Quick Use-Your-Veggies Quinoa Soup

I know what you’re thinking. This chick went to Peru and came back plumb-quinoa-crazy since she just posted a quinoa recipe 2 weeks ago. I feel you guys deserve an explanation, so I’m going to level with you. I was actually working on an exciting recipe for some black sesame Arabic donuts with date molasses (sounds pretty delicious, no?), but I had a yeast malfunction issue. TWICE. And after 2 trips to the store in the cold and a bit of heartache (I’m not a yeast novice. I blame the yeast!), I decided to warm myself up with this soup and share it with you guys. Donuts tbd…

I did, in fact, learn a version of quinoa soup in the Sacred Valley in Peru. And I’ve made this soup a few times. What I LOVE about it is that it gives you a chance to use up all of the random vegetables you might have sitting in your fridge. I like to save onion scraps, carrot halves, any little bits of a vegetable – and all of that works well in the soup. Not overcooking the veggies also adds a beautiful, textural crunch.

The soup I had in Peru was super rich, cooked with evaporated milk, egg, and luscious cubes of cheese. I omit the egg, leave the cheese optional here and opt for a bit of heavy cream to thicken instead, but I have to admit the cheese is an amaaaazing part of the soup. It’s so warm and comforting and really pops with flavor (while you get your protein punch from the quinoa). If you keep cooked quinoa in your fridge like I do, this takes no time to make – 15 minutes (half an hour if you have to make the quinoa). Either way, this is a perfect winter weeknight meal – enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

2-3 tbsps olive oil

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 jalapeno, finely chopped

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 ½ cups finely chopped mixed vegetables (carrot, celery, zucchini, etc.)

4 to 6 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups cooked quinoa*

2 quarts vegetable or chicken stock

1 cup cubed Monterey jack cheese (optional)

½ cup heavy cream

Handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Procedure

Heat a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add olive oil and throw in the red onion and jalapeno as well as a bit of salt to draw out the moisture. Cook for a few minutes until the red onions start to turn translucent. Add in the scallions and mixed vegetables. You want to cook for another few minutes but you want the vegetables to retain some crunch (so don’t overcook).

Add the garlic and sauté another 30 seconds and then throw in the quinoa and stock. Bring the mixture up to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Add in the cheese, if using, and the heavy cream and simmer for another 2 minutes so the flavors come together. Add the cilantro and season to taste.

*As a rule of thumb, I assume quinoa triples in size. So I made 1 1/3 cups of quinoa (in 2 2/3 cups water) for this recipe.

Spiced Sunchoke Soup

I am still in the aftermath of my holiday party, and this is yet another dish I served that people seemed to really enjoy. Yes, soup can be a fantastic hors d’oeuvres – I served this in little demitasse cups with some chopped cilantro and homemade croutons. It looks elegant, and you can make it in advance and keep it warm, which for me is ideal when other items require more maintenance…

Sunchokes are root vegetables and look a lot like ginger, though taste nothing like it. They have been popping up all over menus in NYC and Brooklyn. My husband and I hit this adorable new place in Fort Greene called Roman’s (amazing, chocolate sorbet to die for), and he was shocked to see sunchoke soup on the menu. He acted like they were biting my style (I almost cried laughing)…and I had to explain that they are seasonal and delicious and that’s why they are everywhere.

You might also see sunchokes labeled as Jerusalem artichokes, and their flavor does resemble the artichoke heart though they are not related at all. I picked mine up from the Union Square Greenmarket, and they were perfectly sweet and creamy. This soup incorporates some key spices – cumin, coriander, and turmeric – that really bring warmth to the dish but still allow the signature sunchoke flavor to shine through. The coconut milk bumps up the sweetness and gives it a beautiful, creamy mouth-feel, and the shot of lemon juice brightens up all of the flavors. This is easy enough as a go-to weeknight soup but refined enough for a dinner or holiday party. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6 / Yields approximately 5 ½ cups

3 tbsps unsalted butter

1 onion, finely diced

½ tsp ginger, minced

1 small green chili, finely chopped (preferably thai or serrano, to your heat preference)

¾ tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

¼ tsp turmeric

pinch of cayenne

3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced

7 medium-sized (12 oz) sunchokes, scrubbed, peeled, and thinly sliced*

1 bay leaf

2 ½ cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 can coconut milk

a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice

salt to taste

chopped cilantro or parsley

Procedure

Heat a dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat and add butter. When foam subsides, add onion and a bit of salt to draw out the moisture. Let sweat for a minute or so. Add ginger, green chili, cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes until onions are translucent and super soft. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.

Add sunchokes and stir to combine. Let cook for about 2 minutes until sunchokes begin to soften. Add bay leaf and stock, bring up to a boil, and lower to a simmer. Simmer covered for 20 to 25 minutes. You want the sunchokes to easily break apart with your wooden spoon, which will really depend on how thinly you sliced them.

Remove bay leaf, and, in a blender or using a hand blender, puree until smooth. Add coconut milk, lemon juice, and adjust seasoning to taste. Serve hot with a little fresh chopped cilantro on top.

*After peeling the sunchokes, keep them submerged in cold water until ready to use. Thinly slice right before throwing into the pot.

Pumpkin Soup with Garam Masala & Crème Fraiche

A few years back I discovered the beautiful combination of pumpkin and garam masala. I think I was making a pumpkin polenta and, like the Swedish Chef on the Muppets, kind of just threw it in. I’ve been in love with the combo ever since.

Garam masala is a traditional South Asian spice blend. It’s spicy and full-flavored but has no real heat to it. The blend differs from region to region but usually includes peppercorns, cardamom, cloves, cumin, cinnamon, coriander and bay leaves but can also include nutmeg, star anise, and even saffron. I usually make my own at home because sometimes it’s added whole and sometimes ground. But you can find the spice blend in powdered form at most supermarkets these days. It can completely overwhelm a dish, so the key is to use it sparingly.

I debated a lot of different forms for the spice / vegetable combo – everything from waffles to pumpkin pie. I settled on soup because it’s the perfect fall food – warm, comforting, and aromatic. There’s sweetness from the pumpkin, the garam masala spice in the background, a little kick from the cayenne and a fantastic tanginess and mouth-feel from the crème fraiche…really delicious. I used smaller sugar pumpkins because they are sweeter and have a more developed flavor than the larger ones, but even butternut squash would be beautiful here if you have it on hand. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

2 small sugar pumpkins (3 to 4 lbs each), halved and seeded

olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper

4 tbsps unsalted butter

2 medium onions, diced

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground garam masala

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp brown sugar

few sprigs thyme

1 bay leaf

½ cup white wine

3 cups stock

1/3 cup crème fraiche

chives, for garnish

Procedure

Preheat oven to 400° F. Drizzle the inside of the pumpkin halves with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place halves flesh side down on a foil-lined baking sheet, and roast for 45 to 50 minutes until very tender. Let cool slightly, and then scoop out the flesh into a bowl and reserve.

In a soup pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add onions, salt, garam masala, black pepper, and cayenne and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and the brown sugar and cook for another minute.

Now, add back in the pumpkin along with the thyme, bay leaf and white wine and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the wine has mostly absorbed. Add the stock and bring up to a simmer. Simmer for 35 minutes partially covered to finish cooking and let all of the flavors combine.

Remove the thyme sprigs and the bay leaf. Add the crème fraiche and either transfer to a blender or use a hand blender to puree to your desired consistency. I like mine with a bit of texture.

Serve sprinkled with chives and a nice piece of crusty bread!

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