In my defense, this recipes in this book really are outstanding. There are several recipes for different types of broth and they are really delicious. I particularly liked the dark vegetable broth (it makes an amazing, if time consuming, French onion soup!). The recipes are grouped by season, which I really like, and all of the recipes I made (which was an awful lot!) were really terrific with loads and loads of flavor. My only bad experience was with the persimmon soup, but I probably should have seen that one coming. :)
One of my absolute favorites is the Quinoa Stew with Potatoes, Spinach, and Chard recipe. The quinoa and potatoes make for a really hearty, stew-like consistency and the flavors are really lovely. I've made this so many times that I've lost count, and it is always a crowd pleaser. Even people who normally give quinoa and hearty greens the side eye end up loving this soup. Over the years I've played around with it a bit. My version barely alters the original, mostly just reducing it to make a more manageable amount of soup (the original recipe makes A LOT of soup!) and adding zucchini to up the veggie count. I hope you love it as much as I do!
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Start by rinsing 1/3 cup quinoa under cold water in a fine mesh sieve. This helps remove some of the natural, "soapy" coating found on raw quinoa. Most quinoa you purchase will already be rinsed, but I find it helps the flavor to give the quinoa one more good rinse. Cook the quinoa in 4 cups water with a pinch of salt for 8-10 minutes. I used multi-colored quinoa, but any kind will do.
(Sorry for the blurry picture!)
After 8-10 minutes, drain the quinoa and reserve the cooking water (I find it easiest to strain the quinoa over a bowl). Don't worry that it isn't finished cooking; we are not cooking the quinoa all the way, but giving it a good head start.
Meanwhile, peel and dice 2 medium or small Yukon gold potatoes and one small sweet potato. You want about 2 cups medium-dice potatoes and about 1 1/2 cups medium-dice sweet potatoes. I used both of the Yukon gold potatoes below and half of the sweet potato. I used a white sweet potato, but you can use an orange one.
A note about potatoes: this recipe is best with a waxy potato like Yukon gold or red potatoes ("waxy" potatoes have less starch). In a pinch you could use a Russet potato, but they don't hold texture as well during cooking and I don't recommend it. (More info about the different types of potatoes on this great website.) Also, you've probably noticed that we frequently use sweet potatoes in our cooking. They tend to be a bit more nutrient dense than standard potatoes and have a slightly lower glycemic load. Plus, they're tasty! Purchasing sweet potatoes can be confusing though. In grocery stores you find sweet potatoes and yams side by side. They look similar, but they have different colors and different names. So which one is a sweet potato? They both are! In the United States yams and sweet potatoes are actually both sweet potatoes, but two different varieties (kind of like red or white potatoes). The white ones are firmer and the orange ones are softer. For some reason grocers in the United States typically label orange sweet potatoes as yams. (True yams are rarely sold in the United States.) Confusing, I know!
Slice 4-5 green onions, both white and green parts - you want about 1/3-1/2 cup. Chop 2 cloves garlic (you can also grate the garlic right over the soup pan with a microplane grater - this is the one I use and it's one of my favorite kitchen tools). Finely shred then chop your greens (make sure to chop the greens after shredding so you don't get long and stringy pieces) - you want about 2 cups loosely packed shredded greens. You can use any combination of spinach, chard, or kale. If you are using kale or chard, remove the tough center stem. For this recipe I used 1 very large chard leaf and 2 small/medium kale leaves.
If you're not quite sure how to remove the center stems on greens, I find it easiest to fold the leaf in half so the center stem is on the outside. Nestle the knife right against the stem and cut lengthwise right along the side of the stem until about halfway up the leaf (where the knife is below). Slice across the stem away from the leaf. That will remove the stem from the leaf. This works for kale and chard.
Heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in a big soup pan over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and stir to coat in oil. Lower the heat just a bit (not quite to medium) and cook the potatoes for about 2-3 minutes. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, the chopped (or grated) garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir to combine and let it cook for about 5 minutes. (Sorry - I forgot to get a picture of this step!)
Add the quinoa liquid to the pot, plus the green onions and a bay leaf. Simmer for about 8-10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
Meanwhile, grate about 1-1 1/2 cups zucchini. I got this from about 1 large zucchini (with a bit leftover).
Once the potatoes are tender, add the greens, zucchini, cooked quinoa, 1-2 cups vegetable broth (to start - you may have to add more as it cooks), and cayenne pepper to taste; simmer for another 10 minutes. I added around 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, but I like a touch of heat. It wasn't too terribly spicy, but if you like things mild, I'd go with just a dash.
During this last simmer you may find that you need a bit more liquid (vegetable broth or water) depending on how much quinoa liquid you had and how thick you like your stew. This time I ended up adding just over 2 cups extra liquid. I like it a bit thicker, but if you like your stew a bit thinner, add more.
Taste and add more salt or cayenne pepper and some black pepper if you'd like.
Serve with lemon wedges and feta cheese. This may sound unnecessary, but don't leave it out! The lemon juice and feta cheese really make this dish.
This soup is just as tasty on the second (or third) day and reheats beautifully, but you'll likely need to add a bit of water or vegetable broth to thin it out.
Variations:
I occasionally make this with thyme and tarragon instead of cumin and cayenne pepper. The flavor profile is a bit different, but it is still very tasty. Sometimes I also add white beans, which amps up the protein, but the amounts of veggies and potatoes needs to be adjusted (see the variations below).
Quinoa and Potato Stew
Adapted (lightly) from Love Soup by Anna Thomas
Serves 4-6 as a main course, 8 as a starter
1/3 cup uncooked quinoa
Pinch of salt
2 cups diced Yukon gold potatoes
1 1/2 cups diced sweet potatoes
1/3 cup sliced green onion, white and green parts
2 cups finely shredded and chopped greens (some combination of spinach, kale, or chard)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
Bay leaf
1 to 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini (1 large zucchini)
2-3 cups vegetable broth
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Fresh lemon juice
Feta cheese
1. Rinse quinoa under cold water in a fine sieve (optional, but it removes any of the natural, "soapy" coating that might remain). Cook the quinoa in 4 cups water with a pinch of salt for 8-10 minutes. Drain the quinoa and reserve the cooking water.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the Yukon gold and sweet potatoes, green onions, garlic, and the greens.
3. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and lower heat a bit. Stir to coat the potatoes and cook 2-3 minutes. Add the cumin, salt, and garlic, stir to coat the potatoes, and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add the reserved quinoa liquid, green onions, and bay leaf to the pot. Simmer 8-10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, shred the zucchini.
5. Add the quinoa, greens, 1-2 cups vegetable broth, zucchini, and cayenne to taste. Simmer another 10 minutes or until everything is tender. As the stew is simmer, add more liquid (vegetable broth or water) as needed.
6. Taste and adjust seasonings (salt, black pepper, or cayenne) as needed. Serve with lemon wedges and feta cheese (really not optional)
Variations
Spices: Instead of cumin and cayenne pepper, add 2-3 fresh thyme springs (1-2 teaspoons dried thyme), 1-2 teaspoons dried tarragon, and several cranks of freshly ground black pepper (maybe 1/4-1/2 teaspoon?) to the soup when adding the quinoa cooking liquid. If using fresh thyme, fish out the thyme stems and bay leaf before serving (the thyme leaves will fall off during cooking).
White beans: Add 1-1 1/2 cups cooked white beans with the quinoa, greens, and zucchini. Reduce the greens to 1 1/2 cups, the zucchini to 1 cup, and both potatoes to 1 cup each.
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