Green Curry Soup (Bowl made by Anne Coneys)

I love greens of all sorts and, though I’ve prepared them in many different ways, I most often fall back on the foolproof preparation of braising them. Fine and dandy, but I was beginning to bore myself, not least my boyfriend Mike who isn’t as greens crazy as I am.

Then I saw Anna Thomas’s story “The Soup for Life” in the current issue of Eating Well, one of the food magazines DCCC is currently reading and cooking from. Thomas loves greens, too, and has found an ingenious way to use them—as the basis of wholesome and flavorful soups. On one gray, blustery day she found herself in need of dropping a few pounds but also wanting to create something comforting and delicious to eat. The result? A greens soup bonanza: the original, called Basic Green Soup, and several spin-offs, all of which are based on the notion of making greens the main component and of adding ingredients with contrasting flavors, such as caramelized onions, for their natural sweetness; a dash of cayenne pepper, for a modicum of fiery heat; and bit of fresh lemon juice to brighten the whole thing. As she writes in the story, she had a new diet plan, “More green, less everything else.”

Do not let the word diet deter you from making these soups. I made all six featured in the Eating Well story and found only the Basic Green Soup remotely dietlike. Still, it is good, just not as thoroughly enjoyable as the others. Thomas calls this soup the template for the spin-offs and, given the fact that it uses half the ingredients, takes much less prep work, and is faster to make than the others, it is a good option if you’re pressed for time and looking for something wholesome and tasty to make.

The range of flavors and textures that Thomas developed from the template is impressive: a chunky internationally-inspired Very Green Lentil Soup garnished with feta cheese; a subtle Spinach & Goat Cheese Bisque that has a beautiful spring-green color; an earthy and naturally sweet pureed Green Soup with Yams & Sage; Rustic Parsley & Orzo Soup with Walnuts, a pleasantly spicy and nutty soup balanced with a touch of naturally sweet garden-ripe tomatoes; and a decidedly spicy Thai-inspired Green Curry Soup that’s full of flavor courtesy of ingredients such as lemongrass, cilantro, green curry paste, and shiitake mushrooms.

Rustic Parsley and Orzo Soup with Walnuts

My favorite is the Rustic Parsley & Orzo Soup with Walnuts, a wonderful early autumn soup to make use of the last of the last garden-ripened tomatoes, which play a key role in the success of the soup. Of the five, it is the most fun to eat, if you enjoy surprising contrasts and affinities of size, textures, flavors, and temperatures in your mouth: There’s the pairing of crunchy walnuts and tender orzo, similarly sized but opposite in texture; the fiery heat of the crushed red pepper and the natural sweetness of the fresh diced tomato; the contrast between the hot soup and room-temp tomato garnish; the complementary triad of peppery, sharp parsley, acidic tomatoes, and the mellow oiliness of the nuts; and the affinity between the flavor of the walnuts and that of the naturally nutty whole-wheat orzo, each playing off the other. (I can only imagine the latter as I wasn’t able to find whole-wheat orzo in the market; however, I suppose it is what Thomas had in mind when she decided to call for whole-wheat orzo, as well as to reap nutritional benefits.)

If you like leftovers, I suggest you double the recipe but, contrary to the directions, I suggest you add the orzo to the soup pot only if you plan to consume all of it at one go. Otherwise, add hot orzo to individual serving bowls and ladle the soup over it. This will keep the orzo from becoming mushy or absorbing too much of the broth. I found the amount of crushed red pepper to be a bit much, and so suggest you use slightly less, taste the finished soup, and add more if desired.

Oh, and if you make the Spinach & Goat Cheese Bisque, you need to serve it right away if you want to enjoy its spring-green color. When reheated, it turns to more of an army green, similar in color to the Green Soup with Yams & Sage. And, though I like quite a bit of chili heat, I found the Green Curry Soup a little too hot. I suggest you start with 1½ tablespoons curry paste and/or eliminate the Serrano chile, and taste before adding more. (I also added 1 teaspoon of light brown sugar to soften and round out the flavor of the soup.) And by the way, Mike enjoyed the change of greens scene at Dowdy Corners.

(You can find the recipes for these soups on the Eating Well website, or by clicking on the links above. Anna Thomas is the author of several cookbooks, including The Vegetarian Epicure, now a classic, and, most recently, Love Soup.)