Please share your favorite "really great soup" recipes

In My Humble Opinion
21

Just last night I made a great chicken soup. It really felt like winter outside, and both of the kids were coughing. I firmly believe that chicken soup is good for colds, don’t you? This took about an hour.

One cut up chicken
One large onion
One small onion
Three average sized potatoes
Three large carrots diced
One or two celery stalks
Three, or as many as you like, cloves of garlic
Mushrooms as you please
Chickpeas as you please
A half cup of peas and or any other frozen veggie you like
Oregano—a teaspoon at least
Two large bay leaves
One quarter of an habanera pepper diced
A handful of cilantro coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat your largest stockpot until the olive oil will shimmer when added. Sauté the large onion until it’s clear. Add the chopped mushrooms and a bit more olive oil, a tablespoon of sea salt if you have it, and a lot of freshly ground pepper. When the mushrooms are soft, stir in the chopped garlic, cook until you smell the garlic, and then remove the mixture from the pot. Set it aside in a bowl, and stir in a teaspoon of oregano.

Put a splash more oil into the stockpot, and add the chicken, a couple of carrots, a coarsely chopped onion, a few bay leaves, salt and pepper. Leave it alone for a while at high heat. Don’t agonize about it burning to the pan, because it won’t. Fill a teapot with water and bring it to a boil while you dice the rest of the onion, the carrots, the celery stalks, the potatoes, and any other vegetable you like. I prefer to chop everything roughly the same size. Stir the chicken and turn it a few times, cooking until it no longer appears raw. Put the ingredients from the bowl—the mushrooms, onions, oregano—on top of the chicken the last time you stir it.

Add an inch or two of the boiling water. With a wooden spoon, stir, making sure you scrape the bottom of the pot for flavor. Now add the rest of the water—about a teapot full-- and let the chicken simmer covered for as long as you can—as little as thirty minutes, or as much as two hours. Make sure it is a simmer, not a rolling boil, if you want the broth to be clear and golden.

Remove the chicken for cooling. If you have winter, set the chicken outside your door for a few minutes, first making sure your cat is indoors. When cool, remove the meat from the bones and set aside. Add the meat back to the broth, along with your previously chopped vegetables, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.

Just before serving, stir in the cilantro and the habanera pepper.

22

Gazpacho doesn’t count, right?

The OP seems to specify hot soup for the winter season. Too bad.

23

Another Pressure Cooker Soup:

I’ve never used precise measurements…

the basics
1 pkge boneless skinless chicken thighs (or chicken breasts, or even a whole cut up chicken. I use the b/s thighs because it saves prep time and b/c white meat tends to get a bit dried out sometimes)
-baby carrots (no need to peel and chop this way, but you could buy regular carrots and peel and chop if you wanted)
-potatoes - peeled and chopped (sometimes I use small red potatoes, unpeeled and cut into chunks)
-celery maybe three stalks
-1 chopped onion
-chicken broth

I throw all this in the pressure cooker along with (depending on what I feel like making)

1 can of lite coconut milk (usually stirred in after pressure has been brought down)
Penzey’s sweet curry powder to taste

or

white wine
herbs (Penzey’s herbs de Provence or Fines Herbes)

or

fresh lemon juice
garlic (here I use whole cloves -they get soft and mushy and mild-tasting)

or

some fat-free milk, and a bit of flour to thicken it a bit
Penzey’s herbes de Provence or Fines Herbes (I add the milk after the pressure has been brought back down and the lid is off)

bring up to pressure, cook for about 10 minutes, quick-release the pressure. Add salt and pepper to taste.

When I make this, I can usually get it from ingredients-in-fridge to soup-in-bowl in about half an hour.

24

Amazing Beef & Barley Soup

3 lb chuck roast (7-bone) I suppose you could use any beef roast, but these are usually on sale at my local store so that’s what I use.

1 lg russet potato, finely chopped If you like a chunkier soup, you could always cut things bigger.

handful of baby carrots, finely chopped

3 stalks celery, finely chopped

6 lg brown mushrooms, minced 'cause I hate mushrooms, but this way I can’t pick 'em out. See, they’re good for you.

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

4 lg cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon dried thyme, or equivalent fresh

Worchestershire sauce and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

1 cup uncooked pearl barley

4 cups beef broth

8 cups water

Season roast with fresh ground pepper and sear in olive oil in stockpot until browned on both sides. Remove meat and deglaze pot. Return meat to pot and add beef broth, vegetables, and thyme. Add water to cover. Simmer until meat falls from bone. Remove bones from pot and shred meat into smaller bits. Add barley. When barley is cooked, add woosty-sauce, salt, and more pepper to taste.

