Spicy Zucchini Soup

(Adapted from a recipe in the Everyday Food cookbook )

Ingredients:
(For 2-3 servings)
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, sliced
1 small potato, cubed
2 medium zucchini, cubed
A pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tsp roasted cumin powder (I always have a small batch of cumin seeds that have been roasted and powdered, kept in the refrigerator)
½ tsp coriander powder
Salt
Pepper

Method:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic followed by the onions, potatoes, zucchini, and the spices and seasonings. Cook until the vegetables are tender.

Add 1 ½ to 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Puree the soup until smooth.

Simmer for a few minutes till it thickens. Serve hot.

Green Pea Soup

We received our first snow of the season over the weekend and I couldn’t have been happier. I love winter and everything about it: the cold and crisp days, the snow, which makes everything seem so beautiful, the pretty landscapes, the holidays, the Christmas music played on the radio, and of course, the drink of the season, hot chocolate- winter’s the best! Having lived in Buffalo, NY for many years, both H and I really miss the long snowy winters we experienced there after moving here.

Christmas has got to be the time of the year that I like the most. I put up my Christmas tree yesterday. The tree with its faux snow-dusted branches, tiny lights and pretty decorations stands in a corner of my living room casting a warm and festive glow all over the place.

This soup, something I made a few days back, is perfect for warming your insides on a cold winter day.

The soup is wonderfully rich, even though it does not make use of any cream, and takes less than 30 minutes to make from start to finish. This is an Ellie Krieger recipe with a few of my modifications.

Ingredients:
(For approximately 3 servings)
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
A pinch of red pepper flakes
½ onion, sliced
2 cups peas (I used frozen)
¼ – ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
Lemon juice
Yogurt (for serving)

Method:
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the peas, salt, pepper and nutmeg and cook just until the peas are defrosted. Add 1 cup of water (or more as required) and bring to a boil.

Puree the soup until smooth. (I use my handheld immersion blender and blend it in the saucepan itself.) Simmer for a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat.

Squeeze some lemon juice into the soup. Mix. Ladle into bowls. Stir the yogurt so that it is smooth and top each serving with a nice dollop of yogurt.

Asparagus Soup

With asparagus being in season now, I’ve been trying to use it in different ways. I used it to make a soup recently.

(For 3-4 servings)
Ingredients:
A bunch of asparagus spears (20-25 medium sized stalks), trimmed
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
½ onion, finely chopped
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup milk
1 ½ – 2 cups water
Salt
Pepper

Method:
Snap the tough ends off the asparagus spears. Chop the stalks coarsely into small rounds (for faster cooking).

Heat oil in saucepan on medium heat; add garlic, onion, and red pepper flakes. Sauté.

Add chopped asparagus, salt and pepper, and cook till the rounds are very tender. Add 2 cups of water (or more depending on consistency desired) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer.

Puree until smooth. I use an immersion blender and blended it right in the saucepan itself.

Add a cup of milk and continue to cook till the soup thickens. Adjust seasoning. Serve hot.

Pappa al Pomodoro (Tomato And Bread Soup)

Pappa al Pomodoro is a thick and hearty tomato based Tuscan soup, thickened with bread. It makes use of the simplest of ingredients- tomatoes, bread, garlic and olive oil- yet it’s so rich and full of flavor. This is easily one of the most delicious soups I’ve tasted in a long time.

I only wish I’d had fresh basil while making the soup as it would have taken the flavors to a whole new level, but it was not too bad even without basil leaves. I did not want to use the dried basil that I had for this recipe.

This soup is the outcome of the recipes I saw here here and here, and is a great way to use up leftover bread.

Ingredients:
(For 3-4 servings)
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (mine also had basil, garlic and oregano)
½ onion, sliced
4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled
3 cups stale bread, cut into cubes (I used the Italian bread that I had)
4 tbsp olive oil
Red pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper
3 cups water or as required

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Spread the cherry tomatoes (no need to halve these), the sliced onions and the garlic cloves on a baking sheet lined with foil. Add 2 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix well to coat the vegetables. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes until vegetables are soft and caramelized.

In a large saucepan, add the can of diced tomatoes. Cook for a few minutes and then add the roasted vegetables to it. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
Add 2 cups of water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and then simmer for 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet lined with foil. I used the same baking sheet from above, just replaced the foil. Toss the bread cubes around in 2 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper. Toast for 15-20 minutes at 250 degrees F.

Toss the toasted bread cubes into the soup and mix well. The bread absorbs all the liquid in the soup as it cooks. Add the rest of the water. Mix well and continue to cook for some more time. Adjust the seasoning as required and keep checking and stirring the soup every now and then.

