Sunday, January 5, 2014

Isa Does It: Harira and Roasted Potato & Fennel Soup


I have barely read past the Soups chapter of Isa Does It.  I'm sure the rest of the recipes are equally enticing; I am simply captivated by the sixteen soup offerings and want to make almost every one of them.

Knowing I had to start somewhere, I made the Roasted Potato & Fennel Soup (pictured at left).  This did double-duty, as it called for breaking in the beautiful 16-cup Cuisinart food processor I received as a holiday gift.  The soup is pure comfort food, yet low in added fat, and contains only a few more ingredients than the title suggests.  It's akin to eating a lightened-up bowl of mashed potatoes.  My only modification was to omit the onion and add an extra potato in its place. 

On the right (and on the book in the background) is Harira.  Harira might be my new favorite soup.  Spicy, hearty, and satisfying, this dish is also low in added fat.  It features lentils and peeled eggplant that softens and soaks up the traditionally Moroccan spices.  Chickpeas, fresh herbs, and angel hair pasta also populate the tomato-based broth.  I modified this perfect soup only slightly by omitting the onion and using quinoa spaghetti rather than angel hair.

Next on my agenda are the Alphabet Soup and Wild Rice Soup.  Then maybe, just maybe, I'll move on to the second chapter.      

2 comments:

Theresa said...

I usually skip over the soup chapter in cookbooks. I enjoy soup but Andy isn't such a fan. Well that's not exactly true, he almost always likes it, but whenever I suggest it he wrinkles his nose! These look delicious, though, and I think I'll need to demand soup more often.

omgoshimvegan said...

I've been eyeing the Harira soup as I had it in Morocco and LOVED it. I'm going to put it on my list to make this weekend. You've inspired me to crack open this cookbook that has been waiting to be used for far to long.