Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 leeks, light green and white parts only, cleaned and finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• Three (14 1/2-ounce) cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes, with their juice
• 6 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste
• 5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 1/4 cups milk or half-and-half
• Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco chipotle sauce, or to taste
• 3/4 cup croutons, preferably cheese or garlic, for garnish

Instructions

1. In a medium soup pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and saute for 4 to 5 minutes or until softened. Add the carrots and celery and cook for another 4 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Add the garlic and cook for a minute, or until slightly softened.
2. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables, reduce the heat to low, and continue to cook, stirring constantly for a minute or until the flour is thickened and incorporated into the vegetables. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and broth, raise the heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer.
3. Partially cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and all the flavors are well blended. With an immersion blender, puree the soup, or if you prefer a finer texture, use a blender. (If using a blender, cool the soup so the top of the blender doesn’t come off. And hold the cover down so that there won’t be any unexpected surprises.) If you want your soup totally smooth, pour it through a fine-mesh strainer after you have blended it.
4. Add the milk to the soup over medium heat, stirring to combine, and cook for another minute. Add the salt and chipotle sauce and taste for seasoning. If you prefer the soup thinner, add more milk or broth to reach the desired consistency.
5. Ladle the soup into soup bowls and garnish each bowl with a few croutons.

Advance Preperation

The soup may be prepared ahead through step 3, covered, and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month. Defrost and warm the soup, and proceed with the recipe.

Tips

• If you can’t find the chipotle variety, try adding a dash of your favorite hot sauce.
• Another variation is to add a rind of Parmesan cheese to the soup while it is cooking. Remove the rind before adding the milk, and garnish each serving with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
• For a more substantial soup, add diced cooked chicken or cooked quinoa.
• Serve this as a starter or as part of a main course, along with your favorite grilled cheese sandwich, bagel chips or garlic bread.

Serves 6 to 8 people.

Ingredients

Soup

• 1 European cucumber
• 2 cups fresh shelled peas (about
• 2 pounds unshelled), or 2 cups frozen petits pois (small peas), defrosted
• 4 scallions, light green and white parts only, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Relish

• 1/4 European cucumber, finely diced (reserved from making the soup)
• 1/3 cup frozen petits pois (small peas), defrosted
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup sour cream for garnish

Instructions

1. To make the soup: Cut three-quarters of the cucumber into 2-inch chunks. (Dice the rest finely and set aside for the relish.)
2. In a large blender, combine the cucumber chunks, peas, scallions, mint, and broth and blend on high until completely puréed. Add the sour cream and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and blend well. Taste for seasoning. (If the soup is not totally smooth you can pour it through a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl.) Refrigerate the soup until chilled, at least 4 hours.
3. To make the relish: Combine the diced cucumber, peas, mint, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix to blend well. Taste for seasoning.
4. Just before serving, stir the soup, which may have separated during refrigeration. Pour the soup into small bowls and garnish with the sour cream and relish. Serve immediately.

Advance Preparation

This may be made through step 3 up to a day ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Readjust the seasonings and mix to blend well before serving.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium leeks, white and tender green parts only, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds broccoli, stems peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick, florets cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 5 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium broth
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup snipped chives
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter in the olive oil. Add the leeks and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the broccoli, garlic and stock, season with salt and white pepper and bring to a boil. Cover partially and simmer until the broccoli is tender, 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir the sour cream with the lemon zest, lemon juice, chives and Parmesan. Season with salt and white pepper.
3. Transfer the soup to a blender and puree in batches until smooth. Stir in half of the lemon-chive cream. Ladle the soup into shallow bowls and serve the remaining lemon-chive cream on the side.

Serves 4 people.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
• 1 medium carrot, peeled, and thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup canned Italian plum tomatoes, with their juice
• 2 teaspoons good‑quality curry powder
• 1 1/2 cups brown lentils, rinsed and drained
• 6 cups chicken, beef or vegetarian stock
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1 cup medium packed fresh spinach, well rinsed and coarsely chopped
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan heat the oil over medium-high heat. Saute the onion, celery, carrots, garlic and bay leaf until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the curry powder and stir to release the flavors, about 1 minute.
3. Add the plum tomatoes and their juice, lentils, stock and sliced lemon to the saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook partially covered and stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove the lemon slices.
4. Just before serving, stir in the spinach and simmer on low heat until the spinach is wilted but bright green. Taste for seasoning.

To serve

Ladle into soup bowls and serve immediately.

Serves 4-6 people.