Chapter 11
Soups and Starters
The most obvious, and wonderful, aspect of using rehydrated foods to make soup is that no presoaking of dried ingredients is needed because the soup base acts as the rehydration liquid! Of course, the better the stock or broth you use, the better the soup. Also, the more dried ingredients you have on hand—soup making being something of an improvisational art—the better the flavor.
This chapter begins with Basic Chicken Vegetable Soup. Loaded with dried tomatoes, carrots, peas, corn, and beans, any of which you can vary according to taste, and fragrant with herbs that you have dried yourself, this favorite can serve as a first course, a Sunday night supper, or as a welcome pick-me-up any time of the day. Its ingredients are also lightweight and convenient to take on a camping or hiking trip when the long-range weather forecast suggests rain. Old wives’ tale or not, when a chill sets in, chicken soup hits the spot.
Dehydrated vegetables enhance cream soups as well. Of the handful of tempting recipes included here I urge you to try Cream of Tomato. You can make it with dried tomato pieces, with powder, or with leather, for this soup is a perfect example of the fascinating options available to the cook once a vegetable has been dried. And if you have grown your own tomatoes, you will not believe how great that first spoonful of your own homegrown tomato soup tastes. In the same way, Creamy Mushroom Soup bursts with flavor, especially when made with dried shiitake mushrooms or morels. Try rehydrating the mushrooms in dry white wine for extra-special flavor.
Soup for dessert is traditional in Wisconsin, settled as it was by Scandinavian homesteaders who brought this culinary cultural folkway with them when they came to this country. Two fruit soups appear here—one creamy, rich, and cool; the other juice-based, clear, and refreshing served either hot or cold. Each relies upon a store of dried fruits—memories of summer—which no longer have to be seasonal.
Fresh-baked bread, or salad, is often all you need by way of accompaniment. However, I urge you to consider one of the starters included at the end of this section: Party Brie, Baba Ghanouj, or Vegetable Loaf. I am sure you will find a remarkable number of reasons for making one or all of them at a moment’s notice.
Which brings me full circle: With dried foods on hand, you can very easily create a variety of simple, good-tasting foods that are good for you. The soups and starters that follow attest to that.
Basic Chicken Vegetable Soup
Here’s a good basic soup, to perk up your spirits and warm you right down to your toes. Note the number of dried vegetables in it. To speed the prepreparation along, know that a 16-ounce (1-pound) bag of mixed frozen vegetables—carrots, corn, peas, and green beans—will dry in anywhere from 8 to 24 hours. However, at the end of that time you will have four different vegetables ready for soup making.
2 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock
2 cups water
1 cup small raw chicken pieces
½ cup dried tomato slices, broken into ½-inch pieces
¼ cup dried carrots
¼ cup dried peas
¼ cup dried corn
¼ cup dried green beans
1 tablespoon dried onion pieces
1 tablespoon dried bell pepper pieces
1 tablespoon dried mushroom pieces
1 tablespoon dried celery powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
A fresh vegetable of choice, with crunch, like sliced celery
In a saucepan, bring the chicken stock and the water to a boil, and remove the pan from the heat. Add all the remaining ingredients, except the salt, pepper, and fresh vegetable, and let sit, covered, for at least 30 minutes to rehydrate.
Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and let the soup simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
Add a fresh vegetable of choice, the salt and pepper, and serve.
Serves 4
Good Dried Bean Soup
This is a soul-satisfying soup filled with beans and vegetables, then flavored with a little bit of cooked chicken. Letting the soup simmer gently for a long time results in a richer, more flavorful taste. Add water during cooking as needed. For accompaniment, serve your favorite bread and a pleasing dessert, like Dried Apple Pie or Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.
¼ cup dried pinto beans
¼ cup dried kidney beans
¼ cup yellow split peas
4 cups chicken stock, divided
7 cups water, divided
1 tablespoon dried celery powder
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons dried onion pieces
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon dried dill weed
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup dried green beans
¼ cup dried peas
2 tablespoons dried shredded carrots
1 tablespoon dried bell pepper pieces
1 cup cooked chicken pieces
Rinse each type of bean separately in cold water. In a soup kettle, combine the rinsed pinto beans, 2 cups of the chicken stock, 2 cups of the water, the celery powder, and the bay leaf. Bring the liquid to a gentle boil over medium-low heat, cover partially, and cook the beans for 1 hour.
Add the remaining 2 cups chicken stock, 2 more cups water, the rinsed kidney beans, the dried onion pieces, the Worcestershire sauce, and the garlic to the kettle. Cover partially and cook over medium-low heat for 1 hour.
