Soup with the Simons: Gypsy soup
By Tali Simon | August 29, 2012
I know. It’s still August, and it’s still hot out.
There is no logical reason that you would be making soup tonight. Or tomorrow. Or next week.
But bear with me for a minute.
I don’t do soup in the summer, either…but I do need soup for the chagim, and I’m making it this week. Four soups, actually — because it’s been hot out for so long that I really miss my soups, and I’m dying to try out the new ones I’ve had my eye on for months.
And besides, between Rosh HaShana and the Yom Kippur break-fast and all those Succos meals, who really wants to have the same soup over and over again?
Right. Glad you’re on board.
So gypsy soup? It’s flexible. I used sweet and white potatoes, but you could swap those out for pumpkin or squash. I used a green pepper, but red or yellow would be fine, too. You could ramp up the celery and tone down the onions, throw in a few more tomatoes or halve the chickpeas. You get the idea.
It will probably be great whichever way you go, thanks in large part to the soy sauce, paprika, and basil, which work together beautifully to tie it all together. Not to mention the bay leaf. I love those guys.
Did you get a batch in the freezer yet?
One year ago: Focaccia
Slightly adapted from The Moosewood Cookbook
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 2½ Tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions, diced
- ¼ cup chopped celery stalk
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
- 1 medium white potato, peeled and diced
- 1¼ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp salt
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1¾ cups water
- 1 Tbsp soup mix
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 1 (550 g) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 green pepper, diced
- fresh parsley, to garnish
Directions
1. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, celery, and potatoes for 5 minutes. Add paprika, basil, salt, cayenne, and bay leaf and mix well. Add water, soup mix, and soy sauce and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer (covered) for 15 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, and green pepper, plus more water as needed (it should come to the top of the vegetables). If you add water, you may want to also add a bit more soup mix or soy sauce. Simmer for another 10 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender.
3. Find the bay leaf and discard it. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed, then garnish individual bowls of soup with fresh parsley.
Update 10/02/12: Notes on freezing: Although nearly everything in this world is best when fresh, this soup did well after being frozen and reheated. I’d suggest adding ¼ cup soup broth per portion when you reheat, though — we found that without it, our bowls were a bit too veggie-heavy.
3 Comments
Karen on August 30, 2012 at 7:29 am.
I was always told not to freeze pototoes, it changes the texture. How is this soup after defrosted and reheated?
Tali Simon on August 30, 2012 at 12:08 pm.
I’ve heard both ways about soups with pieces of potato, so I decided to try it here. I’ll let you know whether it was a good idea.
If the soup is completely blended, though, it should be fine. I often make soup that way and have not been disappointed with it after freezing.
Tali Simon on October 2, 2012 at 7:51 pm.
I updated the recipe with my comments on freezing.