Daily Vegan Lunch for 21 October, 2013: Rustic Bread Soup
Many people don’t realize most bread, including sourdough, is vegan. It’s a combination of yeast, flour, sugar and salt. Unless there’s an egg wash or a butter top, bread is as vegan as it gets.
This dish reminds me of pre-made frozen white bread dumplings my mom used to make with gravy. Like most meat dishes, it was a heavy, greasy dish. This version brings me back to all of the good things about that dish with none of the grease or heavy fat that used to stick to everything.
INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon oil
1.5 cups chopped onion
1.5 cups chopped celery
1.5 cups chopped carrot
1.5 cups chopped peeled potatoes
2 cups chopped red cabbage or other cabbage (I just really like red cabbage this time of year as you can probably tell)
6 cups vegetable broth (I used water, 2 broth cubes, and a pinch of salt)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon basil
2 cups pureed tomatoes (I used some late garden tomatoes puréed in the blender)
1 heaping tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1-2 slices of bread per bowl, I used a crusty homestyle bread from a bakery
DIRECTIONS:
Sauté onion and cabbage in oil in the bottom of a large stockpot on medium high until translucent. Add cumin and paprika and saute 30 more seconds. Add celery, carrot, potatoes, and broth. Cook until carrots and potatoes are fork tender. Add pureed tomatoes, basil, and garlic and cook 10 – 15 more minutes. To serve, place 1-2 slices of bread in the bottom of the bowl and ladle soup over it like this:
