The Soup Topic (2007–2012)

[suzilightning]

one of our staff made pho for us for tet and she makes oxtail stock and chicken stock then combines them 50/50 to make the broth that she poaches her beef slices in. perhaps this is what you are referring to?

[djyee100]

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 wonder about this technique. I bet it tastes OK, but unless you strain the broth you might have some gunky gray unappetizing things floating in your soup--the coagulated proteins and bone bits that are normally skimmed and strained out when you make stock. Any raw bones will produce that scummy stuff. Maybe not a ham bone, though.

Pam R has the right idea, cook the meat (or bones), and strain the broth, then make the soup.

[Lilija]

Yeah, my grandmother never strained the broth, before adding soup-fixins. I -hated- eating around the gristle bits and random fat chunks. I meticulously strain my broth, and that ain't changing.

[Chufi]

I made a very nice soup the other day. A bunch of chopped vegetables (a ready made mix you can buy in the supermarket, consisting of leeks, celery, cailiflower, parley, carrot and onion) sweated in some olive oil. Then I added a handful of yellow split peas, a can of diced tomaotes, and (and this is what turned it from 'just tomato vegetable soup' into something much more interesting and delicious) a good pinch of ground allspice, and a heaping tablespoon of spicy Turkish red pepper paste.

[prasantrin]

It's chilly in Japan, so I've been doing a lot of soups, simple ones that don't require much work. For the last couple of weeks it's been:

roasted red pepper

potato broccoli

leek and kabocha

leek and carrot

The least successful has been the leek and carrot. I need to do something else to it to make it more palatable (maybe add a can of crushed tomatoes or something?).

[MattJohnson]

I've made this baby lima bean and chipotle soup several times now. Its so easy and really good. I'm not a vegetarian, so I cook the onions in bacon fat, chop the bacon up in it, and sometimes I've added some carrots and celery diced up to the beans while they cook. I have also been known to add some home made stock if the water levels get low.

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/baby-...oth-recipe.html

Great site.

[C. sapidus]

The least successful has been the leek and carrot.  I need to do something else to it to make it more palatable (maybe add a can of crushed tomatoes or something?).

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What was in your leek and carrot soup?

I am still seeking ultimacy in carrot soups, but we have made some quite pleasant ones recently. From upthread:

carrot soup with garlic and ginger (clickety).

Last night we made curried carrot soup from Vegetables Everyday. Saute leeks until brown, add carrots, sherry, curry powder, and chicken stock. Simmer until tender, puree with milk, and finish with cilantro. Our sherry supply must have, um, evaporated, so we substituted white wine and a finishing glug of sherry vinegar. Not ultimate, but the acidity brightened the flavors nicely.

[prasantrin]

What was in your leek and carrot soup?

I am still seeking ultimacy in carrot soups, but we have made some quite pleasant ones recently. From upthread:

carrot soup with garlic and ginger (clickety).

Last night we made curried carrot soup from Vegetables Everyday. Saute leeks until brown, add carrots, sherry, curry powder, and chicken stock. Simmer until tender, puree with milk, and finish with cilantro. Our sherry supply must have, um, evaporated, so we substituted white wine and a finishing glug of sherry vinegar. Not ultimate, but the acidity brightened the flavors nicely.

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Leek and carrots. And one potato. Think that's the problem?

The only seasoning other than salt and pepper is thyme, and I used 1/2 chicken stock, 1/2 water. I think I used too much liquid for the amount of solids I had, and I also think the carrots weren't at their best.

I've never liked curried soups (carrot or pumpkin), but ginger would be nice. I can't eat much garlic during the week, so I'd have to use very little of it, or just eat it on Friday night and Saturday.

[merstar]

Made this again with some tweaks, including tons more garlic. Very good!

Yellow Pepper Soup

http://www.recipezaar.com/22104

[C. sapidus]

Last night we made curried carrot soup from Vegetables Everyday. Saute leeks until brown, add carrots, sherry, curry powder, and chicken stock. Simmer until tender, puree with milk, and finish with cilantro. Our sherry supply must have, um, evaporated, so we substituted white wine and a finishing glug of sherry vinegar. Not ultimate, but the acidity brightened the flavors nicely.

