Soup Recipes

Roasted Vegetable Soup

4 Servings
This delicious, vegetable-filled broth can be served by itself or used as a base for other soups. The vegetables used in this soup are often just added to soup liquids for cooking. This recipe oven-roasts them first, enhancing their flavor. Your kitchen will fill with the aromas of the roasting vegetables evoking old-fashioned, home-style meals. Comfort food at its finest.

Ingredients:
3 large carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups water
1/4 cup dried mushroom pieces (Italian porcini, if possible)
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and black or red pepper to taste

Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Place the carrots, celery, and onion in a small (8 x 8 inch) nonstick pan or dish with the olive oil. Toss to coat the vegetables. Bake for 10 minutes.
2. Remove pan from oven, add the garlic, and toss again. Bake for another 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are browned.
3. Remove pan from oven, add 1 cup of water and stir to loosen any vegetables that may be stuck. Pour this into a pot with the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Season to taste with salt and black or red pepper, and serve or use as the base for other soups, stews, or pasta dishes.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving:92 calories, 5 g total fat (1 g sat), 0 mg cholesterol, 12 g carbohydrate, 2 g protein, 3 g fiber, 150 mg sodium



Barley and Vegetable Soup

6 Servings

Barley has been cultivated since the Stone Age and has been fermented to make beer since not long after that. Like other cereal grains -- wheat, millet, oats, corn and rye -- barley is a great source of fiber and carbohydrates, and can also be used to make cereal, bread and soup. Folk medicine uses barley in barley water, made by simply soaking barley in water, which is reputed to be a great tonic during convalescence. "Pearl" barley is the name of the grain when it's been polished, after the husk and bran have been removed. It's the form most commonly used in soups. Grains like barley keep well. Their bulk and comparative cheapness make them a useful staple,
especially at this soup-worthy time of the year, so be sure to keep some in your cupboard.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup medium pearl barley
11 cups vegetable stock
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
salt to taste
1/2 bunch parsley

Instructions:
1. In a saucepan, combine the barley and 3 cups of vegetable stock. Bring to a boil over medium heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, or until the liquid is absorbed.

2. Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a large pot and add the onion, carrots, celery and mushrooms. Cover and sweat the vegetables for about 5 minutes, until they begin to soften.

3. Add the remaining vegetable stock and simmer 30 minutes, covered.

4. Add the barley and simmer 5 minutes more. Add salt to taste and ladle into bowls. Serve garnished with some chopped fresh parsley.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving:
203 calories
5 g total fat (0 g sat)
0 mg cholesterol
34 g carbohydrate
7 g protein
5 g fiber
150 mg sodium

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Black Bean Soup

8 Servings
Among the most inexpensive of foods, dried beans offer a bounty of fiber, iron, protein, folic acid and B vitamins. Black beans, also known as "turtle beans," are an especially tasty variety, and make a lovely soup. Do not salt dried beans until they are cooked, as the salt slows down the softening process. On another note, so-called "cooking" wines or sherries contain lots of added salt. Do your palate and your body a favor and use a drinkable sherry in this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 pound black beans
1/3 bay leaf
1 large onion, sliced
Salt to taste
A few cloves of chopped garlic
1 tsp dry mustard powder
1 cup dry sherry (not cooking sherry)

Instructions:
1. Pick over beans to remove any dirt, stones or foreign objects. Wash well, then soak for 8 hours in ample cold water.

2. Place beans and soaking liquid in a large saucepan with 1/3 bay leaf and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim off foam, lower heat, and simmer, partially covered, till beans are just tender, about 1 hour.

3. Add onion and continue to cook until onion melts into liquid, about 1 more hour.

4. Add salt to taste and garlic. Continue to cook, adding a little boiling water if necessary, until beans are very soft and start to melt into liquid, about 1-2 hours more.

5. Remove bay leaf and turn off heat. Ladle beans in batches into blender or food processor and puree or use an immersion blender and puree soup directly in the saucepan.

6. Add dry mustard powder and dry sherry. Correct seasoning. Reheat and serve, adding any garnishes you wish, such as slices of lemon or freshly chopped herbs.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving:
103 calories
3 g total fat (0 g sat)
19 g carbohydrate
3 g protein
4 g fiber
220 mg sodium

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Creamy Tomato Soup

3 servings
Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 pounds fresh, ripe Italian tomatoes, chopped (about 6 cups)
8 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked
1 cup soy milk
Salt and black and red pepper to taste
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, basil, or dill, chopped

Instructions:

1. In a large pot, sauté the onions in the olive oil until they are soft, then add the fresh tomatoes and stir until the mixture boils.

2. Remove the dried tomatoes from their soaking water and chop them coarsely. Add them and their soaking water to the pot and cook, stirring to prevent sticking.

3. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the soy milk and season to taste with salt and black and red pepper.

4. Serve in bowls with the chopped green herbs as garnish.

Nutritional benefits: Monounsaturated fat; micronutrients, including lycopene from tomatoes and isoflavones from soy.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving:
196 calories
8 g total fat (1 g sat)
0 mg cholesterol
30 g carbohydrate
7 g protein
8 g fiber
250 mg sodium

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Artichoke Heart and Soybean Soup

2 Servings
This is an easy soup based on canned soybeans and canned or bottled artichoke hearts. Excellent varieties of organic canned soybeans are now available at health food stores. These soybeans are generally low in sodium and the slightly gelatinous broth in the can can be added right in with your soups and stews. You can, of course, substitute chicken stock for the vegetable stock in this soup if you prefer the flavor of chicken stock-based soups.

Ingredients:
1 14 oz can or bottle of artichoke hearts
1 15 oz can of organic, cooked soybeans
1 garlic clove
1 tsp grated ginger root
1 tsp olive oil
2 cups vegetable stock

Instructions:
Drain the artichoke hearts. Combine in a blender or food processor with the canned soybeans and process until smooth. Saute the garlic and ginger in the olive oil then stir in the artichoke heart/soybean puree and add the vegetable stock. Stir well and heat through.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving:
178 calories
6 g total fat (1 g sat)
0 mg cholesterol
21 g carbohydrate
14 g protein
8 g fiber
282 mg sodium

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Escarole Soup

2 servings
This is the simplest soup you can make. Use vegetable broth if you want a vegetarian version. You can add leftover pasta, rice, cooked vegetables, or tofu. Use the rest of the escarole for a salad another day.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Start to finish: 5minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 head escarole
2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tsp grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions:
1. In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken broth to a boil.

2. Meanwhile, wash the escarole and shake dry. Coarsely chop the escarole and stir it into the chicken broth.

3. Remove from the heat. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Serve in soup bowls garnished with grated Parmesan cheese, if you like.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving:
52 calories
0 g total fat (0 g sat)
0 mg cholesterol
4 g carbohydrate
8 g protein
4 g fiber
198 mg sodium

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