The Soup Topic (2007–2012)

[abooja]

Tonight was my first attempt at minestra di riso e lenticchie (lentil soup with rice). So easy and goooood. Far different from the standard vegetarian lentil soup with carrots, celery, onions, tomato paste and tubetti I grew up on. We ate that once a week and, while I liked it well enough, this stuff is so much better.

Now, I just need to try my hand at replicating Coco Pazzo's Tuscan Lentil Soup with Thyme. It's so simple, I'm bound to screw it up.

[kalypso]

About a year or so ago I picked up Splendid Soups & Spectacular Sides while I was waiting in the check-out line at a local store. The magazine was put out by the Cuisine at Home folks. The photos looked good and I love soup. So I bought it, and then, of course, proceeded not to cook from it. Until last month, that is. In January I made Wild Rice & Chicken soup and Split Pea & Ham.

The Wild Rice & Chicken soup was satisfying and spectactular. Onions, carrots, celery and ham sauted then deglazed with sherry and chicken stock. Add chicken, cooked wild rice and thyme. Finish with milk. Garnish with toasted slivered almonds and chopped green onions.

The Split Pea & Ham was good, but ultimately, a little bland. I can make a better free-form split pea soup using just what I have on hand.

It's cold and rainy here today; a good day for puttering in the kitchen and putting on a pot of soup.

[BeeZee]

Today made a nice batch of potato-leek soup with chives. Very simple, but I can tell it will be great with some parmesan toasts on the side. Also contemplating taking half of it and turning it into a modified chowder with some bay scallops and corn.

[Lilija]

Last night, I made broth using about five pounds of beef marrow bones, and the bone from a roasted lamb leg, from the freezer. Tonight, in went barley, diced turnips, carrots, parnips, celery, and some chuck scraps. We're so full from our late lunch, it might wind up being lunch tomorrow, if we decide not to go out for dim sum.

This is definitely one of those freezer soups, that I made just to warm up the house, and for the sheer pleasure of making it. It'll be many good future meals, but there's no real place for it on our menu today, haha.

[snowangel]

Of note recently was the pasta e cici soup noted uptopic, and the Curry Mee (Coconut Curry Chicken Noodle Soup) recipe from a NY Times column. The latter was great reheated the next day for breakfast with some leftover rice -- so don't limit yourself to noodles. Oh, and don't forget the lime wedges.

The pasta e cici soup goes into the file as our go-to tomato soup.

[Sararwelch]

I made a big batch of butternut squash soup, and froze it in smaller portions. I've been defrosting it and experimenting with different toppings. This one is butternut squash soup with scallops and bacon:

[iainpb]

Chorizo lentil and sweet potato soup.

[LizD518]

Has anyone used quinoa in a soup?  I am trying to use some of the various grains, legumes and starches in my pantry and one of the things I don't know what to do much with is the quinoa.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

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Deborah Madison (Vegetable Soups) has a "comfort food" soup that uses quinoa (1 cup uncooked). Other ingredients are: two potatoes, a bunch of spinach, 1/4 lb or so of feta cheese, corn (a cup or so, the recipe calls for 2 ears of corn) and a jalapeno pepper. Some salt & pepper to taste.

I really like the soup. It's fairly fast to make & not complicated. You can vary the ingredient proportions somewhat depending on what you've got on hand & still get a tasty soup. She includes an earlier version of this soup in "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone." Ms. Madison suggests rinsing the quinoa before you cook it, to rinse off any remaining saponins (bitter).

Probably there are other recipes around, maybe a search of epicurious.com would yield some interesting recipes? I'd guess you could substitute quinoa for rice or tiny pastas in some soup recipes, particularly the tiny pastas as quinoa cooks fairly rapidly.

azurite

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Thanks - that sounds good, and hearty - I'll put it on the list!

[prasantrin]

I made a "faux" cream of mushroom soup. It started out as a leek and potato soup, and then I realized I had some cauliflower I needed to use up, so in that went. Pureed it, then found some mushrooms that were on death's door, so in those went.

It's not bad, but not as good as cream of mushroom.

[santo_grace]

In order to use up a couple of the four celery roots in my possession, I'm currently simmering a celery root, green apple, and onion mixture. Will puree when done. I've made it before and it's really good and easy to make. Will top with crisped pancetta.

[heidih]

That is a great idea for getting variety from a general soup base. I tend to do the same with my kabocha soup; reheating with seafood or sauteed mushrooms or greens. Your scallops and bacon look like a perfect complement to the butternut squash.

I made a big batch of butternut squash soup, and froze it in smaller portions. I've been defrosting it and experimenting with different toppings. This one is butternut squash soup with scallops and bacon:

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[Syrah]

I feel something coming on, so we're having chicken noodle soup that I'm doing a quick version with chicken thighs. I've got some pasta I made and dried that I'll use in it.

All that with some no knead focaccia and I think we'll call it done.

[kalypso]

Over the weekend I made Caldo de Res ...aka Cocido...vegetable beef soup. See the link for photo. It was (and still is) very good and the left overs are getting better every day

[nakji]

More seasonal soup.

I've wanted to make a Tuscan bean soup for a while. Marcella Hazan has a recipe for bean soup on page 88 of Marcella Italian's Kitchen. But, I had no swiss chard, cannellini beans, rosemary, or short pasta. So this soup is more in the style of Tuscan bean soup. I used Japanese white beans, fresh spinach from the local garden, and some thyme. And no pasta.

