Today, I bring you not one soup recipe but TWO!! The first comes from the new cookbook that Renee bought me for Christmas called fresh: New vegetarian and vegan recipes from fresh restaurants. I made this soup at about 9pm one night last week when I was bored and it is delicious.
Creole Red Bean Soup
Ingredients:
1 tbsp canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped carrot
½ cup chopped celery
1 clove garlic, minced
¾ tsp allspice
¾ tsp dried thyme or 1 ½ tsp fresh
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cups canned tomatoes
1 can (19oz) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups vegetable stock
½ tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp molasses
Serves 4-6
Instructions:
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Cook until softened.
- Stir in allspice, thyme, and cayenne. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes
- Stir in green pepper and cook until softened.
- Add tomatoes, beans, and stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for at least 10 and up to 30 minutes.
- In a small bowl, mix the mustard and molasses with 1 or 2 tbsp of the broth from the soup. Add to the soup and stir well.
This second recipe came from my mother and I have no idea where she got it originally. You will note as you read the ingredients that she made a slight modification for me. It’s a thick soup so very filling for those cold winter nights.
Beef and barley stew/soup
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup onion
1 Tbsp. butter
4 cups beef broth
4 cups water
2 cups chopped beef (I used what was left over from a pot roast so it was already cooked)
1 can (750 ml) diced tomatoes
1 cup barley
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 cup peas
1. Saute carrots, celery and onions in butter.
2. Add broth, water, beef, tomatoes and spices. Bring to a boil.
3. Add barley. Reduce heat and simmer until barley is cooked (about 45 minutes).
4. Add peas and simmer another 5 minutes.
My mother’s comments: Since I like soups to be more hearty and less watery, I added at least double the amount of barley. I also added about a 1/2 cup of frozen corn with the peas. (I took yours out before I added the peas). (The Shuffler’s comment: I hate peas.)
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