10/2/12

Vegan Mofo: A Tale of Two Chard Soups

Creamy Chard Soup w/ Tostones, from The Inspired Vegan
 I have this vision that comes to me when I'm feeling under the weather. Since I'm already compelled to eat lots of garlic, my Dayquil-addled brain reasons, why not just roast a shitload then make it into a soup? Yes, roasted garlic soup! With some greens! Why not? It should work!

Roasted Garlic Soup (kinda)
But you know, it kind of doesn't. I mean, its not horrible or anything, but I've never successfully managed to bring out the rich, velvety flavor of roasted garlic without drowning it in broth. Well pas failures aside,  I tried my old trick again this week, this time spicing it up with some swiss chard, mushrooms, and a bit of miso. (And then, since I was sick and couldn't taste it anyways, I squeezed a bunch of lemon juice and put a bunch more diced up garlic in there too.) It was fine. It got the job done- the job being "transporting nutrients to my system"- but one couldn't really call it "Soul Food."

I will perfect this one day, troopers. But this week, I had to make room for another Chard soup, this one from Bryant Terry.

I actually spend a lot of time on this blog discussing how much I like Bryant Terry, I realize, but he actually is so freaking cool that he sort of deserves it. His cookbooks are packed full of exactly what I would describe as "Soul Food"- vibrant, multi-ethnic dishes with history and flavor that doesn't come from using fancy ingredients. His Creamy Chard Soup with Tostones (pictured above), for example, has very few ingredients- some chard, coconut milk, a pinch of cayenne, some plantains- but its all about the technique and the mix. He says its inspired by a Carribean dish, with Tostones naturally being a Latin American addition that brings some crunch to the subtle soup. (They are also a fun way to release aggression, I have learned.)

So thanks to Terry for saving the day. And now on to the next culinary soul food adventure!

Song of the Day: Sister Nancy- Bam Bam

5 comments:

KitteeBee said...

Those tostones look like flowers!! So pretty. I have read his books, but never made anything. Maybe I should, since we love soul food.

xo
kittee

P.S. If you're able to disable your spam captcha for the month, you will make posting on your blog so much easier for mofoers all over the world!!!

<3

T said...

Hey Kittee,

I didn't even know I had a spam filter! I will try to turn that off now...

Anonymous said...

I really like Bryant Terry too, I need to reach for his books more because that soup looks right up my ally.

jd said...

Hope you're feeling better!

I love, love, love roasted garlic, but have yet to try it in a soup. I'm glad I know what I'm up against now...

Also: Bryant Terry is the coolest. You're correct (as usual!).

adriennefriend said...

Bryant Terry really is the best. No one would disagree.