Carrot Soup with Garam Masala

Serves 4 • Gluten Free • Photo

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 small red onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ teaspoon + pinch garam masala
• 3 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth
• 5 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons raw unsalted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• ¼ cup light sour cream

1 Preheat oven to 350°F.

2 Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until softened, 5 minutes. Add garlic and ½ teaspoon of garam masala and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add broth, carrots, and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until carrots are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat; let cool 5 minutes.

3 Meanwhile, place pumpkin seeds on small baking sheet, spray with nonstick spray, and toss to coat. Sprinkle with remaining pinch of garam masala and toss to coat. Spread on baking sheet and bake until lightly browned, about 7 minutes.

4 Puree soup, in batches if needed, in food processor or blender. Ladle soup evenly into 4 bowls; top with sour cream and pumpkin seeds.

PER SERVING (1 CUP SOUP, 1 TABLESPOON SOUR CREAM, AND 1½ TEASPOONS PUMPKIN SEEDS): 131 Cal, 7 g Total Fat, 2 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 6 mg Chol, 540 mg Sod, 15 g Total Carb, 7 g Sugar, 3 g Fib, 3 g Prot, 60 mg Calc. PointsPlus value: 3

Hot-and-Sour Soup

Serves 8

• 6 dried wood ear mushrooms
• 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili-garlic sauce
• 1 teaspoon Asian (dark) sesame oil
• 8 ounces low-fat firm tofu, diced
• 1 (8-ounce) can bamboo shoots, drained and thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2½ tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water

1 Put mushrooms in small bowl and add enough hot water to cover by 2 inches. Let stand 15 minutes; drain.

2 Combine broth, vinegar, soy sauce, chili-garlic sauce, and sesame oil in large saucepan; bring to boil. Add mushrooms, tofu, and bamboo shoots. Reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes.

3 Stir together water and cornstarch in small bowl until smooth. Whisk in about ¼ cup of hot broth mixture, then whisk back into saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, until soup bubbles and thickens, about 1 minute. Remove saucepan from heat; slowly drizzle in egg mixture while stirring in circular motion, 1 minute.

Per serving (¾ cup): 52 Cal, 1 g Total Fat, 0 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 0 mg Chol, 578 mg Sod, 7 g Total Carb, 1 g Sugar, 3 g Fib, 5 g Prot, 20 mg Calc. PointsPlus value: 1

Cook’s Note

Dried wood ear mushrooms can be found in Asian grocery stores. They are a traditional ingredient in hot-and-sour soup.