I went to the library yesterday and checked out a few cookbooks. It’s a great way to explore the books you think might be worth purchasing or just find a few new recipes you like and then take the book back until you want it again.
One of the books I’ve heard is quite good is the vegetarian The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen. I was looking for a new soup for my “soup and sandwich Sunday” theme… I substituted canned tomatoes for fresh, used a can of garbanzo beans (aren’t they the same as chickpeas?), and added a carrot.
The soup was good…but I think next time I’ll cut down on the turmeric and perhaps leave out the cinnamon.
Gypsy Soup from Moosewood
Ingredients
- 1 Tbs oil
- 2 small onions, diced about 2 cups
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced about 2 cups
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp turmeric although I’d leave this out or lessen next time
- 1 tsp dried basil
- a dash of cinnamon optional
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 cups water
- 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 small green pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
Instructions
- Saute the onion, celery, sweet potato, and carrot in the oil for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the salt, paprika, turmeric (if using), basil, cinnamon (if using), bay leaf, and water. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until everything is soft, about 15 minutes.
- Add the garbanzo beans, green pepper, and tomatoes. Cover and simmer another 10 minutes or so, until everything is as soft as you like.
I found this a bit sweet, perhaps the turmeric and cinnamon. Perhaps my addition of carrot influenced that as well. The green peppers were still a bit crunchy, which made a nice contrast with everything else. I’m used to making soup with chicken broth, so perhaps I’d like this better with chicken broth. It was good, just not great.
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