French onion soup

Always made with meat stock, this soup is also delicious without the meat. Just a low-sodium vegetable broth will be perfect!

Instead of regular cow's cheese (Mozzarella or Gruyere), I used a regular nut cheese.  

I got this recipe from Go Dairy Free website. It's originally from The 30-Minute Vegan's Taste of Europe by Mark Reinfeld.  

I adapted the original recipe to my taste lowering the amount of sherry vinegar which I found with very strong flavor.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegan butter
• 2 large yellow onions, sliced thinly (4 cups)
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup sherry vinegar
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 6 cups vegetable stock
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
• 1 cup grated vegan mozzarella- or Cheddar-style cheese

Instructions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the vinegars and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently and adding regular amounts of vegetable stock if necessary to prevent sticking.
2. Lower the heat to medium, add the vegetable stock and herbs to the pot, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. To serve, remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Pour the soup into oven-safe bowls, add a baguette slices, and sprinkle the top with vegan cheese. Place under the broiler until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes. If you do not have oven-safe bowls, simply top with the cheese before serving.

Serves: 6

Enjoy!

French onion soup

 

French onion soup

Creamy avocado gazpacho

This soup is perfect for a hot summer day. There is no cooking required. Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fats and vitamins C and A.

This is my version from Delicious TV program that I found in the book Totally Vegetarian:

Ingredients:

• 3-4 cups vegetable stock
• 3 ripe avocados, pitted and chopped
• 9 crushed garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 6 tbsp non-dairy plain yogurt
• 1 tsp hot red pepper sauce
• pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 fresh tomato, seeded and chopped

Directions:

Combine half of the stock, the avocados, garlic, lime juice, yogurt, and pepper sauce in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the remaining stock and blend for about one minute. Season with pepper. Chill the soup for about one hour before serving. Garnish each serving with cilantro and tomato.

Serves: 3

Enjoy!

Creamy avocado gazpacho

Portuguese Kale soup (Caldo Verde)

Many Portuguese consider "caldo verde" a national dish. It is served during festivities. Because of the Portuguese colonies in Brazil, it is also known there.

When preparing this dish, be careful to cut Kale into very thin slices. This creates the soup's distinctive character. 

It is usually served with "chorizo" (sausage). As a vegetarian, I could have replaced it for a veggie sausage but didn't want to add extra sodium to the dish.

So this is my vegan version of the Portuguese Kale Soup:

Ingredients:

•    2 tbsp olive oil
•    1 medium Spanish onion, diced
•    2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
•    1 medium potato, peeled and diced
•    3 cups vegetable broth
•    1/4 pound kale or collard greens, cut into very fine julienne
•    Pepper to taste

Directions:
 

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until they are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the potato, cover everything with vegetable broth, bring to a boil and lower the heat, simmering until the potatoes are almost done, about 15 minutes.
 

When the soup is cool enough to handle, purée it in the food processor and return to the pot. Add the greens, bring everything back to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes. Season with pepper, ladle into bowls, and garnish with some greens.

Serves: 3

Portuguese Kale soup (Caldo Verde)

Enjoy!

Bean soup with pesto

Any pesto will enhance its flavor. This particular soup has a unique flavor when adding sun-dried tomato pesto.

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups cooked chickpeas
• 2 cups cooked beans (972f1c-eyed beans are fine)
• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or stock
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 2 normal bay leaves
• 1/2 cup pre-made sun-dried tomato pesto (traditional basil-garlic pesto will be fine with a different touch)
• chopped kale or chard (optional)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients -except pesto and kale- at medium heat and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.

Serve into bowls. Divide pesto in four serving. Swirl pesto in each bowl. Add chopped kale or chard just before serving to boost nutritional value.

Serves: 4

Enjoy!

Bean soup with pesto

Bean soup with pesto

Castilian Garlic Soup (Sopa de ajo)

This typical Spanish soup is originally made with egg to make strands resembling noodles.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
• 12-16 large garlic cloves peeled and sliced depending on your taste
• 2 tbsp white wine (optional)
• ½ tbsp pimentón (Spanish sweet paprika)
• 3 oz rustic white bread, crust removed, torn into normal pieces
• 1 quart vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan oven a medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until golden brown for about one minute. If used, add the wine and cook until the alcohol evaporates –about 30 seconds-. Add then the pimentón and sauté for one more minute.

Add the bread and pour in the vegetable broth. Stir together and bring to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes.

At this point I would prefer to load the soup in the food processor –in batches if necessary- to obtain a thick and even result. The same result could be obtained using a hand blender.

Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Sopa de Ajo (Castilian garlic soup)

Sopa de Ajo (Castilian garlic soup)

Enjoy!