souplalalouza

it all started with Not Eating Out in New York—the blog, not the act. (though i will say that i really truly wanted to go to New York and cook my meals and no one was interested, despite all being poor and hip epicureans.*)

last week i caught their post about the yellow split-pea soup with smoked paprika and crisped leeks. it looked good, i tagged it for further review. a day later i check it out again and it simply sounds amazing, and i think, i've got to make this.

not long after i begin plotting to make some delicious split-pea soup, did the words 'celeriac soup' pop into my head and were shortly followed by 'white bean'. and suddenly Souplalouza (aka souplalalouza) was born.

my initial intent had been to hole up in my house and cook, cook, cook.
but my twenties got the best of me, and instead i slowly puttered here and there with the soup—taking the easy way on the split pea soup and using the slow cooker, cooking the beans two days before the squash—you get the drift.

i finally completed all the soups this monday evening while cleaning the house after a fairly raucous sunny sunday. my slow, drawn-out, process made for a slightly less impressive post but life is life, and i still found it to be a superbly satisfying sensory experience.

yellow split-pea soup ala slow cooker
2 cups yellow split peas
6 cups of vegetable stock
2 cups of water
1 white onion (sliced thin with the food processor)
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 bay leaves
salt & pepper to taste
*my homemade stock was heavy on the thyme, so i didn't use additional seasonings, but go for it!

• place all ingredients in slow cooker.
• cook in slow cooker on low for 10 hours.

for the topping
1 leek, sliced

• preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
• coat the round slices of one leek with olive oil and place down on a roasting tray. sprinkle with salt. 
• bake about 15 minutes, checking after 10 minutes. 
• remove from oven and let cool once evenly brown.

white bean and squash soup 
(inspired from Alice Waters The Art of Simple Food)
2 cups of white beans (navy), soaked overnight
3 cups of vegetable broth
1 medium squash (sweet meat), peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3-4 sage leaves
2 bay leaves
1 large onion, sliced thinly

• cook soaked beans in broth, adding 4 cups of water. bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, begin checking after 20 minutes for tenderness. save cooking liquid.
• sautee sage, bay and onion in olive oil until onions are tender.
• add squash, sauteeing five minutes and salting to taste.
• add six cups of cooking liquid from the beans to the pot and simmer until squash is tender (15-20).
• once tender, stir in the beans and season to taste.

roasted celeriac soup ala slow cooker
(what can i say, slow cookers are simply awesome for soups)
1 celeriac (about 1.5 lbs before trimming and peeling), peeled and chopped

3 leeks, white and light green parts sliced

1 small potato, peeled and chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

2 1/4 c vegetable broth

salt and pepper

• preheat oven to 350ºF. toss celeriac with 1 tbs oil and roast for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally
  
• add celeriac to slow cooker with remaining ingredients, cook on high for 3 hours (until tender).
  
• once tender, use immersion blender to puree soup.
  
• if desired, add cream or milk and blend. season to taste

*scratch that, i did have one home-cooked pasta meal before rushing out to an improv show, kudos laurel!