Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

1 T olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1-2 T chili powders, ancho & chipotle

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp celery seed

½ -1 tsp black pepper

4 C vegetable stock, chicken stock or water

4 (15 oz) cans black beans, undrained

2 C whole kernel corn

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes

Directions

In large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat; cook onion, garlic, and carrots, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until onion is softened. Add chili powder, paprika, celery seed and cumin; cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add stock or water, 1 can of the beans, corn, and pepper; bring to boil.

In food processor or blender, puree together tomatoes and remaining cans of beans; add to pot. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until carrots are tender.

Freezes well.

Meaty Minestrone

Ingredients

2-3 T olive oil for sautéing

2 C chopped onions

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp salt

1 C cut green beans

2 C chopped carrots

1-2 C sliced or diced zucchini

1 C diced red bell pepper

2 C canned or fresh tomatoes

½ C corn kernels

¼ C chopped fresh basil and/or 2 T dried

1 T minced fresh marjoram and/or 2 tsp dried

2 tsp dried oregano or 1 tsp fresh

4 C chicken or beef broth

1 can pinto (preferred) or navy beans, drained

1 can dark red kidney beans, drained

½ C sliced and quartered pepperoni

½ lb Italian sausage, mild or hot

¼ C fresh parsley, chopped fine

Directions:

Slice or break up sausage, brown in skillet and set aside.

In large soup pot sauté garlic and onions in oil and salt until onions are soft and translucent.  Add some dried herbs now and cook a few minutes longer.

Add carrots and green beans and simmer covered for about 10 minutes.

Add zucchini, tomatoes, corn, and red pepper, cover, and cook 5 minutes more.

Add fresh herbs, if available, (use up to half of the parsley) and cook a few minutes. If fresh herbs are not available more dried herbs can be added.

Add stock, beans, sausage, and pepperoni and simmer 15 to 30 minutes.

Sample and adjust with more herbs and seasoning.

Add remaining fresh parsley and serve.

Soup notes:

Recipe source

The recipe of this soup, one of my favorites and most popular with the family, is based on a summer minestrone recipe I found in the Moosewood Daily Special.  However, all Moosewood recipes are vegetarian and as I am no vegetarian I often violate these recipes with meat ingredients—especially the broths. 

The changes I have made to the recipe that I feel makes this soup special are:

·    The addition of pepperoni and sausage

·    Use of both dark red kidney beans and pinto beans

·    Herb layering

Italian sausage

Spicy Italian sausage really adds a wonderful kick to this soup.  I’ve used pork sausage but I especially like the texture of veal sausage and prefer to use the latter if I can obtain it.

Layering herbs.

I read about this technique in a column by Joe Crea in the Cleveland Plain Dealer many years ago.  I do not know when he wrote this piece on soup making, but I still have the clipping tucked into the pocket of my recipe notebook and have yet to find a better description of good soup making. He cites Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme and explains that ingredients added earlier and cooked longer taste different than those added later.  Thus adding some dried herbs early as the onions soften, then some fresh or dried herbs later, and more fresh herbs at the end adds complexity and flavor.  This soup seems to taste the best when fresh herbs are available and I can layer both dried and fresh herbs as described in the recipe.

Other herbs, dried and fresh, can be used in addition to those listed in the recipe:  savory, thyme, tarragon, and lovage.  Tarragon and lovage can be dominant flavors and should be used sparingly.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Ingredients

2 13-ounce jars roasted sweet red peppers
or 6 freshly roasted peppers

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups chopped onions

2 whole garlic cloves

1 slice (about the size of a nickel) fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

½ to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon salt

1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 14-ounce can reduced fat coconut milk

2 cups chicken broth or water

1 red bell peppers, freshly roasted

1 zucchini, shredded

1 or 2 carrots, peeled and shredded

1 or 2 parsnips, peeled and shredded

Directions

Cool and peel the freshly roasted peppers. If using canned peppers, drain, rinse well, and set aside.

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes (adjust amount for desired spiciness), and salt. Cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened.

Remove pan from heat and add coconut milk, tomatoes, and roasted peppers (save the one freshly roasted pepper). Puree until smooth in a blender or food processor.  Add broth or water.

Peel and dice the one roasted red pepper. Sauté lightly the shredded vegetables. Add one half of them and the diced pepper to the soup and use remainder as garnish or simply use as garnish. Warm and simmer the soup for about five to ten minutes.

Serve immediately or the next day. Can be served hot or cold.
One day in the fridge does improve the flavor.

Recipe development

This soup is derived from the "roasted red pepper coconut soup" recipe in Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special, one of my favorite soup cookbooks. I like to try out new recipes as written and then experiment with the same recipe later.

What I added or changed:

Ginger

I’ve had pureed vegetable soups with ginger before and thought that the addition might be good here. However, I was very gingerly with the ginger (sorry about the bad pun) so the ginger flavor is very subtle. Ginger lovers could add more.

Chicken broth

This would probably be good as a vegetarian/vegan soup but I like the fullness of flavor that chicken broth can add. I make my own stock, which tends to be concentrated, so in this case I used 1 cup broth and 1 cup water.

Extra vegetables for texture:

When I first cooked the Moosewood recipe, my daughter complained that she did not care for a smoothly pureed soup; she preferred to have some texture in the soup. At that dinner we were also serving sautéed carrots and parsnips, which my sister-in-law threw into the soup and raved about the result. Thus I decided to add some vegetables at the end. I would have gone with carrots, zucchini, and the diced pepper, but added the parsnip because of my sister-in-law’s on the spot experiment. Shredding seemed like a nice texture and easy to do with a food processor.

The experimentation with this soup was highly successful. The soup disappeared quickly.