I mean, a girl's gotta eat, right? And besides, there isn't much I like more...
With tie-dye being everywhere this spring courtesy of the lovely boys of Proenza, I thought that would be the perfect place to start.
You can serve any two (or more) soups in a bowl, as long as they are the thicker, pureed type soups of the same consistency - obviously minestrone and chicken noodle wouldn't hold up so well.
I first wanted to do a pea soup, because I happen to love pureed peas and I thought it would be a nice nod to spring. You can of course use fresh English peas (all the better), but since they have such a short season and require a bit of prep, I figured let's go for the ease of the frozen kind. Not to mention frozen peas are one of the few frozen vegetables that I happen to love.
To pair with it, I thought a carrot soup would work ... peas and carrots have been matched for all eternity (and often not in the best of ways) so this seemed to be the perfect refresher. As a side note - this carrot soupblew.my.mind. I thought I would like the pea soup better, and for once (ha!) I was wrong. The ginger is pretty subtle and the lemon makes it shine. Love!
To get the swirly (pseudo tie-dye) effect, just pour the two soups at once (much easier than it sounds - particularly if using mouthed containers) and then swirl with a chopstick, skewer, etc. Top with some yogurt (or crème fraiche) and give a second swirl and that's it. Serious wow food without serious effort.
Bonus - both of these soups taste great cold - which makes for an easy chilled summer lunch.Recipes...
Peas & Carrot Tie-Dye Soup
NOTES: I used vegetable broth for both soups - a quick homemade version that takes less than 30 minutes. I keep a bag in the freezer that contains vegetable scraps (think kale stems, mushroom stems, the woody part of asparagus, the tops of leeks) and add that to 8 cups of water, plus a carrot, ½ an onion, celery and some parsley. Bring it all to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. While you are prepping the other ingredients (or enjoying a glass of wine) you have lovely fresh stock out of basically what would become waste. If you don't have these things on hand or have the time, boxed stock can work, but I would likely use water instead. I'm just not crazy about the flavor in the prepared versions. Chicken stock also works if that is what you have/prefer.
For both soups I also sauteed the onions in butter and olive oil - butter for richness and flavor, and olive oil just so it wasn't all butter. Since neither soup has cream, I think that extra oomph that butter gives is important, but if you don't eat dairy or have other aversions to butter, all olive oil would totally work.
Minted Pea Soup (recipe below)
Carrot Soup with Lemon and Ginger (recipe below)
Greek yogurt (or crème fraiche)
Fresh mint, julienned
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Using containers with a mouth or spout (blender, measuring cup, etc.) simultaneously pour both soups into flat bowl. Using a chopstick, swirl the soups in opposite directions until you reach the desired look. Top with plain yogurt and swirl again.
Garnish with diced mint.
Serve with naan, croutons or a good crusty bread.
RECIPE #1:
Carrot Soup with Lemon and Ginger
adapted from Bon Appétit | June 1997
NOTES: see above regarding butter and stock.
The original recipe calls for chopped tomatoes, but they aren't yet available/looking to good yet at my market, so I skipped them and went with tomato paste. Also, without fresh tomatoes, this soup is pretty much a pantry/freezer/on hand type of dish. Especially with this tip for ginger.
2 T. unsalted butter
1 T. olive oil
1½ c. chopped onion
1½ T. grated fresh ginger
1½ t. minced garlic
1¼ pounds medium carrots, peeled, chopped (about 3 c.)
1 T. tomato paste
2-3 1" pieces lemon zest
3+ c. vegetable stock (potentially up to 4 c.)
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
2 T. fresh lemon juice
Melt butter and olive oil in heavy-bottomed large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté about 4 minutes until onion is soft but not golden. Add ginger and garlic; sauté additional 2 minutes, season with salt.
Add chopped carrots, tomato paste and lemon peel; sauté 1 minute. Add 3 cups stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover partially and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes. Remove pieces of lemon peel and cool slightly.
Puree soup in batches in blender. Return soup to pot. Mix in lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bring soup to simmer, thinning with more stock, if desired.
RECIPE #2:
Minted Pea Soup
(idea for steeping the mint leaves from Simply Recipes - the rest is my standard pea soup)
NOTES: Many recipes for fresh pea soup call for shallots, which have a milder flavor than onions. I have made this soup with either and like both versions. I went onion here, as I was already chopping it up for the carrot soup.
1 T. unsalted butter
1 T. olive oil
½ c. chopped yellow onion
1 t. chopped garlic (because I had extra chopped for the carrot - do not add too much garlic, as it could overpower the sweet peas; can easily be omitted)
2+ c. vegetable broth (see headnotes), (up to 3 cups)
2-3 large sprigs of mint
1 T. chopped mint leaves
1 lb. frozen petite peas
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
Melt butter and olive oil in heavy-bottomed medium pot over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté about 4 minutes until soft but not golden. Add garlic and cook and additional minute, season with salt.
Add 2 cups stock to the onions, add sprigs of mint and bring to a boil; reduce heat and let simmer 5-10 minutes. Add frozen peas and return soup to a boil; lower heat to a simmer and let cook until peas are just tender, about 3-4 minutes (it is important no to overcook the peas, or then the soup will taste like the overcooked peas of yesteryear - uck).
Remove mint sprigs and add chopped mint leaves. Transfer soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper and thin with additional broth, if necessary.
