Soup Sundays

During college, I used to make a pot of soup every weekend and keep it in the fridge all week long.  This weekly routine met the meal criteria that mattered most during those years — it was cheap, easy, and healthy enough to balance out the inevitable not-so-healthy college habits that persisted alongside it.  I churned out pot after pot of soup — from basic chili to Nepalese dal — steaming the windows of my tiny apartment and filling the air with spices mingling together, sometimes beautifully and other times awkwardly.

Although I’m no longer able to stomach eating the same pot of soup for a week, soup is again becoming a mainstay in my diet, and in turn, in my family’s diet.  Beyond evoking college memories and images of my mom’s endless bowls of soup, during these months when the sun goes down early and the air has a bite, soup brings comfort and warmth and welcome heartiness.  A lover of tradition (and a realist who knows that a routine helps habits stick), we kicked off “Soup Sundays” in our house last week.  This narrows the meal planning for one night a week, guarantees a meal that’s chock full of veggies, and is simply a nice way to wind down the weekend.

Last week, I made this Lebanese Soup, swapping out the chickpeas for leftover shredded chicken — a great main-dish soup.  I made another main-dish soup tonight — creating my own mullagatawny soup based on a range of recipes I looked at (didn’t have all of the ingredients for any of them, so made up my own).  I’ll definitely make this one again using this recipe.

I’ll post a new soup recipe each Sunday during the winter months and would love to hear from you if you have a soup you love.  Even if it’s inspired by Seinfeld, like this one is!

Mullagatawny Soup

Cut 1 lb chicken into small cubes and saute in butter until cooked through; strain and set aside in a soup pot.

In the chicken juices, saute the following:

• Two cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T ginger, minced
• 2 T curry powder
• 1 t cumin
• dash of cayenne
• 6 stalks diced celery
• 6 diced carrots
• 2 small yellow onions, chopped

Add a bit of chicken broth until veggies begin to soften.

Add veggie mixture to chicken and add 6 cups of chicken broth, salt and pepper.

Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

Add 1 diced Granny Smith apple and simmer for 10 more minutes.

Add a bit of lemon and 2/3 cup of heavy cream (warm).

Stir together and serve.