Mushroom Stock MAKES: about 6 cups TIME: About 1 hour Mushroom stock has a pronounced mushroom flavor that might compete with other ingredients; for most of the soups in this chapter, you will probably want to use one of the preceding three vegetable stocks or plain...
Mixed Vegetable Soup, Spanish Style MAKES: 4 to 6 servings TIME: 1 hour In Spain, a soup similar to minestrone is likely to begin with roasting the vegetables, which yields a more robust flavor (and takes a little more time). 1 large onion, roughly chopped 1 head...
Miso Soup MAKES: 4 servings TIME: About 15 minutes At its simplest, miso soup is really just tea—miso mixed with water (which you can do in a cup, with a little whisk). This recipe is slightly more complicated, flavorful, and substantial. Almost needless to say, you...
Minestrone MAKES: 4 to 6 servings TIME: 45 to 60 minutes The Italian take on what-have-you vegetable soup and, like most others, infinitely and easily varied. A mix of vegetables, always with tomato, is all you’re looking for, though combining “hard” and...
Lentil Soup with Coconut MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 11/2 hours, largely unattended I use regular brown lentils here, but you can use red lentils, which actually cook faster, or the more traditional split pigeon peas, also known as tavoor dal (available at most Asian and...
Green Tea Broth with Udon Noodles MAKES: 4 first-course or 2 lunch servings TIME: 15 minutes In Japan, one often eats udon noodles with the liquid they were cooked in to enjoy both the flavor and the nutrition left behind by the noodles. Sometimes the starting point...
Glazed Carrot Soup MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 45 minutes You can glaze any vegetable that’s starchy and sweet enough to convert a little cooking liquid into a syrupy coating, and nothing works better than carrots. Other root vegetables, like turnips, parsnips,...
Gazpacho MAKES: 4 servings TIME: About 20 minutes No one can definitively say what gazpacho is—you see it with grapes, with almonds, even with melon. This basic recipe is what you probably expect when you hear the word gazpacho, but, as the variations show, you can...
Garlic Fideo Soup MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 30 minutes Browned noodles are a real treat; one classic example is Garlicky Vermicelli or Fideo, the paellalike dish where broken strands of thin noodles are panfried before liquid and the other ingredients are added. Here I...
Endive and Roquefort Salad MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 15 minutes I like a salad you can eat with your fingers, and this is a beaut because the endive serves as both an ingredient and a spoon (you can even eat it standing up). Each of the major ingredients can be swapped...
Creamy Cauliflower (or Broccoli) Soup MAKES: 4 servings TIME: About 30 minutes Creamy cauliflower soup is simple and comforting; I like to make a double batch in the winter and have it ready to go in the refrigerator, since its mild, uncomplicated flavor makes it a...
Creamy Carrot Soup MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 45 minutes This classic French soup can be varied in several ways and can also be produced in a completely different fashion, as in the Glazed Carrot Soup and the Thai version at right. Pure carrot soup is thick and smooth...