50 Simple Soups for the Slow Cooker (9 page)

Serves 4 to 6

This is another simple yet thoroughly delicious recipe. I use
red plums
because I find them to be more flavorful than other plums—especially their skins, where most of the flavor and tartness lie. I think any good plum would work, however. This soup can be served either hot with nothing other than the
full, rich flavor of plums to savor, or cold topped with yogurt.
I often eat the leftovers cold spooned over a bowl of yogurt
or cereal for breakfast.

Quarter the plums and remove their pits. Place them and the water in a 7-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for
4 hours or until the plums are falling apart.

Smash the plums with the back of a spoon, then add the apple pie spice, sugar, and orange juice. Mix thoroughly.

Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the yogurt or crème fraîche.

Serves 4 to 6

One of the things I love about the cooking of rural Italy is its simplicity. A simple dish of pasta with tomato and herb sauce. A simple loaf of bread. A rustic wine. The cook is not required to rummage through pantries, or multiple grocery stores and ethnic markets, looking for ingredients. Often she may look no further than her own garden or local farmers’ market. Puree the beans or eat them whole, as you wish.

Rinse the beans thoroughly and place them in a 7-quart slow cooker along with the water, onion, garlic, and bay leaf. Cover
and cook on LOW for about 8 hours, or until the beans are nice and tender.

Remove the bay leaf. Using a handheld immersion blender,
puree the remaining ingredients to the desired texture. Add the
salt to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with rosemary, and serve.

Serves 4 to 6

My friend
Andrew Spurgin
is the executive director of
Waters Fine Catering in San Diego
. Each day, Waters takeout shop offers a different homemade soup. Their
mulligatawny
, a classic from the days of the British occupation of India, is one of my favorites. Although traditionally made with chicken and chicken stock, I thought I’d try creating a version from the basics alone. The neighbors lined up at the door with bowls in hand. I like using the apple,
walnuts
, cilantro, and pomegranate as condiments rather than cooking them in the soup. It adds a fresh note to the composition. And although it is not typically Indian, I also love adding a bit of grated very sharp cheddar cheese.

Rinse the chickpeas and rice thoroughly and place them in a 7-quart slow cooker along with the onion, garlic, and water. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours, until the chickpeas are tender.

Using a handheld immersion blender, puree just a few of the chickpeas to add some thickness to the soup, then add the curry powder, coconut cream, and raisins. Add the salt to taste. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes longer, or until nice and hot.

Top each bowl of soup with the apple, walnuts, cheese, cilantro, and pomegranate seeds.

Serves 4 to 6

Miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning made with fermented soy, wheat, barley, or rice, or any combination of the above. The textures, flavors, and appearance of traditional miso varies from region to region in Japan. The most typical types of miso found in the Western world are red and white miso used as a base for soups or a seasoning for Japanese dishes. This plain miso soup is enlivened with typical winter vegetables.

Place the water, onion, carrots, and squash in a 7-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for about 4 hours, or until the vegetables are tender.

About 20 minutes before serving, add the broccoli florets and the miso and cook until just tender. Just before serving, finely grate the ginger into the soup.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Top each serving with the sliced scallions and a drizzle of sesame oil.

Metric Conversion Formulas

Approximate Metric Equivalents

Oven Temperatures

To convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, subtract 32 from Fahrenheit, multiply the result by 5, then divide by 9.

Common Ingredients and Their Approximate Equivalents

1 cup uncooked rice = 225 grams

1 cup all-purpose flour = 140 grams

1 stick butter (4 ounces • ½ cup • 8 tablespoons) = 110 grams

1 cup butter (8 ounces • 2 sticks • 16 tablespoons) = 220 grams

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed = 225 grams

1 cup granulated sugar = 200 grams

Information compiled from a variety of sources, including
Recipes into Type
by Joan Whitman and Dolores Simon (Newton, MA: Biscuit Books, 2000);
The New Food Lover’s Companion
by Sharon Tyler Herbst (Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s, 1995); and
Rosemary Brown’s Big Kitchen Instruction Book
(Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel, 1998).