Lentil Soup with Plantains

Now that I've recovered from my Thanksgiving-induced food coma, it's time to get cooking again.  Tonight I tried a new recipe for Lentil Soup with Plantains.  Plantains--the starchier relative of the banana--are delicious when prepared on their own (in fact, I had some fried plantains over the weekend at a Cuban restaurant in Jersey City), so combining them with lentils, another great staple food, seemed like a good idea.

A bowl of thick, hearty soup.

Note: Plantains can be used at any stage of ripeness, but this recipe is best made with plantains whose peels are turning black.

Recipe:
Lentil Soup with Plantains

• 6 cloves garlic, minced and divided in half
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 5/8 teaspoon ground thyme
• 8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1.5 cups lentils
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 ripe plantains, peeled and diced
• 3 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 3/4 cup chopped cilantro

 

First, in a large soup pot, bring half of the garlic and all of the cinnamon, cloves, thyme, and vegetable broth to a boil.  Stir in the lentils and cook for 15 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat and sauté the onion for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.  Reduce the heat to medium and add the plantains, carrots, and salt.  Continue sautéing for 10 minutes, or until the plantains are golden.  Then stir in the remaining garlic and the allspice; cook for three more minutes. 

 

Add the plantain mixture to the lentil pot and simmer for 15 minutes.  Finally, stir in half of the cilantro and remove from heat.

 

Garnish with remaining cilantro and serve hot.  Yields 4-5 servings. 

Comments:
Taste:            

The flavors in this soup are both deep and complex.  The lentils, carrots, and onions create a nice, savory base; then, the spices come together with the plantains' subtle sweetness to add a little something extra. And finally, to top it all off, the cilantro adds some welcome freshness.  Rachel noted that the soup's texture was a little off (it had absorbed most of the liquid by the time she ate it).

Accessibility:            

Plantains grow all year long in tropical places, so it should be easy to find them in the produce section of the grocery store (welcome to the 21st century).  If you have trouble finding fresh cilantro, you can leave it out or add another herb. 

 Ease of Preparation:      

I wrote the recipe above to involve a lot of (time-saving) multitasking.  If you'd rather take it slow, you could start cooking the onions and plantains first; then, begin to cook the lentils, and finally, combine them together. 

Non-vegan friendliness:           

This is a really hearty, filling, and interesting dish.  I'd be confident serving it to anyone. 

Dumpling Soup

With temperatures dipping into the 40s at night, I think it's safe to say that fall has officially arrived in the D.C. area.  And what could be better than putting on sweatpants, getting an extra blanket out of the closet, and bundling up with a bowl of warm soup? 

A bowl of warm soup.

We decided to try out a recipe from good old Martha Stewart for Dumpling Soup.  The recipe calls for pre-made dumplings, so it's pretty easy to manage. 

Recipe:     
Dumpling Soup

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 - 2 inch chunk fresh ginger, slivered
• 43.5 ounces low sodium vegetable broth
• 8 ounces mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
• 18 vegetable dumplings (frozen or fresh)
• 2 cups frozen corn (or baby corn)
• 6 cups lightly packed arugula

First, heat the oil and garlic in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.  When the garlic begins to sizzle, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes or until the onion begins to soften.  Then add the ginger and three cups of water to the pot; stir, cover, and bring to a boil.  Cook for 10 minutes.

Next, add the broth and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms begin to soften (about three minutes).  Add the dumplings and corn, and boil until the dumplings are tender (three or four minutes; the dumpling package may also have a more precise cooking time estimate).  Finally, add the arugula and stir for 30 seconds. 

Serve hot.  Yields 6 servings.

Comments:
Taste:           

It turns out that we may have preferred a little more control over what went into the soup when it came to the dumplings.  The refrigerated dumplings from the sushi section of the grocery store ended up tasting fairly bland (a splash of soy sauce helped out, here).  Even so, the soup did have a pleasantly fresh taste and I especially liked the arugula in it.  We all enjoyed the dish a bit more the second day, so keep in mind that it improves with age.

Accessibility:        

I was planning to buy frozen rather than fresh dumplings to save on cost, but the only vegan dumplings carried by our usual grocery store were fresh.  They ended up being pretty expensive. 

