Soup & Bread 1/23/13: The Ocean

I was expecting a full slate of chowder last week. I should’ve known better.

Our soup cooks really stepped it up, delivering a set of wildly creative variations on the theme of “The Ocean” that included (what?) four vegan soups.

Bryan Rosendale brought a mild and creamy seaweed-and-ginger congee, a take on the traditional breakfast soup of southeast Asia. Made from a vegan base of jasmine rice and vegan dashi, it could be topped with your choice of spicy shrimp or tofu, and then laced with a web of Korean red pepper oil and aged soy sauce. Susannah Kite Strang produced a sweet vegan corn chowder topped with edamame and sweet-and-spicy sauce that she dubbed “Inland Sea” soup. (Corn and soy … get it?) Swim Cafe came with an earthy “Oceanic Vegan Soup” featuring miso, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and seaweed. And the Marjorie Kovler Center‘s Mary Black delivered an airy green pea and lettuce soup (above) the vibrant color of a fresh patch of algae.

There were a few sea creatures to be found on the soup line — Black also brought a dairy-free clam chowder, from a recipe her chef-boyfriend had worked up, and Chantal Powell made a spicy, tomato-based fish soup (above) plenty with salmon and tilapia, and shot through with pepper and jalapeno. And Paul Wargaski concocted “Caribbean callaloo,” a lightly sweet and sour broth of chicken stock and coconut milk paired shrimp, pollack, collard greens, okra, ham, and bacon. “I’d never seen these flavors together before,” he said. “I thought it would either be delicious or it’ll be terrible and I’ll have to run out and bring some Campbell’s.” It was delicious.

Once again even our DJ got into the spirit of things: Peter Margasak’s set ranged from Debussy’s “La Mer” to Wilco’s “Secret of the Sea” and off into uncharted waters. All in all we raised $360 for the Kovler Center, and there wasn’t a drop left to eat, but don’t fret — recipes are pending.

Coming up January 30: The “3Bs: Beans, Beer, and Bacon,” with cooks drawn from the ranks of the culinary chat site LTH Forum and the good folks of Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm (instigators of the new Soup & Bread: Ottawa series). Bread generously donated by La Farine Bakery and Publican Quality Meats; our DJ is Sarah Gardiner. All proceeds benefit Lakeview Pantry. See you then!