6 big winners: the best soups from our reader recipe contest - includes recipes and cooking tips - Cover Story

Vegetarian Times, Oct, 1997 by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley

BRAVO TO ALL the readers across the country who submitted recipes for our soup contest. The response was truly overwhelming, and though it wasn't easy choosing six winners from among the 1,000 or so entries we received, choose we did by using our staff's culinary expertise to read, test and taste--over and over again.

As we made our way through the piles of recipes, some clear preferences emerged: Lentil soups of all types were by far the most popular submission, followed by those made with winter squash, pumpkin or carrots. It also appears that many of you like your soup spicy. Ingredients such as jalapeno peppers, lemon grass, chili powder, Szechuan sauce, curry powder, crushed red pepper flakes and Cajun seasoning were abundant.

In order to narrow the field of submissions, we discarded those recipes that were unduly complicated or too time-consuming, too ordinary or simply bizarre. Then came the fun part: preparing the recipes that remained and judging them on the basis of flavor, appearance, originality, creativity and healthfulness. The votes are in, and here are the winners--all souped up and ready to serve!

First Place: Garlicky Mango Soup

6 SERVINGS LACTO/VEGAN

The unusual combination of ingredients in this soup--ripe mango with a spicy broth containing a sun-dried tomatoes, green chilies, black beans and garlic--lends it a wonderful exotic taste.

2 Tbs. butter or margarine
1/2 cup chopped onion
8 cups vegetable stock or
  canned broth
15-oz. can black beans, drained
  and rinsed
9-oz. pkg. frozen corn kernels
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 cup sun-dried tomato halves
4-oz. can chopped green chilies
2 ripe large mangoes (see glossary)
2 tsp. sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  to taste