For someone whose seminal book is named “La Technique,” Jacques Pépin is one of the least dogmatic chefs I’ve ever met. He demonstrated it back in the 1960s, when he went to work at Howard Johnson’s to help pioneer the use of high-quality frozen food, rather than take a White House job cooking for President John F. Kennedy.
Pépin, 86, can slice and dice with the best of them — I’ve seen him turn garlic and salt into a paste in mere seconds, using nothing more than a knife — but he also is refreshingly fond of shortcuts. He’s demonstrated countless timesaving techniques on his many public-television shows, including my favorite series, “Fast Food My Way,” and its follow-up. In his latest cookbook, “Jacques Pépin Quick & Simple,” an update of an earlier work, Pépin continues spreading the gospel of effective cooking made fast by smart choices. He writes about his love for, among others, the microwave, the pressure cooker, the toaster oven and the food processor, every one of them a timesaver in the kitchen.
Just because you can chop a mountain of vegetables by hand more quickly than the average cook doesn’t mean you want to.
The recipe that jumped out at me in “Quick & Simple” is exactly what the book’s title promises: a light soup that uses water, not stock, to showcase the vegetables and uses a food processor, not a knife, to slice them thinly enough that they soften in 15 or 20 minutes. You use the same food processor (without bothering to clean it) to puree parsley, garlic and a little olive oil into a vibrant paste that you stir into the soup right before serving.
On the cusp of spring, when the days can still be crisp, it makes for a soothing lunch or dinner, with a side of crusty bread for dipping.
The recipe also contains a multitude of lessons, about using whatever you have, about seasoning at the right time, about letting flavors shine — and about being willing to use whatever tools you need to get dinner on the table in a flash.
And that befits Pépin’s reputation as perhaps the world’s best cooking teacher, a reputation he lives up to year after year through not only his books and YouTube videos but through his foundation, which supports community kitchens that offer culinary training to adults with high barriers to employment. To support the foundation’s work, you can become a member and get access to content such as two Web-based “books” that offer a total of 100 recipes and videos from some of the nation’s most acclaimed chefs — Pépin included, of course.
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Storage: The soup can be refrigerated, without the herb-garlic garnish, for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 6 months. Defrost and reheat on the stove top or in the microwave, and add the garnish right before serving.
Fit a food processor with a slicing blade and process the onion, celery and scallions. (Alternatively, you can roughly chop them by hand.)
In a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil until shimmering. Add the sliced vegetables and saute until tender, about 3 minutes
Meanwhile, cut the carrot, zucchini, turnip, cabbage and potatoes in halves or quarters lengthwise (getting them narrow enough to go through the food processor chute), and use the processor to thinly slice them. (Alternatively, you can thinly slice them by hand.)
Add the vegetables to the stockpot, along with the beans, salt and water, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the vegetables are very soft and the soup is flavorful, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, taste, and add more salt and/or lemon juice if needed.
While the soup is cooking, change the food processor to the chopping blade. Combine the garlic and herbs with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in the bowl and puree until smooth. (Alternatively, you can finely chop the garlic and herbs by hand, and stir together with the oil.)
Divide the soup among serving bowls, top each with a generous dollop of the herb mixture, season with the pepper, and serve hot.
Calories: 215; Total Fat: 10 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 518 mg; Carbohydrates: 27 g; Dietary Fiber: 6 g; Sugar: 4 g; Protein: 7 g.
Adapted from “Jacques Pépin Quick & Simple” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020).
Tested by Joe Yonan; email questions to voraciously@washpost.com.
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Jacques Pépin's vegetable soup recipe is satisfying, simple cooking at its best – The Washington Post
