Recipes: 'The Soup Peddler's Slow and Difficult Soups'
The recipes themselves aren't slow and difficult inThe Soup Peddler's Slow and Difficult Soups' by David Ansel, instead the title refers to the way the soup was originally created and delivered. Food blogger Heidi Swanson says the book brims with a year's worth of soup ideas in her 2005 holiday cookbook roundup.
Armenian Apricot Soup
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 onions, diced
3 carrots, peeled end chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3 cups red lentils, rinsed
10 cups water
12 ounces dried apricots, chopped
Salt
Heat the oil in your soup pot over medium heat, then stir in the onions and carrots Sauté for about 10 minutes Add the cumin and stir well. Decrease the heat, cover, and let the vegetables sweat for 10 minutes.
Add the lentils and pour in enough of the water to cover. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the lentils and carrots are tender. Add more of the water as needed as the Ientils soften and expand.
Remove from the heat, stir in the apricots and any remaining water, and season with salt. Use an immersion blender to purée until smooth; alternatively, working in batches, puree in a regular blender until smooth. Take care not to oversalt this soup. The right amount will bring out the flavor of the apricots but leave the onions in the background. Serve hot.
Serves 8 to 10.
Chompy-Chomp Black Bean Soup
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (15-0unce) can black beans, drained
Salt
Heat the oil in a pot over medium-high heat and sauté the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add the cumin and cayenne and stir well for a minute or two, until pungent.
Add the tomatoes, along with their juices, and the black beans and bring to a strong simmer. Partially blend with an immersion blender; alternatively, puree a portion of the soup in a regular blender and return it to the pot. Season to taste with salt and serve hot.
Serves 4.
From Soup Peddler's Slow and Difficult Soups by David Ansel. Reprinted with permission from the publisher.
