Many Americans grew up on soup from a can, or those little packets of dried noodles and yellow powder that, when mixed with water, transformed into something resembling chicken noodle soup.
What a far cry from the fresh soups and stews of the Mediterranean, infused with fresh herbs and vegetables just picked from the garden or plucked from the vendor, flavored with just a hint of savory lamb or chicken, egg, or fish, mussels, oysters, and shrimp straight from the sea.
Get back in touch with nature’s bounty with these Mediterranean-inspired recipes for soups and stews that make the most of the very best ingredients.
GAZPACHO
This Spanish favorite is hard for some to comprehend. Cold soup? And why not? Loaded with nutritious, fresh vegetables, gazpacho has a sparkling fresh taste with just a hint of spice-the perfect remedy for a torrid summer day, especially if you are feeling too lazy even to chew.
Traditional gazpacho often includes bread ground into the soup, but we prefer a more intense vegetable flavor and like to make this soup sans bread.
Ingredients
4 peeled, seeded, chopped ripe tomatoes (To peel, immerse tomatoes for about 30 seconds in boiling water to loosen the skins, plunge into ice water, then peel when cool enough to handle. The skins should slip right off. Cut in half and squeeze out the seeds, then chop the “meat.”)
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup chopped red onion
½ cup chopped bell pepper (any color)
½ cup peeled, chopped cucumber
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of one freshly squeezed lemon
1 cup organic vegetable broth with enough ice cubes
added to make 1½ cups liquid
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
Dash of cayenne pepper
How to make
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade or a blender container, combine all the ingredients and process until smooth.
Chill at least 2 hours, or overnight. Serve from a pitcher on the veranda, or take it to the beach!
Serves about 4.
TUSCAN BEAN SOUP
We love bean soup. Filling, warm, hearty, and soul nourishing, this bean soup, inspired by traditional recipes from Tuscany, nourishes all year long but makes an especially nice supper on a chilly fall evening.
Ingredients
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped, including some of the greens
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 large bay leaf
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Four 14½-ounce cans reduced-sodium,
organic chicken broth
One cup frozen baby lima beans, rinsed and drained
One 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
One 15-ounce can red beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup barley
1 medium red potato, unpeeled (cut out eyes and bad spots), cut into ½-inch cubes
2 sliced carrots
1 cup packed, slivered spinach leaves
How to make
In a large saucepan, sauté the onion, celery, and garlic in the oil 2 to 3 minutes; stir in the flour, herbs, garlic, and pepper, and sauté until the onions are tender, 2 to 3 minutes longer.
Add the chicken broth, beans (you can add the lima beans, frozen), and tomato paste to the saucepan; heat to boiling.
Add the barley, potato, and carrots. Return to a low simmer, and cook for 25 minutes. Stir in the spinach. Cook for 5 minutes more.
Remove from heat, fish out the bay leaf, and serve hot with a good loaf of bread.
Serves 8
GINGERED LAMB STEW
This delicious stew features tender bits of lamb in a rich, savory sauce. Traditionally, cooks would prepare this stew using homemade stock, but if you don’t have the time to make your own stock (we never seem to!), you can buy many different varieties of very good organic beef, chicken, and vegetable broth.
The stew will still be good, warming, and comforting. The long stewing time fills the stew with lamb flavor but the bulk of the ingredients are vegetables and herbs, each of which perfume the stew in its own unique way.
Ingredients
1 pound lean, boneless lamb shank
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, diced
2 ribs of celery, diced
1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 cups homemade beef stock or purchased organic
beef broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to make
Cut the lamb into 1-inch cubes. In a small bowl, mix the flour, cumin, ginger, and cinnamon. Add the lamb and toss to coat all the pieces.
Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil releases its aroma, add the lamb along with any leftover seasoning mix, and sauté until the meat is browned on all sides. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Turn heat down to medium. Add onion, garlic, carrot, celery, and sweet potato to the skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, until vegetables just begin to brown, about 10 minutes.
Add 1 cup beef stock to the skillet, scraping to release any bits of meat and vegetables stuck to the skillet. Add lamb and remaining stock.
Bring stew to a boil, then turn heat down to low. Simmer the stew for 1 hour, adding more beef stock or water as necessary to keep the stew from drying out and sticking. Turn heat to medium-low, and simmer for 1 hour. Serve hot or warm, with pita bread.
Serves 8.
Enjoy these wonderful Mediterranean recipes and hope you have a healthier life !