Jean Georgess Minimalist Rhubarb Soup Recipes

Steps:

• String the rhubarb, then cut it into roughly 2-inch lengths.
• Place 4 cups water in a saucepan and add the sugar; turn the heat to medium high. Split the vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape out the seeds; add both seeds and pods to the pot. When the water boils, turn the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes, then add the rhubarb. Cook another 5 minutes or so, until the rhubarb begins to fall apart.
• Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, remove the vanilla pods and break up the hunks of rhubarb with a whisk. Serve cold, with slices of strawberry and mango, any sorbet, a dollop of yogurt or sour cream, or on its own.

Steps:

• Bring a few tablespoons of water to a boil in a small pot. Let the boiling water stand for 2 minutes to allow the temperature to drop slightly while you grind the saffron. Using a mortar and pestle (or a small bowl and the handle of a wooden spoon), grind a pinch of sugar with the saffron to a fine powder (you should have about ¼ teaspoon total). Add 2 tablespoons of the hot water, gently stir, cover and let steep until ready to use.
• In a large pan, heat ¼ cup of olive oil over medium. Add the parsley and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and slightly darkened, about 8 minutes. Drizzle in more oil if the pan seems too dry. Add the mint and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Keep in mind that mint burns very quickly. Remove from the heat and set aside until ready to use. (You'll reuse this pan.)
• In a large, deep sauté pan with a lid, or a Dutch oven, heat ¼ cup of the olive oil over medium-high. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with a little salt, and reduce the heat to medium. Add the turmeric, stir and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the beans, season well with salt and pepper, and cook, gently stirring without breaking the beans, until the flavors have mingled, about 5 minutes. Taste a bean and make sure it's salted to your liking. The turmeric might feel overpowering at this point, but it will mellow as the stew simmers.
• To the beans, add the parsley and mint mixture (keeping the pan handy), 2 cups water and half of the saffron water, and season with salt. Gently stir and bring to a rapid simmer. Partly cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer, occasionally stirring, for 30 minutes, until the flavors have mingled and the oil rises.
• Add the rest of the saffron water, the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon sugar. Stir and simmer, partly covered, for 15 minutes. Taste as the stew simmers and season as needed. Add more water to the stew if necessary to make it juicier, or remove the lid to reduce the liquid. There should be plenty of liquid to spoon over rice, but it shouldn't be soupy. The stew can be made 1 day in advance up to this point.
• Meanwhile, wipe clean the reserved pan from the herbs. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and heat over medium. Add the rhubarb and cook until the color deepens on each side, about 2 minutes per side. You're not fully cooking the rhubarb here; it should maintain its shape and still have a slight bite to it, as it will finish cooking in the stew.
• Gently place the rhubarb pieces in the stew, increase the heat to medium-low and cook, partly covered, until the rhubarb is tender and releases its tangy flavor, about 10 minutes. Don't stir the rhubarb; you want it to maintain its shape and not turn mushy. Taste the stew as it simmers; add more lemon juice for extra acidity, if needed, and more sugar for balance, if you like. Serve over rice.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine the rhubarb, 1 cup water, sugar and cinnamon; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until rhubarb is tender. Combine cornstarch and remaining water until smooth; stir into rhubarb mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened., Remove from the heat and discard cinnamon stick. Stir in grape juice. Serve warm or cover and refrigerate overnight. Garnish with almonds if desired.

Steps:

• Break or cut each rhubarb stalk into 2 or 3 pieces, just so they fit in the saucepan, and set aside. Wash the beets, remove the stalks and leaves (see p.199 for what to do with them), and trim each beet, cutting away the barnacly bits; there's no need to peel. Roughly chop into ¾-inch chunks. Peel the onion and roughly chop it.
• Warm the oil in a decent-sized saucepan or Dutch oven that comes with a tightly fitting lid-I use one of 10 inches diameter-and cook the onion for about 10 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. It won't soften much in that time, but enough for now.
• Peel and roughly chop the garlic, and stir it into the pan of onions. Cook for about 2 minutes, then stir in the cumin and tumble in the rhubarb and beets. Add the water and salt, turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once it's bubbling, turn the heat down, clamp on the lid, and let it all cook at a robust simmer until the beets are utterly, utterly soft. This always takes more time than you'd think: I'd reckon on 1½ hours, though it easily could take longer.
• With a stick blender (and if yours comes with a soup-blending attachment, so much the better), blitz until you have a smooth and velvety ruby soup.
• If the skin's tough, peel the ginger with the tip of a teaspoon, then coarsely grate it onto a plate. Moving fast, get out a piece of paper towel and spoon half the grated ginger into the center, then bring together the edges of the paper and twist. Holding this little swag bag over the soup, press on it to squeeze out the intense juice. Now get another square of paper towel, and do the same with the remaining half of grated ginger. Taste for seasoning, ladle out into waiting bowls, and drizzle over each a little horseradish cream or green tahini sauce as you wish.