I did not like having large pieces of tomatoes in my soup, so I used my immersion blender and pureed everything just a little bit. Simmer on low-medium heat for another 5-10 minutes till the soup develops a texture similar to that of a thick and creamy porridge. Add more water or stock, if necessary, to achieve desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

The soup tastes even better the next day but it becomes very thick, so you would need to add some water or stock (I used milk) to thin it out. Also adjust the salt and pepper. Simmer for a few minutes and serve.

This soup is my entry for No Croutons Required: The Birthday Edition, hosted this month by Holler who is celebrating her birthday the entire month.
Here’s a predominantly Italian menu to go with the soup.
Parmesan Popovers
Parmesan cups with mango salsa
Potato gratin
Cannellini beans with cheese and basil
Ricotta and Nutella phyllo shells

Happy Birthday, Holler!

Celery Soup

I had a bunch of celery that needed to be used up quickly and a soup seemed to be a good way to do just that. I adapted a recipe I saw on Everyday Food. I think the soup turned out very well and I just wanted to document it here.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
4-5 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
3 cups chopped celery
½ onion, sliced
1 potato, peeled and cubed
½ tsp red pepper flakes
¼ tsp powdered cloves
1 ½ cups milk
Salt
Pepper
Water

Method:
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, celery, and potato cubes; stir and cook for a minute each after every addition.

Add red pepper flakes and powdered cloves. Mix well. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften.

Add 2-3 cups water to saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer until vegetables are very tender. Puree soup until smooth. (I used my immersion blender.) Add milk. Continue to cook till thick and creamy. Season with salt and pepper.

Pasta e Ceci (Pasta with Chickpeas)

I’m not quite sure if this one’s a soup or a pasta dish. All I know is that it made for a very delicious and satisfying meal. It’s great on a cold (or any other) day and works for lunch or dinner.
I found the recipe here and came up with this after tweaking the original a bit.

Ingredients:
(For approximately 3 servings)
¾ cup of any kind of small pasta (I used pipette), cooked till almost al dente

1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
½ can of stewed tomatoes (the one I used had small amounts of onion, celery & green pepper too)
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
½ onion, finely chopped
¾ tsp dried rosemary
Red pepper flakes
Pepper
Salt
Olive oil
1-2 cups water (I used the pasta water)

Method:
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Add chopped onion and crushed garlic followed by salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and crushed rosemary. Cook until the onions turn soft and translucent.

Add the canned tomatoes, breaking up the large pieces with the back of a big spoon.

Add half the chickpeas. Cook for a few minutes. Blend everything in the saucepan together. Add some water if it’s too thick. I used my handheld immersion blender here but a regular blender is fine too- it’s just that it’s a pain to have to wait for the whole thing to cool a bit, then transfer to the blender and then back again to the saucepan.

Simmer, stirring occasionally. The pureed chickpeas give the soup a very thick and creamy texture. Add the remaining chickpeas. Cook for a few minutes. Adjust salt and pepper as required.

Add the cooked pasta and cook for a minute or two for all the flavors to come together. The longer the soup sits, the thicker it gets. Serve hot.

I’m sending this across to Vaishali for It’s A Vegan World: Italian.

This also goes to Susan for the eighth edition of My Legume Love Affair.

Buon appetito!

>Pasta e Ceci (Pasta with Chickpeas)

>

I’m not quite sure if this one’s a soup or a pasta dish. All I know is that it made for a very delicious and satisfying meal. It’s great on a cold (or any other) day and works for lunch or dinner.
I found the recipe here and came up with this after tweaking the original a bit.

Ingredients:
(For approximately 3 servings)
¾ cup of any kind of small pasta (I used pipette), cooked till almost al dente

1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
½ can of stewed tomatoes (the one I used had small amounts of onion, celery & green pepper too)
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
½ onion, finely chopped
¾ tsp dried rosemary
Red pepper flakes
Pepper
Salt
Olive oil
1-2 cups water (I used the pasta water)

Method:
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Add chopped onion and crushed garlic followed by salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and crushed rosemary. Cook until the onions turn soft and translucent.

Add the canned tomatoes, breaking up the large pieces with the back of a big spoon.

Add half the chickpeas. Cook for a few minutes. Blend everything in the saucepan together. Add some water if it’s too thick. I used my handheld immersion blender here but a regular blender is fine too- it’s just that it’s a pain to have to wait for the whole thing to cool a bit, then transfer to the blender and then back again to the saucepan.

Simmer, stirring occasionally. The pureed chickpeas give the soup a very thick and creamy texture. Add the remaining chickpeas. Cook for a few minutes. Adjust salt and pepper as required.