It was still really excellent. I goosed it with a bit of parmesan and lemon, to balance the flavours.

[abooja]

Tonight, I made a really tasty pot of beef barley mushroom soup. It was from an old CI recipe, except I made the beef stock ahead of time (from short ribs, marrow bones and shank, cooked for 12 hours) and simmered in some seared chuck after the fact. The result was quite meaty, rich and dark. I don't think I can ever go back to Tabatchnick.

[tupac17616]

More seasonal soup.

I've wanted to make a Tuscan bean soup for a while. Marcella Hazan has a recipe for bean soup on page 88 of Marcella Italian's Kitchen. But, I had no swiss chard, cannellini beans, rosemary, or short pasta. So this soup is more in the style of Tuscan bean soup. I used Japanese white beans, fresh spinach from the local garden, and some thyme. And no pasta.

It was still really excellent. I goosed it with a bit of parmesan and lemon, to balance the flavours.

I made an Italian-ish bean soup the other night myself. Cannelini beans, several chunks of parmigiano rind, red chili flakes, dried oregano, olive oil, butter, and a single dried Thai chili. Delicious.

[nakji]

More seasonal soup.

I've wanted to make a Tuscan bean soup for a while. Marcella Hazan has a recipe for bean soup on page 88 of Marcella Italian's Kitchen. But, I had no swiss chard, cannellini beans, rosemary, or short pasta. So this soup is more in the style of Tuscan bean soup. I used Japanese white beans, fresh spinach from the local garden, and some thyme. And no pasta.

It was still really excellent. I goosed it with a bit of parmesan and lemon, to balance the flavours.

I made an Italian-ish bean soup the other night myself. Cannelini beans, several chunks of parmigiano rind, red chili flakes, dried oregano, olive oil, butter, and a single dried Thai chili. Delicious.

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Chili! I will add some to my soup tomorrow when it's reheated for lunch. Genius.

[tupac17616]

More seasonal soup.

I've wanted to make a Tuscan bean soup for a while. Marcella Hazan has a recipe for bean soup on page 88 of Marcella Italian's Kitchen. But, I had no swiss chard, cannellini beans, rosemary, or short pasta. So this soup is more in the style of Tuscan bean soup. I used Japanese white beans, fresh spinach from the local garden, and some thyme. And no pasta.

It was still really excellent. I goosed it with a bit of parmesan and lemon, to balance the flavours.

I made an Italian-ish bean soup the other night myself. Cannelini beans, several chunks of parmigiano rind, red chili flakes, dried oregano, olive oil, butter, and a single dried Thai chili. Delicious.

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Chili! I will add some to my soup tomorrow when it's reheated for lunch. Genius.

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If you use Thai chili, just don't lick it clean when you pull it out of the pot like I did. It was like a frickin' capsaicin festival on my lips. I guess I assumed it had given up all it's spiciness to the soup. Not so much.

Edited February 18, 2009 by tupac17616 (log)

[suzilightning]

tonight's dinner will be vegetable soup with kale and white beans and a nice crusty rosemary garlic bread. the perfect thing to complement the inch or so of snow we are getting right now.

[heidih]

Craving green in anticipation of spring I made two green soups back to back. First turnip greens and dandelion leaves (from the garden after a rain) with a hint of sauteed onion and garlic, buzzed with the immersion blender and finished with just a spoonful of cream to round it out. The second was the same method using spinach, watercress and a few peas. I feel fully armed to fight off the cold germs flying all around me and the soups were delicious.

[nakji]

An interesting article in the New York Times today about making soups from bones. Like many people, I've made soup from a leftover chicken carcass, but I haven't thought much beyond that. The author feels that stock is too much work for a home kitchen, and making soup with bones in it saves time and adds flavour. She gives a recipe for borscht with a shin bone - what other boney soup ideas have I been missing out on?

[JAZ]

I made white corn and leek soup a couple of weeks ago, and had some of it with Cajun-spiced shrimp, bacon and green onions.

This soup is nice because it can be garnished up in a number of ways, so it's not like I'm eating the same soup for days in a row. It also freezes really well.

[melamed]

What soup are you making?

today its lemony Harira soup with chickpeas (garbanzos), cilantro, parsley, lentils....

kids wont touch it with all the stuff lurking in it, they don't know what they are missing

[Pam R]

An interesting article in the New York Times today about making soups from bones. Like many people, I've made soup from a leftover chicken carcass, but I haven't thought much beyond that. The author feels that stock is too much work for a home kitchen, and making soup with bones in it saves time and adds flavour. She gives a recipe for borscht with a shin bone - what other boney soup ideas have I been missing out on?

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I think it's a great idea for some. I like to use short ribs in my borscht - I simmer them on their own until almost falling apart, strain the liquid out and take the meat off the bones, breaking it up into smaller pieces. Then the vegetables get added to the meat and liquid. Also works well for beef and barley or beef and vegetable soup. Shin is ok, but I prefer the short ribs.

[Tussius]

Anyone have the recipe for perfect pho bo ga? I'm not sure that's the way to write it, but the vietnamese beef and noodle soup.

Do they do something special with the stock? I'm assuming that's where the hidden ingredients might be