Erica De Mane

Cold arugula and leek soup with lemon olive oil.

Recipes:

Zucchini Soup with Basil Oil and Pistachio
Asparagus Soup with Tarragon and Whipped Goat Cheese
Cold Arugula and Leek Soup with Lemon Olive Oil

At the beginning of my cooking career, I went on a kick of making puréed soups in my mother’s old blender (the same one my parents used for whiskey sours). I thought puréed soups were very fancy, because we didn’t have them at home. They weren’t standard Southern Italian fare, and they were smooth and elegant, what I then thought of as French, so different from the thick, lumpy, chunky soups we ate, the ones filled with little pasta shapes, beans, cheese, and whatever vegetables were on hand, your basic Italian-American minestrone. (My smooth soup era coincided with my fettuccine Alfredo kick, and I ate so much of that then that it’s now, even 30 years later, something I can no longer stand the smell of).

With my puréed soup “discovery” I felt I was rising above the sometimes embarrassingly rustic food of my heritage, to a higher level of culinary achievement. I soon enough got over that stupid attitude, but I still love the smooth soups, and since I view them as first-course dishes, to me they’re still a little fancy, and I treat them as such, giving each one a special garnish or last-minute flourish of some sort, for, as they say in the restaurant world, presentation.

In early summer, before tomatoes, eggplant, corn, and bell peppers make their appearances, it seems every local vegetable available will produce a soup that is on the green side. I’ve been making a lot of smooth green soups lately from peas, asparagus, favas, mini zucchini, sorrel, chard, and arugula. It’s exciting to finally cook a vegetable with real taste after a winter of making do with dripless, cardboard facsimiles. My early summer soups may look alike, but they all taste very different. They’re best made, I think, without cream or butter; just olive oil, and thickened with a little potato (when I first began making them, I always added my French touches, such as a drizzle of cream and butter, and always finished them with snipped chives, no matter what type of soup they were). I love the taste of good extra-virgin olive oil with an early summer green. It brings out the fruity side of vegetables, seemingly exaggerating their sugars. And without the addition of butter I can serve them cold if I like and they’ll remain loose and lightly textured. Sometimes I’ll use a light chicken broth for a little richness, but usually I go with a mix of broth and water (or just water), so I don’t mask any vegetable flavor (and some vegetables like zucchini, for instance, can be subtle). I don’t use vegetable broth though. There’s something about it, even when homemade, that gives every soup a sameness and a heavy, I don’t know, maybe celery-like taste, or just a tinge of ill-prepared health food. If I start my soup with a nice soffrito of oniony things and olive oil, that’s enough flavor base for any vegetable.

This year I started my puréed spring soup tear with asparagus. Then I got on a roll, going through the market, grabbing the next available green thing, cooking it up, and plunging in my immersion blender (I like this better than a food processor or blender since you only dirty one pot). The real key to success with these simple soups is choosing flavorful vegetables. I know that might seem obvious, but it’s not completely apparent until you try making my zucchini soup, for instance, with bland, starchy winter zucchini. You won’t be able to tell whether you’re eating zucchini, iceberg lettuce, or a bowl of green tempera paint. To boost the taste of even the freshest local produce (and the color too), I always keep the skins on (I do trim tough ends, though, since they don’t purée easily). Skin adds that touch of oomph, making asparagus or zucchini taste more like you expect it to. I realize this might sound a little nitpicky, but if I’m planning on using a local market vegetable for one of my soups, I’ll try not to refrigerate it. I’ll make an effort to bring the vegetable home and just make the soup as soon as I can. Maybe it’s my imagination, but it does seem that refrigeration flattens out taste, in a subtle but nonetheless discernible way.

Zucchini Soup with Basil Oil and Pistachios

(Serves 5 as a first course)

Extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium Vidalia onion, roughly chopped
1 1/2 pounds small, young zucchini (about 4 or 5 inches long), roughly chopped
1 medium russet potato, peeled and cubed
Salt
A pinch of cayenne pepper
A very small pinch of ground cinnamon
1 cup chicken broth, either low-salt canned or homemade
20 basil leaves, cleaned and dried
A handful of shelled, unsalted pistachios, roughly chopped

In a large soup pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium flame. Add the onion, and sauté until fragrant, about a minute. Add the zucchini, the potato, salt, cayenne, and the pinch of cinnamon. Sauté another 3 or 4 minutes, just until all the vegetables are fragrant and coated with oil. Add the chicken broth and 4 cups of hot water, and bring everything to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered, at a low bubble, until everything is tender, about 10 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, place the basil leaves in a food processor. Add 1/4 cup of olive oil and a pinch of salt, and purée. Pour the basil oil into a small bowl.

When the soup is done, purée it with a hand immersion blender or in a food processor. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt or a pinch more cayenne if needed. Add a little water to adjust the consistency, if needed.

To serve, reheat gently and pour into bowls. Drizzle with the basil oil, and then scatter on the chopped pistachios.

Asparagus Soup with Tarragon and Whipped Goat Cheese

(Serves 5 as a first course)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 small shallots, roughly chopped
1 pound asparagus, the tough ends trimmed, cut into short pieces
1 medium russet potato, peeled and cut into small cubes
A pinch of ground mace
Salt
Black pepper
2 cups chicken broth, either low-salt canned or homemade
The grated zest from 1 small lemon
10 large tarragon sprigs, the leaves chopped
A small log of fresh goat cheese, at room temperature
A few tablespoons of milk

In a large soup pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium flame. Add the shallots, asparagus, and potato. Season with the mace, a bit of salt, and black pepper, and sauté until everything is fragrant, about 4 minutes (this is an important step that will give you a full-flavored soup). Add the chicken broth and enough water to cover the vegetables (about 2 to 3 cups). Bring to a boil, and then lower the heat to medium-low, and cook, uncovered, at a low bubble until everything is tender, about another 10 minutes. Purée the soup with a hand immersion blend or in a food processor. Add the lemon zest and half of the chopped tarragon, and taste for seasoning, adding more salt or pepper if needed. If the soup is a little dense, add a bit of water.

Put the goat cheese in a small bowl and drizzle on about 2 tablespoons of milk. Season with a little salt and black pepper, and beat with a fork until it’s smooth and fluffy, adding more milk if needed. To serve, reheat gently, and ladle into bowls. Top each bowl with a small dollop of whipped goat cheese and the rest of the tarragon.

Cold Arugula and Leek Soup with Lemon Olive Oil

(Serves 5 as a first course)

Extra-virgin olive oil
The grated zest from 1 lemon, and about a tablespoon of lemon juice
A pinch of sugar
Salt
2 thin, young leeks, well cleaned and cut into thin rounds, using some of the tender green part
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
Black pepper
A few generous scrapings of nutmeg
2 cups chicken broth, either low-salt canned or homemade
2 large bunches arugula, very well stemmed

Pour about 1/4 cup of olive oil into a small bowl. Add the lemon zest (be careful not too dig too deep, scraping up any of the white pith while you’re zesting, or the zest will be bitter) and juice, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of sugar, and give it a stir. Let this sit while you prepare the soup.

In a large soup pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium flame. Add the leeks and potato, season with salt, black pepper, and nutmeg, and sauté to release their flavors, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and about 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat down a bit, and cook at a low bubble until the vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes or so. Turn off the heat and add the arugula, letting it wilt in the broth for about 2 minutes. Purée with a hand immersion blender or in a food processor. Add more water if needed for a good consistency. Taste for seasoning. Chill for several hours or overnight.

To serve, ladle into chilled soup bowls, and drizzle each serving with a swirl of the lemon olive oil.