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Leftovers for breakfast, tarted up with slivered almonds and more cilantro.

[Domestic Goddess]

I have been making chicken noodle soup several times now this winter season. First I make the broth from the backs and necks of 5-6 chicken. Then I de-fat the broth by letting the soup cool and collecting the fat after a night's rest in the fridge. I also make my own noodles as hubby prefers handmade pasta that is shaped just right. Then I take my trusty, huge, heavy bottom pot (given by my mother) and caramelize celery, onion and carrots. Then I add cubes of chicken breasts and add the broth. Then I add my cooked handmade pasta and let everything come to a simmer and adding potato cubes towards the last 25 minutes of cooking. The result is a hearty chicken soup with tender noodles and a very satisfied hubby (who swears the soup heats him up to his very bones) and a son who licks his bowl (well tries to) clean.

[OliverB]

Does anybody have a link or know of a book etc that might give some more soup recipes they use at the French Laundry? Especially the carrot soup I've read about, but also tomato and some others. The FL book has some, but not the ones I'm looking for. Or I can't find them, always a possibility too...

But I feel the need to make the carrot soup I read about.....

Thanks!

Oliver

{edit}

don't know why I sometimes forget, but a quick google got me this:

FL carrot soup

which sounds delicious. I'm still curious about other soups they might serve there. I'm interested in these concentrations of taste.

Edited March 2, 2009 by OliverB (log)

[scubadoo97]

Inspired by another egullet post in the Middle East board about Kurkish/Iraqi kubbah soup and other kibbeh I made a beet/vegetable soup with kubbah/kibbeh.

It was a clean the fridge out/CSA inventory and use up attempt but really came out good. The vegetables included sweet potato, a large red potato, 2 large beets, 2 turnips, carrots, onions, garlic, celery, beet and turnip tops. The kibbeh shells were made from both large and fine bulgur wheat, cream of wheat, cream of rice and ground lean turkey. The filling was made from the ground turkey with finely diced onions and celery leaves. The broths was a base of chicken stock with a fair amount of lemon juice squeezed in to give it a sweet and sour taste.

[nakji]

What a beautiful colour! I miss beets.

Yesterday I found little baby heads of kale at the market - each the size of a brussel sprout. I knew I still had some large white beans left over at home, so I snapped up two bags, much to the bemusement of everyone else in the shop, who had been picking up the bags, turning them over with puzzlement, and putting them back onto the pile. Today: kale and white bean soup for lunch! I added a little lemon as well, to bring out the flavour.

[LizD518]

Saturday, as part of the "a week without shopping" challenge, I finally used up the last half cup of lentils that have been sitting in my pantry forever. I have to face it - I don't really care for lentils... It was a basic vegetable soup: carrots, onions, celery, red bell pepper, garlic and diced (canned) tomaotes, sauteed in a little bacon fat, then add water and the lentils and simmer, and add the crispy bits of bacon back in. I also added a bay leaf and several hot dried chilies. I usually make a soup just like this with black beans and I love it, but i found the lentil version to be insipid.

I pulled the leftovers out today and had a bowl, along with a nice big hunk of fresh bread that I made last night. What a difference a couple of days made! Still not my favorite dish, but at least I won't be tempted to just chuck the remainder!

[Rover]

Yellow Lentil Soup w/ Cilantro Chutney. I was introduced to this amazing soup by a co-worker who brought me a sample - I was compelled to make it for myself over the weekend. This is not your average lentil soup.

The soup is spiced with ginger, cumin, coriander, curry and lime juice; it has coconut milk, garlic and chicken stock. What makes this soup sing is the Cilantro Chutney which is comprised of cilantro, coconut, ginger, garlic and cashews. However, the chutney has neither the texture nor appearance of a conventional one.

The result is a bowlful of complex, layered, sophisticated flavours creating the perfect wake-up call for dulled, late-winter palates.

