My belly is growing — that’s a fact — and every day bébé’s kicks become more frequent and more obvious. What started as gentle, butterfly-like flutters has turned into a clear “coucou, I am here, see what I can do?” kind of announcement. “Bébé est en train de ranger sa chambre,” I jokingly tell P. when a particularly lively moment arrives. The movements already follow a natural rhythm of sleep and wakefulness.
I’m increasingly fascinated by the changes I’m going through and by the reality that a baby is physically and emotionally growing inside me. To be honest, I never thought about this much before — I wasn’t particularly curious until it happened to me. Experiencing it firsthand made everything real and filled gaps in my knowledge about what it’s like to carry a child. It’s an amazing life event.
With these changes comes another small one: I get hungry more often, especially whenever bébé seems fully awake and busy tidying or dancing. Lately I’ve been craving soup above all. It’s perfect for this time of year.
If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you’ll know I love making and eating soups — often. I usually enjoy them with a rustic tartine topped with something tasty and a crisp salad on the side. I prefer soups that are nutritious and showcase seasonal vegetables so they sustain me through the day. When I’m short on time I make smooth soups and use a food processor or hand blender; it’s a quick, reliable solution on a busy day.
Recently, though, my cravings have shifted toward heartier, more nourishing soups. I want a soup that’s a complete dish in one bowl — rustic, full of various flavors and chunky pieces, more like a good minestrone than a velouté.
“C’est B. qui serait content,” I told P. when I made a pot of tomato and chickpea soup for Sunday lunch a few weeks ago. The soup was rich and satisfying, dense with nutrients. We ate it with a rustic loaf of crusty bread and grated cheese that melted into the warm broth.
P. paused with a spoonful halfway to his mouth when I said that, surprised. “Why?” he asked.
My brother B. dislikes smooth soups. He’s one of the few people I know who isn’t fond of a creamy velouté or a Vichyssoise. He prefers soups with “des morceaux dedans” — chunks — more like a soupe moulinée or something passed through a food mill. His wife and I have always been puzzled, since B. normally loves a wide variety of foods. But smooth soups are an exception for him.
Thinking of B. made me smile as I prepared another pot of rustic soup a few days ago. I pictured which ingredients to add and imagined how much he would have enjoyed it.
I began with the broth — the backbone of the soup. Choose the herbs you prefer; they define the character of the final dish. My broth often includes fennel and coriander seeds, plus fresh herbs like thyme and a bay leaf. I also use classic broth vegetables: carrot, leek, parsnip, celery and fennel. For the soup itself I sweat an onion with garlic for a few minutes, then add more vegetables, a can of chickpeas for substance, and pasta such as penne for texture. The pot simmers gently and the flavors meld; the soup in this version cooked about forty-five minutes total. The result was exactly as I hoped: simple, nourishing and flavorful.
We enjoyed it with smoked salmon, a spoonful of walnut pesto and grated cheese, each of us savoring a large bowl.
“Ready to go for a walk now?” P. asked with a laugh when he saw me licking the last bit of broth from my bowl.
“J’en ai besoin!” I replied, content and pleasantly full — repus, as we say in French. “But let’s take a piece of chocolate cake with us.”
We always do. This time, I blamed it on being pregnant.
Don’t be intimidated by the ingredient list — most items are common and the soup is straightforward to prepare.
You need:
For the soup broth:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 leek, chopped
- 2 celery branches, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 parsnip, peeled and diced
- 1 fennel bulb, cut in pieces
- 1 bay leaf
- Bunch of fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, parsley, according to taste)
- 1/4 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/8 tsp red peppercorns
- 8 cups cold water
- Sea salt, to taste
For the soup:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
- 1 cup dry pasta, like penne — use rice pasta for a gluten free meal
- 4 tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded and diced
- 1 can chickpeas (15 oz)
- 1/2 escarole, cleaned and sliced coarsely
- 1.5 cups spinach leaves
- 1 zucchini, sliced
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- Grated cheese, parmesan or pecorino
- Fresh parsley, to serve
- *Walnut and parsley pesto, to serve
- 4 slices of smoked salmon, diced
Steps:
- For the vegetable broth, follow the same approach described in my earlier post, using the ingredients listed above.
