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Super Soups For Every Season

Whether it’s warm or cold where you live, it’s time for soup!  Whether you like creamy and rich or light and fresh, I’ve got some options for you today.

I know, I know, you’re thinking that I mean potato soup and beef stew.  If you’re still trying to dig out from several feet of snow, those are both great options.  In my neck of the woods, the highs are supposed to get into the low 70s this week (it’s ok to be jealous).

So why soup?  Well, soup is an ideal starter and entree.  As a starter, it will help curb your appetite for the main course, which can help you lose weight.  As an entree, most soups that aren’t cream-based are relatively low in calories.

I love soup, and we eat it year-round.  I wanted to share a few of our family favorites with you!

Favorite Easy Soup:

This soup is full of healthy fats and lots of green, so it’s great when you want something creamy!

Warm Avocado Spinach Soup

2 bunches of fresh spinach
2 ripe avocados
4 cloves garlic
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon butter
sea salt to taste

Directions:

Clean the spinach and remove stems (you can leaves the stems on if you use baby spinach). Blanche the spinach until just wilted.

Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. Remove the avocado from the skin. Place the spinach, avocado and remaining ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth and creamy. Pour into a saucepan and heat until a low simmer. Do not boil or the avocado can get  bitter. Serve at once.

Note:  I like this better if you toss in the garlic as you wilt the spinach.  Otherwise, four cloves is too many for my taste!

Favorite Winter Soup

This is a soup from Vegetarian Times that’s tasty, easy, and healthy.  Give it a shot!  With some crusty bread and a salad, this is a great meal.

Squash and Pear Soup

3 Tbs. olive oil

2 medium leeks, white and tender green parts finely chopped (3 cups)

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (2 lb.)

3 Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces (11/2 lb.)

5 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1 14-oz. can light coconut milk

1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

Pumpkin seeds for garnish, optional

Directions

1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium-low heat. Add leeks, and cook 10 minutes, or until soft, stirring often.

2. Add squash and pears, and sauté 5 minutes. Stir in vegetable broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add salt, if desired. Simmer 20 minutes, or until squash is fork-tender.

3. Remove from heat, and stir in coconut milk. Purée soup in batches in blender or food processor, or use immersion blender in saucepan; blend until smooth. Return soup to saucepan, and stir in thyme.

Reheat over medium-low heat 2 to 3 minutes, or until warmed through. Season with salt and white pepper, if desired. Serve garnished with pumpkin seeds, if using.

Favorite Summer Soup

This is one of my most favorite soups.  First, it’s fast and easy.  Second, it’s perfect for a summer day when you want something to eat but are tired of salad.  This particular recipe is my favorite because it doesn’t use bread. For some reason, bread in gazpacho just ruins it for me.

Note: I prefer my gazpacho blended rather than chunky.  You can do half and half, or leave it as this recipe calls for, like pico de gallo.

Gazpacho

4 or 5 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped

1 serrano pepper, minced

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 small cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and diced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

1 ripe but slightly firm avocado, peeled and diced

4 cups light beef stock or chicken stock

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons  red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsely

4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

salt and black pepper in a mill

1/2 cup  extra-virgin olive oil

Combine all of the vegetables in a large bowl. Add the stock, lemon juice and vinegar and stir very briefly. Stir in the fresh herbs and season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill the soup for at least one hour before serving. Remove from the refrigerator, stir, let rest for 15 minutes and then pour the olive oil over the soup and serve.

Favorite Comfort Soup

Of all the soups I missed as a vegetarian, a restaurant bowl of french onion was the one I most lamented.  Of course you can make it at home with veggie broth, just be sure to use a wine that’s well-flavored to punch up the flavor.  Note: I prefer to use gruyere instead of Swiss, but that’s just a personal preference.

French Onion

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

6 onions (about 3 pounds), sliced

6 garlic cloves, sliced

1/2 cup dry white wine

3 cups canned low-salt chicken broth

3 cups canned beef broth

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

4 sourdough bread slices, toasted

1 cup grated Swiss cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Favorite Healthy Soup

If you don’t know about my love affair with lentils, you will soon.  They’re one of my favorite foods on the planet.  They cook faster than beans, have loads of fiber and protein, and are super cheap.  Lentil soup is a favorite in our family.

Lentil Soup

8 ounces brown lentils

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 onion, minced

1 large carrot, chopped

1 quart water

1 pinch dried oregano

1 pinch crushed dried rosemary

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon tomato paste

salt and pepper to taste

Favorite Soup In The World

Of all the world’s cuisines, I have to say that my favorite is probably Thai.  I love Vietnamese food too, but it’s a bit harder to come by.   The first time I had thom ka kai, I fell in love.  It’s satisfying because of the slight heat, but the creaminess makes it feel good from spoon to stomach.

Yes, the ingredients are a bit hard to come by, but a good Asian market should have what you need.

Thom Ka Kai (aka Tom Ka Gai)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 ounces fresh mushrooms sliced (I use a stir-fry mix of mushrooms with shitakes, oyster mushrooms, and portabellas)

3 green onions sliced (divided)

1 stalk lemongrass

1 inch fresh galangal root or ginger root, grated

2 red chilis (more or less to desired heat level)

6 cups chicken stock (use good quality here)

1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons fish sauce

fresh cilantro

fresh basil

Favorite Dessert Surprise

The first time I had strawberry soup, it was a total surprise to me.  It was on the buffet at 1900 Park Fare, a restaurant at Walt Disney World’s Grand Floridian Resort.  I love the idea, but the soup at WDW is a tad too sweet for my taste.  I found this recipe instead, and I think it nicely highlights the flavors of the berries and cream without being overly cloying.

2 cups frozen strawberries

2 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar (coconut palm sugar is fine, too)

Directions:

Puree strawberries, milk, cream and sour cream in a blender or food processor until smooth. Stir in sugar to taste. Chill 8 hours or overnight in refrigerator before serving.

I hope you’ve gotten some new recipes to try.  Let me know some of your favorites, too!

Posted by heather on Mar 8th, 2010 and filed under Diet & Nutrition, Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response by filling following comment form or trackback to this entry from your site

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