Gazpacho Soup

Gazpacho is a raw tomato and bell pepper soup originating from Andalusia region of Spain. It is served cold, usually in the summer months. Although it is not usually served as a meal on its own, it could easy be made into a light lunch if you add some of the garnishes mentioned below, and/or served with a small side.

The following recipe is from The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen - an excellent book that proves itself once again as an exceptional source of authentic, flavourful reipes. Having been to Spain myself and having tried authentic gazpacho soup, I can say that this recipe is the best/closest thing I've seen to what I had in Spain.

Enjoy.

Gazpacho

2lbs vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled, seedes, & coarsely chopped, with juices
1 medium yellow bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 bunch thinly sliced scallions, white and green parts, seperated
1 slice stale Italian of French bread (28oz), crusts removed, soaked in water and squeezed dry
2 tablespoons sherry or balsamic vinegar
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
Pinch ground cumin (optinal)
Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup water
Pinch sugar, or to taste
Optional garnishes: croutons, avocado slices, toasted chopped hazelnuts, diced cucumber, etc.

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In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, place the tomatoes, chopped bell peppers, white parts of the scallions, bread, vinegar, garlic, cumin & cayenne (if using). Process until smooth and foamy. With the motor running, add the oil and water in a steady stream. Transfer to a large bowl; cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Add sugar, or to taste. Serve chilled, with optional garnishes, if desired.

Dal-Vegetable Stew

This is the 2nd post on this blog with a recipe from The Indian Vegan Kitchen.

I didn't have the mung beans and red pigeon peas recommended in this recipe, so I used romano beans and black-eyed peas instead. The combination of beans, lentils and vegetabels in this dish make it a more or less complete meal, but feel free to serve it over a bed of rice or with a side dish (such as stuffed banana peppers).

Dal-Vegetable Stew

1/3 cup toor dal (pigeon peas)
1/3 cup mung dal (mung beans)
1/3 cup pink lentils, rinsed
4 cups water
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 cups butternut/acorn squash or pumpkin, peeled & cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes

Ingredients for the paste:

1 tablespoon garlic, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger, peeled & coarsely chopped
1 cup tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped

1. Pre-cook the toor and mung dal for about an hour, so they that are just slightly under-cooked.

2. In a deep skillet, combine the toor/mung dals with lentils, salt, turmeric, squash, eggplant, and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until the dals and vegetables are very soft.

3. In the meantime, prepare paste: in a blender, combine garlic, ginger, tomatoes, cumin seeds, garam masala, coriander, cayenne pepper, and water. Grind to a smooth paste. Set aside.

4. In a large frying pan, heat the oil on medium-high heat. Add onion and fry 1-2 minutes until slightly browned. Add the paste and fry until oil seperates, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Add the oil and paste mixture to the stew in the skillet. Add 1/2 cup water, or more as needed, for desire consistency (should be thick and stew-like). Bring to a boil, reduce heat a low boil, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Peasant's Schi (Sauerkraut Soup)

Sauerkraut is basically fermented cabbage - think kimchi, only sour (instead of spicy) and vegan by default. Commonly used in Eastern and Central European cuisine, it can be found in German/Russian-style delis (and perhaps some well-stocked supermarkets). It is also used in a Russian soup called schi. Schi soup is one of the most popular soups in Russian (along with borsch), and there are as many different recipes/versions of it as there are households.

That said, there are a few basic components: cabbage or sauerkraut, meat (or, less commonly, mushrooms), and herbs such as dill or parsley, etc. Carrots and onions also make it into this soup often. The following is my vegan version of it, which is a more or less realistic take on what Russian peasants would've eaten when meat was less readily available.

Peasant's Schi

1 cup brown button mushrooms, thoroughly rinsed
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/3 red bell pepper, sliced
3 tablespoons vinegar
1 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon & 2 teaspoons olive oil, seperated
1lb sauerkraut
1 small carrot, peeled
3 small-medium potatoes, peeled
5 cups "chicken" or "beef" broth
Handful of fresh dill, chopped
1.5 tablespoons lemon juice (juice of 1/2 lemon)
Cilantro as garnish (optional)
Vegan sour cream (optional)

1. Combined the thoroughly rinsed mushrooms, bell pepper slices, half of the onion (chopped), 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, 1 cup water & vinegar in a bowl or jar and keep in your fridge to marinate, preferably overnight or at least until the mushrooms are very soft and slippery.