Add 2 more cups water, the rinsed yellow split peas, the dill weed, the salt, the paprika, and pepper, and cook, partially covered, for 30 minutes.
In a saucepan, combine the dried green beans, the dried peas, the dried carrots, the dried bell pepper pieces with the remaining 1 cup water, cover, and cook over medium-high heat for 30 minutes. Add the rehydrated vegetables and the liquid to the kettle. Cover the kettle and let sit for 15 minutes. Add the chicken, return the kettle to the heat, and simmer, partially covered, for about 30 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
Serves 6 to 8
Fish Chowdor
Here’s a recipe for fisherfolk and for chowder and soup lovers alike. The fish I prefer to use here is dried white fish, and if you like to fish and home-dry your catch, you may well have plenty of it on hand to make this hearty combination.
The basic chowder recipe can be turned into corn chowder with just a few substitutions: Replace the ½ cup dried fish with 1 cup dried corn; add ¼ cup dried shredded carrots, and replace the dill weed with the same amount of dried rosemary. Prepare as below. And enjoy.
2 cups water
½ cup dried fish pieces (½-inch size)
½ cup small dried potato pieces
1 tablespoon dried onion pieces
1 teaspoon dried green bell pepper pieces
1 teaspoon dried celery powder
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
½ cup dried potato flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
In a saucepan, combine the water with the next 6 ingredients. Let sit for 1 hour to rehydrate.
Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the soup gently for 30 minutes, adding more water, if necessary, until the fish and vegetables are tender.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Whisk in the milk gradually, stirring constantly to prevent any lumps from forming, until the mixture is smooth and thickens, about 3 or 4 minutes. Stir the white sauce into the chowder base and add the potato flakes. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Serves 4
Root Soup with Ham
The roots in this soup include potatoes, parsnips, and turnips, assisted by quite a few other vegetables plus ham for flavoring. Vary the vegetables as you like: Two very good alternatives are dried rutabaga slices and shredded cabbage. An honest, nourishing Sunday night supper-type soup like this goes particularly well with Corn Bread, still warm from the oven. Serve the bread with a small dish of honey, which complements the saltiness of the ham and the sweetness of the root vegetables.
2 cups fully cooked ham cubes
6 cups water
½ cup dried potato slices
½ cup dried parsnip slices
½ cup dried turnip slices
¼ cup dried green beans
¼ cup dried Brussels sprouts slices
1 tablespoon dried onion pieces
1 tablespoon dried shredded carrots
1 tablespoon dried green bell pepper pieces
½ tablespoon dried celery powder
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon celery seed
In a large saucepan, bring the ham and water to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients and bring the mixture again to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, cover the pan, and let sit for at least 30 minutes to rehydrate.
Return the pan to the heat, bring the mixture to a boil, and simmer the soup about 30 minutes until all the vegetables are tender, adding more water if necessary.
Serves 6
Borscht
This chilled soup, so good on a hot summer’s day, is virtually fat-free. Further, beets are a good source of potassium. You can also make this borscht with dried beet powder—2 cups dried beet slices reduce to ½ cup beet powder. The soup will still have little bits of beets in it if you use the powder; it also remains a beautiful rosy color and is light and refreshing on the palate. If you are a beet fan, like me, you will want to serve this soup hot in the winter, with a good loaf of fresh-baked bread.
2 cups dried beet slices
2 cups chicken stock
Pinch of dried dill weed, plus 1 teaspoon
2 cups water
2 tablespoons white or wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
¼ teaspoon salt
Sour cream or dried plain yogurt pieces for garnish
In a soup kettle, combine the dried beet slices with the chicken stock, the pinch of dried dill, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Let sit about 30 minutes to rehydrate. Transfer half of the rehydrated beet mixture to a blender and chop to small pieces. Return to the kettle. Repeat with the remaining mixture, but in this batch leave bigger pieces of beet. Return to the kettle.
Pour the water into the blender and blend to loosen any remaining puree in the container. Add the liquid to the kettle. Stir in the vinegar, the lemon juice, the honey, the remaining dill weed, and the salt, cover the kettle, and simmer the soup slowly, stirring often and adding more liquid if necessary, until the beets have softened, about 30 minutes.
Let the soup cool, then refrigerate it until chilled. To serve, top each serving with a dollop of sour cream or pieces of dried yogurt and another sprinkling of dried dill.
