Lemony Carrot and Cauliflower Soup

Photo by Evan Sung for The New York Times

from The New York Times

submitted by Anne Halsted

preparation time: 55 minutes

serves 6

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for serving

1 large white onion, peeled and diced (2 cups)

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

5 medium carrots (1 pound), peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces (2 cups)

1½ teaspoons Kosher salt, more as needed

3 tablespoons white miso

1 small (or half of a large) head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets

6 cups water (could be half chicken broth)

½ teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice, more to taste

Smoky chile powder, for serving

Coarse sea salt, for serving

Cilantro leaves, for serving

In a large, dry pot over medium heat, toast coriander seeds until fragrant and dark golden-brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a mortar and pestle and coarsely crush.

Return the pot to medium heat. Add the oil and heat until warm. Stir in onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly colored, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute.

Add carrots, crushed coriander, salt and 6 cups water to the pot. Stir in the miso until it dissolves. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook, uncovered, 5 minutes. Stir in cauliflower and cook, covered, over medium-low heat until the vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes.

Remove the soup from the heat. Using an immersion blender, purée the soup until smooth. (Alternatively, you can let soup cool slightly then purée it in batches in a food processor or blender.) If necessary, return the puréed soup to the heat to warm through. Stir in the lemon zest and juice just before serving. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with chile, sea salt and cilantro leaves.

The beauty of a soup like this — other than its bone-warming properties — is that you don’t need a recipe. You can pretty much simmer together any combination of vegetables with a little water or broth, purée it, top it with good olive oil and salt, and end up with something good to eat. The addition of miso paste and crushed coriander to the broth, and fresh lemon and cilantro at the end, zips things up without negating the comfort factor.

Parsley Soup with Parsnips and Leeks

from Simply Recipes.com

submitted by Marilyn and Richard Lonergan

preparation time: 50 minutes

serves 6

2 tablespoons butter

3 leeks, white and pale green parts only, sliced lengthwise,

cleaned, sliced crosswise into ¼-inch slices

2 tablespoons olive oil

1½ pounds parsnips, tough center removed, then peeled and chopped

2 strips lemon zest, 1 x 2 inches each

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups water

2 cups (a big bunch) finely chopped fresh parsley, plus a little for garnish

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Pepper to taste

Heat butter in a 4- to 6-quart pot on medium heat. Add the chopped leeks, toss to coat with the butter. When the leeks are heated enough so they begin to sizzle in the pan, lower the heat to low and cover the pan. Cook until soft, but don't let the leeks brown, about 7 or 8 minutes.

Add the parsnips and olive oil, and toss to coat. Then add the salt. Add the stock and water and the strips of lemon zest. Bring to a boil and reduce to a low simmer. Cover and cook until the parsnips are completely tender, at least 30 minutes.

Remove and discard the lemon zest. (don’t forget this step). Add the parsley. Purée the soup until smooth, either by using an immersion blender or by working in batches with a stand-up blender. If using a standing blender, fill the bowl no more than halfway, hold the cover on the blender bowl, and start blending at the lowest speed. Return the puréed soup to the pot. Taste, then stir in lemon juice and add more salt, if needed. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper, a little olive oil, and chopped parsley or chives.

We were looking for a parsnip soup recipe and found this one. It has a wonderful green color and was such a good taste that we didn’t even add the lemon juice to the soup. It’s great because it is almost 100% good for you but tastes wickedly creamy (even though no dairy!). For a dinner party, we garnished the soup with a dollop of crème fraîche tarted up with lemon juice, finely chopped roasted pistachios, and a sprinkle of lemon zest. These accoutrements made it very fancy, a little crunchy, and the double lemon gave it a nice zing. 

Provençal Greens Soup

Photo by Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

from Martha Rose Shulman in The New York Times

submitted by Wells Whitney
preparation time: about 45 minutes
serves 4

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 leeks, cut in half lengthwise, sliced, rinsed of dirt and drained on paper towels
4 garlic cloves, sliced
Kosher salt
6 cups chopped greens (leaves only), such as Swiss chard, dandelion greens, watercress and beet greens
black pepper, to taste
2 large eggs
4 thick slices country bread, toasted and rubbed with a cut clove of garlic
Grated Parmesan, for serving (optional)

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat, and add the leeks. Cook, stirring, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and ½ teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the greens, and stir until they begin to wilt. Add ½ quarts water (6 cups) and salt to taste, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 15 to 20 minutes, until the greens are very tender and the broth sweet. Add pepper, and taste and adjust seasoning.

