Vermicelli And Swiss Chard Soup Recipes

SPICY CHARD SOUP

Steps:

• Cut the chard stems into 1/2-inch pieces and the leaves into 1-inch pieces; keep separate. Toast the caraway and cumin seeds in a skillet over medium heat, 1 to 2 minutes. Cool, then grind in a spice grinder or transfer to a resealable plastic bag and crush with a heavy skillet.
• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chard stems and onion and cook until softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Clear a space in the pan, then add the tomato paste, harissa, garlic and ground spices. Cook 2 minutes, then stir into the vegetables. Add the chard leaves, chicken broth and 1 cup water, bring to a rapid simmer and cook until the chard is tender, about 10 minutes. Squeeze in the juice from 1/2 lemon and season with salt.
• Mix the yogurt, the juice from the remaining 1/2 lemon and a pinch of salt. Divide the soup among bowls. Add the eggs, pita chips and a dollop of the yogurt mixture; drizzle with olive oil.

LENTIL AND SWISS CHARD SOUP

Steps:

• In a large saucepan with a lid, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened and browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, oregano, and thyme; stir to combine.
• Add lentils, 5 cups water, and tomatoes with their juice; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, 20 minutes. Add chard stalks and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add chard leaves; season with salt and pepper, and cook until lentils and chard are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Stir in lemon juice; ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle with olive oil, and serve with bread, if desired.

VERMICELLI SOUP

Steps:

• Using a large saute pan, fry vermicelli in vegetable oil till golden brown.
• In a food processor or blender, blend the water, onion, tomatoes, garlic and salt. Strain.
• Pour blended mixture over the vermicelli and allow to simmer till all the liquid has been evaporated or absorbed.

SWISS CHARD AND RICE SOUP

Steps:

• Trim the bottoms of the chard stems. If the stems are thin and fibrous, separate the leaves and discard the stems. If they are wide, separate the leaves and cut the stems into 1/4-inch dice. Set aside with the celery and onion. Wash the leaves in 2 changes of water and chop medium-fine.
• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot and add the onion, celery and chard stalks. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 3 minutes, and add a generous pinch of salt. Continue to cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender, another 3 minutes. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the stock or water, bouquet garni and rice. Bring to a boil, add salt to taste, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes.
• Stir the chard into the soup, cover and simmer another 10 minutes. Add freshly ground pepper, taste and adjust the salt. Serve with fresh lemon wedges for people to squeeze into their servings if desired and Parmesan for sprinkling.

SWISS CHARD BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven , saute the carrot, zucchini, yellow squash and onion in oil until tender. Add garlic; saute 1 minute longer. Add the broth, Swiss chard, beans, tomatoes, thyme, salt, oregano and pepper. , Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until chard is tender. Just before serving, sprinkle with cheese.

SWISS CHARD AND LENTIL SOUP WITH LEMON JUICE

Steps:

• Wash the strips of Swiss Chard; drain.
• In a large saucepan put the lentils and about 9 cups of water, place on high heat. Bring
• to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and add the Swiss Chard. Cover and boil gently for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a skillet, add onions. Cook on medium heat until translucent; add the garlic paste and cilantro and cook gently for 3 minutes; transfer to the saucepan and mix well with the softened chard and the lentils.
• Continue cooking covered for another 45 minutes until the lentils are tender.
• Slowly incorporate the lemon juice, season with salt and pepper; simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
• Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, serve at room temperature.
• In the winter I tend to add potatoes to this soup, making it more hearty. This soup is nice and tart.

CHICKPEA SOUP WITH SWISS CHARD AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• In a heavy soup pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and sauté, stirring frequently, until wilted but not browned, 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for a few seconds. Then add the tomatoes, raise the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, just until the tomatoes begin to break down and form a sauce, about 10 minutes.
• While the tomatoes are cooking, cut off and discard the bottom third of the Swiss chard stems. Cut the remaining stem portions crosswise into pieces 1/4 inch wide. Working with several chard leaves at a time, stack them, roll them up lengthwise and then cut crosswise to form ribbons 1/4 inch wide.
• Add the chard, chickpeas and water to the soup pot and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook uncovered, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain a simmer, until the vegetables are tender and the flavors have blended, 30-45 minutes. The soup will be brothy and chunky.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into shallow bowls and serve at once.