Serves 6
Cream of Tomato Soup
My love for tomatoes extends to growing them, eating them, cooking them, and, of course, drying them and using them in all their different, compelling dried forms. This soup (one of my favorites of the entire collection) can be made with tomatoes in all their dried variations: slices, torn in pieces; powder; or leather, also torn in small pieces. The leather will take the longest time to rehydrate; the small pieces take slightly less time; the powder is the quickest to rehydrate.
Whatever type of dried tomato you use, you can add ¼ cup cooked rice or some dried vegetables or vegetable flakes at the end. Precooked dried beans are nice, too. What you have here, additions or not, is the wonderful taste of tomatoes in a light cream soup.
1 cup dried tomato slices, broken into quarters; or ¼ cup tomato powder; or ½ cup tomato leather, in pieces
1 bay leaf
¼ teaspoon dried celery powder
¼ teaspoon chopped garlic
teaspoon dried basil
Pinch of dried oregano
1 cup milk
½ cup heavy cream or sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
In a saucepan, combine the water and the next 6 ingredients, and let sit for at least 5 minutes to rehydrate.
Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until the tomato pieces are softened. Use a whisk or fork to break up the tomato pieces or leather. Stir in the milk and cook over low heat, stirring often to prevent scorching, for about 5 minutes. Add the heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper, and heat until heated through.
Serves 2
Creamy Mushroom Soup
This is a rich, marvelously flavored soup that can easily be doubled or even tripled if you want to serve it to company. Dried shiitakes or morels are the mushrooms of choice, as both are packed with flavor. Should you want a smoother-textured soup, simply puree the mushrooms after sautéing them.
1 cup dried mushroom slices (preferably shiitakes or morels)
1 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1¼ cups chicken stock
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ cup sour cream or 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh green onions for garnish
In a bowl, combine the dried mushrooms with the wine and let sit for 15 minutes until softened. Drain the rehydration liquid into a bowl, reserving 2 tablespoons.
In a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter until hot, add the mushrooms and sauté them.
In a saucepan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour, and stir to combine. Pour in the milk slowly, stirring constantly with a wire whisk to eliminate any lumps. Cook, whisking, until thickened to a saucelike consistency. Add the chicken stock and the nutmeg, continuing to whisk to prevent scorching, until the soup thickens as desired. Add the sautéed mushrooms and reserved rehydration liquid. Stir in the sour cream and heat, being careful not to let the soup boil.
To serve, divide the soup among bowls and garnish each serving with a sprinkling of chopped green onions.
Serves 2
Cream of Broccoli Soup
This appealing soup can be made with dried cauliflower instead of dried broccoli. You can serve it either hot or chilled, as a first course, or even as a main course during the warmer months of the year. You might consider adding dried Swiss chard and spinach leaves—about ¼ cup each—to lend a nice greenness to the color and tanginess of the soup. This recipe doubles very successfully.
1 cup dried broccoli pieces
¼ cup dried mushrooms
¼ cup dried shredded carrots
1 tablespoon dried celery powder
1 tablespoon dried onion pieces
1 teaspoon dried green or red bell pepper pieces
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon crushed dried chives
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups hot water
½ cup milk
1 heaping tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon dry sherry
Salt and pepper to taste
In a soup kettle, combine the first 9 ingredients with the chicken stock and the water. Let sit for at least 1 hour to rehydrate.
Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer the soup, adding a little more water if necessary, for 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender. (If desired, let the soup cool and puree half of it to achieve a smoother consistency. Add the puree back to the kettle.)
In a small bowl, stir together the milk, the heavy cream, and the flour until smooth. Stir in the sherry. Whisk the mixture into the hot soup base, and over low heat simmer the soup, stirring often, for 5 to 10 minutes until thick. Add additional milk if needed. Season the soup with salt and pepper, and serve.
Serves 4
Potato Soup
Unlike Root Soup with Ham, with its stock-style base, this soup is creamy and thick and the flavor actually improves if allowed to stand a few hours before serving. Vary the herbs as your supply or inclinations allow. Small pieces of dried jerky or bacon bits are very good added to it, too. With a salad, it makes a pleasing simple lunch or supper, particularly on a chilly fall or snowy winter day. And the recipe doubles nicely, too.
