Soup’s on! And it’s just the thing for winter

IN THE KITCHEN by Pat Tanner:  Three recipes that have one glorious feature in common: They are so full-flavored they hit the spot even on the darkest, coldest day of the year.

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Illustration by Judy Martin

   Although dead of winter is prime time for soup (especially the hot and hearty variety), the truth is that I love soup all year round. The three recipes below have one glorious feature in common: They are so full-flavored they hit the spot even on the darkest, coldest day of the year.
   From New York City’s long-running La Bonne Soupe restaurant comes a winter favorite, a peasanty mushroom-and-barley, given a French accent with lamb and a bouquet garni.
   The tomato and roasted garlic soup is from a new cookbook by Cary Neff, executive chef at the world-class Miraval Resort & Spa in Arizona. Not content to serve typical spa food, Mr. Neff spent years honing what he calls "conscious cuisine," with the result that no less an authority than chef Charlie Trotter says that Mr. Neff’s recipes "explode with flavor." This one also happens to be a cinch to make.
   Ditto the recipe for curried carrot scallion soup, which has been a favorite of my family and friends for 15 years. I make it all year round as part of weeknight dinners (minus the garnishes) because, by slicing the carrots and scallions in the food processor, it is quick and easy to throw together. Yet it’s elegant, too, so I’ve served it as a first course at Thanksgiving and Easter dinner. I’ve even served it cold, in August, as part of a fancy buffet. Kids and adults never seem to tire of it, perhaps because, like the tomato soup recipe, it is smooth and creamy-textured, despite having no cream or butter.
PEASANT-STYLE MUSHROOM AND BARLEY SOUP WITH LAMB
La Bonne Soupe Cookbook, Jean-Paul Picot and Doris Tobias (iUniverse.com, 2000)
   2 tablespoons vegetable oil
   1 large onion, chopped
   3 ribs celery, thinly sliced
   1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
   ¼ pound boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into 1/4-inch dice
   ½ pound fresh white mushrooms, sliced
   2½ quarts (10 cups) beef broth or low-sodium canned broth
   ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons medium-size pearl barley, rinsed and drained
   Bouquet garni: 3 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, 1 small bay leaf, and 2 sprigs dill tied in a cheesecloth square
   Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
   1. Heat the oil in a 3- or 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, uncovered, over medium heat until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the celery and carrot and cook until they just start to soften, 4 to 5 minutes.
   2. Add the lamb and cook, stirring, until the meat starts to lose color, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the fresh mushrooms and cook, stirring, just until they start to exude their juices, about 3 minutes. Pour in the beef broth and add the barley and bouquet garni. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover partially, and simmer until the barley and meat are tender, about 1 hour 30 minutes in total. Check occasionally and skim off any scum that may rise to the top.
   3. When the soup has cooked for 1 hour, discard the bouquet garni and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking.
   Serves 4 to 6.
TOMATO AND ROASTED GARLIC SOUP
Conscious Cuisine: A New Style of Cooking by Cary Neff (Sourcebooks 2002)
For the roasted garlic:
   1 whole garlic bulb
   Olive oil
   Sea salt
   Freshly ground black pepper
For the soup:
   ¼ teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
   1 cup chopped yellow onion (about 1 large)
   1 cup chopped celery (3 medium ribs)
   2 28-ounce cans diced, stewed tomatoes, undrained
   1 bay leaf
   2 teaspoons dried basil
   1 teaspoon dried oregano
   1 teaspoon dried thyme
   ½ teaspoon sea salt
   ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
   1. Roast the garlic: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Trim off top of garlic bulb to expose the garlic cloves. Peel excess skin off the sides of the bulb. Place in a baking pan. Lightly drizzle the top of the bulb with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover the pan with foil. Bake for 40 minutes or until the garlic cloves are soft and lightly brown on top. Set aside.
   2. Heat a medium stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Add the cloves of roasted garlic, onion, and celery. Cook until the onion has softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and herbs. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, skimming off any foam. Remove the bay leaf. Season with the salt and pepper, and heat through.
   3. Carefully ladle the soup into a blender and process until smooth.
   Makes 4 1-cup servings.
CURRIED CARROT SCALLION SOUP
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine
   1 cup thinly sliced white part of scallion, plus thinly sliced scallion green for garnish
   1 tablespoon olive oil
   ½ teaspoon curry powder, or more to taste
   4½ cups thinly sliced peeled carrot, plus finely grated carrot for garnish
   4½ cups canned chicken broth
   1. In a saucepan cook the white part of scallion in the oil over low heat, stirring, until it is softened. Add the curry powder and cook the mixture, stirring, for 1 minute.
   2. Add the sliced carrot and the broth, bring the liquid to a boil, and simmer the mixture for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the carrot is very tender.
   3. In a blender or food processor, or using an immersion blender, puree the mixture. Return it to the pan and heat the soup over moderate heat until it is hot. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish it with the scallion green and the grated carrot.
   Makes 6 cups, serving 6.
Pat Tanner can be heard each Saturday morning on "Dining Today with Pat Tanner" on MoneyTalk AM 1350 from 9 to 10 a.m. Jean-Paul Picot will be her guest on Saturday.