According to the Old Farmer鈥檚 Almanac, this year the fall equinox, in听our time zone, begins Thursday at 7:21 a.m. To听me, that鈥檚 also the official start of 鈥渓et鈥檚 make soup season.鈥�
It鈥檚 harvest time, there鈥檚 a bounty of local produce around and the weather鈥檚 cool enough to put you in the mood to simmer up something hot and comforting.
To get you ready, I鈥檝e got three recipes for you to try.
One blends a nutritious mix of听root vegetables, including parsnips, yams and carrots, with in-season apples. The resulting autumn-orange looking soup has a听satisfying earthy, sweet taste. The sweet part comes mostly from the yams, and to balance that sweetness, I added a touch of cider vinegar.
I also topped bowls of that soup with thick yogurt, which added a bit more tang. For added richness, I sprinkled in some toasted pumpkin seeds.
My second recipe is an Italian-style cabbage soup that has nuggets of browned Italian sausage and vegetables such as red bell pepper. Just before the soup is served, pesto is swirled in, giving it the taste of basil, garlic, nuts and cheese all in one go, not to mention a blast of bright-green colour.
Like my cabbage soup, my last recipe uses a vegetable widely available at this time of year: cauliflower. In this case, though, I gave the soup a Thai-style taste by flavouring it with red Thai curry paste, coconut milk, cilantro and lime juice.
This soup sees half the cauliflower florets called for in the recipe cooked and blended with a coconut-stock mixture. The rest of the florets, cut small enough to fit inside a soup spoon, are then added and simmered until just tender. That gives you a soup with a smooth, silky texture that still has bits of its key ingredient deliciously visible.
If today鈥檚 soup recipes yield too many portions for you, any leftovers, once cooled to room temperature, will freeze well. Or you could do what I did: share some of the soup with your neighbours.
Root Vegetable and Apple Soup with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
Earthy root vegetables and in-season fruit are blended in this soup, topped with a dollop of tangy yogurt and rich pumpkin seeds. This would be a nice soup to serve before a festive dinner, such as Thanksgiving.
听
Preparation: 40 minutes
Cooking time: About 30 minutes
Makes: six to eight servings
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large parsnip, peeled and cubed
1 large carrot, peeled and cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium yam, peeled and cubed
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 Tbsp chopped fresh ginger
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp dried thyme
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1/3 cup unsalted, shelled pumpkin seeds
鈥� salt and freshly ground black pepper
鈥� pinch ground nutmeg
鈥� thick Greek yogurt, to taste
Heat the oil in a medium-sized pot set over medium heat. When oil is hot, add the parsnip, carrot, onion, yam, garlic, ginger and apples and听cook, stirring, about eight minutes.
Mix in the flour and thyme until well combined and cook two minutes more.
Slowly mix in 1 cup of the stock and cook and stir until thickened. Now mix in the rest of the stock and the vinegar.
Bring the soup to a gentle simmer and cook until the vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes.
While the soup simmers, lightly toast the pumpkin seeds by placing them in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook, shaking the pan from time to time, until pumpkin seeds are lightly toasted. Spoon the seeds into a bowl and set aside for now.
When the vegetables are tender, pur茅e the soup in a food processor, a blender, or in the pot with an immersion (hand) blender.
Return the soup to a simmer; thin with a bit more stock if too thick. Season the soup with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Ladle soup into bowls and top each bowl with a dollop of yogurt. Sprinkle soup with pumpkin seeds and serve.
Cabbage Soup with Italian Sausage and Pesto
This hearty Italian-style cabbage soup will make a nice lunch when served with crusty bread. To make it extra rich, just before serving, top bowls of the soup with nuggets of Gorgonzola cheese.
听
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking time: About 35 minutes
Makes: six servings
听
3 (each about 85 grams) mild, medium or hot Italian sausages
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 small or 1 large carrot, quartered lengthwise, and sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
3 cups chopped savoy cabbage
4 cups chicken stock
2 Tbsp homemade or store-bought pesto
鈥� salt and freshly ground black pepper
Remove the casing from each sausage and pull the meat into small, about two-cm nuggets. Place 1 Tbsp oil in a tall pot and set over medium, medium-high heat.
When oil is hot, add the pieces of sausage and cook until nicely browned, about four to five minutes. Now mix in the onion, carrot and red pepper and cook three minutes more. Add the cabbage and stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer the soup for 20 to 25 minutes, or until cabbage is tender.
Swirl in the pesto and season soup with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and enjoy.
听
Cauliflower Coconut Soup with Thai Curry and Cilantro
The red Thai curry paste flavouring this aromatic, richly flavoured soup is sold in the Asian foods aisle of most supermarkets. When cutting the florets for this soup, make sure they are cut small enough to fit inside a soup spoon for easy eating.
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking time: About 25 minutes
Makes: four to six servings
听
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp red Thai curry paste
2 tsp chopped fresh ginger
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 (14 oz./398 mL) can coconut milk (shake well before opening)
2 Tbsp lime juice mixed with 1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp brown sugar
3 cups small cauliflower florets (about 1听small to medium cauliflower)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
鈥� salt to taste
听
Heat the oil in a pot set over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion and cook until tender, about five minutes. Add the curry paste and ginger and cook, stirring, for one minute more.
Add the stock, coconut milk, lime juice/cornstarch mixture and brown sugar and bring to a simmer. Add half the cauliflower, return to a simmer and cook for听10 minutes, or until cauliflower is very tender.
Pur茅e the soup in a food processor, a blender, or in the pot with an immersion (hand) blender
Return the soup to a simmer; stir in the remaining cauliflower florets. Simmer until that cauliflower is just tender, about five minutes. Stir in the cilantro, season with salt and serve.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His latest is The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