2. Put the sauerkraut, carrot, and potatoes in a shredder and shred slightly until the mixture is chunky but the vegetable pieces are very small.

3. In a deep pot, heat up the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil and add the 1/2 remaining chopped onion and chopped dill. Let heat for a minute, stirring slightly, then turn the heat down to medium-low. Add the broth and shredded vegetable mixture from step #2. After a minute, turn the heat back up to high until it boils.

4. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the lemon juice. Cut the marinated mushrooms into tiny pieces and add to the soup along with the rest of the marinade. Allow to simmer on ~medium heat for about 15-20 minutes. Serve warm with cilantro and vegan sour cream, if desired.

Makes 5-6 servings.

Spicy Cashew & Eggplant Soup

Isa Chandra Moskowitz is a cook who's quite famous in the vegan community. Her show & blog, the Post Punk Kitchen, along with her plethora of cookbooks, have grabbed the attention of both vegans and omnivores alike.

In particular, Isa is well known for her delicious desserts (muffins, cupcakes etc) and her hearty vegan brunch recipes. For better or for worse, however, I tend to find that her other recipes (many of which are healthy and delicious) end up being ignored.

Because her recipes are already well known in the vegan community and easily accessible elsewhere, I don't plan on spending a lot of time blogging about them. However, I would like to occasionally mention some of the non-dessert/brunch ones that are, for one reason or another, unfortunately marginalized. The following is a rich, spicy soup recipe:

Spicy Cashew & Eggplant Soup

1 pound eggplant, chopped in 1/2 inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup oil
1 medium-sized yellow onion, diced
1 hot chile, seeded & minced
1.5 teaspsons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 (16oz) can diced tomatoes with juice
5 cups broth
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Cashew pieces
Cilantro (optional garnish)

~
Toss the eggplant cubes with the teaspoon of salt in a large bowl. Allow to sit 20-30 minutes to soften, then gently rinse the eggplant with cold running water and drain.

Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to a large stockpot and add the eggplant, stirring to coat with the oil. Stir and cook for 12-15 minutes, until slightly tender. Transfer the eggplant to a medium sized bowl.

Add the remaining oil to the pot and allow it to heat, add the chile and onion, and fry for a minute. Add the ground cumin, coriander, and turmeric, and fry for another 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and stir-fry the mixture for another minute.

Add the diced tomatoes and eggplant, turning the heat up to high. Fry for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is very moist and has absorbed a reasonable amount of the tomato flavouring and spices. Sprinkle cashew pieces on top liberally, stirring for a few more minutes.

Add the broth and simmer on medium-low heat for 35-40 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Salt to taste once cooled for at least half an hour. Add cilantro as a garnish, if using.

Lentil-Barley-Tomato Soup

Although I was born in the former Soviet Union and grew up with Russian parents, I'm actually not a huge fan of most Russian food (in large part because most of it contains a lot of meat and dairy). There are, however, a few things about Russian cuisine that have stuck with me, one of them being a love for soups.

Soups are a big thing - it goes much farther than just some borsch every now and then. In Russia, lunch (which is the major meal of the day) will traditionally have 3 courses, and soup is the first one - analogous to pasta in Italy.

And the great thing about soups is that, because they're part water, they fill you up on less calories - not to mention the physical and emotional comfort that one gets from a hot bowl of soup on a cold day :)

The following recipe isn't Russian (quite the contrary, it's [a slight adaptation of a recipe] from a book called "The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen"), but it's the first of many, many soup recipes that you will find on this blog. (Indeed, not a week goes by in which I don't have at least 4-5 servings of soup... but I digress).

And now, without further ado:

Lentil-Barley-Tomato Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 oz (about 2 small) carrots, shredded
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 cups broth
1 cup water
1 cup lentils, rinsed
1/2 cup pot barley
1 (14oz) can whole tomatoes, drained, seeded, and coarsely chopped, juices reserved
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 large bay leaf
salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

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In a medium stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, and garlic; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes.

Add the broth, water, lentil, barley, tomatoes and their juices, thyme, bay leaf, and salt/pepper; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, partially covered, until the lentils and barley are tender, stirring occasionally, 50 to 60 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Serve hot.

Makes 4-5 main course servings.