Well thankfully for everyone involved, I am not (unlike last week) making this week’s French Fridays with Dorie dish in my still-jetlagged fog (uh huh, that thing they say about the older you get the longer it takes you to recover from jetlag is true. Boo.) Nope, I made this week’s recipe (a trio of asparagus, red pepper and broccoli soups, p 62) on Christmas Eve for a light-ish dinner in the heat of a Sydney summer. They were perfect and festive.
Oh and did I mention simple? These soups contain broth (I used chicken) and the vegetables -asparagus (with a little zucchini for colour), red pepper and broccoli (again, with the zucchini) – cooked down for about 15 minutes then blitzed (I used an immersion blender). Knowing Dorie’s penchant for thinner soups, I used my discretion with the liquid portion to make a thicker soup than Dorie probably likes but that worked well for us.
I found these to be a revelation – so very simple (2-3 ingredients, not counting pepper/ salt), so tasty and so fast! It will certainly make me think twice about throwing out a wrinkly pepper – and you don’t even need proper stock – according to Dorie, many home cooks in France use stock cubes. So don’t throw away those “on the verge” veggies – make soup! A GREAT intention for 2014, right?
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I’m glad yours turned out well. Love the color in the red pepper soup!
Isn’t it pretty?
NIce, Mardi! I think mine needed a boost of flavor…maybe bullion over stock would have done the trick.
Not sure but maybe pesto like Cher says below?
This was a good way to clean out the veggie bin 🙂 I threw in pesto for flavor – it definitely made a difference.
Pretty presentation.
Oh pesto is a GREAT idea!
I use vegetarian vegetable cubes in place of actual stock all the time, honestly. I suppose I never really saw the harm. haha. They look gorgeous!
I think it all depends on what you are used to, to be honest!
Simple to put together and delightful to taste!
Weren’t they just?
I took away the same lesson this week. These recipes were a great reminder that even when you think there’s nothing to eat, there probably is.
“These recipes were a great reminder that even when you think there’s nothing to eat, there probably is.” Indeed!
They look so pretty! Great job.
Aw thanks Gaye!
I wish I’d thought to hold back on the broth – I would have liked a thicker soup. Even so, they do look pretty!
Thank you!
Your soups look lovely. I only made the Broccoli soup and it was delicious. Hope you have a nice weekend:)
The broccoli one was delicious!
My sentiments exactly. I love how easy these soups were!
The best!
Wise woman remembering Dorie’s thin soup. Yes I agree, “a revelation” truly delicious and simple to make.
SO simple!
I didn’t mind as much the thinness of the soup this time around, especially since it seems these were meant to be sipped from regular drink ware.
The golden holly placemat/napkin is so pretty!
Yes the thinner soup was meant for sipping! And thanks – I found that placemat at home and thought it was perfect!
I bet the green and red combo was a nice Christmas touch. I was somewhat unimpressed and still trying to wrap my mind around these cubes.
I was so pleased I got to make these for Christmas! We didn’t use cubes – broth all the way!
Yes, I loved these too. They were just so simple. I was surprised at the flavor. I know some people have said the soups were bland, but I didn’t find that to be the case. Just loved the simplicity! Perfect colors for Christmas.
Nope I didn’t find them bland either!
Lovely presentation. All your soups have a pretty color to them.
Thanks so much!
These soups were exactly what I needed after all the holiday cooking and eating! Simple, delicious and so light!!
I really really love your photographs 🙂 🙂
Thank you Maria – and yes, these were perfect for a break during holiday eating (but I’ll be making them again because they are great for healthy eating!)
These were light but illing! The red bell pepper soup has given me so many ideas!!!
Me too Alice!
Great texture — I’m thinking my Vitamix did a bit too much of a blitz! Ha! Nice — glad you enjoyed.
Immersion blender all the way!
I held back on the stock, too, but these still didn’t wow me. Love your presentation – so pretty for holidays.
They were PERFECT for Christmas!
Great presentation and summer party soup! We loved the soups and will be making them again. Hope you are getting over your jetlag.
Thanks, I am. And yes, I’ll be making these again soon too!
I was one of the tasters – I can confirm they were very tasty and, surprisingly for such small servings, quite filling. Come home more often, Mardi.
Yes, given there was hardly any ingredients in there they were filling!
Your soups are gorgeous! I think you are right and soup is the answer to those on the verge veggies. Hope you are getting over the jetlag!
Getting there, thanks Renée!
I used my immersion blender as well (it was a gift from Nana years ago) and was reminded how much I do like that gadget. I am not sure why I was so surprised at how easy this recipe was but it really did strike me as some sort of revelation. And an excellent example of how “not fussy” French cooking can be. SImple, thrifty and delicious. Yum.
The secret to liking this soup, Mardi, may be in ‘the weather outside your kitchen window.’ Your Post brought that to mind. My red pepper soup, three ways, was delicious. If I ever do it again, I will only do the red pepper-raspberry variation which is outstanding. (I also thickened it up because of Diane’s warning. I didn’t remember that Dorie prefers liquify. My point is, I’m getting to it, that it was 73 degrees here in Calli the day that I made it. I think you and I were the only Dorista’s not suffering from Polar Vortex (Susan and Alice didn’t participate). Like you, I also thought the technique was great. I have no problem with a boullion but I used boxed. Welcome home.
Mardi I’m glad you enjoyed the soups! They colors make a lovely Christmas presentations. I wish I could have liked them. Something just did not work for me!
They look so vibrant and delicious!
You know, I never think to serve soup @ a party. What a great foodie idea.
Can’t wait to try these.