This makes a big pot of thick, hearty soup. It my wintertime favorite with hot fresh bread and a fat glass of red wine. I recommend napping after dinner.

25

Partan Bree (Cream of Crab Soup)

This recipe is so good that my ex-husband and I call each other whenever one or the other of us loses the recipe.

It’s from the highlands of Scotland.

7 and 1/2 oz. of crabmeat (fresh, if it’s available, but canned will do) Claw meat is especially good.
1/4 C. rice
1 tsp. butter
2 C. milk
1/2 tsp. anchovy paste or 1 anchovy fillet – (trust me)
2 C. chicken stock
1/2 cup cream

Simmer rice and butter in milk until very tender. Put aside half the crabmeat and add the remainder, with the anchovy, to the rice and milk. Run this mixture in the blender until smooth. Pour it back into the saucepan. Add the stock gradually and blend well. (Add salt and pepper if needed.) Chop the remaining crabmeat and add. Heat soup just to a boil, but do not allow it to boil. Blend in the cream immediately. Supposed to serve 4 to 6, but 2 of us can easily knock this off on a cold night.

If you have Scottish blood, it’s a spiritual experience.

26

This easy gourmet tomatosoup tastes of summer. Which can be a great thing in winter.
Plus, it can be made from stuff most people have in stock.

[ul]
[li]a handful of grated cheese (good way of finishing cheese-chunks!)[/li][li]a cup of milk[/li][li]a can of peeled tomatoes in tomatojuice[/li][li]an orange, or orange juice, or a tangerine[/li][li]dried herbs: thyme, basil, oregano, But the secret ingredient is mint. in a pinch, a bag of minty herbal tea is fine and I’ve even used toothpaste, (once) [/li][li]a spoon of flour, butter, stock.[/li][/ul]

First, make a basic blond roux, using the butter and the flour and the milk. (What’s a roux? A roux is the base for all soups and sauces that don’t come out of a bought bag or packet. If you have’t already, take the five silly minutes to learn how to make a roux. You’ll be considered a great chef the rest of your life, AND you’ll save money the rest of your life. :slight_smile: )
When the roux looks like blond sauce, slowly stir in the grated cheese and add milk or broth untill all the cheese is dissolved. (The exact order in which you add roux-cheese-milk is important here, of you’ll just get a big lump of cheese in a pathetic footbath). Add the broth. Cut up the tomatoes in the juice. Add tomatoes and juice to the soup. Add a pinch of thyme and basil and a hint of oregano and let simmer for 10 minutes. Put out the flames and add the mint and the orangejuice from one orange.
For extra effect, stir in the cream right before serving. (the chic “white whirl”)

27

I made this last night for supper. I’ll bet they were begging for the recipe, it’s great!

28

Hooray! I’m so glad you liked it.

29

Sorry, I don’t measure anything, so it’s a bit vague.

Simple Lentil Soup

Ingredients:
3 fistfuls of dried red lentils
2 cloves garlic
1 onion
extra virgin olive oil
stock (chicken or vegetable, fresh or store-bought)
3 rashers smoked back bacon (not streaky) if desired.
Lemon juice
salt and black pepper.

Method:
Chop garlic and onion, fry in a little oil in a deep pot until soft.
Add lentils and coat with oil.
Cover lentils with hot stock… make sure pot is fuller than the amount of soup you want as the liquid will evaporate.
Simmer uncovered for 30 mins.
Add bacon if desired.
Seasin to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Keep on a low heat until bacon is cooked, lentils are soft and soup is consistency you like (about another 15-30 mins). Add more stock if you prefer it thinner, heat for longer if you prefer it thicker.
Puree or mash to make it smoother, if you like.
Add coriander leaves, a swirl of cream and serve.
Pumpkin soup

Ingredients:
1 small pumpkin
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
extra virgin olive oil
Salt & black pepper
2 tsp curry powder or garam masala
Stock
Cream or full fat milk or suitable substitute.

Cut pumpkin in half, scoop out seeds.
Place pumpkin on an oiled baking tray in a hot oven and roast until flesh is soft (roughly 30 mins).
Remove flesh from skin when cool.
Cut pumpkin flesh into pieces.
Dry roast pumpkin seeds in an oven or on the stovetop in a dry frying pan (or discard seeds and use ready roasted ones)

Chop onion and garlic and fry until soft in a little oil in a large pot.
Add curry powder/garam masala and cook until spices release their flavour.
Add pumpkin pieces, coat in oil and stir well.
Add stock to cover.
Cook for 10 minutes.
Mash or puree to make sure soup had right texture.
Add cream/cream substitute until soup has silky consistency.
Season to taste.
Serve with a swirl of cream and a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds.

