50 Simple Soups for the Slow Cooker - Lynn Alley [11]
Transfer the mixture to a 7-quart slow cooker and add the potatoes, artichokes, and water. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours, until the artichokes are very tender.
Using a handheld immersion blender, puree the ingredients. Add the lemon juice and salt to taste. Additional water may be needed; add it to achieve the texture and thickness you desire.
Ladle the soup into bowls and top each serving with a sprinkling of herbs.
Note: Contrary to what you might imagine, preparing the artichokes isn’t all that difficult. Just snap off the tough outer leaves until you get down to the creamy, softer leaves, and cut off the tops of the artichokes, leaving about 1 inch of leaf. Then cut the artichokes into quarters and scoop out their centers (all the fuzzy and prickly stuff) and drop them into the slow cooker with water in it. And in this case, the “cream” in the soup is supplied by potatoes!
Garlic, Onion, and Leek Soup with Cream
Serves 4 to 6
I’ve always enjoyed garlic, so much that I once went to the Gilroy Garlic Festival just to see what all the fuss was about. I ate garlic ice cream and garlic-filled chocolates and garlic chocolate chip cookies. So I guess I would never write a soup book without at least one or two garlic soup recipes. This one is quite mild and creamy.
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled
1 medium onion, sliced
2 leeks, thinly sliced (white and pale green parts only)
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 cups water
1 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
⅓ cup dry sherry
Salt
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnishing
Chopped chives, for garnishing
Place the olive oil, garlic, onion, and leeks in a 7-quart slow cooker (without any water). Cover and cook on LOW for about 4 hours, or until the onion and garlic are golden.
Sprinkle the flour evenly over the onion, add the water, and stir. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours longer, or until the leeks are tender.
Add the half-and-half, and using a handheld immersion blender, puree some of the ingredients to the texture you desire. Stir in the lemon juice and sherry, and add the salt to taste.
Ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish each bowl with Parmesan cheese and chives.
Indian Dried Mushroom Soup
Serves 4 to 6
Somehow when I think of mushroom soups and stews, I think of France and northern Italy. But this is silly. Mushrooms of one type or another grow all over the world, and they regularly turn up in the cuisine of nearly every country on earth. India is no exception, yet few of us have experienced a good Indian meal involving mushrooms. This may be a first for you, just as it once was for me.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, sliced into 8 pieces from pole to pole
1 ounce dried mushrooms
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
2 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped
6 cups water
1 teaspoon cumin seed
½ teaspoon fennel seed
1 tablespoon coriander seed
Seeds from 3 cardamom pods
6 cloves
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
Salt
½ cup Greek-style yogurt
1 serrano chile, seeded, deveined, and finely chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
In a large sauté pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat and sauté the onion for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Rinse the mushrooms thoroughly and place them, along with the onion, carrots, tomatoes, and water in a 7-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours.
Grind the cumin, fennel, coriander, cardamom, cloves, and peppercorns and add them to the soup. Continue cooking for 30 minutes longer. Add the salt to taste.
Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkling of chile and cilantro.
Cuban Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup
Serves 4 to 6
Cuban culinary traditions reflect the Spanish, African, and Caribbean roots of the island’s population. Beans and rice, as in most Spanish-rooted cultures, are popular. And in Cuba, some kind of root vegetable is often added to the meal. Traditionally, this colorful, hearty soup can be made with pork bones or meat,