Soupy suggestions?

[dr_whom]

So the routine I've more or less gotten into is that when I run out of chili, I make corn chowder, and when I run out of corn chowder, I make chili.

However! I offered to bring chili for the Speyers' New Year's Eve party, and thus it befell that it was necessary for me to make a batch of chili before I used up the previous batch of corn chowder. Moreover, I saved a couple servings of chili at home, aside from what I brought to the Speyers' party. The upshot of which is that not only do I now have both chili and corn chowder in the house, in defiance of the ordinary principles as described in the previous paragraph, but in fact I'm likely to run out of both of them at approximately the same time!

This is clearly unsupportable. I can't make corn chowder because I've run out of chili and at the very same time make chili because I've run out of corn chowder; that would be madness. The only possibility is for me to introduce some alternative third recipe to my rotation, thus giving both corn chowder and chili a well-deserved break. But what?

So what I'm looking for is recommendations for a new recipe to add to this rotation—something along the lines of a hearty vegetarian soup or souplike dish that can constitute most of a meal and doesn't take too much time or equipment to produce. (I made butternut squash soup for my birthday party but I can't make it regularly because I don't have a blender—I borrowed one for the party. And I didn't think it could have really carried a meal anyway.) Any suggestions?

Comments

[tiamat360.livejournal.com]

I love avgolemono, but I'm not sure how it would work as a vegetarian dish. That said, here are two recipes for the soup that are or can be made vegetarian.

[dr_whom]

Hmm, I've never heard of avgolemono before. Thanks! (Sounds like it ought to mean 6.02×10²³ lemons.)

[dr_whom]

...Not bad!

[leech.livejournal.com]

My two mainstays are lentil and lima bean.

[dr_whom]

Mmm. I do like lentil. Do you have a good recipe to recommend?

[leech.livejournal.com]

olive oil and/or butter
garlic, minced
cumin
garam masala
turmeric
red pepper
salt
lentils (I prefer the dark green kind- red lentils stick and burn very easily, so vigilance is required)
one large onion or two small ones, chopped

optional: mustard seeds, cardamom, ginger, other spices as desired
also optional: chard or kale, potatoes or butternut squash cut into cubes

Heat spices in oil a few minutes until they smell really good. Add onions and garlic and cook on medium heat until transparent and golden. Add lentils and more than enough water to cover. (Lentils will absorb a lot of the water.) Bring to a boil, then simmer for about an hour until desired level of mushiness is reached. Salt to taste.

If adding vegetables, give root vegetables at least 30 minutes of cooking time, and greens very little (stems longer than leaves). Exactly times will vary depending on how the vegetables are cut.

[ophblekuwufu.livejournal.com]

I like this pozole recipe: http://don-eve.dyndns.org/recipes/pozole.html

[dr_whom]

Thanks!

[dumble.livejournal.com]

I second the recommendation of lentils!

Also, for butternut squash soup, I used to make it a lot following this recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spiced-Pumpkin-Soup-107258, but with a lot less broth so it's thick (and like a gajillion other substitutions because it's soup so you can do that), and then I'd pair it with some bread and cheese, and I thought that was a great meal.

[dumble.livejournal.com]

Oh, and also: immersion blenders are pretty cheap.

[dr_whom]

They are, are they? Fascinating!

[dr_whom]

Substitutions such as... butternut squash instead of pumpkin? Hmm. I'll think about what I can do with that one.

[dumble.livejournal.com]

Well, no, I used pumpkin actually. (Kobacha squash, really.)

[dr_whom]

I'm not convinced that what you're recommending to me is a butternut squash soup recipe then.... :)

[dumble.livejournal.com]

Nor am I. I'm recommending something in the vein of butternut squash soup. I'm sure it would work perfectly well with butternut squash as well. I don't think there's any part of that recipe I haven't substituted. (That's not true: I always use coconut milk. Yum!)

[http://users.livejournal.com/little_e_/]

I am very fond of beets. Pretty much all of my soups are made of beets.

But I don't recommend eating more than a couple bowls of it per day.

[jedusor.livejournal.com]

My favorite soup-as-a-meal dish is groundnut stew. I use sweet potatoes, butternut squash, peanut butter, black beans, frozen corn, diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, and pepper. Boil the potatoes and squash, saute onions/garlic/ginger in oil, add everything else plus enough water or vegetable broth to get it to the right consistency. The amounts are crazy forgiving--I usually use one squash, two potatoes, a can each of beans and tomatoes, and about a cup of peanut butter, but it would be pretty hard to fuck it up by eyeballing.

[brokenwndw.livejournal.com]

When I'm feeling lazy I like to make this, which is remarkably tasty for its near zero effort level.

[cynara-linnaea.livejournal.com]

Lentil soup rocks. I like this one, except I leave out the tomatoes and the grains of paradise. For me, the essential bits are the lentils, the mirepoix (and olive oil), and the cumin.

My go-to soup is Tomato Basil Bisque. No immersion blender required, you need nothing but a pot, a frying pan, and a wooden spoon (frying pan optional, actually).

Ingredients
8 oz Hunts (or comparable) tomato sauce
Half and Half or light cream
1 small yellow onion
1 stalk celery
1 clove garlic (or more, if you want)
ground red pepper
dried basil
butter

Dice the onion and celery. Mince the garlic. Sauté all three in butter with enough red pepper to suit your spice inclination. When onions are translucent, they’re done enough.

Pour tomato sauce into a pot. Add Half and Half, stirring, until it’s about the color of Russian dressing, or whenever you feel like it’s enough. Add enough basil. Put over medium high heat. Add sautéed stuff. Stir frequently (be careful, it bubbles and that can stain your clothes). Cook until dark red color shows it’s done (varies greatly depending on volume).

Serves one as a meal or two as an appetizer. Pairs well with grilled cheese. Increase proportionally as needed.