Soup is on the mind, what with the severe winter storm alert going around. I decided to do a slight remake of a soup I tried a few months ago. I got the recipe from Heidi, but the credit really goes to Charlotte as it is originally her recipe.
Shortly before I came across the recipe, both Michael Ruhlman and Mark Bittman blogged about how you don’t need stock to make good soup. This was great news to me because I had not found (and still haven’t) a store-bought vegetable broth that tasted good. (I know I know, I’m supposed to make my own.)
Newly emboldened, I set off to make my soup without broth. I did, however, want to flesh out the flavor beyond the edamame and potatoes. Here’s an insight into how my mind works: “Edamame = Japanese food = often served with green tea. I’ll use some green tea in place of broth.” And so I did. This time around, I decided to add some grapefruit because 1) it’s delicious, 2) I think grapefruit and green tea pair well, and 3) sometimes it’s good to have a reminder of summer. Voila, Citrusy Edamame Soup!
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 potato, peeled and cut into small chunks
- 1 1/2 lbs shelled edamame
- 1 cup green tea
- 3 cups water
- zest of half a grapefruit
- juice of half a grapefruit (~1/4 cup)
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat, add the onion and potato. Saute for a few minutes, then cover the pot and allow the onion and potato to soften (maybe 5 minutes more).
- Add the edamame, water, and tea. Also add a big pinch of salt and a healthy dose of pepper. Cover and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes and edamame are tender.
- Add the grapefruit zest (reserving some for garnish if you’d like) and juice. Then puree in a food processor or with an immersion blender. Serve.
(Serves 6)
Now, last time I made this I used 2 cups of tea and 2 cups water, and felt that was a bit too much tea. This time I felt like I could have perhaps used a bit more. I have a feeling that the tea had been steeped a bit longer the first time (Mike actually did the steeping), so perhaps 2 cups would be ok if the tea wasn’t as strong. I suppose adjust up or down depending on how much you like green tea. Definitely be careful not to oversteep (I don’t think that’s a real word), as it will make your tea (and thus your soup) bitter.
Update: Just wanted to add that the grapefruit flavor is much more prominent when the soup is served at room temperature or cooler.
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