50 Simple Soups for the Slow Cooker - Lynn Alley [5]
Cooking Times
You’ll find that recipes in this book are fairly evenly divided among 4, 6, and 8-hour cooking times, with a slight emphasis on the 8-hour soups. It is my contention that while the 8-hour cooking time serves us on days when we must be away from home for long periods of time, there are also days when 4 hours with your hands free is just what you need. I, for instance, teach yoga classes, and I am rarely in a mood to cook when I return home after an evening class. I can, however, put something in the slow cooker before I go out to class and then come home to a hot soup or meal. I even wrote an article for the November 2010 issue of Yoga Journal on how to effectively use the slow cooker to support your yoga practice using a variety of cooking times!
Freezing Soups
One of the great joys of making a big pot of soup is that you often have leftovers to freeze. I frequently freeze individual portions of soup in small plastic containers or glass jars. It’s great to be able to pull out an individual portion of soup when you’re really hungry and too tired to cook. While many of the soups in this book freeze well, potato soups generally do not, so plan to consume them on the spot. And when freezing soups that require the addition of cream, milk, or cheese, try freezing the basic soup first, then adding the dairy only after the soup has been thawed and reheated.
Most soups should be good in the freezer for 4 to 6 months, tops, though I think using them within a month of freezing would be best. Reheating food in the slow cooker is not recommended because of food safety issues such as the possibility for bacterial growth. So, always reheat your soups in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Recipe Yield
In most cases, the recipes here are designed to yield 6 to 8 cups of soup. This should feed 4 to 6 people comfortably, depending upon the size of the serving. You will want a more generous serving of soup for a main course, for instance, than you will for a first course. And there is always the option of serving just a “taste” of soup to guests at a party as an appetizer, in which case a full recipe of soup will go a much longer way. In a couple of cases, as noted in the recipe, the recipe will serve more.
Adzuki Bean–Miso Soup
Serves 4 to 6
Although we generally think of them as a favorite Japanese food, adzuki beans are believed to have been domesticated in the Himalayas several thousand years ago. By 1,000 B.C. they appeared in China, then later in Japan, where today they are second only to soybeans. They are small and cook quickly, and the tannins in their skins give the soup added color and flavor. This light soup is perfect for those occasions when you want to take the edge off the appetite without stuffing to the gills, or when you want a lot of broth with just a little bit of substance to it. You could also add some small cubes of tofu for extra protein.
1 cup dried adzuki beans
6 cups water
⅓ cup mellow white miso
¼ pound firm tofu, cubed (optional)
¼ cup sliced scallions
Rinse the adzuki beans thoroughly, then place them in a 7-quart slow cooker along with the water and miso. Stir.
Cover and cook on LOW for about 4 hours, or until the beans are tender. Add the tofu and continue cooking for 15 minutes longer, or until the tofu is hot.
Ladle the soup into bowls. Top each bowl with the sliced scallions and serve.
Black Bean Chili with Cornbread Crust
Serves 6 to 8
Ahhh . . . I love this stuff. This is not your ordinary chili but reflects the rich combinations of ingredients found in real Mexican cuisine. You might even think of it as a bean mole, since it combines many of the spices and ingredients, including both chile powder and cocoa powder, usually found in mole poblano. It’s got guts and flavor, and I love it with or without the cornbread crust. It’s best sprinkled with lots of cheese, sliced olives, scallions, and cilantro.