Semi-vegetarian, need help with soup
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Anonymous
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I'm trying to go vegetarian. I'm having a problem finding a replacement for meat and sausage in soups. They add so much to the broth. Most veggie sausages, and veggie "meats" in general have TERRIBLE ingredients, and I just can't buy them, or they have yeast extract, which I can't eat.
What can I use to get that fatty, flavorful addition to soups? And are there any meat substitutes out there with clean ingredients? TIA. |
Anonymous
Anonymous
Ugh I can't get past the firewall, but I will google that. Thanks. |
Anonymous
INGREDIENTS FOR THE ROSEMARY OIL: 1 cup olive oil 4 (4-inch) sprigs fresh rosemary FOR THE SOUP: 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup) 2 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon) 1 quart low-sodium vegetable stock, plus more as needed for reheating 1 medium head cauliflower, cored and broken into 1 1/2-inch florets (about 2 1/2 pounds) 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste 1 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste Freshly grated zest of 1 lemon, for serving FOR THE CROUTONS (OPTIONAL): 3 cups diced rustic country bread (3/4-inch pieces) EPARATION Make the rosemary oil: In a medium skillet, combine the olive oil and rosemary sprigs. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes, lowering the heat if the oil reaches a full simmer. (You want to cook it at a very gentle simmer to avoid frying the rosemary.) Carefully pour the oil and rosemary into a small bowl, leaving a slick of oil in the pan if you plan to make croutons. Allow the rosemary to cool completely in the oil while you make the soup. Make the soup: In a heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-low. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. (Be careful not to let the garlic scorch!) Add the stock, cauliflower, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil over high. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer until the cauliflower is tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, make the optional croutons: Heat the reserved skillet with the residual rosemary oil over medium. Add the bread cubes, sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, and cook, tossing often, until toasted all over, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the croutons to a plate or board to cool. Strain and discard the rosemary stems from the rosemary oil. Working in batches if necessary, carefully transfer the vegetables, stock and 1/4 cup rosemary oil to a blender and blend on high until creamy. Add more rosemary oil to taste, and blend to combine. Return the soup to the pot and bring to a simmer. If the soup seems thin, let it simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to reduce slightly. (Remember: The soup will continue to thicken as it cools.) Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot. Garnish each serving with a swirl of rosemary oil, a few croutons, and a sprinkle of lemon zest. The soup will thicken as it sits; add more stock as necessary when reheating. Leftover rosemary oil will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 1 week. |
Anonymous
Thank you!!!! |
Anonymous
| You won't ever achieve the same flavor profile, especially in a soup. Vegetable stock will always have a more bitter flavor profile than a meat stock. If you're only semi vegetarian make some beef or chicken stock using beef soup bones or chicken necks or feet. You could do seafood too with fish heads or shrimp or crab shells. Then make your vegetable soup in that stock without meat added. You'll get the flavor profile but not ingest the meat pieces. |
Anonymous
+1 I do this, bones are really cheap and just make a large batch to freeze. You have to let the beef bones simmer for 2-5 days to get good broth but you can get several batches off very little. Use organic when you can, you'll get less scum on top, it's just a pain to take off during the first hours of cooking. I also usually roast the bones first and add pieces of cheap roasted meat to enhance flavor but don't eat it because I can't digest beef very well. All the flavor is gone after that long in the pot anyways. If you can find Buffalo that is delicious too. I usually add some onion, cloves, garlic, carrots, celery too but not until the end of cooking and sometimes I just leave them out completely until I make the soup so I have a more neutral starting point. Lots of great bone broth recipes online. Also 1-2 pounds of fresh baby portobello mushrooms make a great meat alternative without having to add soy. They absorb the flavor and have a chewy texture similar to meat. |
Anonymous
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Add more olive oil. Also a little smoked paprika. Also, if you don’t like the premade veggie sausages— try making ppk’s Italian sausages. I make double batches all the time
in different flavors. For a soup, defrost one of the sausages, cube it small, sauté in tons of olive oil. And then remove the sausage from the pot. Make the rest of your soup in that pot with the oil, and then readd the sausage during the last 10 Minutes of cooking. Makes a big difference 
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Anonymous
| Ps— you might also want to try butler’s soy curls. You can get them on Amazon. Very few ingredients. |
Anonymous
| MSG is your friend, and fresh herbs and lemon can help lift the profile of a bland broth. |
Anonymous
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Adding beans like cannellini beans coupled with some arborio rice adds a lot to the weightiness of a soup. I make swiss chard, carrots, onons, garlic, rosemary soup with cannellini beans and arborio rice.
Top with EVOL and Parmesan cheese. |
Anonymous
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I agree with a previous poster that seasoning well, and finishing with fresh herbs and lemon juice or a dash of vinegar helps brighten the flavor of the soup.
I’m generous with olive oil when sautéing the veggies since there won’t be any meat that would add fat to the soup. If you want to add a smoky flavor, use smoked paprika and/or liquid smoke. You may also want to change the types of recipes you use to ones that aren’t based on meats or meat substitutes. What kinds of soup are you looking to make? |
Anonymous
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Save Parmesan rinds (I keep in the freezer until needed) and use in making the stock. Make sure they're not waxed.
Adds amazing depth. You can also roast mushrooms whole with olive oil and salt and use them and all the delicious pan liquids in soup stock for more umami. |
Anonymous
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I love the vegetable better than bullion. It adds so much flavor to everything. It's probably MSG.
Here are a few soups I make that I think have a lot of flavor: 1) Cook broccoli stumps, potatos and garlic in broth with curry. When it's all soft, puree it and you can add a little milk. 2) Carmelize onion, sautee mushrooms with broth and farro or barley. Fresh thyme or sage is also good in this. Barley and farro both have a very solid, meaty sort of feel to them, I think. 3) Old style Russian borscht. Cook shredded beets, shredded carrot, shredded cabbage, shredded onion in broth with a tablespoon of tomato puree, a tablespoon or two or vineger, and a teaspoon or two of sugar. (You can also use saurkraut instead of the vingar plus cabbage.) Serve with a big spoon of sour cream and chopped fresh flat parsley or dill. Warm not cold like the NY delis do. |
Anonymous
| ALso, I'll add that the only meat substitute that I think isn't gross is the Trader Joe's brand Soyrizo. I bet you could make a really good black bean soup with it. I use it for breakfast tacos (for dinner) all the time. It's very close to real chorizo if you crisp it in the pan. |