2 cups dried potato slices
3 chicken bouillon cubes
5 cups water, plus 2 cups cold water
¼ cup small dried tomato pieces
2 tablespoons shredded dried carrots
2 tablespoons dried green beans (1-inch pieces)
1 tablespoon dried bell pepper pieces
1 tablespoon dried mushroom pieces
1 tablespoon dried onion pieces
¼ teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon dried mustard
¼ teaspoon dried celery powder
¼ teaspoon celery seed
2 cups cold water
½ cup instant dry milk
1 cup dried potato flakes (store-bought or homemade; see note below)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
In a soup kettle, combine the dried potato slices, the bouillon cubes, and the 5 cups water. Let sit about 5 minutes to absorb some of the liquid. Add the dried tomatoes, the carrots, the green beans, the peppers, the mushrooms, the onions, and all the seasonings. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Remove the kettle from the heat, cover it, and let the mixture sit for at least 15 minutes to rehydrate.
Return the kettle to the heat, bring the soup to a boil, and let it simmer slowly, stirring occasionally, for at least 1 hour until the vegetables are soft, adding water if necessary.
In a pitcher, stir together the 2 cups cold water and the dry milk. Bring the soup to a boil and stir in the milk. Reduce the heat to low and gradually stir in the potato flakes. Stir constantly, to prevent the soup from scorching, for about 5 minutes. Top with Parmesan cheese before serving.
Serves 4
Homemade Potato Flakes: Spread cooked mashed potatoes on lightly oiled leather sheets, place in the dehydrator, and dry. Break the sheets into chunks, put in the blender, and pulse until ground into flakes.
Dried Fruit Soup
Fruit soup is traditional in Norway and common in Minnesota and Wisconsin, which were settled by Scandinavians. Beautifully colored, thanks in large part to its cranberry juice base, this dessert soup can be served either cold or hot, with a pitcher of heavy cream on the side. If the 4 cups water are reduced to 2 cups, the mixture, which will be thicker, can serve as a filling for pies or as a pudding. Vary the fruits as you wish.
1 cup dried apple pieces (½-inch size)
½ cup dried plum pieces (½-inch size)
½ cup dried pear pieces (½-inch size)
½ cup dried peach pieces (½-inch size)
½ cup dried cranberries
3 cups cranberry juice
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
4 cups water
4 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
½ teaspoon vanilla
In a large nonreactive saucepan, combine all the dried fruits with the cranberry juice and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat, cover the pan, and let the mixture sit for at least 30 minutes to rehydrate.
Stir in the lemon juice, the cinnamon, and the cloves, bring the mixture back to a boil, and simmer it slowly for 15 to 30 minutes until all the fruit is softened. Stir in the water and the tapioca, and continue to simmer slowly until the tapioca is cooked, about 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla. Serve hot or cold.
Serves 8 to 12
Cold Berry Soup
Here’s an absolutely glorious way to remember summer—all year long. Serve this soup either as a first course, with a light entree to follow, or as a dessert soup. This is a good recipe to make when seasonal doldrums set in: There is no cooking whatsoever involved in preparing it. And the tastes are sublime.
cup dried blueberries
cup dried raspberries
cup dried strawberries
½ cup dry or sweet red wine
Juice of 1 orange
1 cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
½ cup heavy cream
Honey or sugar to taste
Fresh or dried mint leaves for garnish
In a bowl, combine all the berries with the wine, the orange juice, the cinnamon stick, and the cloves, and let the berries rehydrate for 15 minutes.
In another bowl, whisk together the heavy and sour creams, and chill the mixture, covered, for at least 4 hours.
Remove the cinnamon stick and the cloves from the berry mixture, then puree the mixture in a blender, adding water if necessary for easy blending.
Stir the berry puree into the combined creams and stir in honey (or sugar) to taste. Divide the soup among chilled bowls and garnish each serving with a dollop of additional cream and either fresh or dried mint leaves.
Serves 4
Tofu Soup
Dried bean curd may be an acquired taste—to Westerners—but, in fact, over a thousand years ago the Chinese discovered that fresh bean curd cakes could be frozen. It was the Japanese who discovered that frozen bean curd could then be dried, thus ensuring its preservation and year-round availability.
Healthful, simple to make, and of obvious Japanese derivation, this soup can be doubled easily. Clearly, the better the chicken stock, the better the soup. Whether you choose canned broth or homemade stock, be sure to defat it before using. You will find the Asian ingredients in well-stocked Japanese markets as well as in many natural-food stores.
2 cups chicken stock
½ cup water
¼ cup dried tofu (bean curd), cut in cubes (½-inch pieces)
½ tablespoon hijiki (dried sea vegetable in black strands), available at natural-food markets
1 tablespoon dried miso (dried soybean paste), available at natural-food markets, or see tip below
1 tablespoon chopped green onions for garnish
In a saucepan, bring the stock and the water to a boil over high heat. Stir in the tofu cubes. Remove the pan from the heat, cover the pan, and let the mixture sit for at least 30 minutes to rehydrate.
