Three Monastery Soups

So I received this cook book earlier in November just in time for the Nativity Fast.  While there are many soups that have meat and cream, there are also some good all vegetable soups. These are the one’s I have tried so far.  All turned out pretty delicious. We had plenty left-overs for me to take for my lunch. I love soup, especially when it is cold like it is now. But, still there seems to be something lacking.  Maybe my husband is right, soup really isn’t a meal in itself, especially when it’s all vegetable. It needs bread and butter and meat and cream.  I feel very monastic.  If any of these soups intrigue you, email me for the recipe.





Swiss Chard and Lentil Soup – a full bodied soup, yet forgettable.  It is also stinky. But, I was excited to use Swiss chard, because I had never used that leaf before.  The chard was one of the good parts of this soup.
 

Broccoli Rabbe and White Bean Soup – Soft, mellow flavors—very comforting.  This soup was an unexpected winner.


St. Nicholas Soup – reminiscent of vichyssoise, all the below ingredients became an orange puree. I am not sure that making it puree was the best way to bring out the marriage of these ingredients.  In the end, I added a little goat milk to it and it took on the flavor the milk, which is never a good sign.  Overall, I cannot really complain about it. It was, again, simply forgettable.