I’ve made soup at least once a week since July or early August. At first, it was because my eldercare client had surgery and I wanted to take her and her husband an easy lunch every week. I kept thinking I’d get tired of making soup, or get tired of eating soup, or run out of recipes to make.
But lately, I don’t want to make anything else. I don’t know if it’s the soothing aspect of dicing and making broth and stirstirstirring, or the reward of this enormous vat (I can’t make small soups) of cheaply-made, good food or what…
Actually, yes, I do know that’s it. I like the work of it…I like dicing and sauteeing and making broth. I love looking through the fridge or pantry and finding ingredients that I’d forgotten I had, or remembering that I have juuuuust enough cream left, or digging out the last of the celery and using it. I LOVE that big steamy pot of goodness that, when I calculate, didn’t really cost nearly as much as a meat and potatoes type meal. I feed my family, my clients, and my friends at least once a week with soup. It’s a nice feeling.
I’ve had to cut most fat out of my diet, and soup is a lovely way to eat so that I don’t feel like I’m being terribly mistreated. I can do without butter and chips if I have a really good bowl of chili or black bean soup.
So today, I’m thinking of lentils…tomatoes, celery, carrots, oniongarlicetc, maybe a leftover hamhock or two, and either chicken (got two free-range chickens FREE yesterday! sweet!) or ham (got weird ham FREE too! yes!). Maybe heat it up with jalapeno sauce.
Anyone want to join my soup devotees group? Got any good soups simmering away you want to tell us about?
I’ll join in - and I’m hoping people can give me ideas.
I threw my Thanksgiving turkey carcass into the freezer and am defrosting it. I will make stock of course… but from there, what? I am looking for something different as I always make turkey vegetable soup with some sort of starch (either cubed up white potatoes, noodles or rice).
I saw a recipe for Turkey Avgolemono soup, which sounds awesome. I’ll likely have enough stock for more than one soup though, so other ideas are appreciated!
West African Chicken (or Turkey!) stew:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/west-african-chicken-stew/detail.aspx
This is my all-time new favorite recipe. It is SO good and very different from my normal whatever’s-in-the-pantry type soup. I add sweet potatoes (cubed) and a can of drained chickpeas to it for variety. Well worth trying!
Having misplaced the hamhocks (where the heck did they go?!), I’m rethinking the lentil soup. Maybe I’ll do a chicken tortilla instead–I’ve never made it and it’s gotten my imagination going…
I have a yellow split pea soup that I make that uses ham hocks. It’s very good.
Mmmmm ham hocks…
I bless the day I got a stick blender because I can make silky cream of [fill in the vegetable] soups in a snap. My fave is cream of broccoli, and I don’t go overboard on the cream at all, so it’s relatively low-fat. The soup is thick and emerald green and immensely satisfying, and the thickness is all due to there being gobs of emulsified fresh broccoli, not lots of flour or cream. Cream of mushroom is my next favorite, and I plan to explore cream of chicken this weekend.
I’m going to try cheeseburger soup sometime this weekend. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
I decided to make a lentil soup with tortilla soup flavorings. So far it’s interesting…I think it’ll be tasty enough. 
Cheeseburger soup sounds good! I intended to make broccoli soup soon, but the broccoli didn’t look too good so I sent it to the neighbor’s rabbits.
I found a recipe for 2 Pea Soup that uses split peas that I want to try, too! I think I have all the ingredients. Unless it calls for hamhocks, of course.
I make a taco soup with hamburger, tomatoes, onion and anything that sounds good. The key to it is to add a can of corn and to thicken it with refried beans.
It’s best if you have a no salt taco seasoning so you can control the salt to seasoning ratio, most of the taco seasoning packets at the grocery store are almost all salt.
Sadly not able to do this due to the peanuts - and from what I understand the peanuts are pretty key to the flavor here.
Still looking for ideas… not exactly a soup but maybe turkey & dumplings? Not exactly ideal since I’d like something that freezes well, but it’s a firm maybe.
Curses! No peanut butter for you? Yep, that definitely makes it, although perhaps one could sub tahini…
Anyway, this sort-of tortilla chicken soup I made is turning out nicely. I’ll think some more on your turkey needs now…
This Neil Perry Italian zucchini and parmesan soup is lovely - and doesn’t seem to suffer from reducing the oil and skipping the cream (although I’m sure inclusion of both would make it even better!)
If you feel like a little more effort (sorry, I can’t find a link to this Ray McVinnie recipe):
Barbecued Fish Cakes with Tamarind Broth & Rice Noodles
For the fish cakes
500g boned, skinned white fish fillets
2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
1 egg
3 tablespoons fish sauce
For the broth
1 litre chicken stock
100mls tamarind concentrate (available from Asian food stores)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons finely sliced coriander stalks
1 green chilli, split lengthways
2 kaffir lime leaves
200g Thai rice stick noodles (available from supermarkets)
For the garnish
2 cups thinly sliced fresh pineapple chunks
coriander leaves
For the fish cakes
Puree all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Reserve in the fridge.
For the broth
Put the chicken stock, tamarind, sugar, coriander, chilli and lime leaves into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, taste and, if necessary, adjust the sour, sweet and hot flavours with extra tamarind, sugar or another chilli. Take off the heat and reserve.Drop the noodles into boiling water for 4 minutes, then rinse well in cold water and reserve.
For the garnish
To serve, bring the broth to the boil, cover and keep hot but not boiling (sit the saucepan on a cooler part of the barbecue where it’s handy for serving). Have the noodles, pineapple, coriander leaves and serving bowls ready.