Beat the eggs in a bowl. Making sure that the soup is not boiling, whisk a ladle of soup into the beaten eggs. Take the soup off the heat, and stir in the tempered eggs. Brush the garlic bread with olive oil, and place one or two in each bowl. Ladle in the soup, sprinkle on some Parmesan, if desired, and serve.

Seared Broccoli and Potato Soup

from The New YorkTimes

via Richard and Marilyn Lonergan

preparation time: 50 minutes

serves 6

½ cup olive oil, divided

2 heads broccoli (about 2 pounds), separated into small florets, stems peeled and diced

1 teaspoon Kosher salt, more to taste

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large Spanish onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, chopped

½ teaspoon black pepper, more for finishing

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ pound potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

1 quart low-salt chicken stock or water

¼ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice, more to taste

In a large soup pot, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over high heat. Add about a third of the broccoli, just enough so that it covers the bottom of the pan in a single layer without overcrowding. Cook broccoli without moving it for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until dark brown on one side only (leave the other side bright green). Transfer to a big bowl and repeat with remaining broccoli and more oil. When all the broccoli has been browned, season with salt and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add butter and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to pan. Add onion, garlic, and black and red peppers, Cook onion-garlic mixture until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add potato to the pot along with broth or water. Bring to a simmer, cover pot and cook until potato is just tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Add broccoli, cover again and cook until tender, another 5 to 10 minutes.

Add lemon zest and roughly purée soup with an immersion or regular blender, leaving some small chunks for texture if desired. If too thick, thin with additional broth. Stir in lemon juice. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil.

This is not your average broccoli soup. Instead of merely boiling the broccoli to cook it, the florets are seared until deeply browned on one side while remaining bright green on the other. This gives the soup a layer of caramelized flavor while also preserving the fresh green taste of the broccoli itself. It’s a technique inspired by Andrew Feinberg of Franny’s restaurant in Brooklyn, who also uses it for zucchini soup. 

The Best Onion Gratin

from Cook with Jamie: My guide to making you abetter cook
submitted by Anne Halsted

preparation time: 1 hour 25 minutes overall
serves 4

4 medium red onions, peeled and quartered

2 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced

A small wineglass of white wine (about ½ cup)

4 tablespoons crème fraîche

1¾ ounces Gruyère cheese, grated

1¾ ounces Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Break the onion quarters apart to give you little petals. Place onion petals in a 13-by-9-inch ovenproof glass or earthenware dish. Drizzle with a couple glugs of olive oil (about 2 tablespoons) and a pinch of salt and pepper, and toss in the thyme and garlic. Mix up well, add the white wine, cover with a double-layer of aluminum foil, wrap tightly and place in the preheated oven.

Bake for 45 minutes then remove the dish from the oven, take the foil off, stir and pop the dish back in the oven for 15 minutes to start caramelizing. Once the onion is looking lightly golden, stir in the crème fraîche and sprinkle over the Gruyère and Parmesan. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and let the gratin tick away for about 15 minutes or until golden and gorgeous. You can eat this straight away or cool it down and flash it until a broiler later.

Cast-Iron Seared Cauliflower Steak

Photo by Armando Rafael

from Parade Magazine

submitted by Kathy Lindenbaum

preparation time: 30 Minutes

serves 4

1 head cauliflower, cut into 4 ½-inch thick slices

Salt and pepper

Avocado or grapeseed oil for frying

Chimichurri sauce or Sriracha mayo

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Lightly sprinkle both sides of cauliflower slices with salt and pepper.

Heat a large cast iron pan over high heat and add enough oil for browning one slice. Add cauliflower and cook 2 to 4 minutes per side or until golden and crispy. Transfer slice to shallow roasting pan or cookie sheet, and repeat with other 3 cauliflower slices.

Bake the slices for 10 minutes or until cauliflower is tender.

Serve with chimichurri sauce or Sriracha mayo. If you’d like to prepare your own chimichurri sauce, see recipes in the 2007 and 2016 cookbook. Or you can make your own Sriracha Mayo.

Sriracha Mayo

from Bon Appétit
submitted by Katy Lonergan

preparation time: 5 minutes

serves 8

1 clove garlic, finely grated

1 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons Sriracha

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Kosher salt

Stir garlic, mayonnaise, Sriracha, and lemon juice in a small bowl to combine; season with salt to taste.

Sriracha mayonnaise can be made up to one day ahead and refrigerated in a covered container. Note, if you make the recipe as is, you will have extra.