Fresh & Fast Vegetarian_ Recipes That Make a Meal - Marie Simmons [18]
* * *
FARRO AND KALE SOUP WITH ORANGE GREMOLATA Vegan
This flavorful soup is elegant enough to serve in shallow bowls as a starter and hearty enough to ladle into deep bowls to offer as a main course. As a nonvegan bonus, simmer chunks of Parmigiano-Reggiano in the soup. As they cook, the hard rinds soften and turn chewy, becoming soft morsels to savor. If you have a batch of homemade vegetable broth on hand, use it here, but otherwise use water.
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 6 to 8
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup thick-sliced (¼ inch) carrots
½ cup diced (1¼ inch) celery
1 tablespoon chopped celery leaves
2 garlic cloves, grated
8 cups water or Easy Basic Vegetable Broth ([>]) or a combination
1 cup farro (see [>])
½ cup diced fresh or drained canned tomato
Coarse salt
1 bay leaf
1 bunch Tuscan (lacinato) kale (about 12 ounces), leaves stripped from ribs and chopped, ribs discarded
Freshly ground black pepper
Orange Gremolata
½ cup lightly packed fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 strips (½ by 2 inches each) orange zest
1 garlic clove, bruised with the side of a knife
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a soup pot until it is hot enough to sizzle a piece of onion. Add the onion and cook, stirring, over medium-low heat until it is golden, about 10 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, celery leaves and half of the garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the water and/or vegetable broth. Stir in the farro, tomato, 1 teaspoon salt and the bay leaf and bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the farro is tender, about 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the remaining garlic over medium-low heat in a large skillet until sizzling (do not brown). Immediately add the kale. Drizzle the kale with 2 tablespoons water and toss to coat. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until the leaves are tender, 8 to 12 minutes, depending on their maturity and tenderness. Add the cooked kale and any liquid in the bottom of the skillet to the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Thin the soup with broth or water if it is too thick.
To make the orange gremolata: Gather the parsley, orange zest and garlic together and chop until the pieces are very fine.
To serve, ladle the soup into bowls. Drizzle olive oil on top. Sprinkle with the gremolata and serve at once.
Substitutions
Add 1¾ cups cooked or canned cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained, along with the kale.
In place of the farro, you can use quick-cooking barley.
* * *
Make a Meal
Serve with crostini or bruschetta spread with Broccoli, Dill and Lemon Spread ([>]) and one of the options from Mixed Greens with Dried or Fresh Fruit and Cheese ([>]).
* * *
MISO SOUP WITH SPINACH, CURRIED TOFU AND SHIITAKE Vegan
Nothing like the austere but nonetheless comforting miso that you'll find in a Japanese restaurant or your neighborhood vegetarian gathering place, this is a thoroughly westernized version, hearty with rice, spinach, tofu and shiitake mushrooms and flavored with curry. Miso—fermented soybean paste—is sold in 16-ounce plastic containers in the refrigerated section of many supermarkets, next to the tofu.
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4
½ block (about 7 ounces) medium-firm tofu, drained and cut into 2 horizontal slices
½ cup white or yellow miso
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup stemmed shiitake mushrooms, cut into thin slices
1 teaspoon Madras curry powder
2 cups thin-sliced (¼ inch) spinach leaves
½ cup cooked brown rice, Forbidden Rice (see [>]) or Bhutanese red rice (see [>])
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon diagonally sliced scallions (green parts only), for garnish
Place the tofu slices on a folded dish towel and cover with a second folded towel. Press down gently but firmly with the palm of your hand to extract