 Ease of Preparation:         

While this dish was a bit lacking on taste and accessibility, it was definitely easy to make.  There's a bit of chopping prep work to take care of, but then it all just goes into the pot. 

Non-vegan friendliness:         

I wouldn't want a skeptical non-vegan to judge vegan food by this dish.  That said, the soup was very filling and it was pretty exciting to have dumplings for dinner (even if they weren't the greatest), so I'd say this was a pretty non-vegan friendly dish.

Simple Vegetable-Patata Soup

This week we made one of the simplest one-pot meals imaginable (and it was tasty, too): Vegetable-Patata Soup.  I like to think of this soup as a Latino minestrone soup because it's chock full of tomatoes and vegetables with some south-of-the-border spice and potatoes. 

It's such a hearty soup!

Recipe:    
Simple Vegetable-Patata Soup

• 2 cups red potatoes, washed, de-eyed, and diced
• 2 cups frozen green beans
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cans stewed tomatoes
• 10 ounces frozen corn
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 cup of your favorite salsa
• A few shakes of salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon chili powder

 

Combine all of the ingredients in a large soup pot.  Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Then lower the heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the flavors have combined.  

 

Serve with fresh bread for dunking.  Yields 6 hearty servings. 

Comments:

Taste:          

I was pleasantly surprised by this soup.  The flavors are neither impressive nor complicated; however, I appreciated the fact that it was spiced without being spicy and had a warm, hearty flavor. 

Accessibility:  

The ingredients in this dish are both inexpensive and easy to find.  

 Ease of Preparation:      

There's nothing easier than putting ingredients in a pot and letting them cook for a half hour!

Non-vegan friendliness:      

The heartiness of this soup makes for a filling, non-vegan friendly dish.  Plus, you could swap different vegetables  in or out of the soup to please any palate. 

Vegetable Ribollita

Last night we made Vegetable Ribollita for dinner.  What's that, you ask?  I didn't know before making it, either.  According to ever-helpful Wikipedia, ribollita is "a hearty potage made with bread and vegetables."  Wikipedia continues to explain that ribollita--a Tuscan soup dish--dates back to the Middle Ages, when "servants gathered up food-soaked bread trenchers from feudal lords' banquets and boiled them for their own dinners."  After reading such an enticing description, how could I not try this out?

Our hearty potage!

Recipe:   
Vegetable Ribollita

• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2.5 cups diced onion
• 3/4 cup sliced celery 
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• 3/4 diced carrot 
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 1 medium head of cabbage, coarsely chopped 
• 1 - 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon marjoram
• 1 - 15 ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth 
• 2 cups water (or two more cups vegetable broth)
• 4 cups cubed sourdough bread (about 1/2 loaf)
• 3 cups baby spinach leaves

First, heat the olive oil and garlic in a large soup pot over medium heat.  Add the onions, celery, zucchini, carrots, and rosemary, and season with salt and pepper.  Cook until the vegetables become soft and begin to brown, or about 10 minutes. Add the cabbage, tomatoes, basil, and marjoram, and season again with salt and pepper. Cook until cabbage is just tender, or another 10 minutes. Then stir in the beans, vegetable broth, and water.  Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Next, stir in the bread and spinach, increase increase the heat to medium, and cook until the soup thickens, about 10 minutes more. Finally, taste the soup and season with salt and pepper one last time before serving.

Comments:

Taste:        or     

Wikipedia's description is dead-on when it calls this soup "hearty."  The flavor is simple and subtle without being bland, and each bite highlights a different soup component.  I also really like the fact that this soup has something different going on in it: bread cubes.  However, Simon wasn't as pro-ribollita as Rachel and I were.  He felt that the bread was unpleasantly soggy and he didn't like that the texture was somewhere between a soup and a stew.   

Accessibility:        

There are a lot of fresh ingredients involved in this soup, but they are all very easy to find in any grocery store.  The great thing about this recipe is that it's not critical that your bread be incredibly fresh.  If your bread is a little old, just toast it before using. 

 Ease of Preparation:    

These vegetables require a fair amount of chopping to prepare.  As always, it will make your life much easier if you chop everything before starting the recipe. 

Non-Vegan friendliness:    

This is a really filling soup and I would feel comfortable serving again as a one-pot meal.  The dish doesn't present much of a wow-factor, but it's a solid dinner.  We also dipped some leftover bread in the soup, and Simon and Rachel melted cheese onto their bread in the toaster oven before dunking. 

