Soup's On. A Method.

My mom's go-to diet is to eat soup for lunch every day for a week. Not too difficult. It's a New Year so I'm motivated to eat healthy and satisfying meals. And it's January so the soul needs some warmth and comfort as well. I make soups all the time and they are a major go-to for entertaining. It's a great make-ahead first course, awesome in shot glasses for hors d'oeuvres and a generous hostess gift. I always use the same method, substituting vegetables, spices and herbs, depending on my mood and the season. It goes a little something like this:

1. Saute one diced onion, with a pinch of salt and pepper, in 2 T of extra virgin olive oil for 5-10 minutes, until soft. Optional additions: chopped garlic, ginger, leeks, fennel, celery

2. Add your chopped vegetables or legumes. I usually eyeball the quantity, it's about 3 C. or 2 packages of frozen vegetables or 2 cans of beans

3. Add spices (e.g. curry powder, ground ginger, dried herbs, rosemary, thyme), around 2 T. Plus, I almost always add a dash of cayenne pepper.

4. Next, cover the vegetables with about 3 C. of chicken stock or water and bring to a boil

5. Once boiling, cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes

6. Add any fresh herbs (mint, parsley, cilantro) and blend with an immersion blender until smooth. (If you don't have an immersion blender, get one!! In the meantime, use a regular blender and puree soup in batches. Careful not to blend super hot soup.) At this point taste for seasoning and add more spice or salt if needed. If you prefer a thinner soup, add more stock or water until you get the texture you prefer.

7. To serve, ladle and garnish as much or as little as you prefer. I love creme fraiche, yogurt, herbs, lemon zest, seeds, nut, dried fruit, etc.

Some of my favorite flavor combinations...

lemon ginger carrot soup

curried mint pea soup

roasted garlic-rosemary white bean soup