I experimented with a free form soup this week, with part of my batch of beans.
The soup is white beans, black lentils, and harissa spice blend.
I sautéed some onions with a harissa spice blend, some ground peppers, garlic powder, ginger powder, a little thyme, sumac, and some turmeric. I added some tomato paste and a chicken broth concentrate. Then added the cooked beans (and their broth) and the raw lentils and gave them a simmer with extra water as needed.
My philosophy around spices is that I tend to add ones that I think go together. Or have similar vibes. So many cultures have standard spice blends and I am inspired by those and often mix up lots of pinches in a dish to add some depth.
To serve, I added some leftover sautéed kale reheated with the soup. And I had these leftover chopped carrots so I put those in raw for crunch and added a squeeze of lime.
This soup turned out great and I will repeat with homemade or canned beans.
On the side, a few bits of Brie, hazelnuts, fig/olive crackers, and dried figs.
by PlantedinCA