- To prepare the soup, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook another minute.
- Add the carrot and tomatoes and cook 2–3 minutes, then add the escarole. Cover with the broth, add the chickpeas, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add the penne and continue cooking until the pasta is al dente, following the package time.
- Five minutes before the end, add the zucchini, spinach and the beaten eggs — pour the eggs slowly in a thin stream so they cook gently.
- Adjust seasoning. Divide the smoked salmon among four bowls and ladle the hot soup over. Serve with walnut pesto, grated cheese and fresh parsley.
*Walnut and Parsley Pesto: In a small food processor combine 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, 1 garlic clove, the finely grated zest of 1 lemon, 1 heaped cup flat-leaf parsley, 1/3 cup grated pecorino and 2 tablespoons walnut oil; blend until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
Ingrédients :
Pour le bouillon :
- 2 càs d’huile d’olive
- 2 gousses d’ail
- 1 oignon, haché
- 1 poireau, haché
- 2 branches de céleri, hachées
- 3 carottes, pelées et coupées en gros morceaux
- 1 panais, pelé et coupé en gros morceaux
- 1 bulbe de fenouil, coupé en gros morceaux
- 1 feuille de laurier
- Une grosse poignée d’herbes fraîches (romarin, thym, persil, selon goût)
- 1/4 càc de graines de coriandre
- 1/4 càc de graines de fenouil
- 1/8 càc de baies roses
- Un peu moins de 2 litres d’eau froide
- Sel de mer
Pour la soupe :
- 2 càs d’huile d’olive
- 1 gousse d’ail
- 1 oignon rouge, émincé
- 1 carotte, pelée et coupée en rondelles
- 100 g de pâtes non cuites, comme des penne — utilisez des pâtes à base de riz pour un repas sans gluten
- 4 tomates, blanchies, pelées, épépinées et coupées en morceaux
- 1 boîte de pois chiches (425 g)
- 1/2 scarole, nettoyée et coupée grossièrement
- 1 grosse poignée de feuilles d’épinards
- 1 courgette, coupée en rondelles
- 2 œufs, battus légèrement
- Fromage râpé, parmesan ou pecorino, pour servir
- Persil frais haché, pour servir
- *Pesto de noix et de persil, pour servir
- 4 tranches de saumon fumé, coupées en dés
Pesto de noix et de persil : dans le bol d’un mixeur, ajoutez 2 càs de noix, 1 gousse d’ail, une grosse poignée de persil plat, le zeste d’un citron finement râpé, 30 g de pecorino râpé et 2 càs d’huile de noix; mixez le tout. Assaisonnez de sel et de poivre.
Etapes :
- Pour le bouillon de légumes, suivez les mêmes étapes décrites précédemment en utilisant les ingrédients listés ci‑dessus.
- Pour préparer la soupe, chauffez 2 càs d’huile d’olive dans une cocotte. Faites suer l’oignon pendant 2–3 minutes, puis ajoutez l’ail et poursuivez la cuisson une minute.
- Ajoutez les carottes et les tomates. Cuisez 3 minutes, puis incorporez la scarole et les pois chiches. Couvrez de bouillon et laissez mijoter à couvert pendant 20 minutes.
- Ajoutez les pâtes et poursuivez la cuisson jusqu’à ce qu’elles soient al dente.
- Cinq minutes avant la fin, ajoutez les rondelles de courgette, les épinards et versez les œufs doucement en filet.
- Assaisonnez selon votre goût. Répartissez le saumon fumé dans les assiettes et versez la soupe chaude dessus. Servez avec le pesto de noix, du fromage râpé et du persil haché.