Springtime green soup recipes

This is the first recipe I've conceived independently. The flavours are Persian-inspired; Persian cuisine piqued my interest one day, though I'd never had any exposure to it.

The cilantro in this soup is used like celery in chicken soup; indeed, cilantro and celery are closely related plants. The stalk and young leaves in the inner layers are the aromatics that impart sublime flavour into the broth, while the large outer leaves are better for garnishing because they lose their aroma with heat. I can't stress enough the importance of the cilantro stalks in this recipe.

I typically prepare this soup with baby spinach, but it's also turned out well with baby gai lan and yu choy. As such, you should feel free to experiment with various leafy greens: kale, watercress, arugula, et cetera.

Unlike most soups, this one's flavour actually seems to depreciate with time in the refrigerator: the broth turns cloudy and the flavour weakens after I reheat a bowl of it in the microwave. With this in mind, you'd be wise to consume it promptly.

• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil (enough to sweat an onion, basically)
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp. dried mint
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. dried red chili flakes
• 3/4 cup pearl barley, rinsed and drained
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, stalks and leaves, some leaves reserved for garnish
• approx. 2 L low-sodium chicken stock
• 12 to 16 oz. leafy greens
• 2 cups shelled edamame, fresh or frozen (no need to thaw); or 2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas or beans of your choice
• Pomegranate seeds

In a soup pot, sweat the onion in the oil over medium heat, sprinkling with the salt after 2 minutes, until the onion is soft. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute until fragrant. Add the mint, turmeric, cinnamon, and chili flakes and cook 30 seconds until very fragrant. (I recommend lowering the heat to medium-low to prevent the spices from burning.) Add the barley and toast it for 1 minute over medium heat. Add the carrot, cilantro, and broth; cover, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer at least 30 minutes over low heat until the barley and carrot are tender. Add the beans and simmer 5 minutes. Add the greens and simmer until completely wilted, 5 to 10 minutes depending on your choice of vegetable.

Serve sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and cilantro leaves.

Submitted April 30, 2015 at 08:09AM by SushiShark522 http://ift.tt/1zeZKC0 recipes