Buckwheat Soup

Ingredients

For the Soup

• 1 small cauliflower
• 1 small onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup any kind of wine (I used Shaoxing)
• 1 tsp thyme (fresh or dry)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp peanuts (you can also use cashews)
• 1 tsp cayene pepper
• 1/4 cup sour cream (optional)
• 2 cups of any kind of stock
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Black pepper

For the Topping

• 1/4 cup buckwheat
• 1/2 cup finely chopped cauliflower 
• 1/4 cup crushed peanuts
• Lemon juice
• 1 tsp paprika

Preparation

Take a large pan and heat some olive oil in it. Add sliced onions (you can also use shallots) and garlic, bay leaves and thyme. Stir fry until onions get brownish. Then add wine, and bring it to boil.I used rice wine, but you can use any dry white wine. After couple of minutes, add cauliflower (set aside 1/2 cup of it), peanuts, sour cream (you can skip this if you are vegan), cayenne and salt. Close the lid and simmer it until cauliflowers become tender.

Add stock and black pepper, close the lid and simmer it another 20-25 minutes.

 

Then take out bay leaves and blend the soup until it becomes creamy. If it is too thick add more stock and cook it couple of minutes more.

Meanwhile to prepare the topping, take a pan and add some olive oil. Add finely choped cauliflower, buckwheat and crushed walnuts and stir fry it until it gets brown. Add lemon juice and paprika and take from the heat. Serve soup with this topping.Enjoy!

French Onion Soup

Note: This recipe is two people

Ingredients

• 2 large onions
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1/2 cup of wine (optional)
• 2 cups of meat broth
• 1/2 teaspoon dry thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 slices of French bread
• 1 teaspoon flour
• Swiss Gruyere cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt
• Pepper

Preparation

Slice onions thin. 

Take a medium pot and melt butter in it, then add sliced onions. Cook them on medium heat until they got caramelized about 30-40 minutes. If you want to speed up the process add one teaspoon sugar into it.

Then add minced garlic and cook couple of minutes more and add thyme, pepper and bay leaf. Then add wine and cook 5-10 minutes until wine evaporates. After that add flour and cook couple of minutes more. Lastly add beef broth and salt and cook 30 minutes more on low heat. See the picture.

Roast sliced breads in a toaster or in the oven. Take soup in a small bowl, put roasted bread on it and sprinkle grated Swiss cheese and Parmesan and broil in a 350 F preheated oven about 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Red Lentil Soup

Ingredients

• 1 cup of red lentil
• 1 small potato
• 1 small onion
• 2 tablespoons vegetable/sunflower/canola oil
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3 1/2 cup of hot water
• Red flare pepper
• Salt
• Dry mint

Preparation

Chop onions and roast them with one tablespoon oil. 

Then add washed lentil and tomato paste and cook about one minute. 

Cut potato in small cubes and add them to the soup together with the boiling water and boil about 20 minutes. 

After 20 minutes put the soup in a strainer and strain it through. You can use food processor as well, but I prefer traditional methods.After you strain all of them, boil it another ten minutes and add salt.

When the soup is ready to serve, to prepare the sauce take a pan and put one tablespoon oil on it. Wait until it gets hot, and add dry mint and red flare pepper and cook just 30 seconds and take it from heat.
Put this sauce on the soup. Your soup is ready. Enjoy!

Yogurt Soup

Yogurt soup is a traditional soup in Turkish cuisine which has a  history based on Ottoman Empire. Nowadays it is served in traditional wedding ceremonies.
Note: This recipe is for four people.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of rice
• 2 cups of plain yogurt
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups of water
• Dried mint
• Red flare peppers

Preparation

First put rice in a bowl filled with water, wait about 15 minutes and strain.
In a large pot mix yogurt, egg, flour and mix them with the help of a wooden spoon. Then add water and rice, put on a medium heat. 

Stir constantly until it boils, after it boils lower the heat and cook about 15-20 minutes until rice is softened. Add salt and turn off the heat.
Put butter into a small pan and heat it until it melts. After it melts totally, add dried mint and red flare peppers, cook them couple of seconds and turn off the heat. Put the soup in a bowl and add the butter mixture on top of it before serving.

Enjoy!

Red Bean soup

Note: this recipe is for 4 people.

Ingredients

• 1 lb red beans
• 1 small onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 lemon juice
• 5 cups of water

Preparation

Put red beans in a large bowl add cold water and leave it for one night. Then, strain the excess water, put in a large pot add some cold water. Boil them approximately 30 minutes, until they get soft.

To prepare the sauce; take a pan, put olive oil and chopped onion in it. Roast onions and then add chopped carrots, roast them together a few more minutes. Lastly add tomato paste and cook a few more minutes. Add this sauce to boiled beans, add salt, sugar and cook it in low heat about 30 more minutes. Your soup is ready.

Enjoy!