Late last month in Prospect Park, I ran past a patch of purple crocuses practically glowing in the sun. March temperatures may slouch below freezing and snow may blanket the ground, but nothing can stop the lengthening days from enticing shoots from the soil and people’s moods out of their wintry doldrums. It can snow all it wants, but come the thaw those crocuses will still be fresh and upbeat.
It’s at this time of year when I like to embrace lighter, more buoyant broths filled with the season’s most vibrant produce — and little, if any, meat. The key to the deepest, richest flavors in any soup is building complexity at every step. These do just that, as well as using the right techniques to bring out the best of winter’s last crop of vegetables.
For example, roasting roots before adding them to a soup pot is a classic way to release their flavor. A stint in a hot oven caramelizes their sugars and condenses their essence so they taste even more distinctly of themselves. Sweet potatoes and carrots, in particular, emerge from the oven browned at the edges and sticky with their own syrupy juices.
Extra sweetness is a perfect counterpart to the pungent mix of red curry paste, ginger and garlic in my recipe for coconut curry sweet potato soup. It takes some time for the diced root vegetables to turn golden, but that gives you ample opportunity to sauté the shallots and other aromatics that will form the foundation of the broth.
Another important player is coconut milk, which renders the whole thing wonderfully fragrant and silky, and accentuates the sweetness of the roasted roots. Then, for a crunchy note, take some fat flakes of freshly toasted coconut (the big kind, not the shreds) and float them on top right at the end.
Lean and juicy vegetables like green cabbage, on the other hand, require a different approach, such as a generous infusion of Parmesan. You can use the Parmesan in two ways: A chunk of the rind is simmered with the broth to give it a jolt of umami funkiness and depth, then grated cheese is showered on top right at the end, adding salt and some creaminess when you stir it in.
There’s also a small amount of rice in the broth to thicken it slightly. It’s not enough to bring it into porridge territory, but it does give the broth a little body and a nubby bite.
Although borscht can refer to a variety of different soups from Eastern Europe, Ukraine, and Russia, the ones Americans are most familiar with are made from dark red beets that turn the broth vividly — almost terrifyingly — fuchsia.
Not this one. Instead, I opt for underappreciated golden beets, which have an earthy, almost carrotlike flavor that’s less sweet than their crimson cousins. Infused with caraway and coriander seeds, and garnished with sour cream for richness and tang, it’s a mellow soup that softly warms you from the inside out.
These soups are on the light side, but, packed with vegetables, they still make a satisfying dinner, perhaps rounded out with good crusty bread and olives, or a little cheese or salami.
And if you have any left over, you can store these winter soups in the freezer. Like crocuses after a spring snowstorm, they will be none the worse for the wear and just as vibrant in your bowl.