Add the cooked pasta and cook for a minute or two for all the flavors to come together. The longer the soup sits, the thicker it gets. Serve hot.

I’m sending this across to Vaishali for It’s A Vegan World: Italian.

This also goes to Susan for the eighth edition of My Legume Love Affair.

Buon appetito!

Roasted Carrot And Tomato Soup

A bowl (or two) of this steaming hot soup is the perfect meal on a crisp, cold day.

This soup may have been inspired by the one mentioned in the previous post. Sadly though, it tasted nothing like it (the one that we had at The Morningstar Bistro). It was not bad, just a little different and that’s not always a bad thing!

I had a lot of baby carrots and cherry tomatoes that I had purchased with nothing particular to make in mind. Though I’m a very organized person, I’m not one to plan meals ahead of time for each day of the week, although grocery shopping and cooking would probably be a lot easier if I did! A roasted vegetable soup seemed like a good way to put these vegetables to use, I thought. So here’s what I did.

Ingredients:
30-35 baby carrots, chopped
25-30 cherry tomatoes, halved
½ onion, chopped into small chunks
5 cloves garlic, peeled
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Red chilli flakes
¾ tsp grated ginger
1 cup milk (I use 2 %)
Toasted sesame seeds

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the chopped vegetables in a baking dish lined with foil. Add olive oil, salt, pepper and red chilli flakes. Toss well so that the vegetables are coated with the oil and spices.

Roast in preheated oven at 375 degrees F for about 50- 60 minutes, turning the vegetables occasionally, till tender.

Cool and blend/puree the roasted vegetables. I like my soup a little thick and chunky with some texture to it, so I don’t puree until smooth. Return the pureed vegetables to a large saucepan and simmer on medium heat.

Add grated ginger, milk and water and thin out the soup to the desired consistency. I’d have used vegetable broth/stock if I’d had it. Work with whatever you have.

Simmer on medium heat for a few minutes before bringing to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle some lightly toasted sesame seeds on top. Serve hot.

This seems like a good enough entry for FIC: Orange and SWC: Soups.

>Roasted Carrot And Tomato Soup

>A bowl (or two) of this steaming hot soup is the perfect meal on a crisp, cold day.

This soup may have been inspired by the one mentioned in the previous post. Sadly though, it tasted nothing like it (the one that we had at The Morningstar Bistro). It was not bad, just a little different and that’s not always a bad thing!

I had a lot of baby carrots and cherry tomatoes that I had purchased with nothing particular to make in mind. Though I’m a very organized person, I’m not one to plan meals ahead of time for each day of the week, although grocery shopping and cooking would probably be a lot easier if I did! A roasted vegetable soup seemed like a good way to put these vegetables to use, I thought. So here’s what I did.

Ingredients:
30-35 baby carrots, chopped
25-30 cherry tomatoes, halved
½ onion, chopped into small chunks
5 cloves garlic, peeled
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Red chilli flakes
¾ tsp grated ginger
1 cup milk (I use 2 %)
Toasted sesame seeds

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the chopped vegetables in a baking dish lined with foil. Add olive oil, salt, pepper and red chilli flakes. Toss well so that the vegetables are coated with the oil and spices.

Roast in preheated oven at 375 degrees F for about 50- 60 minutes, turning the vegetables occasionally, till tender.

Cool and blend/puree the roasted vegetables. I like my soup a little thick and chunky with some texture to it, so I don’t puree until smooth. Return the pureed vegetables to a large saucepan and simmer on medium heat.

Add grated ginger, milk and water and thin out the soup to the desired consistency. I’d have used vegetable broth/stock if I’d had it. Work with whatever you have.

Simmer on medium heat for a few minutes before bringing to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle some lightly toasted sesame seeds on top. Serve hot.

This seems like a good enough entry for FIC: Orange and SWC: Soups.

Cold Avocado And Buttermilk Soup

One of my recent cookbook acquisitions is World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey, which has some 650+ recipes from around the world.
With the hot weather we’ve been experiencing over the last couple of days, it seemed like the perfect time to make something light and refreshing. I flipped through the pages of my new cookbook and came across her recipe for a soup that did not require any cooking. Just the thing I was looking for!

Here’s my version of the recipe.

For 3 servings
Ingredients:
2 cups buttermilk
3 green chillies, chopped
½ – 1 tsp freshly grated ginger paste
Juice of a lemon
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp cumin powder (prepared by dry roasting cumin seeds and grinding it using a mortar& pestle)
1 ripe avocado, chopped
Salt
Chives (for garnishing)

Method:
Throw all the ingredients together in the blender and process until smooth. Chill and serve.

We had this tangy soup along with a bean salad.