pot and bring to a boil, uncovered.
2. Lower the heat to a simmer and simmer for about 30 minutes.
3. If you like the way it tastes at this point, it's ready. If you'd like it more intense, let it go a bit longer — up to an hour. The flavor will be stronger and the volume will be slightly less.
4. Cool until comfortable to handle and then strain it into a second pot. If you want it clear, don't press on the vegetables. If you want it a little thicker and slightly opaque, go ahead and press the vegetables a bit through the strainer.
5. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to a month.
OPTIONAL ENHANCEMENTS
Throw in a rind of Parmesan (up to 4 ounces) • A few mushrooms — fresh or dried • Any additional vegetables that your instinct suggests
NOODLE SOUP IMPROVISATIONS
Once you have a stock that you love (whether you've simmered it yourself or just opened a box), you are equipped to make up your own noodle soup without a recipe. Simply cook and drain a batch of noodles, place them in a bowl, and ladle in some delicious hot stock. You can decide on the proportions of noodles to broth, and you can also choose whether to keep it simple or clutter it with vegetables (raw, freshly steamed, or left over) or extra seasonings (a spoonful of aromatic Chinese chili, garlic, or bean paste, a dribble of soy sauce, a handful of minced fresh herbs, a dab of pesto, a punch of Sriracha). Make it a meal in a bowl by adding strips of tofu or a fried or poached egg, and you will have a new, quick weekday supper option upon which you can depend.
Humble Potato-Leek Soup
MAKES 5 OR 6 SERVINGS
I intended to make a cucumber vichyssoise and began with a simple base of potatoes and leeks. I took a taste at the stage that is now this soup, and it was so good I decided to leave it alone. In retrospect, I attribute its simple deliciousness to the smashed potato format — potato pieces so soft that they crumble into the broth at the gentlest urging of a fork. It doesn't get any more accessible and doable than this.
Bonus for vegans: This soup is vegan, but somehow it tastes downright buttery from the leeks lending their mysteriously luxurious effect.
• The soup tastes more layered when made with the water left over from preparing Mashed Celery Root, so keep this in mind the next time you find yourself simmering a celery root.
• The best way to clean leeks is to trim and slice them first, then place the slices in a large bowl of cold water in the sink. Swish the leeks around, then lift them into a colander while you change the water. Return the leek slices to the bowl of clean water and repeat until they are clean. (You can see less and less grit being left behind in the bottom of the bowl with each go-round.) Spin the leeks dry in a salad spinner.
• Two pots are needed for this, but the cleanup is easy, and it saves time — and maximizes flavor — to cook the potatoes in one pot while you sauté the leeks in the other.
1 pound russet potatoes (peeling optional), cut into 1-inch chunks
1. Combine the potato chunks, water, and ½ teaspoon salt in a medium-large saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, and cook, covered, until the potatoes are very soft, about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, place another saucepan (slightly larger) over medium-low heat for 1 minute. Add the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the leeks and another ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, for a minute or two, then lower the heat and continue to cook, stirring, for 5 to 8 minutes. Cover and cook over low heat for another 5 to 8 minutes, or until the leeks are very soft.
3. Add the potatoes and all their cooking water to the leeks, along with black pepper to taste. Cover the pot, turn off the heat, and let the soup sit for about 15 minutes to develop the flavor. Somewhere in there, taste to adjust the salt.
4. You can now reheat the soup and serve it as is, or puree some of it with an immersion blender to add thickness, and then reheat it. Serve hot.
OPTIONAL ENHANCEMENTS
A touch of cream — stirred in just before serving or drizzled on top • A spot of crème fraîche • Minced cucumber and/or chives • Thin strips of fresh basil • A dab of Salsa Verde
Full circle: You can also go ahead and take this to the vichyssoise I originally thought I was making. Chill the soup and then puree it with up to ½ cup heavy cream and a peeled, seeded, deliciously sweet cucumber. Serve cold, with a light topping of fresh chives — in long chive lines (with their pretty purple blossoms, if available) or minced.
Creamy Tuscan-Style White Bean Soup
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
The classic Tuscan white bean treatment extends to a soothing soup format, delicious in its basic form — and it's also a template with huge expansion potential. If you add cooked pasta (see the list of Enhancements) and pair this with a spinach salad and some rustic bread, it will instantly become a dinner that calls out for a big Italian red wine.
• You can substitute white pea (navy) beans for the cannellini beans. Soak the beans for a minimum of 4 hours (ideally overnight) in plenty of water to generously cover. This soup should be made with dried, not canned, beans, since the bean-simmering liquid becomes the broth.
• Garlic shows up three times here, in various capacities. The overall effect is layered, subtle, and smooth. The roasted garlic flavor in particular intensifies nicely as the soup sits in the refrigerator, if you're not serving the entire batch in one stroke. Roast a head (or make a batch of Roasted Garlic Paste) well ahead of time. In fact, while you're at it, roast 2 or 3 heads (or make extra paste). It's a great ingredient to have on hand.
