Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook Part 61

cup chopped fresh dill

cup chopped fresh mint

HEAT A soup pot over medium heat. Saute the onion in the olive oil for 5 to 7 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic, tarragon, black pepper, and salt,and cook for 1 more minute. Pour in the vegetable stock and add the potatoes. Cover and bring to a boil. Once the soup is boiling, lower the heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. Add the broccoli and cook for 15 more minutes.

Use an immersion blender to blend about one-third of the soup; we like to keep it chunky with lots of whole potato chunks. If you don't have an immersion blender (get one!), transfer about one-third of the soup to a blender or food processor and puree, then add it back to the rest of the soup.

Add the fresh dill and mint, then let the soup sit for about 10 minutes to let the flavors meld. Serve!

CHICKPEA-NOODLE SOUP.

SERVES 6.

TIME: 50 MINUTES.

Chickpea Soup for the Vegan Soul.This is some Oprah's Book Club stuff right here: a great soup for when you're feeling under the weather and need something tasty to slurp on while you watch TV and pity yourself. But don't let that dissuade you if you feel fine and just happen to want a nice, comforting bowl of soup.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large yellow onion, sliced thinly

1 cup peeled, thinly sliced carrots (or chopped baby carrots)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms

teaspoon celery seeds

1 teaspoon dried thyme

teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed in your fingers

teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons mirin (optional)

cup brown rice miso

6 cups water or vegetable stock

2 cups cooked dried chickpeas, or 1 (15-ounce) can, drained and rinsed

6 ounces soba noodles

We use brown rice miso here, which has a nice winelike taste and isn't too salty, but you can use any kind of miso you like. If using a stronger miso, such as barley miso, first use cup and add more to taste from there.

Some soba noodles come wrapped in 3-ounce serving sizes. If yours aren't wrapped, you can measure 'em this way: the circ.u.mference of one 3-ounce bundle is about the size of a quarter.

Soba noodles expand a lot when they're soaking, so this isn't the best soup to keep in the fridge overnight. If you don't plan on eating it all in one day, use instead regular pasta noodles broken in half or thirds.

Need a little green? Add some chopped greens toward the end of the cooking process. Spinach, kale, chard-whatever you've got. Let them wilt and then serve.

PREHEAT A soup pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onions and carrots in the oil for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, mushrooms, and herbs, and saute for another 5 minutes. Deglaze the pot with the mirin (or just a splash of water). Add the 6 cups of water and the chickpeas. Cover and bring to a boil.

Once the broth is boiling, break the soba noodles into thirds and throw them in. Lower the heat to medium so that the soup is at a low boil. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the miso and stir until it's incorporated. Taste and adjust the salt, and add a little extra miso if you would like a stronger, saltier flavor.

PORCINI-WILD RICE SOUP.

SERVES 6.

TIME: A LITTLE OVER 1 HOUR, MOST OF IT INACTIVE.

Woodsy and earthy, this soup is rich with mushroom flavor. It is topped off with fresh chervil, which has a delicate, lemony taste that is not quite comparable to any herb, though if you can't find it, chopped fresh parsley works nicely. Go on a mission to find the chervil; if nothing else, it would make a great blog entry.

Garnished or not, this is an easy recipe for what tastes like a ten-dollar bowl of soup at a sw.a.n.ky Manhattan sidewalk cafe. Perfect for serving your yuppie friends.

ounce dried porcini mushrooms

2 cups boiling water

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large yellow onion, sliced thinly

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons fresh thyme