The only yellow lentils I could find were canned ones - closely resembling du Puy lentils but in the wrong colour and I'm not sure that substituting conventional lentils would produce the same finish to the soup.

Did I mention this was so easy....?

If you're looking for a soup to perk up your tired winter taste buds, look no further:

Yellow Lentil Soup

Rover

[KingLear]

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.

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Pho - pronounced "fuh" (like "duh"), not "foe" - means rice noodle. Pho Bo is beef noodle soup. Pho Ga is chicken noodle soup. Emeril has a surprisingly good Pho Ga recipe on the FN website.

[emilyr]

I made chicken noodle soup last night. I had all the ingredients for a basic soup (the grocery store was selling chicken necks and backs for cheap), but then the weather turned beautiful yesterday, and I wanted something more spring-y. I ended up adding mushrooms, peas and spinach in the last few minutes. Yum.

[Tim Dolan]

I am not at all afraid to admit that last night I hijacked some good old Campbell's tomato soup last night. I added 3/4 can of whole milk, 1/4 can of chicken broth, some fresh basil, sage, minced garlic, cracked pepper, a pinch of kosher salt and a couple healthy shakes of Tabasco Chipotle sauce. It was so quick and delicious I'm still in disbelief about it. Along with a grilled cheese with American and sharp Provelone, it was the epitome of comfort food.

[C. sapidus]

Chileatole verde. Surprisingly, this is the first-ever mention on eGullet. Details and picture on Making Mexican at Home (clicky).

[Katie Meadow]

The mention of Pho Ga upthread got me in the mood. I never order it when I go out for Pho, since the beef pho is so great at my favorite hole-in-the-wall Viet lunch place. I made a rich Asian-style stock over the weekend with lemongrass, ginger, and star anise and lots of chicken pieces, feet and backs etc. Then tonight I made a very simply soup with tender chicken, rice noodles, scallions and a shredding of thai basil and coriander and a little garlic-hot sauce on the side, since I didn't have any jalapenos. My husband always want heat, but I like my pho ga unadulterated and simple as can be.

[C. sapidus]

Crema de palmitos (pureed hearts of palm soup). More on Making Mexican at home (click).

[maggiethecat]

Rover: I have been about one year remiss, and I hang my head. I think the heart means the celery mass before the stalks, but it really doesn't matter.

I'm mad about a James Peterson recipe I made from his amazing book "Splendid Soups." Sweet Potato, Chile and Lime soup. Here's a really ruff description of the recipe: (Fellow soup fiends, buy the book.)

Oh my, that Sweet Potato, Lime and Chile Soup!. Apart from roasting a couple of poblanos, it was so easy and so good.Soften some onions and garlic in butter. Add chunks of sweet potato(4 Sweetps) 1 qt chicken broth, 2 jalapenos, 3 roasted chopped poblanos. Cook till the sweet potatoes are soft. Puree. Add the juice of 2 limes, and sautee some corn tortilla strips.Top the soup with tortilla strips. Serve with lime wedges, sour cream, chopped cilantro.

[llc45]

Rover: I have been about one year remiss, and I hang my head. I think the heart means the celery mass before the stalks, but it really doesn't matter.

I'm mad about a James Peterson recipe I made from his amazing book "Splendid Soups." Sweet Potato, Chile and Lime soup. Here's a really ruff description of the recipe: (Fellow soup fiends, buy the book.)

Oh my, that Sweet Potato, Lime and Chile Soup!. Apart from roasting a couple of poblanos, it was so easy and so good.Soften some onions and garlic in butter. Add chunks of sweet potato(4 Sweetps) 1 qt chicken broth, 2 jalapenos, 3 roasted chopped poblanos. Cook till the sweet potatoes are soft. Puree. Add the juice of 2 limes, and sautee some corn tortilla strips.Top the soup with tortilla strips. Serve with lime wedges, sour cream, chopped cilantro.

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That sounds so good I may have to make it while I'm on vacation next week because I am not sure that I can wait until I get back. Hoping my rental condo has enough kitchen equipment.

[suzilightning]

Yesterday's soup dinner here.