Gumbo Z'Herbes

Cajun Week Part 2: Gumbo Z'Herbes!  As I mentioned before, this version of gumbo is surprisingly meat-free.  The dish below looks a lot like the gumbo I had last week in New Orleans, though due to a salt-related mishap, it was much saltier. 

Gumbo Z'Herbes, soon to be topped with rice.

I'll post the recipe below with a more palatable amount of salt.  Give it a try!

Recipe:  
Gumbo Z'Herbes

• 2 quarts water
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup minced shallots
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 bay leaves
• 3/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1.5 teaspoons black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, chopped
• 10 ounces frozen collard greens (or a bunch of fresh greens)
  
• 1 small head of cabbage, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 5 ounces frozen turnip greens (or a small bunch of fresh greens)
  
• 6 scallions, diced
• 1/8 cup chopped parsley 
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 - 15 ounce cans red kidney beans
• Brown rice, prepared according to package instructions.

First, bring the water to a boil in a large soup pot.  (While waiting for the water to boil, continue with the recipe in the next paragraph.  Once the water boils, continue with the third paragraph.)     

Meanwhile, prepare the roux.  Heat the olive oil in a separate large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.  Then add the flour and stir constantly until a peanut butter colored roux is attained.  Immediately add the onion, bell pepper, and celery and sauté until the vegetables become tender.  Add the shallots, garlic, herbs, spices, and salt and continue to cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally.  Next, add the mushrooms to the roux mixture and cook for two more minutes.

Once the water in the soup pot is boiling, add the collards and cabbage and boil until tender.  Then stir in the turnip greens and scallions and bring the soup mixture back to a boil.   

Stir the roux mixture into the soup mixture.  Once combined, add the parsley, soy sauce and kidney beans and simmer for at least 10 minutes.  Top with brown rice and serve hot. 

Yields 8 servings.

Comments:

Taste:       

Mistaken saltiness aside, this dish had a great, deep flavor.  That's probably partly due to the addition of mushrooms (something I don't cook with very much, to Rachel's chagrin) and the roux base.  I also love that the gumbo is packed with a variety of dark leafy greens, cabbage, and other vegetables.   

Accessibility:      

There are a lot of ingredients in this version of Gumbo Z'Herbes, but they're all easy to find at the grocery store.  If you can't find some of the dark leafy greens (turnip greens, collard greens), I'm sure you could swap in some other dark leafy greens (mustard greens, etc.) in their place.      

 Ease of Preparation:    

Apparently Cajun cooking isn't the easiest.  Like the Seitan Jumbalaya I made earlier in the week, this dish has a number of steps and takes a while to make. Plus, it requires a pretty high level of attention during some more complex steps, such as roux-making.  But, don't be discouraged: I'm pretty sure this was my first time making a real roux and it was straightforward enough. 

Non-vegan friendliness:    

While we did have this as the main dish at dinner, I could see some non-vegans being unsatisfied with such a light main course.  This dish is less filling than some of the soups I've made previously, so it might work better as an appetizer. 

Hearty Vegetable Stew

Tonight's Hearty Vegetable Stew was perfect given the recent snow and frigid temperatures outside.  We also bought a loaf of fresh bread to dunk in the stew for extra comfort.
 

Dipping the bread was SO good.

Recipe:
Hearty Vegetable Stew

• 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 4 medium-sized potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces 
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon marjoram
• 1 teaspoon tarragon
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1.5 tablespoons barbecue sauce or 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika 
• salt, to taste

Combine all ingredients (except salt) in a large soup pot.  Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.  Then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove the bay leaves, salt to taste, and serve with bread for dunking.  

Yields about 6 servings.

Comments:

Taste:      

The stew was good but not great.  It had a pretty starchy taste (lots of potatoes), so I would add more vegetables and one fewer potato next time.  It needs something green--maybe peas or kale? 

Accessibility:        

We only needed to go out and buy a few ingredients for this dish.  Thank you, stew, for a low grocery bill this week.     

 Ease of Preparation:   

This was extremely easy to prepare.  It's a great one-pot meal.       

Non-vegan friendliness:   

Simon noted that this dish lacks the varied texture that beef or some other meat would add to a stew.  I thought serving the stew with crusted bread added a nice crunch to the meal, but I do think a meat-enthusiast might miss it in this meal.              

