Chile Bisque MAKES: 4 servings TIME: About 11/2 hours, largely unattended This is one of those pure and simple soups flavored by a single ingredient. Well, almost. The only other things between you and the complex taste of mild dried chile are a touch of garlic and a...
Chickpea Soup with Saffron and Almonds MAKES: 4 servings TIME: At least 2 hours (much less with cooked or canned chickpeas) The combination of chickpeas, almonds, and saffron is found throughout the Mediterranean, but especially in Spain. Both intense flavor and a...
Cauliflower Soup, Italian Style MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 40 minutes This is how many people cook vegetables in Italy, a technique that can then turn the vegetable into a soup or pasta sauce in a sec. Garlic, pepper, and oil are the distinguishing characteristics, and...
Black Bean Soup MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 30 minutes with cooked beans This works best when you pure some of the sturdy black beans and stir them back in, for a smooth-chunky effect. But in many Latin American versions the beans are left whole, with chunks of sweet...
Barley Soup with Seasonal Vegetables MAKES: 4 servings TIME: 45 minutes It is tempting to think of barley soup as quintessential winter fare. But when you let the season dictate your choice of vegetables, the heartiness changes dramatically. Start with the basic...
Zucchini, Corn, and Amaranth Soup Makes 8 cups (2 L) Summertime is a good time to make this soup, when fresh local produce and herbs are at their peak. To remove corn kernels from the ear, slice off the stem and place the ear of corn, stem end down, on a damp cloth to...
Vegetable Stock Makes 6 cups (1.5 L) This simple stock can be kept on hand in the refrigerator for up to 4 or 5 days or made in larger quantities and frozen. When making stock from scratch, try substituting different vegetables, such as tomatoes, fennel, leeks, and...
Tuscan Minestrone Soup Makes 8 cups (2 L) Tuscany, a region in central Italy, is a charmed land blessed with copious amounts of sunshine. The cuisine from this famed tourist destination incorporates plenty of olives, garlic, tomatoes, cannellini beans (white kidney...
Spicy Eggplant Soup with Chickpeas and Olives Makes 9 cups (2.25 L) Since there are references to eggplant in the ancient language of Sanskrit, it is thought that this fruit is native to the Indian subcontinent. Historians believe that eggplant was introduced to the...
Shiitake Mushroom Miso Soup Makes 7 1/2 cups (1.875 L) Most people believe that miso originated in Japan, but it can be traced back to China, to as early as the fourth century. Miso is a dark, rich, fermented paste made from beans (usually soybeans) and grain. It...
