It's soup! (vegetarian)

For your French Onion suggestion you could do worse than try this veggie dark stock. It’s a real winner:

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Yes, I’ve made this several times. Simple and delicious.

There was a big diet soup fad going around several years back, full of low-calorie vegetables. The idea was that if you have some of that soup when you’re hungry, it has few calories and will stave off hunger. I found that I liked it a lot. You can look up the recipes online and add whatever you want, and use a vegetarian broth, and since it has just about no fat it can be eaten cold. It’s very low in calories and if not overcooked, quite good for you.

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I’m reviving this thread for Summer 2017!

I make lots of gazpacho in summer, usually quick and easy, without a recipe. But recently I tried this version, and it is very good. Smooth, rich, and very flavorful. It takes a couple extra steps, but it’s mostly hands-off, so it’s easy to do when you’re busy doing other things around the house. The freezing step really does break down the vegetables, I was surprised it worked so well.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/08/andalusian-gazpacho-recipe.html

Note: Don’t feel you have to use all the oil called for in the recipe!! I used half as much, and the soup was great. Taste as you go.

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Oh!! I LOVE that recipe! It’s basically salmorejo! Totally worth the extra steps and i agree that it’s great with significantly less oil. I thought the finish of sherry vinegar when serving is a critical step, really makes a difference.

Bittman’s chilled chickpea soup is a summer favorite for me, basically tastes like hummus with great garnishes. I use more lemon juice (usualy juice of two lemons) and instead of feta i use more olives.


I like that it’s satisfying the way the salmorejo recipe is and can make a meal as is. As much as i adore gazpacho i either need to have as a side/app or just know i’ll want a snack in two hours.

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I’ve been playing around with this recipe:

I really like it but need a good vegan substitute for the Better Than Bouillon vegetable base, which isn’t vegan.***

Any suggestions?

***It looks like I had an older jar of the Bouillon, or something, as my notes say it was not vegan. In looking at the new jar in the pantry, that one is vegan. Thanks to @boogiebaby for catching this!

Do they have different versions? I’m looking at the the picture of the jar here and it says on the label that it’s certified vegan…

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You’re right - either I had an old jar or misread something.

This is what I used, though the jar didn’t have the vegan certification marking:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00016LA9S/ref=pd_aw_sbs_325_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VJFZJYV085NKAX6S0JWG&dpPl=1&dpID=81lMsG%2BwjuL

There are many formulations - I didn’t know about the non-chicken chicken base. Now I’m thinking about using that for a vegan chicken pot pie, using the Beyond Meat chicken strips.

Thank you!

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I just looked at the ingredient list for vegetable BTB. What don’t you find to be vegan?

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I think I had an old jar/formulation, @Gourmanda: my notes say it wasn’t vegan but I didn’t write down what ingredient caused concern.

Either it didn’t use to be vegan or I misread something - the latter is more likely, I think!

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Looks like yours is the Superior Touch Vegetable base while the one I linked to was the Vegetarian Vegetable base.

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Yep, I think I need to get better about reading all the labels!

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Well, the good news is the current BTB vegetable base is vegan :slight_smile: Happy soup slurping!

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Funny thing is i tried the chickenless better than bullion version and it tastes like freaking chicken!!!
I’m one of those veg*ns who is weirded out by faux meat things that taste too much like what I remember of meat and i gave the rest to an omni friend who was baffled that it’s vegan.
The veg base is a good one, i also have some of the mushroom base which I really like but it’s not vegan (contains small amount of dairy)

That soup you’re making sounds delicious!!

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Yes! Thank you! I knew one of them was unexpectedly not vegan: that’s it.

I will try the vegan chicken base: partner really misses chicken pot pie.

My sister is the same way. If the flavor or texture is too close it bothers her and she’ll avoid eating it.

I think if you used that chickenless base and the beyond meat faux chicken (which my very omni mom ate in a chicken salad from whole foods and didn’t even realize it wasn’t real chicken , she just grabbed the wrong take away container! Ha!) then you would absolutely be on your way to a legit chicken pot pie for your sweetie. I’m fairly certain pepperidge farms puff pastry is still vegan if he likes the crust only on top kind of pie.

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That is a terrific recipe.

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I really like this white bean, kale and roasted vegetable soup recipe from Epicurious. I do make a few changes, but mostly stay true to the recipe. To bolster the depth of flavor of the broth, I start by blitzing a couple of carrots, celery stalks and an onion in the food processor to make a mirepoix and then saute it over medium-high heat until lightly browned. I also add an extra can of white beans and a few parmesan rinds or a handful of grated parm. Make sure to add a few extra garlic cloves in the roasting vegetables in case some burn or disintegrate during roasting. The roasted garlic adds lots of flavor. Oh, and I use a 15 ounce can of fire roasted tomatoes instead of fresh.

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Last week it was one of my big pots of “time to clean out the vegetable drawers” minestrone - a completely flexible, usually very hearty and tasty, recipe:

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Probably the last soup of “souping season” (terminology by @Ttrockwood, I believe) - it was good, but needs work:

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