• This soup presents the perfect opportunity to use that special bottle of high-quality extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling on top.
1½ cups (¾ pound) dried cannellini (white kidney) beans, soaked
1. Drain and rinse the soaked beans, then transfer them to a soup pot, large saucepan, or Dutch oven along with the water, garlic clove halves, and rosemary. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, partially cover, and cook until the beans become very soft, about 1 hour. (You want to err on the side of overdone.) Fish out and discard the rosemary (leave in the garlic). Let the soup cool to room temperature.
2. Squeeze the pulp from the roasted garlic cloves directly into the soup, discarding the skins, or add the Roasted Garlic Paste. Use an immersion blender to puree the mixture to the desired consistency, or puree in batches in a stand blender. Return the soup to the pot, if necessary, and reheat gently.
3. Meanwhile, place a medium skillet over medium heat for about a minute, then add the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the onion, carrot, sage, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften. Stir in the minced or crushed garlic plus another ½ teaspoon salt, turn the heat to medium-low, and cook for another 10 minutes or so, until the onion is translucent and the carrot is very soft.
4. Add the cooked vegetables to the bean mixture, stirring well. Cover and cook over very low heat (with a heat diffuser, if you have one, underneath) for another 10 to 15 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld.
5. Adjust the salt, if necessary, and add a generous amount of black pepper to taste. Serve hot with any (or many) of the Enhancements.
OPTIONAL ENHANCEMENTS
A drizzle of high-quality extra-virgin olive oil (or a citrus-spiked olive oil) • A drizzle of rich balsamic vinegar or Balsamic Reduction • A drop of truffle oil • Crispy Sage Leaves • Thin strips of fresh basil and/or a small spoonful of basil pesto • A touch of grated lemon zest • Finely diced ripe tomato •Olive Oil Toasts • Slow-Roasted Roma Tomatoes, or mashed, on top • A handful or two of baby spinach leaves (stirred in with the cooked vegetables in step 4) • A dab of sour cream • Minced fresh flat-leaf parsley • Cooked tiny pasta (small rings or tubes, alphabet, ditalini, stellini) — add a spoonful or two to each bowl
Yellow Split Pea Dal
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
Good for beginners, this can become your go-to recipe if you want to embrace and perfect just one good curry. It's delicious as written, but is also a great springboard for augmentations and improvisations (the Enhancements, which follow). To turn this into a meal-in-a-bowl, put on a pot of brown basmati rice before you begin and place some rice in each bowl before ladling in the soup.
• Note that both ginger and garlic appear twice in the ingredients list — sliced, to simmer with the split peas, and minced, to include in the sauté.
2 cups yellow split peas
1. Place the split peas, ginger slices, garlic halves, and water in a soup pot, large saucepan, or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, partially cover, and cook until the split peas are very soft, 60 to 70 minutes. If at any time the soup looks like it needs more water, feel free to add some to keep it as thin and souplike as you prefer.
2. Meanwhile, place a medium skillet over medium heat for about a minute, then add the oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add all the spices and cook, stirring, for about a minute, or until they become fragrant and start making popping sounds. Add the onion, minced garlic, minced ginger, and 1 teaspoon salt and stir so the onion becomes evenly coated with the spices. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, until the onion becomes very soft, 10 minutes or longer, stirring frequently. Stir in the lemon juice toward the end.
3. When everything is very soft in both the pot and the skillet, transfer the onion-spice mixture to the split peas, stir to combine, and simmer over the lowest possible heat for another 5 minutes or so, stirring a few times to let the flavors meld. Fish out and discard the ginger slices (it's OK to leave in the halved garlic), check for salt, add black pepper and crushed red pepper to taste, if desired, and serve.
OPTIONAL ENHANCEMENTS
Minced cilantro (up to ¼ cup or more) mixed in just before serving • A few handfuls baby spinach added in step 3 • Diced cooked potato (stirred in at the end) • Diced cooked carrot (added with the onion) • Minced ripe tomato (stirred in at the end or scattered on top) • Steamed green peas scattered on top •A dab of yogurt, drizzle of buttermilk, or spoonful of Raita spooned on top or served on the side • Chopped Indian pickles (many choices at Indian grocery stores) on top or left whole alongside • A touch of your favorite authentic Indian chutney • A touch of heat (chili oil; mustard pickles or other hot Indian pickles; hot sauce; crushed red pepper) • A sprinkling of pomegranate seeds • A drizzle of pomegranate molasses or Pomegranate-Lime Glaze • Instead of plain basmati rice, you can get fancy with Spiced Basmati Pilaf with Nuts and Raisins
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "The Heart of the Plate"
by .
Copyright © 2013 Tante Malka, Inc..
Excerpted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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