If desired you can add parboiled sweet potato, carrot, swede or potato to the soup, as long as you ensure it’s properly cooked before serving.

30

Here is a recipe I actually invented.

For the lazy:

Minted Curried Pea Soup

Frozen peas
Chicken or Vegetable stock
Chopped onion, leek, or shallots or some of each
Curry paste (any Patak’s paste will be fine Mild Curry is good)
Green Podina Chutney
Whole peppercorns (pink seem to work best)
Plain yoghurt
Butter

Heat the butter and saute the onion mix. Before it colours throw in the curry paste and peppercorns and saute for a few more seconds. Chuck in some stock and then throw in a large pack of frozen peas (minted if possible) and simmer for the time the peas require. With a slotted spoon take out a couple of handfuls of peas and put them aside. Take it off the heat and blend it with a stick blender while adding the yoghurt and the Podina chutney until you like the taste and texture. Return the unblended peas you put aside before and serve up with a dollop of yoghurt (paneer is better if you can get it or make it) and fresh mint leaves.

31

Pasta e Fagioli

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced (1 cup)
1 large carrot, julienned (1 cup)
3 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 15-ounce can red kidney beans (with liquid)
1 15-ounce can great northern beans (with liquid)
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 12-ounce can V-8 juice
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 pound (1/2 pkg.) ditali pasta

  1. Brown the ground beef in a large saucepan or pot over medium heat. Drain off most of the fat.
  2. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and sauté for 10 minutes.
  3. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour.
  4. About 50 minutes into simmer time, cook the pasta in 1 1/2 to 2 quarts of boiling water over high heat. Cook for 10 minutes or just until pasta is al dente, or slightly tough. Drain.
  5. Add the pasta to the large pot of soup. Simmer for 5-10 minutes and serve.
32

I an identical one. It’s delicious. One thing I have to list is that an extremely suitable substitute for cream is a dollop of creme fraiche. And chopped coriander leaves on top.

33

Cream of Brie[ul][li]4 tbsp butter[]1/2 cup chopped yellow onion[]1/2 cup chopped celery[]1/4 cup flour[]2 cups chicken broth[]2 cups milk[]12 ounces Brie[/ul]-Melt half a stick of butter and add the onion and celery. Saute until limp.[/li]-Remove from heat, add 1/4 cup flour, stir.
-Add chicken broth and milk, return to heat, allow soup to thicken.
-Add cubed Brie (include the rind!). Let it melt.
-Using your boat-motor mixer, blend until completely smooth.
-Serve hot with a sprinkle of Penzey’s Herbes de Provence.

34

I need to take a moment to second, third, and fourth this recipe. This stuff is GOOD. :slight_smile:

35

I got this recipe from TeaElle, and it’s just wonderful. Spicy enough to have a bit of kick to it, but not enough to be hot. Zesty, I guess you’d call it.

Spicy Squash Soup
1 White Onion, peeled and diced
1 Red Onion, peeled and diced
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 1/2 lbs. Butternut Squash, pared, seeded and cubed
2 Delicious Apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 clove Garlic, crushed
1 quart Vegetable Broth
3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

For garnish: 1 Delicious Apple, peeled, cored and shredded

Heat a large soup pot on medium-high heat. Add the oil, when hot, add the onions and saute, stirring frequently, until tender. Add squash, apples and garlic and saute together for another five minutes to marry flavors.

Add the broth, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Reduce heat to low and puree the squash and vegetables with an immersion blender. (Or process, in batches if necessary, in a standard blender or food processor.) When smooth, add the cream and increase heat to medium. Heat, stirring frequently, until piping hot. Serve immediately, garnished with shredded apple. Makes 8 servings.

36

Thick, hearty meaty soups, huh? My favorite is Hungarian goulash (which you can call goulash soup. Hungarian goulash is properly a soup, although the name describes a thick stew in the West.)

