By: rivka

rivka — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:01:46 +0000

Im — thanks for the comment! Love the idea of vinegars in soup — definitely need to explore that. Also, big fan of pesto to finish things off — if I have herbs that are going, I’ll just whip ‘em up with a little olive oil and pop it in the fridge/freezer for another day.

By: Ima

Ima — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:33:55 +0000

I love this Harira too. In a similar vein to how it’s finished with lemon juice and cilantro, I especially like lentil-tomato soups that are spiked with a bit of vinegar in the final stages of cooking. Different vinegars give different results. Try balsamic for a soup with Italian type seasonings, apple cider vinegar for Moroccan/North African, or white wine vinegar for red lentil soup. If your soup contains sweet veggies such as carrots or sweet potatoes, the acid will be a great balance. If you find the soup’s too acid with the addition of vinegar, a bit of honey, date syrup, or pomegranate molasses can do the trick. Start sparingly when adding the vinegar, and do so right at the end — just heat for five minutes before serving. Otherwise it might be overpowering (though it does blend in if there’s leftover soup for another day.) I garnish with fresh snipped herbs. Another unexpectedly great combination was a dollop of pesto swirled into squash soup. I did not use cheese in the pesto, just basil, garlic, olive oil and pine nuts. But I bet the cheese wouldn’t hurt if you already had pesto with parmesan in it.

Comments on: Building a Flavorful Vegetarian Soup

By: rivka

By: Ima