On the 2nd September 2019 I had written:
Vegetarian cuisine is based on food that does not include meat
or any other animal tissue. The strictest form
of vegetarianism is veganism that
forbids the consumption of any animal products, even honey. It is a way of life
that is based against animal cruelty and exploitation.
People chose to follow a vegan diet for various reasons, such as ethical as explained above, environmental or health reasons. Veganism is a lifestyle, a philosophy where
people strongly reject to have animals killed in order to eat their flesh. It sounds savagely cruel and barbaric and obliges one of finding other methods and means of nourishment, such as eating
solely vegetables, fruits, pulses, nuts and grains.
Here are a few recipes for vegan soups:
Here are a few recipes for vegan soups:
VEGAN ARTICHOKE
SOUP
You could use frozen artichokes for preparing this soup.
3 large artichokes, trimmed and finely chopped
1 medium-sized onion, peeled and grated or
2-3 spring onions, white part only, trimmed and finely
chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
Juice of ½ a lemon
1 litre (4 cups) tasty vegetable broth
Remove from the heat and sprinkle with chopped dill
1 heaped tbsp cornflour
250 ml (1 cup) coconut milk
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
Place the four first ingredients in a saucepan, cover with
vegetable broth and simmer gently until tender. Sprinkle with chopped dill and
set aside to cool. Then blend until
smooth and creamy and taste and add more salt, pepper and lemon if necessary.
Just before serving, bring the soup to a gentle simmer. Mix the cornflour with 2-3 tbsp coconut milk
and stir until smooth. Then slowly pour in a ladleful of hot soup into the
cornflour mixture stir and pour back into the hot soup and simmer gently, stirring occasionally until the soup
thickens. Serve immediately drizzled
with the remaining coconut milk.
VEGAN
ASPARAGUS SOUP
Greek asparagus are of excellent quality. You can use the green or the
white variety for preparing this soup.
500 g(1 lb) fresh asparagus
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
750 ml (3 cups) vegetable broth
2 tbsp corn oil
2 tbsp plain flour
A bay leaf
250 ml (1 cup) coconut milk
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
1 tbsp chopped parsley
Snap each asparagus and keep the tougher parts for further
use. Cut off 6-8 asparagus tips and set
aside. Chop the remaining asparagus into
small pieces.
Bring the broth to the boil, add the asparagus tips and
simmer for 5-7 minutes or until just cooked.
Remove and reserve for garnish.
Add the tough parts of the asparagus to the broth and cook
for 25 minutes then remove and discard.
Finally, add the chopped asparagus, onion and garlic to the
broth and simmer for 20 minutes and set aside to cool. Blend the vegetables with the broth, sieve
back into the saucepan and keep hot.
Saute the flour and bay leaf in corn oil, and simmer,
stirring for 2-3 minutes. Add half of
the coconut milk to the roux, and cook whisking constantly until the mixture
thickens. Discard the bay leaf and mix
the sauce with a cup of warm soup and
pour it back into the saucepan, stirring thoroughly. Correct the seasoning, if necessary, and add
the remaining coconut milk and simmer ever so gently. Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley and the
reserved asparagus tips.
VEGAN
BROCCOLI SOUP
This is a lovely, creamy soup.
1 kg (2 lb) broccoli, divided into florets, stalks also
reserved
1.300 ml (6 cups) tasty
vegetable broth
1 bouquet garni (1 bay leaf +3 sprigs of parsley)
1 medium-sized onion, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp mild-tasting olive oil
2 tbsp plain flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
A pinch of grated nutmeg
125 ml (½ cup) coconut milk
Boil the reserved broccoli stalks and the herb bouquet in
the broth until soft. Remove the stalks
and set aside. Add the broccoli florets
to the broth simmer for 10-15 minutes remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. Discard the bouquet and keep the soup hot.
In another saucepan stew the onion in olive oil until
soft. Sprinkle with flour and cook for
2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Slowly, pour in about 1½ cup of hot broth into the roux and keep on
stirring until sauce bubbles and thickens.
Return the broccoli to the large saucepan and reserve a few florets for
garnish.
Add the sauce to the broccoli, sprinkle with nutmeg and
simmer for 5 minutes. Then blend the
soup until smooth and creamy. Sieve the
soup back into the saucepan. Taste and
add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve piping hot garnished with the reserved florets.
VEGAN CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP
This is a delicious vegetarian soup, and it has been
inspired by “Magheritsa”, a well-known Greek Easter soup, without the “avgolemono”
and meat stock
500 g (1 lb) fresh mushrooms finely chopped
6 dried porcini, soaked and chopped, soaking water strained
and reserved
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, grated
1 clove garlic, finely chopped, optional
2 tbsp flour
The tender leaves of 1 cos lettuce, shredded
2 tbsp dill or fennel, chopped
3-4 spring onions finely chopped
250 ml (1 cup) white wine
1.500 litres (6 cups) well-seasoned vegetable stock
Lemon juice to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a medium saucepan sauté the grated onion in 2 tablespoons
olive oil. Add the fresh mushrooms, the
porcini and the garlic if using, and cook until all the liquid evaporates. Stir in the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes
more. Then pour in half the wine and keep
on stirring, until the wine evaporates. Pour in 2 ladlefuls of vegetable stock and the
reserved porcini liquid and simmer for about 15 minutes. It should, now, have
the consistency of a thick mushroom sauce.
In a large saucepan,
sauté the spring onions in the remaining oil, add a pinch of salt and the shredded
lettuce and cook for 3 minutes more.
Pour in the remaining wine and let it evaporate. Add the remaining stock and simmer, until
the vegetables are almost done and combine with the mushroom mixture.
Add the chopped fennel or dill and cook the soup 5 minutes
more. Sprinkle with lemon juice,
according to taste. Correct seasoning with
salt, if necessary. Also, add a little hot water if the soup is too
thick. Bring the soup to a simmer and
sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and serve immediately.
VEGAN POTATO AND COURGETTE SOUP
A delightful soup from the Cyclades islands.
3 medium-sized courgettes, trimmed and cut into 1 cm (½
inch) cubes
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 cm (½ inch) cubes
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tender celery stalks, threaded and thinly sliced
1 litre (4 cups) vegetable broth
2 tbsp dill, finely chopped
1 large sprig of parsley
Salt, freshly ground black pepper and lemon juice to taste
Sauté the courgettes, potatoes and celery in olive oil for a
few minutes. Then add the herbs and the
broth and simmer until the vegetables are tender and discard the parsley.
Stir the cornflour with a little water until smooth, add a
ladleful of hot broth and mix very well together. Pour this mixture into the soup and keep on
stirring until it bubbles and thickens.
Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Serve sprinkled with lemon juice.
VEGAN
PUMPKIN SOUP
A recipe for a delicious autumn soup.
1 kg (2 lb) pumpkin, peeled, cleaned from seeds and fibres
and cut into chunks
2 large leeks, white parts only, sliced
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1.300 ml (6 cups) tasty vegetable broth
Salt, freshly ground black pepper and grated nutmeg to taste
125 ml (½ cup) coconut milk
¼ cup chopped parsley
Place the vegetables into a large saucepan with sufficient
water to cover and cook until tender, then cool and blend.
Return the pumpkin purée to the saucepan and pour in the
vegetable broth and sprinkle with pepper and nutmeg and simmer gently until the
soup thickens. Then flambé the brandy, pour
it into the soup and simmer for a minute or two.
For a party, you could serve the soup in a pumpkin shell
instead if a tureen.
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| Autumn Vegetables |
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