Get Cooking: 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen (9 page)

5.
Add the sesame oil and about 10 grinds of black pepper, and stir to combine.

6.
Put the cornstarch in a small bowl with the remaining ¼ cup water, and mix until smooth. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the hot soup. Continue simmering for a minute or two, stirring once or twice. The soup will become glossy and will thicken slightly.

7.
Slowly drizzle the beaten eggs into the simmering soup, stirring as you go. Cook for just 1 minute longer, until the eggs are set. Serve hot, topping each bowl with a scattering of scallion greens and cilantro leaves.

GET CREATIVE

• Pair this soup with Chinese Chicken Salad (Chapter 2: Salads) for a great little dinner.
  
• Use chicken or vegetable broth in place of some or all of the water for a richer-tasting soup. Taste before adding the salt in step 4; you may not need it all.
  
• Add ½ cup frozen peas, thawed under running water in a strainer, at the end of step 4.
  
• Add 8 uncooked peeled, deveined prawns in step 4. They will cook directly in the soup.
  
• Add 1 cup of cooked chicken, cut into strips, in step 4.
  
• Add an 8-ounce can of sliced water chestnuts, an 8-ounce can of sliced bamboo shoots, and/or a 15-ounce can of straw mushrooms at the end of step 4. (Drain and discard the liquid from any of these.)
  
• Garnish each serving with a few drops of additional toasted sesame oil.
  
• Pass some chile oil or additional red pepper flakes at the table.
  

cream of spinach and broccoli soup

Makes 4 to 6 servings

A
bright green soup belongs in every cook’s repertoire, and I hope this one will become yours. Garlic appears twice in this recipe, in two forms—fresh and roasted. This adds layers of flavor that make the soup multidimensional (a good thing in a soup—or in anything you cook, for that matter). Peeling the potato is optional; if the skin looks fresh and tight and the potato is organic, you can simply give it a rinse and a quick scrub with a vegetable brush. The peel will then add some nice subtle texture to the soup. Prewashed spinach, packed in a bag or box, makes this easy. You can also use frozen chopped spinach (defrost it first), but avoid using frozen broccoli—its flavor just won’t come close to fresh here.

1.
Place a soup pot or a Dutch oven over medium heat. After about a minute, add the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Toss in the butter, and swirl until it melts into the oil. Add the onion and salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the onion becomes translucent. Stir in the fresh garlic, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 5 minutes longer.

2.
Add the water and the diced potato. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat all the way down to the lowest possible setting. Partially cover, and simmer gently for about 15 minutes, or until the potato becomes completely soft. (It’s okay to err on the side of its becoming falling-apart tender.)

3.
Add the spinach, broccoli, and garlic paste. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat all the way down to the lowest possible setting. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the broccoli is very tender.

4.
Add the milk, remove the pot from the heat, and let it sit until the soup cools down to a comfortable puréeing temperature.

5.
Use a blender or immersion blender (see Chapter 1: Soups) to purée the soup until it is smooth. When you’re finished blending, stir in the basil.

6.
Reheat the soup gently over medium-low heat, being careful not to let it boil (which would cook it further and alter its flavor). Add a few grinds of black pepper to taste, and serve hot.

north african red lentil soup

Makes 6 to 8 servings

T
his is one of those remarkable dishes that manages to be both quick and complex-tasting at the same time—and with just a few ingredients. The key lies in cooking the lentils first, and then adding sautéed onion, carrot, and garlic toward the end of the cooking process, so you really taste their full flavor in every spoonful. Look for red lentils in the bulk section near the brown lentils. (They’re actually orange, not red, and turn a deep golden yellow when cooked. For some reason, they’re confusingly labeled.)

1.
Combine the lentils and water in a soup pot or a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat all the way down to the lowest possible setting. Partially cover, and simmer gently for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the lentils are completely soft.

2.
Meanwhile, place a large (10-to 12-inch) skillet over medium heat. After about a minute, add the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the onion, carrot, cumin, garlic, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until the onion is golden and very soft and the carrot is tender.

3.
Transfer the onion mixture to the cooked lentils, and add the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat all the way down to the lowest possible setting. Partially cover, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the flavors are well blended.

4.
Grind in a generous amount of black pepper (about 10 or more turns), and stir to blend. Serve hot, with a lime wedge on the side.

TOASTING SEEDS

Toasting mellows and deepens the flavor of cumin seeds, sesame seeds, and many other seeds and spices. It’s as easy as spreading the seeds in a shallow layer on the tray of a toaster oven (or on a baking tray, if you’re using a regular oven) and toasting them at 200°F for about 5 minutes (give or take) until they’re lightly browned and aromatic. You can also toast them on the stovetop in a dry cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Either way, shake the tray or the pan frequently, and hover. If you turn away for too long, the seeds can suddenly go from toasty to scorched.

roasted butternut squash and apple soup

Makes 4 to 5 servings

Y
ou are probably expecting something sweet and cinnamon-y, but that’s not what you’re going to get. This soups heads in another, very refreshing direction, opting for tart over sweet (or, to be more accurate, a playful tension between both sweet and tart) and it chooses the mysterious savory presence of sage over the more predictable (and in my opinion, overused) pumpkin-pie family of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves). Ix-nay on those this time around! It’s time for something entirely different—and quite utterly great-tasting.

Unless you give it a little help, squash can be bland. Roasting it in chunks at a high temperature intensifies its natural sugars, bringing out a wonderfully sweet, toasty flavor. You can roast the squash in advance. If you do, let it cool and then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; let it come to room temperature (or warm it in the microwave) before making the soup.

1.
Adjust the oven rack to the center position, and preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking tray with foil and drizzle it with the olive oil.

2.
Use a sharp heavy knife to cut the squash in half lengthwise. (Do this very carefully. Safest technique: Insert the point of the knife first, and use a gentle sawing motion to initiate the cutting.) Use scissors to cut loose the strands of pulp around the seeds, and then scrape the seeds away with a spoon. Discard the seeds or reserve them to toast (see Chapter 1: Soups). Use a sturdy vegetable peeler to peel the squash halves. Then cut the flesh into 1-inch pieces, once again being careful with your knife because the squash can be both very hard and very slippery. (The shape and uniformity of the chunks do not matter, since it will all get puréed.)

3.
Arrange the squash chunks in a single layer on the prepared tray, and roast in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the pieces are fork-tender and turning golden around the edges. (Shake the tray a few times during the roasting to keep the pieces from sticking.) Remove from the oven and set aside.