Experts share top soup recipes

PHILADELPHIA — We’re coming upon another season for soup. People typically turn to soup for comfort. During these days of the pandemic, soup means even more.

Before the pandemic, the Moktan family, which owns The Persian Grill, was used to seeing health care workers at their two locations.

Throughout the pandemic, owners Bimal Moktan and Binod Moktan have brought food to frontline workers directly, giving away meals at Einstein Medical Center Montgomery, Doylestown Hospital, and Chestnut Hill Hospital, among other places. Bimal Moktan says they’ve donated 5,000 meals since March.

“They work so hard,” Bimal Moktan, who served khoresh bademjoon, an eggplant stew, to law enforcement officers in Plymouth Meeting recently. “They can buy the food, and they have money to do it, but we just want to support,” he said of frontline workers.

Moktan acknowledges that their giveaways are helpful for him, too.

“The doctor prescribes medicine when you get sick,” Bimal Moktan said. “When they can get good food that I can serve, then I feel good.”

The Inquirer reached out to the Moktans, and Cooking Alchemy founder Elizabette Andrade for recipes just right for this time in the season. Here are the soups they shared.

Mushroom Chowder

For her mushroom chowder, Elizabette Andrade uses a local mix of shiitake, oyster and cremini. Andrade and her partner Erich Smith produce spices and pastes through their wellness-minded product line, Germantown-based Cooking Alchemy. This recipe is a source for fiber, she explained, and incorporates maitake, which are adaptogens that can help combat stress.

“Mushrooms are a nice source of vitamin D,” added Andrade. “And given the fact that we’ve been quarantined, we’ve been inside and not quite getting as much vitamin D as most of us would like, I think that’s a great feature and how that affects, you know, our mood.”

Serves: 4

41/2 cups water

11/2 tablespoon coconut oil

3 green onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup cremini mushrooms, chopped

1 cup shiitake mushrooms, chopped

1 cup oyster mushrooms, chopped

1 teaspoon celery seed

2 cups unsweetened
coconut milk

1 cube Cooking Alchemy Mushroom Bouillon (optional)

2 cups diced taro root or diced red potatoes

1 teaspoon dulse flakes

1 teaspoon wakame, chopped

1 sprig of fresh thyme

1 tablespoon of fresh parsley

2 teaspoons smoked salt

Garnish:

1 cup lightly panfried maitake mushroom

Fresh thyme sprigs

Smoked paprika

Add 1 tablespoon coconut oil to a preheated medium stockpot. Add green onions and garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add cremini, shiitake and oyster mushrooms, and celery seed, mix well, and saute for a few minutes. Add coconut milk, water, stir, and bring to a light boil for 10 minutes.

Add mushroom bouillon (optional), taro (or potato) root, dulse, wakame, sprig of thyme, parsley, and smoked salt. Stir and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Preheat pan and add 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil. Lightly pan fry maitake for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove, let cool, and divide into fourths.

Divide chowder into 4 bowls. Add maitake to the center of each bowl and garnish with smoked paprika and sprig of thyme.

Khoresh Karafs

Bimal Moktan was at first a regular at The Persian Grill. He ate there so frequently at the start of the ’90s that the owner hired him as a manager, eventually selling him the business in 1992. They still offer a deep menu with the kebabs they’re known for, but also, an assortment of stews. Khoresh karafs is a stew that’s been gaining popularity at The Persian Grill.

Serves: 8. Recipe courtesy of The Persian Grill. Note: You’ll get more flavor from the dried lemons if they are soaked in water for 10 minutes before cooking. If you can’t find dried lemons, you can substitute 1/2 fresh lemon

2 tablespoons of garlic

1 whole medium onion, diced

1 cup roughly chopped mint

2 cups bunches of celery

2 cups fresh parsley, roughly chopped

4 dried lemons

Pinch of turmeric/saffron

1 cup black-eyed peas, canned, drained (for dried, soak overnight)

4 cups vegetable broth

1 cup mushrooms, sliced (optional)

Salt

Black pepper

1 teaspoon ginger, chopped

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

Lemon juice (optional)

Using a large pot or Dutch oven on medium, heat olive oil. Saute garlic, onion and mint until fragrant, about five minutes.

Add celery, parsley, dried lemons and turmeric or saffron. Stir, and add black-eyed peas and vegetable broth.

Add mushrooms or cooked protein if using, then salt and pepper to taste.

Cover, and cook on medium with a lid, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes. To serve, squeeze fresh lemon juice over each serving.