Saturday, 2 November 2019

VEGAN SOUPS

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:





                                              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.




Autumn Vegetables

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