Return the pan to the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Slowly simmer the soup for about 15 minutes until the tofu softens, adding additional water, if necessary. Stir in the hijiki and the miso, and simmer the soup slowly until well blended. Sprinkle the soup with the chopped green onions before serving.
Serves 2
Tip: Fresh miso can be spread on lightly oiled leather sheets and dried until hard. Allow about 4 hours to dry. Crush, then store in an airtight container.
Party Brie
A ready-to-eat wheel made of Brie, fresh nuts, dried grapes, dried cranberries and apricots provides all the makings of an impressive hors d’oeuvre that can be served at gatherings or taken as a hostess gift when visiting friends. It is best served on crusty rounds of French bread or crackers. You can vary the toppings as you desire. Dried chopped Bing cherries, for example, go very nicely with the creamy-tangy taste of the cheese.
1 wheel ripe Brie cheese,
½ inches in diameter
½ cup dried Champagne grapes
½ cup finely chopped toasted almonds
½ cup diced dried apricots (½-inch size)
½ cup chopped walnuts (¼-inch size)
½ cup dried green grapes
½ cup pine nuts
½ cup finely chopped dried cranberries
With a sharp knife, trim the rind off the top of the wheel of Brie. Score the cheese into 6 equal wedges by making -inch indentations with the knife on the top of the wheel. Arrange the Champagne grapes over the top of 1 wedge. Press the bottom of an oiled spoon over the grapes to secure them in place. Do this over each wedge. On the next wedge, arrange the almonds. On the next, the apricots; and on the fourth wedge, the walnuts. Next to them, arrange the dried green grapes; and on the remaining wedge, place the pine nuts. Make a circle of the dried cranberries in the middle of the wheel. Let the Brie stand at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours before serving. Serve on rounds of French bread.
Serves up to 30
Baba Ghanouj (Sosame Eggplant Dip)
Baba ghanouj is a deservedly famous Lebanese hors d’oeuvre of roasted or baked eggplant that is pureed, then combined with garlic and tahini, the nutty, full-flavored sesame seed paste of the Middle East. My variation here incorporates plain yogurt into the dip itself, instead of serving it on the side. Healthful, wholesome, and slightly coarse in texture, this dip is superb as a filling for warm pita bread, or as an accompaniment to tabbouleh, bulgur salad, another marvelous Lebanese creation.
½ cup pulverized dried eggplant
¾ cup water
½ cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon tahini (available at health-food stores)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Pita pockets
Shredded fresh carrots and zucchini, bean sprouts, and sliced cucumbers
Chopped parsley or sliced ripe olives for garnish
In a blender, combine the first seven ingredients and blend until smooth. If more liquid is needed, add 1 tablespoon at a time. The consistency should be like thickened yogurt. Transfer the dip to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
To serve, fill pita pockets with the dip and top with the fresh vegetables and a sprinkling of either chopped parsley or ripe olives.
Makes about 1 cup dip, enough to fill two 6-inch pita pockets, halved
Vegetable Loaf
A loaf of French bread and five ingredients are all you need to make this simple healthy combination that is perfect to take on picnics or serve as an accompaniment to soup or salad. The dried peppers take 1 hour to rehydrate, and the stuffed loaf needs to chill for 4 (unattended) hours—a total of 5 hours, with a delicious reward when the time is up. Besides looking very pretty, this stuffed bread has surprisingly interesting flavor.
cup dried green bell pepper pieces
cup juice from a jar of Spanish olives
½ cup sliced Spanish olives
1 fresh onion, chopped into small pieces
1 large ripe tomato, cut into ½-inch pieces
½ teaspoon dried basil
1 loaf French bread
In a large bowl, combine the dried bell pepper pieces and the olive juice. Let sit for 1 hour to rehydrate. Add the olives, the onion, the tomato, and the basil, and combine the salad well.
Slice the bread in half horizontally and remove some of the crumb, hollowing out each half until a ¾-inch thick shell remains. Tear the crumb that has been removed into chunks and add it to the olive salad, combining it well.
Stuff each half of the loaf with olive salad. Carefully re-form the loaf, pressing the halves together, and wrap the bread in aluminum foil. Refrigerate the stuffed bread for 4 hours before slicing with a serrated knife into 1½-inch slices.
Serves 6