Tropical Black Bean Soup

Last night's dinner was not our average one-pot meal.  We made numerous delicious dishes since we had two of my (non-vegan) friends and my (non-vegan) brother with us for dinner.  They brought home-brewed beer and ginger cookies, and we made Tropical Black Bean Soup, Quinoa and Corn Salad, Sweet Potato Fries, and roasted broccoli.  It was quite a spread!  Unfortunately I was too busy eating to take pictures, but I hope the recipes paint a satisfactory picture of our meal.

I'll start with the soup.  I've always been a fan of black bean soup, but this recipe takes things one step further.

Recipe:
Tropical Black Bean Soup

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 onions, finely diced
• 2 red bell peppers, finely diced
• 4 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 medium ripe bananas, peeled and sliced
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce
• 2 cans lite coconut milk
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• salt to taste

Heat the oil and garlic in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the onions and red peppers and sauté for about 5 minutes or until tender.  Stir in the beans, bananas, cumin, ginger, and hot sauce; cook until the banana softens, stirring frequently.  Stir in the coconut milk and vegetable broth.  Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes. 

Serve hot with fresh bread for dipping and sopping.  Serves 6-8 people.

Comments:
Taste:    

Everyone at dinner liked this soup.  Some people were unable to pick out the taste of the banana, specifically; however, I found it to be a noticeably pleasant, though subtle, addition.  Rachel agreed and enjoyed the soup, even though she had been nervous about the idea of bananas in soup.  She also commented that the soup was much heartier than other soups we've made in the past.  It was filling and went great with the rest of the meal.     

Accessibility:    

None of these ingredients are particularly unusual.  Feel free to use green bell peppers instead of red, as green would be cheaper.        

Ease of Preparation:   

This soup is certainly easy to make.  It takes about an hour to make from start to finish, but it's definitely worth it! 

Non-vegan friendliness:  

This soup was enjoyed by all non-vegans at dinner last night, and I would feel comfortable serving this to any group of people in the future.  It's a substantive soup that stands on its own. 

Sweet Potato Peanut Soup

Tonight Rachel and I made African-inspired Sweet Potato Peanut Soup:

So much carotene!!  This spiced soup is chock full of vegetables and is really a meal in itself.  It was pretty easy to make, although we had a couple mishaps--I'll help you avoid those with a couple tips in the recipe: 

Recipe:
Sweet Potato Peanut Soup

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1.5 pounds sweet potatoes, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 5 cups water
• 3 teaspoons pepper
• 3 tablespoons natural peanut butter
• peanuts, chopped, for garnish
• cilantro, chopped, for garnish

First, chop all of the vegetables so they're ready to go.  (It's generally a good practice when cooking to have everything ready to go before starting.)  Once everything is ready, heat oil and garlic in a soup pot over medium-high heat and add the onions once it's hot.  Cook for about 5 minutes until the onions become translucent and tender.  Add the curry powder and cayenne and cook for another minute or two.  Next, add the sweet potatoes, celery, carrots, tomatoes, and water to the pot.  The water should more than cover the vegetables.  Bring to a boil and boil for about 20 minutes.  You know the soup is ready when the vegetables are tender and easily poked with a fork. 

Once the soup is cooked, blend the soup, pepper, and peanut butter together in a food processor.  Here's where I struggled!  Make sure you don't over-fill the food processor.  You'll probably need to blend the soup in batches, so make sure you divide the pepper and peanut butter between the batches.  The soup leaked/exploded out of the food processor when I blended it, causing the clean-up process to take much longer than necessary.  Once the soup is thoroughly blended together, garnish with chopped cilantro and crushed peanuts and enjoy! 

Comments:
This soup had an excellent flavor.  That said, Rachel and I both agree that the texture of the soup wasn't perfect this first time around.  The blending fiasco led me to under-blend the soup, meaning it was a little too chunky rather than more puréed.  I also think there was too much broth in the soup (I adjusted the recipe above to make up for that).  All in all, I liked the soup: it was a substantial and nutritious meal with a great spiced, nutty flavor.  Hopefully I'll learn from my mistakes this time around and it will be even better next time.    

Now it's time to eat some of those Christmas cookies...