Even though this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe was for a trio of soups, Broccoli, Asparagus and Red Pepper, they were all extremely quick and easy to make- stock (or bouillon cube) based with the vegetables pureed with an immersion blender. Super simple! Just as the name implies. Because I didn’t need a quart of soup for each flavor, I cut the recipes down to one cup each. This was the perfect amount for us.
The broccoli was by far the favorite of the three. The red pepper soup was quite good too, but in my opinion it would have benefited from charring the peppers over the flame and peeling them before being added to the stock. Next time.
I am sure the asparagus soup would have been terrific too had the asparagus been somewhat decent. I, quite literally, bought the last sad looking bunch at the grocery store. They were so shriveled and the tips were already turning and just so pitiful that I actually think using frozen would have been a better option. But alas, I bought them and the soup had, well, a rather bitter aftertaste to it. Thankfully, it was only one cup so I didn’t feel so badly letting it go down the drain.
Overall though, these would make great dinner party or brunch appetizers as they don’t require much fussing, can be made in advance and served either warmed, chilled or at room temperature. Dollop a bit of fresh whipped cream and top with a spice of your choice and “Voila!”, an instant starter. I used pink salt for the red pepper, curry for the broccoli and black salt for the asparagus, but the combinations are endless.
While I cannot share the actual recipe, you can (and should!) buy the book and cook along with us. It’s great fun! Every Friday we make a new recipe. Looking forward to next weeks! For details and to see how others are recreating the dishes from this awesome book, check out the FFWD site.
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Your soups look great, even if the asparagus let you down. I only made the asparagus and liked it.
Beautiful photo!!! Just wow! This photo makes them much more appealing than I remembered them. I do think perhaps I might have managed more enjoyment of the pepper had it been roasted…or something.
Gorgeous pictures… and yes, charring the pepper would have really made that soup pop.
Lovely presentation of the soups. They look delicious. I made the Broccoli soup and we loved it at my house. Hope you have a great weekend:)
I totally agree! This was an easy one. I only made the asparagus and fortunately I was able to get a good bunch.
Oh wow, Renee! Your styling choices were amazing. I need to try the broccoli one soon. I think it is the one that has gotten the most raves this week from the group.
Great presentation. These certainly were pretty and really would impress at a party. I didn’t even try to look for asparagus as it would have been absolutely impossible to find this time of year. I thought about buying frozen, but then thought that the frozen peas already sitting in my freezer would work just as well. As it turned out, the pea was my favorite of the three.
I love the way your present these, with a garnish of the vegetable in the glass! I used frozen asparagus, and it worked out well. I wasn’t sure what I would find for asparagus in the produce department. I agree these would be gorgeous before a dinner party.
What a great idea to put the soups in cocktail glasses – perfect for a cocktail party! Great garnish also. I liked them but the red pepper was just too thin, next time I’ll be thickening that one up. Have a great weekend!
Spectacular presentation!!! Have a great weekend, Renee!
Lovely photos and presentation! I think they were very pretty, but wasn’t wowed by the flavour.
Such a beautiful presentation in those cocktail glasses, and I love the additions to all of them.
OMG your moody soup photos are much better than mine! It’s what I was going for… LOL 🙂 Great job!
I used frozen asparagus and broccoli because the fresh ones looked really horrible, shrivelled and were quite expensive as well but I liked the soups and if I make them again I will add a few more ingredients in there! I love the photographs the colours are so vibrant!
Your photos are just wonderful. Glad you enjoyed (most) of them and definitely the concept of these soups. That was my big take away too – that I can use a handful of whatever is around, perhaps what is even ready to not be around much longer, and put it to wonderful use with little effort. Now that is what I call a success, even if most of us tested it with veggies that were not in season. I will be revisiting this one again for sure ~
your soups look so pretty in those cocktail glasses. I too like the broccoli best.. but my husband liked the red pepper one the most.
Your presentation is absolutely beautiful!
Gorgeous presentation!
I agree that these would be much better when the produce is in season – however, I did appreciate how utterly simple these were to make. It’s a great concept.
Your photos are great – I love the garnishes!