The Vegetarian Soup Bible Sarah Hammond

Dedicated to all those who love and appreciate great food for whatever reasons…

Table of Contents Introduction Information Wild Mushroom Soup Asparagus Soup Spinach and Ginger Soup Indian Pea and Potato Soup Plum Tomato Soup Onion Soup Broccoli Soup Sweet Potato and Apple Soup Spinach and Tofu Soup Cream Cheese and Herb Soup Spicy Vegetable Soup Leek, Potato and Carrot Soup Author’s Note

Other Books in This Series Notes

Introduction “The greatest delight the fields and woods minister is the suggestion of an occult relation between man and the vegetable. I am not alone and unacknowledged. They nod to me and I to them.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Introduction Many a time, I’ve entertained friends and family who are vegetarian or for some reason or other, have stopped eating meat. It’s often the very last minute when I get a call, “Oh, I’m just around the corner and I thought I’d drop in to see you!”

Initially, all hell used to break loose as I tried to do fifty things I was no good at in five minutes flat – failing miserably at throwing a snack or meal together! But, over time I realised that not only a lot of the vegetarian recipes are nutritious, some of them are tasty and super quick to make as well and I managed to get my head

around it. So now, even if I get a knock on the door, I can soon ‘throw’ something together at a minute’s notice with absolutely no problem at all and it’s all stress-free too! There are a massive range and a huge variety of ingredients which can be used to make delicious snacks, healthy meals,

nutritious starters and even tasty desserts. With all the different flavours, aromas, spices and fresh herbs, I encourage everyone to test and trial to their heart’s desire – you never know when you’ve hit a goldmine! Anyway! Here are my dozen vegetarian recipes which vary from a quick fix

to a proper, filling soup meal. I called it a Bible, because for me personally, it is. I hope you enjoy this book and check out others in the Bible series for starters, appetizers, curries, bakes, salads and lots more. Bon Appetite! Sarah Hammond

Information “One cannot think well, love well and sleep well, if one has not dined well.” Virginia Woolf

Information Cooking and baking can be dangerous. Please take extra care when handling hot food and their containers. Children and minors should always enjoy cooking and baking in the presence and supervision of an adult. Some of the recipes in this book use ingredients such as egg.

Please thoroughly check all ingredients before making any soups if you have an allergy to certain foods. Everybody has their own manner in which they prepare food. Therefore, please be aware the outcome of your soups may differ in appearance and/or taste. The recipes in this book

use both metric and imperial measurements for ingredients for your ease of use. For optimum results, please follow either metric or imperial and do not mix both in one recipe. Any spoonful measurements are level. Teaspoons are measured in 5ml, tablespoons in 15ml. Normally milk is full fat unless written otherwise

and eggs, onions, potatoes etc. are all medium sized. Pepper is fresh ground and salt is fine sea or rock salt. Kindly allow extra time for preparation and cooking, as times stated can vary from person to person and cooker to cooker. Recipes containing raw or undercooked eggs should be avoided by infants,

pregnant or lactating women, elderly and anyone suffering an illness. Nutritional information given is per serving or person and is estimated as ingredient qualities can vary. I recommend using the highest quality of organic ingredients for optimum taste, quality and nutrition.

Wild Mushroom Soup “I went into a McDonald’s yesterday and said, ‘I’d like some fries.’ The girl at the counter said, ‘Would you like some fries with that?” Jay Leno

What you’ll need! 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 1 chopped onion 450g/1lb mushrooms button etc.)

mixed (oyster,

300ml/½ pint milk 850ml/1 ½ vegetable stock

pints

8 slices of granary bread

or French stick loaf 50g/1 ¾ oz. organic melted butter 2 garlic crushed garlic cloves 75g/ 2 ¾ oz. fine grated Gruyere cheese Salt and pepper to taste What you’ll need to do! Pop onions into a largish pan with pre-heated oil and

fry until golden.

still

soft

but

Chop up mushrooms into edible sized pieces if required and dampen with cloth. Add to onions and stir in well with the oil. Pour in the milk and bring to boil. Lower the heat and leave to simmer for around five minutes. Slowly add in

the stock and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toast bread on both sides as you like it. Mix in melted butter with the garlic and spread over the toasted bread generously. Make four separate servings or one large one by carefully placing toast on the bottom of bowl/s

and then pour over it the prepared hot soup. Coat with cheese and serve while it’s still piping hot!

Asparagus Soup “God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into its nest.” J. G. Holland

What you’ll need!

