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Monday, December 13, 2004

Wellness Winter Soup (includes a potato trick)

There is no particular wellness ingredient in the soup except for vegetables, when in doubt, assume you need more vegetables. The cloves are soothing on a sore throat.

Brown some garlic and onion in some oil and then add vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and add some sliced carrots. Stir in some salt, black pepper, and cracked cloves. We're going to add a sliced potato. The trick here is to add slices of potato too large to comfortably fit on a spoon and use them as timers. As they cook and as you stir, occasionally poke the middle of a slice (with a wooden spoon, nothing sharp) and if they break apart, poke the rest of them. They're almost done (and they are also now bite size.) To make sure the pieces take some skin with them, we'll precut the skin before we slice the potato. With a knife, slit the skin just barely all the way around one axis, rotate 90° and make another slit. Slice the potato into cross sections against the slits.

Add the potato slices and stir and poke as described above. When the potatoes break apart when poked, reduce to a simmer, add some rosemary, chopped spinach, any kind of green beans and anything else you have fresh or frozen. Let cook for a few more minutes and serve with some sharp cheese and hearty bread. Share with someone nice.

Comments:
thanks for adding "fresh or frozen" in there. i must assume that was for my benefit, as you would never deign to use frozen veggies.
someone nice. giggle.
f.
 
This is one of my favorite winter soups - and if you're congested, the cayenne pepper will help. I got the recipe from Whole Foods' newsletter several years ago, and enjoy cooking it this time of year. The description says: This cayenne-seasoned soup will have you breathing clearly in no time. It's resplendent with garlic, vitamin C-rich tomatoes and peppers, and the warming spices of cumin and cinnamon. Quick-cooking couscous thickens the broth with almost no effort.
(You don't have to have a fever to enjoy this.)

Fever-Breaking Spicy Pepper Broth with Couscous

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 yellow peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 cups vegetable stock
4 plum tomatoes, cored and chopped
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup couscous
salt to taste

1. Heat oil in heavy-bottomed 4-quart pot over medium heat. Add onion, peppers, garlic, cumin, coriander, and cinnamon and sauté for 5 minutes.
2. Add stock, tomatoes, and cayenne and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes.
3. Stir in couscous and simmer until couscous is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Serve immediately.

Makes about 8 cups.
 
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