Hello there friends. Remi and I are back from a whirlwind trip to Grenoble for a photo shoot. Me, tagging along as the winsome assistant, which I do from time to time, most often when there is a large amount of studio lighting (hence equipment) involved. I really enjoyed the entire experience–being in laboratories where several thousand year old objects are being restored, looking up at the light skiing down the snow-covered mountaintops, taking in the jazz-riff reposts of the researchers plus zeroing in on the act of looking and learning from Remi while he worked. But we arrived late last night after picking up our tail-thumper and admittedly both of us (yes, the furry being is excluded) are headachy with fatigue. Time for a little something restorative. And for once, I don’t mean yoga.
While I do believe that my theme par excellence dans la cuisine is making up something–poof!–out the jumble of ingredients lolling around, I do love to cook. And I have to say that no one person has inspired me more recently than Deb Perelman of the Smitten Kitchen blog and now, the cookbook. Not only is she extremely funny and down to earth, this is exactly how I like to cook and eat–with an interesting spin on fresh ingredients that are affordable and a process that is enjoyable. She has a mere closet of a kitchen, as do I and will rework a recipe to use as few pans as possible. The flavors and textures are layered without being fussy. So, without further ado, here is the dish that I will make over and over again for this rest of the winter and beyond: Carrot soup with tahini and roasted chickpeas!
The general gist is the following–sauté your carrots in a bit of olive oil along with a diced onion, at least five smashed heads of garlic (I upped the ante to microwave any flu germs), s&p plus your spices (I used cumin, chipolte powder, cayenne pepper, my new chouchou–Baharat Spice and Trader Joe’s “Smoke” blend which I am addicted to) over medium heat until the carrots are soft, about 20 minutes. Add four cups of veggie broth and cook for another 30, let cool a bit. While that is going on, mix your chickpeas with some olive oil, sea salt and cumin (as I live for heat, I added a little ancho chile powder too) and roast them on high heat for about 20 minutes. My favorite element is the tahini dressing with 3 tablespoons of tahini and…well, I doubled the amount of fresh lemon juice to at least four tablespoons, add water and whisk to a smooth consistency. Blend the soup, transfer to pre-warmed bowls, drizzle the tahini dressing and top with the crunchy chickpeas and chopped parsley or fresh coriander. Oh! This being Yee Olde France, I haven’t made the pita wedges yet as they are tough to find–yes, pita is exotic here!–but they sound like the perfect sopping up material. The end result of all of this is so easy (you can make most of it with a wine glass in hand, bonus!), so cheap and so utterly good that you will thank me then hopefully hop over to sign up for updates at Smitten Kitchen if you haven’t already. I have never made anything of hers that I didn’t love. The cookbook has suggestions from breakfast through dinner (including a nice vegetarian chapter) to drinks with the last third geared to those of you talented people that bake–sadly, I do not although I just might need to give the red wine velvet cake with marscapone goo a go…
If you are being good, you can follow the soup up with more vitaminized liquid orangina…
…And if you are being naughty, well…is that my fault? I don’t believe that it is. Just a little power of suggestion…
I think a lot of us are trying to rethink what vegetarian means to us, do you agree? While I am still working my way through Yotam Ottolenghi’s “Plenty”, I was just given “Simon Bryant’s Vegies” by my dear friend Virginia and it looks amaaazing (although I am going to have to do some serious translating for the ingredients I can’t get here–I love their exotic names, Shaosing, Bulacan, Silverbeet, the Rapini in the photo). Although I haven’t yet had the chance to test run any of it, I still wanted to give a head’s up to those of you Down Under. The photography inspired Remi for his photo shoot in Grenoble, which brings me back to the beginning of this post. In a circle. Like an orange. Or an orange crush.
Please stay happy and healthy wherever you are!
Linda, I was a vegetarian for three years and then one day I walked into a diner and bam, the smell of bacon did me in, it was as simple as that. I had more energy as a vegetarian, I certainly smelled better but alas bacon did me asunder. Now I try to be really aware of what meat I eat, when and why.
Holy canoli, coming from you that made my day!
Hello, today in the Midwest it is 16! And windy and of course cold…an excellent day for soup. O love cookbooks and the Smitten Kitchen is one of my favorites. The others you mentioned I do not have but you have whet my appetite to go in search of them. For the most part I am a vegetarian, but I do enjoy a hamburger once in awhile.
If I can make a recomendation, the fabulous cookbook Once Upon a Tart from the owners(one who is French) of the cafe Once Upon a Tart in NY. Excellent soup, tarts, muffins and more.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos and your adventures, Elizabeth
Below 70 today; in Florida that calls for a hot and hearty soup. So once again your post was just right and just at the right time.
My soup making, and more, has been informed by "An Everlasting Meal" cooking with economy and grace, by Tamar Adler, forward by Alice Walters. I warmly recommend it.
Bon appétit!
Joan
Wow that looks great – makes me want to be a vegetarian again (I was for about 12 years…then I got remarried to a meat-eating guy and his hungry family and so…I got lost again!).
Love the images – very yummy! Thanks for the recipe!
Linda
Love your photos in this post!
Oh I love this! Yes, Ms. Perelman can make cooks out of all of us. And I had to laugh because, as really wonderful as a cook my Mom is, somehow I didn't learn anything from her while growing up and realized with shock that I didn't even know how to make pasta when I first moved to NYC!! One can only eat Chinese and pizza so often. 🙂 What I would have given for such a resource then. It sounds like your son has his Mom's smarts too…
And yep, I am a soup-lover as well. I honestly don't think that there is anything as satisfying to cook. However tonight, I am turning over the kitchen to Mr. Benali!
xo,
H
PS. On the lookout for a cabbage recipe that I like, soup or not, if you have one…
My dear J and L, there is always and I do mean always room at the table for you both. I started to type "just let us know a bit in advance so…" and then erased it because I don't even want that to be a condition of your visiting–plus, as I mentioned, I love the challenge of making something out of what we have. And oh for a dinner of cheese and crackers! That sounds perfect for a winter evening like this. Best just to bundle up and be still.
This soup will be laughably easy for Timea and I imagine she will make a fine substitute of paprika for my chile peppers!
Gros bisous to you both–now popping over as I believe that I saw on my dreaded iphone that you have a new post up which is always something to look forward to–and yes, please stay warm,
H.
There is indeed something restorative about certain foods. I make homemade soup on a regular basis (I have a fridge full of veggies picked up yesterday to do just that later today).
As for the Smitten Kitchen, I was introduced to that site by one of my college kids, who realized when he moved off campus and into an apartment, he'd better figure out how to cook some good (budget-friendly and filling) things! He has surprised me on more than one occasion. (The 9 months living in Switzerland helped, in that he disliked their food and would bike over the border into France, pick up ingredients cheaper or have a meal cheaper there, then bike back into Switzerland.)
Enjoy your cooking! (I think I need to go make soup.)
Hello Heather:
Is there room for two more seats at the dining table?We love soup. It really is the most comforting and satisfying of foods to take one through the chilliest days and nights of winter. Your 'orange crush' looks both filling and appetizing, we are sure that it tastes divine!
Alas, we are reading this on a day when Tímea is taking a holiday otherwise she could have been looking at this, translating it into her own methods and means and, hey presto, bowls of this gleaming tangerine gorgeousness could have been ours. Alas, cheese and biscuits it will be….well, you did inspire something after all!!!
Keep warm and take care. Love to you all, J and L xx