50 Simple Soups for the Slow Cooker - Lynn Alley [12]
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup dried black beans
6 cups water
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cloves garlic
Pinch of chile flakes
Salt
2 jalapeño chiles, seeded and thinly sliced
½ avocado, diced
In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onion for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add the celery and carrots and cook for 2 minutes longer.
Transfer the mixture to a 7-quart slow cooker and add the tomatoes, black beans, and water. Cover and cook on LOW for about 6 hours.
Add the sweet potato, bell pepper, cumin, bay leaf, oregano, and cinnamon and continue to cook on LOW for 2 to 3 hours longer, until the beans and sweet potato are quite tender.
Using a garlic press, mince the garlic into the soup. Add the chile flakes and salt to taste.
Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each with jalapeños and avocado.
Eggplant Soup with Cumin, Yogurt, and Dill
Serves 4 to 6
Eggplant is the base for baba ghanoush. Some kind of pureed eggplant appetizer is a staple in most Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. And since everybody likes it, why not turn it into a soup and serve it with toasted pita triangles?
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into chunks
5 cups water
3 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons cumin seed, coarsely ground
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup Greek-style yogurt or sour cream
¼ cup chopped fresh dill or cilantro
In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onion for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Transfer the onion to a 7-quart slow cooker and add the eggplant and water. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours, until the eggplant is very tender.
Using a garlic press, mince the garlic into the soup, then puree the soup using a handheld immersion blender. Coarsely grind the cumin seed and add it to the soup. Add the salt and pepper to taste.
Ladle the soup into bowls. Mix together the yogurt and dill and top each bowl with a tablespoon or two.
French Onion Soup
Serves 4 to 6
Recently my neighbor Kathy made a French onion soup that called for roasting onions in the oven for several hours to develop flavor before making the soup itself. It seemed like too much work to her, so she scrapped the idea. I thought it was a great idea, but why not do the whole thing in the slow cooker? What an easy task: onions, slow cooked for hours in nothing but a bit of butter, become dark, rich, and full of flavor.
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 large onions, either sliced or halved and cut from pole to pole into ¼-inch-thick slices
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 bay leaf
6 sprigs fresh thyme
½ cup dry sherry
6 cups water
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 to 6 slices of baguette, ½ inch thick
8 ounces shredded Gruyère cheese
Place the butter, onions, and garlic in the slow cooker (without the water). Cover and cook, stirring once or twice, on HIGH for 6 to 8 hours, until the onions are nice and brown and very tender.
Turn the heat down to LOW. Add the bay leaf, thyme, sherry, and water and salt to taste. Cover and cook for 2 hours longer.
Preheat the broiler. Grind some fresh pepper into the soup, then ladle the soup into ovenproof bowls. Top each bowl with a slice or two of baguette and sprinkle with cheese. Place the bowls on a baking sheet positioned about 6 inches under the broiler and broil until the cheese is bubbly and melted.