Barbecue spoonfuls of the fish cake mix on a hot oiled barbecue (or you can use a stove) until browned on each side and cooked through. Flatten slightly when turning them over. Makes about 18.
Add the noodles to the broth and return to the boil, then divide noodles and broth evenly among six bowls. Put 3 fish cakes and some pineapple on top. Sprinkle with coriander leaves and serve immediately. Serves 6
Sorry, I forgot to come back and report. I didn’t love the cheeseburger soup, but my husband and daughter and son-in-law all liked it quite a bit.
It didn’t taste enough like a cheeseburger to me.
I think I’ll look for a good corn chowder next.
I’ve found cashews can substitute for peanuts easily, and cashews (being seeds, not legumes) don’t bother me at all.
This Food Network cream of mushroom soup is to die for. To kill for. To live for.
Absolute best mushroom soup I’ve ever tasted. A fair bit of work, but if you’re not cracking open a can and calling it good enough, I suspect that you would agree that it’s the journey, not the destination.
We made a double batch of that recipe, and instead of some of the porcini we used a bit of portobello as well; about 2/3 porcini and 1/3 portobello cap. Very robust.
At one point, the recipe discusses straining the pureed mushrooms (i.e., after giving it the stick blender once-over). I say, screw that. I like some texture in my soup, and I’ll be damned if I let one succulent morsel of fungal tastiness escape in a colander.
No soup for you.
These are some of the best of the bunch:
Hungarian Mushroom Soup
4 TBSP butter, divided
2 cups onion, diced
1-1/2 to 2 lbs mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp salt
2-3 tsp dried dill
1 TBSP Hungarian (or smoked sweet Spanish) paprika
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
3 TBSP flour
2 cups mushroom stock
1 cup milk at room temperature
Black pepper to taste
½ cup sour cream
Finely minced fresh parsley
In a large skillet over medium heat melt 2 tablespoons butter and add onions. Sauté for a few minutes, add mushrooms, dill, paprika and stock. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. In a large sauce pan melt remaining butter, add flour and cook while whisking for a few minutes. Add milk and cook stirring frequently, over low heat, about 10 minutes or until thick. Stir in mushroom mixture and remaining stock. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Just before serving, add sour cream and gently mix.
**Chicken, Peanut and Yam Stew
**
2 pounds chicken meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp salt
1 15 oz. can whole tomatoes in juice
¼ cup water
2 TBSP tomato paste
¼ cup peanut oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced and mashed into paste with 1 tsp salt
1-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
½ cup smooth peanut butter at room temperature
1-3/4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 lb sweet potato or yam, cut into 1 inch chunks
Sprinkle chicken with salt and let stand for 30 minutes.
Pulse tomatoes with juices in a food processor until finely chopped.
Stir water into tomato paste in a small bowl until smooth.
Pat chicken dry. Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high until hot, then brown chicken. Remove from pan. Pour off excess oil, leaving about 2 TBSP, then add onion and cook over medium heat until lightly golden, about 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken, tomatoes, tomato paste mixture, garlic paste and cayenne to pan (or use a pot, if needed).
Whisk together peanut butter and one cup broth in a bowl until smooth, then add to chicken along with remaining ¾ cup broth, stirring to combine well. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, about 30 minutes. Add yam chunks and simmer until tender, about 10-12 minutes. Serve over rice, if desired.
Butternut Squash Soup with Star Anise and Ginger Shrimp
Gourmet Magazine
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
2/3 cup chopped shallot
1-3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 whole star anise
1 tablespoon sweet curry powder
2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1-3/4 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ½ inch pieces (5 cups)
4 cups chicken stock or broth
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Garnish: fresh cilantro
Toss shrimp with ginger in a bowl and marinate, chilled, no longer than 30 minutes. Meanwhile, cook shallot, garlic, anise and curry powder in butter in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until shallot is softened, about 5 minutes.
Add squash and stock and simmer, uncovered, until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes. Remove star anise. Puree soup in 2 batches in a blender until very smooth, about one minute per batch, then transfer to cleaned pan and keep warm, covered.
Sprinkle marinated shrimp with salt. Heat oil in a large skillet over moderately high heat, then sauté shrimp in batches, stirring, until just cooked through, about 3 minutes per batch, and remove to paper towels. Bring soup to a simmer and season with salt and pepper. Place in shallow soup bowls, mounding three shrimp in the center and garnishing with cilantro.
Does anyone have a good recipe for soup that doesn’t require broth?
It has been a while (sorry **With Rye **- uses broth)
Zuppa Toscana recipe
1 lb ground pork
2 cups (1 large) onion, chopped (1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces)
4 slices bacon (I prefer thick cut)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (cayenne works also)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
6 cups chicken broth *
4 small red potatoes 1/4 cubes skin on **
2 cups greens ***
1 cup whipping cream
In a bowl: Mix pork and spices – cover and refrigerate overnight
1)In your soup pot , cook up the bacon (I cut it up into 1/4 squares
before), then remove bacon
2)Cook pork and onion in bacon drippings untill meat is brown and onion is
tender (8-10 minutes)
3)Drain off fat, add broth, bring to boil
4)Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes
5)Add potatoes and greens, return to boil and cook covered 15-20 min (until
spuds are done)
6)Add bacon and cream
7)Stir and serve
- You can stretch the # of servings by having more broth – I have used 8 cups
** or more, can’t have too many potatoes (think I use 6 B sized spuds)
*** my recipe says spinach, but I prefer kale
I chop said greens up in 1/4 inch sqaures (lots of those in this recipe)
Brian
If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, use vegetable broth. Or do you just hate our broth-American brethren?
We made this one with the Thanksgiving turkey carcass, and I thought it was pretty fabulous.