1 1/2 pounds beef neck, shoulder, pot roast, etc (any kind of stewing beef)
1 large onion
3 Tb lard (or vegetable oil)
1/2 t caraway (optional)
1 clove garlic, crushed
2-3 t Hungarian or Spanish sweet paprika (look for Pride of Szeged paprika. Do not for the love of all that is holy use anything but good quality Hungarian or Spanish paprika)
salt
1 carrot
1 parsnip
2 green peppers
1 tomato (optional)
1 lb potatoes
1 fist-sized celeriac bulb or 2 ribs of celery with leaves

Cut the meat into small cubes (half to one inch). Melt lard or oil (lard is far preferable for a traditional flavor) in large pot. Finely chop onion and fry in fat over medium heat until translucent. Add caraway and crushed garlic and cook for a minute or so. Now, take the pan off the heat. Add the paprika and stir it around until well distributed and dissolved.

This onion-lard-paprika concoction is the basis of many many Hungarian dishes. The pan is taken off to heat to keep the paprika from burning. Burnt paprika=ruined dish.

Now, add the meat, some salt, and a little bit of water to keep the paprika from burning. Return to a medium-low to medium heat and cover. When the meat is halfway done, add all the rest of the ingredient except potatoes. Add 6-8 cups of water (or a mixture of water and beef stock. Hungarians don’t normally cook with stock) and simmer. I like to simmer my goulash for a long time, like 2-3 hours over low heat, so I could extract the flavor of the beef and soften it. About a half hour before the cooking time is over, add chopped potatoes and cook until done. Salt to taste.

You can serve this with red pepper flakes or Hungarian wax peppers cut into rings and a thick slice of a hearty fresh white bread.

37

This recipe is really easy, and everyone I serve it to raves about it. I can’t remember where I got it from so apologies if I’ve stolen it from someone!

Curried Cream of Broccoli Soup

Ingredients
1lb Broccoli
1 onion chopped
1oz butter
2 vegetable stock cubes
1/3 cup hot water
2 tbsp cornflour
2 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp salt
10 ground black pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp curry powder (or more to taste; I usually put more in)
5 oz cream

Method
Cut the stalks off the flowerets, trim and slice into 1/2 inch chunks. Cover and simmer five minutes. Add flowerets, boil briskly for four minutes. Drain and refresh with cold water to set the colour.
Sauté onion in butter until golden. Add broccoli and sauté quickly to absorb butter, then puree adding a little of the stock.
Mix cornflower and milk. Turn into soup pan with puree and stock. Bring slowly to boil, add salt pepper and spices. Simmer for three minutes. To serve add a swirl of cream to each bowl and garnish with toasted pine kernels or almonds.

38

Another one that started life as an actual recipe, but has since mutated:

Tuscan White Bean Soup

1/2 lb. dried white beans (navy, cannelini, Great Northern, or I’ve even used baby limas)
1 large onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic (or more, to taste). minced
Olive oil (couple tablespoons)
1 large (28 oz.) can whole stewed tomatoes
Approx. 1 lb. link sausage of your choice, sliced into bite-sized pieces (I usually use organic chicken sausage, because I’m weird, but almost anything would be good - I used a spicy chicken andouille once, and it was yummy, though not so Italian-tasting)
1 bunch kale or spinach, chopped into ribbons
Salt and pepper to taste (sometimes I also add other herbs - rosemary is good)
Bay leaf

Soak/simmer the beans, however you normally do that until tender. In another pot, saute the onions in the olive oil until translucent. Add the garlic and stir for another minute. Ass the tomatoes, beans, sausage, bay leaf, salt/pepper, any other herbs (if dried; if they’re fresh, add them at the end), and you will probably need some water to thin it out. Simmer for however long you have (if you simmer longer, the beans will start to break down and the soup will be thicker). Toward the end, add your greens - if you are using kale, you will need to cook it in the soup for a few minutes, but if it’s spinach, the heat of the soup will cook it almost instantly. Adjust salt/pepper, and you’re done!

(You can also make this soup vegetarian by leaving out the sausage. It’s not quite the same, but still yummy.)

39

Duh - that should definitely be “add the tomatoes,” not “ass the tomatoes.” Time for coffee.

40

Damn you Eva, now there’s Twinings Blackcurrant all over my keyboard. Ass the tomatoes. HA!

Anyhow, the best soup I think ever put together isn’t from scratch, really, so much as a combination of off the shelf soups, but it never fails to be the quintessential winter comfort food.

1 whole box of Mrs. Grass’ soup (with the appropriate water amount)
2 cans of campbells cream of chicken (I’ve found that using the ‘with herbs’ variety is good)
1 bag of wide egg noodles
1/2 bag of kluski (or dumpling) style noodles

Cook the Mrs. Grass’, add the cream of chicken, then the noodles, add pepper to taste, and viola! Half an hour later, a big pot of stick-to-your-insides soup.