Perla Servan-Schreiber’s favorite soup recipes to beat the cold
Winter is a time when the cold easily creeps into us… And into our heads. That’s why Perla Servan-Schreiber has collected her best bubbly preparations in a new book to comfort us.
Perla Servan-Schreiber started not from an ingredient or a region with a certain gastronomy, but rather from … geopolitics to create her latest culinary work. And more precisely, from the observation: “The state of the world risks depriving us of warmth at least partially this winter.” Therefore, the French journalist and author, who has published four cookbooks devoted to, among other things, healthy food or low-sugar desserts, decided to compile twenty gourmet soups. Was the goal reported? “It comforts us for a planet struggling to survive, it warms us and makes us travel without pollution.” Because, as he assured us, “if there is a universal food that knows no borders, it is soup.” Of note: from a version with Iranian pomegranate to a Neapolitan clear broth with a typical tomato tureen for the magazine co-founder of the Southwest Psychologies with her husband Jean-Louis invites the taste buds on a delicious tour of the planet that comforts perfection.
Also Read: Yum! Our Kimchi Stew Recipe
Celebrating the taste buds
Especially by definition, soup is especially good for these turbulent times when it’s not conducive to mental health. As Perla Servan-Schreiber reminds us in this practical and colorful little book, every recipe can be made ahead, frozen, and reheated when hungry. Obviously, for the interested person, because the soup maker at home talks about his childhood: “In my native Morocco, Fez, the winters were harsh and the apartments were not heated. As soon as I returned from school, I needed to meet the cold evenings and satisfy my appetite. Dinner with hot soup at 18:00 remains my ideal.” And Perla Servan-Schreiber has twenty preparations to think about to “celebrate the taste buds together and with joy from January to March.”
POMEGRANATE SOUP
For 6 people
Preparation Cook for 15 minutes and 1 hour
Composition
300 g of onion
4 cloves of pink garlic
85 g of peas or green lentils
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 pinch of cayenne
2 bunches flat-leaf parsley
1 bunch of cilantro
3 bunches of finely chopped onions
500 g of minced beef or lamb
85 g basmati rice
1 liter of pomegranate juice
2 l cold water (or 1 l water + 1 l broth)
3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses (available at organic stores or online)
2 tablespoons of sugar
Juice of 3 lemons
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Preparation
1. In a Dutch oven, stir-fry the onion in olive oil over high heat for 3 minutes.
2. Add sliced garlic, turmeric, split peas and water (or water-broth mixture).
3. Bring to a boil.
4. Cover and reduce heat.
5. After 40 minutes, add the rest of the ingredients, except for the lemon juice.
6. After 10 minutes, add lemon juice.
7. Adjust with seasonings. And here you go!
BORTSCH EXPRESS
For 6-8 liters of hot broth
Preparation: 20 minutes / Cooking: 20 minutes
Composition
500 g of cooked beets
250 g of charlotte potatoes
250 g of white cabbage
2 carrots
2 onions
3 tbsp. horse etc. tomato concentrate
30 g of butter or oil
2 tbsp. horse etc. white vinegar
3 tbsp. horse etc. heavy cream + 1 tbsp. donkey lemon juice –
1 C. at s. sugar
Salt and pepper
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
1 thick slice of cooked ham and/or 3 frankfurters
Preparation
1. Peel all the vegetables and rub them on a coarse grater.
2. In a casserole dish, fry them in butter or oil for 3 minutes, add sugar, salt and pepper over high heat.
3. Add hot water. Cook on low heat for 20 minutes.
4. At the end, add vinegar, tomato concentrate and half of chopped parsley. Stir, adjust salt and pepper.
5. It’s ready!
Note: To reconcile vegetarians and charcuterie lovers, I suggest diced ham, sliced frankfurters, chopped parsley and sour cream (fresh cream + lemon juice).
Are you still hungry?
My 20 soups to warm body and soul, Perla Servan-Schreiber, Editions de La Martinière, Photographs by Nathalie Carnet.