350g/12 oz. asparagus 700ml/1 ¼ vegetable stock

pints

60g/2 oz. organic butter 1 chopped onion 3 tbsps. fine plain flour Salt and pepper to taste ¼ tsp. fine coriander

ground

1 tbsp. fresh squeezed

lemon juice 450ml/16 fl. oz. milk 5 tbsps. fresh double cream What you’ll need to do! Thoroughly wash the asparagus and discarding lower stem, chop into short lengths. Put aside a few pieces for garnishing later. Boil salted water and cook

asparagus in it for around 7-10 minutes and then drain. Now pop in asparagus into pot with stock, boiling it. Thereafter cover and simmer up to 20 minutes until it softens. Then drain and reserve the stock. Mix in the onion to melted butter in a fry pan until just beginning to change colour. Add flour and cook for a

minute. Add remaining stock slowly and bring to boil. Simmer until thick and then add cooked asparagus. Season to taste and add coriander and fresh lemon juice. Simmer for 10 minutes. Blend mixture until smooth. Pop in remaining ingredients in a fresh pan or pot and bring to boiling

point. Add cream, simmer for 2-3 minutes and serve hot!

Spinach and Ginger Soup “Food is my thing; I do not smoke or drink, so food is my vice” Kathy Griffin

What you’ll need!

2 tbsps. sunflower oil 1litre/1 ¾ vegetable stock

pints

1 chopped onion 2 fine chopped garlic cloves Salt and pepper to taste 2 tsp. fine chopped root ginger 250g/8

oz.

baby

spinach 1 short lemongrass stalk, chopped 225g/8 oz. baby potatoes, chopped 1 tsp. sesame oil What you’ll need to do! In a big saucepan, fry onion, garlic and ginger in pre-heated oil. Use low heat and stir until soft.

Add lemongrass stalk and all but a few leaves of spinach to mixture and stir until well mixed and wilted. Pop in potatoes and stock and slowly bring to boiling point. Cover pan, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Let pan and contents cool by removing and setting aside for a few minutes. Then blend in processor

until smooth. Pop mixture back in pan and season to taste. Heat up until hot but not boiling. Sprinkle remaining leaves of spinach and sesame oil and serve hot!

Indian Pea and Potato Soup “It has long been known for sure that the sight of tasty food makes a hungry man's mouth water; also lack of appetite has always been regarded as an undesirable phenomenon, from which one might conclude that appetite is essentially linked with the process of digestion."

Ivan Pavlov

What you’ll need! 850ml/1

½

pints

vegetable stock 2 tbsps. vegetable oil 1 large chopped onion 225g/8 potatoes

oz.

baby

2 crushed garlic cloves 1 tsp. garam masala 1 tsp. ground coriander 1 tsp. ground cumin 4

tsps.

live

organic

yoghurt Salt and pepper to taste 100g/3½ baby peas

oz.

frozen

1 fresh red chilli Fresh coriander garnish

to

What you’ll need to do! In a big pan, preheat oil and add potatoes, garlic and onion. Simmer for five

minutes constantly stirring. Add coriander, garam masala and cumin. Still stirring, cook for 2 minutes. Pop in the chilli and stock and bring to boiling point. Lowering heat, cover and simmer until potatoes soften and begin breaking down. This should take up to 20 minutes. Cook for five minutes more

after adding peas. Now add yoghurt and season to taste. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot with fresh Nan or bread!

Plum Tomato Soup “Be what you would seem to be - or, if you'd like it put more simply - a house is no home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body.” Margaret Fuller

What you’ll need!

2 tbsps. olive oil

extra

750ml/1 ¼ vegetable stock 2 sticks chopped

of

virgin pints celery

2 chopped red onions 1 medium diced carrot Salt and pepper to taste 500g/1 lb. 2 oz. plum

tomatoes, quartered 1 tbsp. oregano

fresh

copped

1 tbsp. fresh chopped basil 2 tsp. caster sugar 125g/4½ hazelnuts

oz.

toasted

125g/4½ stoned

oz.

olives,

Handful of fresh basil

leaves Fresh basil garnish

sprigs

to

What you’ll need to do! Add celery, onions and carrot to heated oil in a large pot and fry in low heat until soft, stirring all the time. Pop in the tomatoes, stock, sugar and chopped herbs. Boil then cover and simmer

for 20 minutes. Process the nuts, olives, basil leaves in chopper until mixed well but still rough. You can also use a mortar and pestle for this step. Transfer this mixture into the serving bowl. Process the soup in blender until smooth. Season to taste and garnish with sprigs. Serve hot with nut paste, olive oil and bread.

