50 Simple Soups for the Slow Cooker (5 page)

Serves 4 to 6

Eggplant
is the base for baba ghanoush. Some kind of pureed eggplant appetizer is a staple in most Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. And since everybody likes it, why not turn it into a soup and serve it with toasted pita triangles?

In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onion for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Transfer the onion to a 7-quart slow cooker and add the eggplant and water. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours, until the eggplant is very tender.

Using a garlic press, mince the garlic into the soup, then puree
the soup using a handheld immersion blender. Coarsely grind
the cumin seed and add it to the soup. Add the salt and pepper
to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Mix together the yogurt and dill and top each bowl with a tablespoon or two.

Serves 4 to 6

Recently my neighbor Kathy made a French onion soup that called for roasting
onions
in the oven for several hours to develop flavor before making the soup itself. It seemed like too much work to her, so she scrapped the idea. I thought it was a great idea, but why not do the whole thing in the slow cooker? What an easy task: onions, slow cooked for hours in nothing but a bit of butter, become dark, rich, and full of flavor.

Place the butter, onions, and garlic in the slow cooker (without the water). Cover and cook, stirring once or twice, on HIGH for 6 to 8 hours, until the onions are nice and brown and very tender.

Turn the heat down to LOW. Add the bay leaf, thyme, sherry, and water and salt to taste. Cover and cook for 2 hours longer.

Preheat the broiler. Grind some fresh pepper into the soup, then ladle the soup into ovenproof bowls. Top each bowl with a slice or two of baguette and sprinkle with cheese. Place the bowls on a baking sheet positioned about 6 inches under the broiler and broil until the cheese is bubbly and melted. If you do not have ovenproof bowls, the soup is just as good with the cheese simply sprinkled on the top. It just won’t have that nice, golden crust.

Serves 4 to 6

This fits my “good soup” requisites: made with a few simple ingredients, packed with flavor, and easy to make. Coconut cream and cilantro give the soup an Asian flair, and the rich, reddish orange soup with bright green
peas
makes a beautiful visual presentation.

In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat and sauté the onion for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Transfer the onion to a 7-quart slow cooker and add the yams (without the water). Cover and cook on LOW for about 4 hours, or until the vegetables are soft and somewhat caramelized.

Add the coconut cream and water. Using a handheld immersion blender, puree the ingredients to the desired texture. I like to leave a few chunks in the soup. Cook for 1 to 2 hours longer, until all the ingredients are uniformly hot.

Stir in the peas, add the salt to taste, and cook for 20 to 30 minutes longer.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Top each bowl with a sprig of cilantro and serve.

Serves 4 to 6

My grandfather was a big enchilada man—he even made his own sauce from scratch. He learned it from the cooks on the ranch where he grew up and passed his recipe on to mom and me. Enchiladas and beans taste like home to me, so I loved the idea of this soup. It’s so delish, and I can almost see gramps smiling down from heaven.

Remove the seeds, stems, and veins from the chiles, then tear them into pieces. Soak them in 1 cup of the water for 2 hours or overnight.

In a large sauté pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat and sauté the onion for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes longer.

Rinse the pinto beans and place them in the slow cooker, along with the onion and garlic, the tomatoes, and the remaining water. Puree the soaked chiles and water in a blender and pour the sauce into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for about 8 hours, or until the beans are tender. Add the cumin and oregano about 1 hour before serving. Add the salt to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Top each bowl with tortilla chips, cheese, olives, scallions, cilantro, and sour cream.

Serves 4 to 6

This simple recipe for hot and sour soup is the perfect choice for a cold day or an oncoming flu. It can be put together in a matter of minutes from ingredients you probably already have on hand. Although hot and sour soups typically contain bamboo shoots, I don’t like the canned variety, so I’ve substituted
water chestnuts
, which have a nice crunch to them. You can also drizzle in a lightly beaten egg at the very end of cooking if you so desire.

Place the water, mushrooms, ginger, sugar, rice vinegar, and tamari in a 7-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for about 4 hours.

Just before serving, add the water chestnuts, chile flakes, peas, tofu, and sesame oil to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish each with scallions.

Serves 6 to 8

When most of us think of Indian food, we think of lentils or chickpeas as the legumes of choice. But most Indians are vegetarian, and since legumes are a primary source of protein for them, the array of beans that actually appears on the table in India is far more expansive than we imagine. This Kashmiri recipe uses black beans similar to the kind we use here in Mexican, Cuban, and southwestern dishes. I’ve also made this dish with
pink beans
with equally savory results. It’s a simple dish with the typical seasonings of the Indian subcontinent.

Rinse the beans thoroughly, then place them in a 7-quart slow cooker with the water. Cover and cook on LOW for about 8 hours, or until the beans are tender.

Using a handheld immersion blender, puree the beans to the desired texture. I like to leave some large pieces.

Coarsely grind the fennel seed, then add them to the beans. Stir in the turmeric, ginger, garam masala, and chile flakes. Add the salt to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each with a sprinkle of cilantro.

Serves 4 to 6

Like baba ghanoush, some variation on hummus is found in most Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. Why not turn the same humble ingredients into a soup? And if you like, add artichoke hearts, slivered black olives, or roasted red peppers, which are sometimes added to hummus in America. Greek country salad and fresh, hot pita would make a nice accompaniment.

Rinse the chickpeas thoroughly and place them in a 7-quart slow cooker along with the water. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours, until the chickpeas are tender.

Coarsely grind the cumin and coriander seeds and add them and the tahini and lemon juice to the chickpeas. Use a garlic press to mince the garlic into the soup. Using a handheld immersion blender, puree the chickpeas to the desired consistency.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Top each with yogurt, olives, and parsley.

Serves 4 to 6

My first brush with Indian food came at the hands of a Sikh family who had come from Punjab to watch over their two kids at the University of California. They had opened a small restaurant in Berkeley where the mother plied her home cooking and the father ran the front of the house. The food was humble, yet delicious in a way that only home cooking can be.

In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat and sauté the onion for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Transfer the onion to a 7-quart slow cooker and add the squash (without the water). Cover and cook on LOW for about 2 hours, or until the squash is tender.

Add the water, curry powder, and chile powder and cook on LOW for 2 to 4 hours longer.

Using a handheld immersion blender, puree the contents of the slow cooker until it reaches the desired consistency. Stir in the coconut cream and add the salt to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each with cilantro, pumpkin seeds, and a dollop of yogurt.