Recipes From the Root Cellar_ 270 Fresh Ways to Enjoy Winter Vegetables - Andrea Chesman [44]
2 Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery root, and sauté until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the broth, barley, and thyme. Add the soaked mushrooms with their liquid, avoiding any grit that has settled in the bottom of the bowl. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the barley and vegetables are tender, 40 to 60 minutes. Taste and add salt and plenty of pepper. Serve hot.
Worries go better with soup than without.
— Yiddish proverb
Lentil-Vegetable Soup
Serves 6–8
The only trick to making lentil soup is to be sure to cook the lentils until they are completely soft, even mushy. In the case of this soup, it is better to overcook than undercook the lentils. This hearty soup has rib-sticking power and is simply delicious.
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive, sunflower, or canola oil
1 onion, chopped
1 celery root, peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
2 cups dried red, green, or brown lentils, rinsed
6 cups vegetable broth, chicken broth, turkey broth, or beef broth (pages 125–27), or water, plus more as needed
1½ tablespoons dried oregano or mixed Italian herbs
1½ cups diced tomatoes with juice, or 1 (15-ounce) can
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 rutabaga, peeled and diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion, celery root, and garlic, and sauté until the celery root is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the lentils, broth, and oregano. Bring to a boil, then skim off any foam that rises to the top. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the lentils are mushy, 45 to 60 minutes, depending on the variety and age of the lentils.
2 Let cool slightly, then purée in a blender. You may have to do this in batches. Return to the pot and thin with additional broth, if desired. Add the tomatoes, carrot, and rutabaga. Bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender but still just slightly crunchy, about 30 minutes.
3 Season generously with salt and pepper. Serve hot.
Chicken Noodle Soup
Serves 6
Chicken noodle soup is one of the greatest of all comfort dishes. The vegetables add much in the way of nutrition and heartiness. This soup is a meal in a bowl. If you start by making broth from scratch, you will have just enough broth and more than enough chicken, which can be frozen for another dish.
12 cups chicken broth (page 127)
2 cups peeled and finely diced mixed celery root and carrots
2 cups chopped or shredded cooked chicken
6 ounces egg noodles (about 4 cups)
2 cups very thinly sliced kale (remove and discard tough stems)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Bring the broth to a boil in a large soup pot. Add the celery root and carrots and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.
2 Add the chicken, noodles, and kale. Stir well and simmer until the noodles are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
3 Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.
Kitchen Note: Kale in soup gets less and less delightful each time it is reheated. If I expect to have leftovers, I cook the kale in a little broth and add it to the individual servings. I save any leftover soup, but I don’t save leftover kale — either because I reduced the amount of kale I prepared or I served extra in each bowl (we love kale at my house).
Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.
— Edith Sitwell (1887–1964)
Chicken Soup with Rice
Serves 6
In his wonderful book Chicken Soup with Rice: A Book of Months, Maurice Sendak wrote, “In January it’s so nice, / while slipping on the sliding ice, / To sip hot chicken soup with rice. / Sipping once, sipping twice, sipping chicken soup with rice.”
Carole King put the words to music. Here’s the soup to make while singing the song.
12 cups chicken broth (page 127)
½ cup wild rice
2 cups peeled