Herbs & Spices

If you’re looking for a mild, soothing soup for a rainy spring evening, here’s a pleasant choice.

Here’s a lively soup that comes together quickly. Serve with a big Greek-style salad and a fresh flatbread for a light yet satisfying meal.

I recommend steaming the green beans separately, and adding them once the asparagus is tender-crisp. The result is a satisfying Asian-flavored stew with the green vegetables all done just right.

This light soup of lettuce, cucumber, and fresh spring peas was quite common in nineteenth-century America. Potage maigre translates loosely as “fast day” soup, traditionally made for Lent. Versions of it appear in old Creole cookbooks.

This soup is very warming, and more filling than more common, very brothy miso soups.

Brimming with fresh produce in a light, mildly seasoned broth, this is just the soup to serve as an introduction to a festive spring meal such as Easter dinner or the Passover seder.

This Asian soup is brimming with invigorating flavors and textures. I love it as a change of pace in the winter from thick soups and stews. It’s still every bit as warming. Despite the length of the ingredient list, this is a quick soup—you’ll be eating in about half an hour.

With Thai ingredients available at most natural food stores and well-stocked supermarkets, it has become easy to enjoy the delightful flavors of this cuisine at home. Use your discretion with the red or green curry paste; a little will give a hint of heat, but if you want a spicier stew, you can step it up from there.

This soup features a slew of compatible ingredients made even more companionable in a mildly curried broth.

For a hearty combination, serve with Hearty Bean Bread (page 146), or for a lighter accompaniment, serve with Bruschetta (page 159).

This is a good, basic, everyday sort of soup, suitable for cold weather. Try Cheese and Herb Corn Muffins (page 150) as an accompaniment.

Millet, an exceptionally nutritious if rather bland grain, is used to great advantage in this soup, where it has an opportunity to soak up all the spicy flavors.

A vegetarian version of Brazil’s famous national dish, feijoada, this stew is abundant with nourishing ingredients. Serve with steamed fresh greens (you can dress them with garlic sautéed in olive oil) and slices of mango and/or papaya.

This meatless version of a rustic Provençal stew is sensual and satisfying. A fresh, crusty French baguette is perfect for soaking up its delicious broth. A bountiful tossed salad makes it a complete meal.

This long-simmering, yet easy winter soup is a natural choice as a hearty main dish. Make Whole Wheat Vegetable Muffins (page 149) while it’s cooking.

The sweetness of baby carrots and a pretty, pale-orange color make this an uplifting dish for a chilly winter day.

Both soothing and lively, thanks to the flavor of dill, this simple soup is one of my cold-weather favorites.

This easy, robust soup, contributed by Marti Hall, has several elements of a certain style of traditional African soups—chilies, sweet potato, and a creamy peanut base. The grain of choice in an African soup like this would likely be millet, but here, quinoa, the nutritious South American super grain, makes for a delightful fusion.

Like minestrone, this is an Italian standard. Serve it with Bruschetta (page 159) or fresh garlic bread.

Gnocchi are dumplings made of semolina and potato flours. They add substance to this flavor-ful stew. At many supermarkets, you’ll find them in the frozen food section near ravioli, tortellini, and other such Italian specialties. Serve with Bruschetta (page 159) and a green salad featuring olives and chickpeas.