Find sanity by the bowlful
These soups keep meal prep simple when life gets complicated Weekday soup suppers can be a real sanity saver. Warm and delicious, these dinners in a bowl can be assembled, cooked and on the table in about 25 minutes or less. Add a simple salad and some wa
Easiest Vegetable Soup Yield: 4 servings INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1⁄4 cup tomato paste 1teaspoon salt, plus more to taste Black pepper to taste
6 cups vegetable broth or water 3cups chopped firm vegetables, such as carrots, winter squash, cauliflower, broccoli or root vegetables
3 cups chopped soft vegetables such as zucchini, bell peppers, green beans or any greens
3 cups cooked or canned beans or fresh or frozen corn kernels or peas
1⁄2 cup chopped fresh basil
PROCEDURE
1. Put oil in large pot or Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, 3-5minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook until it dries out a bit, a minute or two. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Add broth or water and scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Add firm vegetables and bring to boil. Adjust heat so the mixture gently bubbles. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, 10-20minutes, depending on the kinds you’re using.
3. Add zucchini or other soft vegetables, along with beans or corn or peas. Return to boil, then lower the heat so the mixture bubbles gently. Cook, stirring occasionally until everything is quite soft, another 1015minutes. Stir in basil; taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Sausage and Pasta Soup Yield: 8 servings INGREDIENTS
2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 pound sweet Italian sausage (if only serving adults, you can opt to use half sweet and half hot sausage), casings removed
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 1⁄2 cups diced, peeled carrots 2diced celery stalks
Pinch dried red pepper flakes 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning or herbes de Provence
1 (14- to 16-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
7 cups chicken broth
1 (15- to 16-ounce) can kidney beans, drained 11⁄2 cups dried orecchiette, see cook’s notes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley Garnish: grated Parmesan cheese Cook’s notes: I like to use small orecchiette pasta, a shape that is said to resemble piglet ears. I usually buy the DeCecco brand and look for the number 91 on the box. Numbers on pasta labels, known as the “cut number” in the industry, relate to the shape, length or width of the extruder used to shape the pasta. If desired, substitute another variety, such as fusilli or farfalle.
PROCEDURE
1: Heat 2tablespoons oil in a heavybottomed soup pot or Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Add sausage and break into bite-size pieces using a spatula, cooking 5minutes and stirring occasionally. Add onion, carrots, celery, pinch of dried red pepper flakes and dried Italian seasoning or herbes de Provence, Cook, stirring occasionally, about 8minutes.
2: Add diced tomatoes, broth and kidney beans; bring to simmer and reduce heat to medium or medium-low. Simmer gently for 15minutes.
3: Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil in a separate pot. Add 1 1⁄2 cups orecchiette and cook according to package directions; drain. Add pasta to soup; add chopped parsley. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste; top each serving with grated Parmesan cheese.
Source: “Eat Vegan Before 6:00,” by Mark Bittman (Clarkson Potter, $26) I keep a list of easy-to-prepare soups on the inside of my pantry door, so in a pinch I have a reminder that I can rely on. It’s a strategy that seems essential in these demanding pandemic times. Most often the prep involves opening a can or two, chopping some vegetables and minimal cooking time. Easy.
What a contrast with those labor-intensive bowls of steaming consommé I cooked up eons ago in culinary school. In the ’70s I labored long and hard to turn out flawless clear consommé. This richly flavored beef broth could be garnished with a feathery sprig of fresh chervil or thin slivers of truffle — even a delicate julienne of blanched carrots or leeks.
Consommé cooking required careful attention, keeping the temperature of the beef broth at a precise heat — just below a simmer, barely trembling. Every trace of fat needed to be carefully removed and often clarified by adding egg whites, which were cooked in the mixture and carefully removed via a cheesecloth-lined strainer.
Goodbye, consommé — I learned a lot. Hello, reality soups.
Ten-Minute Pot Sticker Soup
Yield: 2 servings as a main course or 4as first course
INGREDIENTS
8frozen pot stickers (Asian-style dumplings, sometimes labeled gyoza), with or without meat 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth 1⁄2 cup sliced green onions (including dark green tops) 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro or fresh basil Small pinch dried red pepper flakes or
3⁄4 teaspoon Frank’s RedHot sauce
11⁄2 teaspoons Asian (roasted) sesame oil Cook’s notes: Pot stickers can be cooked directly in the broth, but it will make the broth cloudy. PROCEDURE
1. Place 4-5 cups water in a large saucepan; bring to boil on high heat. Add frozen pot stickers and boil until pot stickers float to top, stirring occasionally, about 1-2 minutes. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer; cook 1-2 minutes. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, bring broth to a simmer in large saucepan. Cut green onions and cilantro (or basil). Add cooked and drained pot stickers, green onions, cilantro (or basil), dried red chili flakes or Frank’s RedHot and sesame oil. Simmer just until pot stickers are hot, about 45seconds. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding a little salt and/or small squeeze of lemon juice if needed. Ladle into bowls and serve.