• Laura on January 17, 2010

  If you love soup, even if you're not vegetarian, this book is a gem. Every recipe I've cooked from it has been wonderful: colorful, healthful, and delicious! The book itself is beautiful, with the inclusion of vibrant color photos. Highly recommended!

Notes about Recipes in this book

• French vegetable soup with sherried mushrooms

  • Laura on January 27, 2011

    Pg. 50. If you use EVOO instead of butter, this is a very healthy soup. I made it with the butter but found it to be just ok, nothing special. I didn't think the mushrooms were a good addition -- the paprika was an off-note. If I were to make this in the future, I'd omit the mushrooms and use EVOO because, frankly, the healthy aspect is the most appealing thing about it.

• Arborio rice soup

  • Laura on November 03, 2013

    Pg. 62. We enjoyed this very much. At the outset I was a bit concerned that this would turn out to be more of a rice dish than a soup, but the amount of liquid was perfect. After tasting, I increased the amount of lemon zest. In future, I would also increase the rosemary and perhaps add sage. Instead of thin strips of the Pecorino Romano, I would grate it so that it can melt into the hot soup. Any winter squash would be fine in this dish and next time I'll use one that's easier to peel than an acorn squash!

• Moroccan chickpea soup with roasted red pepper coulis

  • Laura on March 25, 2010

    Pg. 64. This soup is healthy, spicy, and brightly colored -- it really looks beautiful in the bowl. The red pepper coulis adds a lot to the soup and is very simple to prepare -- don't leave it out. While the soup didn't blow me away, I liked it and would make it again. Note that it makes a rather small amount, so I suggest doubling it.

• Ratatouille soup

  • Laura on August 05, 2014

    Pg. 72. This was pretty good and a great way to use a lot of vegetables acquired from the farmers market over the weekend. There's a lot of chopping involved, but otherwise it's simple. It's quite thick and it's really more like a stew than a soup. Also, it doesn't make a great amount. I served it hot for lunch with grated parmigiano romano, but I'd be curious to see how it is chilled -- suspect I may like it even better. The advantage this soup has over ratatouille itself is that there's much less oil. Alas, ratatouille is more delicious. ETA: had this chilled the next day and I definitely prefer it cold -- it's more like actual ratatouille, except saucier.

• Jalapeño-corn chowder

  • coldcutcorner on January 11, 2023

    Easy to make, especially if you use a stick blender instead of the regular blender. Good hearty soup, the kinda soup that reminds you of your childhood, even if you weren't raised on jalapeño-corn chowders.

• Tomato-lentil soup

  • Laura on June 29, 2010

    Pg. 90. This soup was certainly nourishing and healthy and tasty. However, the texture of the soup was a little too thick -- I wouldn't use tomato paste again. There was just something missing here. Probably won't make this again. Very surprising, since I have loved every other soup I've made from this book.

  • Nancith on December 02, 2015

    My husband & I really liked this soup. It is quite thick, but not unbearably so, although I used tomato paste from a tube, not the thicker canned variety called for, and used perhaps half the amount. Also added some minced red pepper which was on hand. The combination of herbs in this soup was very flavorful.

• Moroccan red-lentil-bean stew

  • Laura on August 17, 2010

    Pg. 102. This is a beautiful soup with a lovely, subtle flavor. It's healthy, easy to prepare and comes together quickly. Adding tabasco sauce, as suggested in the recipe, turns it into something it's not. Tabasco does not blend well with the flavor profile of this soup. Some, like my husband, may wish for bolder flavors; I liked it in its unadulterated form.

• Mediterranean saffron stew with rouille

  • Laura on October 27, 2009

    Pg. 104. This dish is very tasty and the rouille is essential. We added cannellini beans to provide some protein. Serve with a crusty bread.

• Roasted vegetable stew

  • Laura on November 17, 2015

    Pg. 113. A need to use up some asparagus lead me to this recipe. I made a few changes in that I roasted the tomatoes along with the rest of the vegetables because I thought that would yield a better result than simply adding the raw tomatoes to the final braise. I also added the minced garlic mid-way through roasting as I thought there was a good possibility it would burn if added at the beginning. Finally, I served it over quinoa rather than pasta, and topped with a small amount of finely grated pecorino rather than feta. Overall, the dish was ok, but rather boring. In future, I'd substitute some more interesting vegetables. But, I doubt I'd make it again because there are so many better ways to make a vegetable stew.

• Spicy green bean and potato stew

  • Nancith on August 13, 2014

    Really delicious and a great way to use an abundance of garden green beans. Next time I may cut back on the cayenne; it was definitely spicy for my mild palate. Nice with crusty bread to sop up the sauce.

  • Laura on October 14, 2014

    Pg. 116. I changed this quite a bit, so I won't give it a star rating. In an effort to cut down on the carbs, I substituted cauliflower for the potatoes. I also added an additional 14-oz can of diced tomatoes because it seemed to need more liquid. I was a bit skeptical that this would have any flavor, as it seemed under-seasoned. I increased the amount of cayenne and black pepper by half to season the increased volume of liquid. Lacking feta cheese, I subbed grated Pecorino Romano. It turned out better than I expected, and it was a healthy and colorful dish that accomplished the goal of using up a lot of green beans. I'm sure it would have been much better with the potatoes. Still, I wouldn't make it again.

• Egyptian split-pea stew

  • Laura on August 14, 2014

    Pg. 117. Despite the herbs and spices, we found this to be very mundane in taste -- not interesting at all. I wouldn't bother to make it again. I'll save my split-peas for my much less healthy, but far more delicious split pea soup!

• Carrot vichyssoise with sweet balsamic swirls

  • Brittania on February 18, 2026

    Quick and easy.

• Greek spinach and orzo soup

  • Laura on March 02, 2010

    Pg. 89. Delicious! Light, bright, fresh flavors. Next time I need to double it as there are hardly any leftovers!

  • saveur on September 05, 2010

    This is one of my favourite soups, too. The lemon is essential.

  • Laura on October 09, 2012

    I've made this now numerous times and I feel the need to amend my previous Note. I'm feeling that the orzo is kind of lost and doesn't add much at all to the soup. I might replace it with rice or skip the starch altogether. I don't think the soup needs it and it would be even healthier without it.

  • Laura on January 17, 2016

    Made this again and, as I said in my previous note, I replaced the orzo. I decided chickpeas would be a good addition and they were. Keeps it healthy and adds fiber and protein. I'll be making it this way from now on.