Onion Soup “Good intentions are not enough. They've never put an onion in the soup yet.” Sonya Levien

What you’ll need! 75g/2¼ butter

oz.

organic

600ml/1 pint vegetable stock 40g/1½ oz. fine plain flour 500g/1lb 2 oz. diced onions 1 garlic clove, crushed Salt and pepper to taste

600ml/1 pint of milk 2 tsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice 1 pinch of mixed spices 1 bay leaf 1 grated carrot 5 tbsps. fresh double cream 2 tbsps. fresh parsley What you’ll need to do!

Fry onions and garlic in the butter on low heat stirring constantly, for 10-15 minutes until soft but still naturally coloured. Slowly add flour and cook for a further minute. Add the stock and stirring, slowly bring to boil. Add milk and bring to boil once more. Season to taste and add

lemon juice, bay leaf and mixed spices. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes until vegetable is softening. Then remove bay leaf and discard. Stir in the grated carrot and simmer for a few minutes longer. Add more lemon juice if required. Pop in the cream and reheat. Garnish with the parsley and serve hot with, French

bread, bread.

scones

or

Nan

Broccoli Soup “I do not like broccoli. And I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I'm President of the United States and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli.” George H. W. Bush

What you’ll need! 2 tsp. organic butter 400g/14 oz. broccoli 1 tsp. sunflower oil 1 chopped onion 1 leek, fine sliced Salt and pepper to taste 850ml/1½ water 1 medium carrot, diced

1 bay leaf 3-4 tbsps. basmati rice Fresh ground nutmeg 4 tbsps. fresh double cream 100g/3½ oz. soft cream cheese Croutons What you’ll need to do! Cut

the

broccoli

into

smaller pieces and separate the stems. Peeling the bigger stems, chop into small pieces. Together in a pan, melt the butter along with the oil and then add the onion, leek and carrot. Cook for five minutes or so until the onion softens. Pop in the rice, a pinch of salt, water, bay leaf and the broccoli stems and bring to boil. Cover the pan

and simmer by reducing heat for 15 minutes. Add the remaining broccoli and cook for a further 1520minutes while the pan is covered. Check the vegetables are softening and discard the bay leaf. Finally, season with pepper, nutmeg and salt to taste. Add cream and cheese and stir thoroughly until well mixed in. Simmer until

evenly heated. Serve hot with croutons!

Sweet Potato and Apple Soup “A girl came up to me in a bar and said she wanted to be my apple pie. I wish I'd said something cool, but I was stunned.” Jason Biggs

What you’ll need!

3 sliced leeks 600g/1 lb. 5 oz. diced sweet potatoes 1 tbsp. organic butter 1 big sliced carrot Salt and pepper to taste 2 big peeled and diced bramley apples 1.2 litres/2 water

pints

of

225ml/8fl juice

oz.

apple

225ml/8fl cream

oz.

single

Fresh grated nutmeg Fresh coriander garnish

to

What you’ll need to do! In a big saucepan, add the leeks to melted butter and cook for 5-8 minutes while

covered; until soft. Add apples, carrot and sweet potatoes along with the water. Season to taste and add nutmeg. After bringing to boil, reduce the heat and cover the pan, simmering for around 20 minutes, stirring every so often until veg is soft and tender. Transfer to blender after cooling the soup mixture

slightly and smooth.

blend

until

Pop the now smooth puree into pan again and stir in apple juice, simmering for around 10 minutes until soup is evenly heated. Stir in cream and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Check seasoning and adjust if required. Serve hot in bowls and

garnish with coriander.

Spinach and Tofu Soup “Traditionally in the U.S., tofu was eaten by vegetarians as a protein substitute for meat. It was generally served plain, in large chunks completely devoid of flavour.” Brita Housez

What you’ll need! 1

average

sized

tofu

slab 1 tbsp. soy sauce 125g/4¼ oz. spinach leaves 700ml/1¼ pints water or veg stock

baby of

Salt and pepper to taste What you’ll need to do! Cut tofu in cubes around 5mm thick using a sharp cheese knife.

Remove stems from spinach and wash thoroughly then drain. Shred the leaves using only the best fresh leaves. In a large frying pan or traditional wok, bring water or stock to boiling point and add tofu along with soya sauce and bring back to boil. Now simmer for a couple of minutes on

medium heat. Pop in the spinach simmer for a further minutes. Remove the layer of the soup until clear. Serve hot!

and two top it is

Cream Cheese and Herb Soup “Aye cream cheese and a bagel. Have a glass of milk and an ego. I'm rockin’ PJ’s and no shirt. I smoke weed eat yogurt.” Mac Miller

What you’ll need!

