Six ways to soup day

I’ve got so much to say about soup, I can’t fit it all in one newsletter.

I don’t mean that Eat at Joe’s will be dedicated to soup for more than one week (this one) in a row. I mean — drumroll, please — that later this week, the first part of a six-week newsletter I’m writing for The Boston Globe goes out. You should sign up! We’re gonna have fun, and just like Eat at Joe’s, it’s free! (No Globe subscription required.)

Table of Contents

• My next Zoom cooking class: Let's make soup!

• I break for animals: Poe

• Recipe: Broccoli Soup With Smoked Paprika & Big Croutons

• More favorite soup recipes

When the Globe came calling, looking for someone to helm its third year of the Winter Soup Club and wanting it to focus on plant-based recipes, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. It’s been a blast to develop new soup recipes for the gig, and it’s been so much fun to reintroduce myself to the Boston audience, for whom I wrote about food and travel almost (gulp) 20 years ago, before moving to D.C.

I don’t want to repeat myself between newsletters or anything, but I will echo one thing I wrote in my welcome email to WSC readers: Just about anything can be soup, and soup can be just about anything. Don’t believe me? While I write these very words, I’m finishing up a bowl that consists of three leftover elements from previous time in the kitchen: a third of a Mason jar’s worth of cooked Rancho Gordo moro beans and their broth; a heaping tablespoon of toum (the garlicky condiment I wrote about last week); and extra croutons from the very soup whose recipe I’m featuring today.

Is it a recipe? Nope. A great idea? Sure — feel free to take it and run with it!

Of course, soups figure prominently into “Cool Beans,” because, well, beans make great soup, but I also have a hefty soup selection in “Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking.” I worked with recipe developer Sarah Jampel for some of them, including this wonderful one that features broccoli in three forms: pureed (with potato for body), barely cooked, and roasted. The latter are part of a garnish that also includes those croutons (which roast at the same time as the broccoli) and a dusting of my favorite spice, smoked paprika.

But back to the idea that almost anything can be soup! One of my favorite recipes in the book, which I also worked with Sarah on, is for what we called Nearly Any Vegetable Coconut Soup, which is more of a template than anything — but for which we offer a few suggested variations. When she brought up the idea, it reminded me of a similar thing I did for The Washington Post a few years ago. That one depends on the Instant Pot, while the “Mastering” one is on the stovetop, but guess what? You can do either — it’s just a matter of managing the evaporation or lack of it by adjusting the liquid.

I’ll admit: As much as I love the Instant Pot for speed, I do sometimes miss the tinkering you can do with a stovetop recipe. I’m a tinkerer, and soup takes so well to tinkering — you can season as you go, add ingredients here and there. As soon as an idea pops into your head, you can pop it (metaphorically or not) into the soup.

Isn’t that how it should be?

My next Zoom cooking class: Let’s make soup!

For my third Zoom cooking class, set for Sunday, Jan. 25, at noon, I’m going to show you how to turn (nearly) any vegetable you want into a great soup. We’ll talk Instant Pot, slow cooker, stovetop, oven, immersion vs. upright blenders, and the all-important topic of texture and garnishes that can improve it.

As always, you get 25 percent off a ticket to the class as a subscriber to this newsletter; just use the promo code “eatatjoes”! And don’t worry; if you just want to watch and not cook along, you’re welcome to do that. And if you can’t make it live but want to watch later, your ticket gets you access to a recording.

I break for animals:
Poe

Recipe: Broccoli Soup with Smoked Paprika & Big Croutons

The creamy base of this soup comes from boiled and pureed broccoli stalks (which normally go straight into the compost bin) along with potato and tahini—a trick picked up from my friend and “Salt Fat Acid Heat” genius Samin Nosrat. The florets do triple duty, too: Some roast in the oven, so they get nice and charred; some are briefly cooked just until bright green and then blended into the soup; the rest are added in the last few minutes. If you can’t get enough smoked paprika, feel free to double the amount in the soup itself.

Makes 4 to 6 servings // Time: Weekend // Storage: Refrigerate without the croutons for 5 days or freeze for up to 6 months. Store croutons at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 large heads broccoli (2½ pounds/1.1kg total)

• 6 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving

• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste

• 1 (5-ounce/150g) piece baguette or country-style bread, cut into 1-inch (2.5cm) cubes (about 3 cups)

• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, plus more for serving

• 1 medium or 2 small yellow onions (8 ounces/225g), coarsely chopped

• 6 large garlic cloves (29g), coarsely chopped

• 1 sprig fresh rosemary

• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 1 medium russet potato (8 ounces/225g), scrubbed, peeled, and cut into 1-inch (2.5cm) pieces

• 5 cups (1.2L) water

• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste

• 3 tablespoons well-stirred tahini

Directions

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).

Slice the broccoli to separate the stalks from the crowns. Trim ½ inch (1.3cm) from the bottom of the stalks, then peel the outer layer until you reach the moist, brighter green, tender inside. (Compost the scraps.) Cut the stalks into 1-inch (2.5cm) pieces, and cut the crowns into 1- to 1½-inch (2.5cm to 4cm) florets, keeping the two piles separate.

Take about 2 cups (150g) of the florets, reserving the rest, and in a medium bowl toss them with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Transfer them to one side of a large sheet pan. In the same bowl, toss the bread cubes with 2 tablespoons of the oil, ¼ teaspoon of the smoked paprika, and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Spread them on the other side of the sheet pan.

Roast, shaking once or twice, until the croutons are crisp and golden and the broccoli is starting to brown and char, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on the pan and reserve for serving.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the onion, garlic, rosemary, red pepper flakes, and ¼ teaspoon salt, and stir to coat. Cover the pot and cook until the onion is soft and starting to take on color, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add the broccoli stalks and potato and stir to coat in the oil. Add the water, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the potatoes and broccoli stalks are fork-tender, 10 to 12 minutes.

Add half the remaining broccoli florets and cook until bright green and tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and tahini. Remove the rosemary stem. Working in batches if needed, transfer the soup to a blender, being careful not to fill it more than halfway, remove the center cap from the blender lid, cover it with a clean kitchen towel, and puree until smooth. (Alternatively, remove the heat and puree in the pot with an immersion blender.) Taste and season with more salt and lemon juice if needed.

Pour the soup back into the pot (if you used a standing blender), return the heat to low, add the remaining broccoli florets, and cook until the florets are bright green and tender, 3 to 5 minutes.

Divide the soup among serving bowls. Top with the croutons, roasted broccoli, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkling of smoked paprika.

Recipe from “Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking” (Ten Speed Press, 2024), copyright Joe Yonan.

More favorite soup recipes

These are gift links to the recipes at the Post. Note that they require you to register but not subscribe. Gift links are free to access for 2 weeks, so if you want to come back to any of these recipes but don’t subscribe or want to subscribe, I suggest you find a way to save them!

Any Vegetable Instant Pot Soup

Mushroom, Bean and Couscous Soup

Chickpea Noodle Soup