200g/7 oz. full fat soft cream cheese 2 chopped onions 25g/1 oz. organic butter 25g/1 oz. fresh herbs coarsely chopped 850ml/1½ vegetable stock 1 tbsp. milk 1 tbsp. corn flour

pints

Salt and pepper to taste Fresh chives chopped to garnish What you’ll need to do! In a large pan, melt the butter and add onions and fry for two minutes. Now cover and turn the heat to low. Cook the onions for a further five minutes and remove cover or lid. Pop in the stock along with

the herbs and boil in medium heat. Now lowering heat, once again cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes. Put contents from the pan into chopper or blend and process until soup is smooth. Transfer back to saucepan and keep a little cheese aside to garnish. Spoon the rest of the cheese into the pan and

Wisk into soup until the mixture is unified. Make a paste by adding the corn flour to the milk and then add the paste to the soup. Stirring continuously, heat up the soup until all evenly heated, thick and smooth. Season to taste. Ladle soup into serving bowls and add remaining cheese put aside before. Enjoy!

Remove stems from spinach and wash thoroughly then drain.

Spicy Vegetable Soup “It's like spicy food sometimes you have to tone it down so more people can enjoy it.” Kenneth Edmonds

What you’ll need! 2.5cm/1inch ginger piece

fresh

280g/10 oz. leeks 2 fresh chopped garlic cloves 1 tbsp. sunflower oil 1.2litres/2 vegetable stock

pints

½ tsp. ground coriander

½ tsp. ground cumin ½ tsp. ground turmeric Salt and pepper to taste 2 courgettes sliced in to sticks 450g/1 tomatoes

lb.

diced

3 tbsps. chopped fresh coriander to garnish What you’ll need to do!

Thinly slice the leeks and grate half a teaspoon of fresh ginger. In a large pan, heat up the oil and add the leeks, ginger and garlic and cook for two minutes stirring every so often. Mix in the ground spiced until uniform. Add the stock to the mixture and bring to the boil. Cover the pan and simmer for around 5

minutes. Now add in the tomatoes and courgette. Mix, cover and simmer for another 3 minutes or so. Add salt and pepper to taste and then serve hot with Indian bread or Nan. Garnish with fresh chopped coriander.

Leek, Potato and Carrot Soup “My idea of heaven is a great big baked potato and someone to share it with. “ Oprah Winfrey

What you’ll need! 1 fresh crushed garlic clove 1 tbsp. sunflower oil 1 average sized leek 700ml/1¼ vegetable

pints

Salt and pepper to taste 1 fresh bay leaf ¼

tsp.

fresh

ground

cumin 125g/4½ oz. grated coarsely

carrot

175g/6 oz. diced baby potatoes Fresh chopped parsley to garnish What you’ll need to do! Prepare the leek by slicing off the upper crusts. Slice, rinse and drain.

In a large saucepan, add the prepared leek to preheated sunflower oil along with the garlic and fry for a few minutes until they soften. Stir in the vegetable stock, bay leaf and fresh ground cumin. Season to taste and bring to boiling point, stirring all the while. Pop in the diced potatoes and cover. Simmer on lower

heat for around 15 minutes. Potatoes should be soft but unbroken. Finally, add the carrot and simmer for another few minutes. Remove the bay leaf and check the seasoning – adjusting if required. Transfer directly to bowls, garnish with chopped parsley and serve hot!

Author’s Note “In general I love to eat anything. I enjoy anything that is well prepared, a good spaghetti, lasagne, taco, steak, sushi, refried beans. “ Martin Yan

Author’s Note These are recommendations – they make all difference!

just but the

Use high quality stainless steel ware and wooden utensils for optimum results and taste. I use Stellar and find they are great. They are of a high grade, heavy based, have measurement markings inside most of the

pots and pans and are really easy to look after. All the ingredients should preferably be of Organic standards if possible and also as fresh as possible. Use fresh ground Himalayan salt and whole black peppers to season. Eggs should be organic free range, milk unhomogenized – preferably in glass bottles

and freshest of herbs and vegetables should be used if available. Try to freshly grind all the ingredients which need preparing in a pestle and mortar. You’ll get more from the flavours, better aromas and obviously more benefit too! If possible, grow your own fruit and vegetables – there’s nothing close to

eating fresh you’ve grown from seed! Most of all, take your time! Mind all the hot stuff and use common sense and oven gloves. Keep your working area clear and organise your kitchen for your own ease and efficiency. Pre warm all soup bowls in an oven or plate warmer before serving for best

results. I wish you the best of luck in all your adventures! Sarah Hammond

Other Books in This Series “Weather means more when you have a garden. There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans. “ Marcelene Cox

Books in This Series The Vegetarian Soup Bible The Vegetarian Salad Bible

Notes “A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life. “ Muhammad Ali

Notes