The Soup Topic (2007–2012)

[handmc]

I made a butternut squash and pear soup with clove, ginger, nutmeg and sage and a splash of maple syruyp. It came out real nice.

[monavano]

I always order french onion in a restaurant as a gauge of their overall worthiness. I make sweet potato onion soup by caramelizing 4 large onions, roasting 2 sweet potatoes, pureeing it all together and adding just enough hot stock until it's the consistency I want. Always a big hit, great served with honey mustard chicken saute.

I also love making white bean and escarole soup, so quick. For chicken soup when I'm in a hurry I use a store bought rotisserie chicken and boxed stock. Simmer veggies with a parmesan rind, add chicken and some tortellini, wilt in some arugula at the end. Yumm!

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You can tell right away if the restaurant makes their own stock and lovingly prepares the onion. Good quality cheese on top of the French onion soup is key too. I recently had an awful French onion soup at a bar/cafe. While not expecting earth shattering food, I was appalled by the canned and weak broth, the lack of onions and plastic cheese on top! Yuck.

[Lindacakes]

I just made my favorite minestrone the other night -- from Epicurious.

Minestrone

I love this soup like mad. I freeze it in portions for two, it makes that night's supper and six more.

Right now I have a monster of a butternut squash if anyone would care to share a nice butternut squash soup recipe. I love soup-for-dinner all year round. Quick, easy, nutritious.

Man, that soup pot sounds astounding. What I think we are not hearing is that it's from the Le Creuset Cannibal line. Big enough for femurs and a full set of ribs!

I had to do some on line hunting, but I found a 10 quart pot. Most come in 8 or 12, for some reason, and for two -- 10 is just right.

[Lisa1349]

Right now I have a monster of a butternut squash if anyone would care to share a nice butternut squash soup recipe.  I love soup-for-dinner all year round.

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Not a full recipe, but better technique: to get more squash flavor I prefer to roast the squash rather than simmer it in liquid. I'd suggest roasting the squash and puree with stock fortified with additional mirepoix and simmered with bay leaf. I'd also like roasted squash diced into miso soup with crab shu mai and rice noodles.

[Jamie Lee]

Anyone want leftover Tortilla Chicken Soup?

Damn! This is the problem with cooking soup for one and even worse for cooking soup for one who is eating-impaired due to chemo.

NO MATTER. Will freeze, will give away, will "re-purpose".

Will not stop cooking SOUP!

Today's effort was interesting. It was adapted from a recipe in Cooks Illustrated. "Quicker Beef and Vegetable Soup". The premise was how to create a hearty beef soup without hours and hours of prep. Not everyone's interested in short cuts, but these are not "Sandra Lee" shortcuts, but thoughtfully planned out IMO.

First step: Sirloin Tip Steak bits are marinted in Soy Sauce. I used Flat Iron Steak. Cut into 3/4" chunks.

Next: Oil heated in dutch oven, 2 small/medium onions (med dice), and 1# of crimini mushrooms, roughly chopped.

Cook until fond forms and onions and mushrooms are browned. (This is key to flavor development "on the quick".)

Next: Remove onions/shrooms and add beef. (More OO if needed.)

Cook beef, until "liquid evaporates" - I didn't get there. I obviously added too much soy in the marinate. It did, however, beautifully deglaze the fond in the pan. I added a slug of good Pinot Noir for flavor. But, damn, it was beautiful... (Pic not adjusted for color... it was really that deep brown!)

Continued cooking, trying to reduce the liquid. According to the recipe, it should have been almost dry, but wasn't even close.

I realized I added the wine too soon, but oh, well. It smelled wonderful!!!

Next, the remaining mise en place:

From top: Reserved, browned shrooms and onions, med diced carrots, med diced celery, minced garlic and tom paste.

First garlic and tom paste 'til aromatic... then...

Beef broth

Chix Broth

Carrots

Celery

Bay Leaf

Reserved Shrooms and onion

Mixture brought to boil, then simmered.

Soup put to "hot rest":

So far, here is the "finished product"... It's delicious, albeit a bit bland for me... but the depth of "Meatiness" is really good.

Sad ending pic, really, but it's not the end! I've been doing some thinking...

[Jamie Lee]

So I've got this big batch of "Beef/Vegetable" Soup... How about:

American adaptations:

- add peas

- add green beans

- add par-cooked potato chunks

- add par-cooked squash chunks

- blend in sour cream (ala a kind of stroganoff soup)

- add egg noodles

Italian:

- add pesto + mini penne + canned san marzano tomatoes

- add freezer gnocchi and tomatoes

- add prepared cheese ravioli and toms

- add artichoke haerts and broccoli rabe

Mexican/Latin:

- add corn, serannos and garnish with sour cream and cilantro

European:

- add spaetzle?

Asian:

- Add cellophane/rice noodles, hot chili/garlic paste, and cilantro

HaHa!

What seemed like too much, is just now "not enough!"

I have some eatin' to do!

Next up: Homemade chicken stock, ribolitta, braised short ribs, chunky, spicy tomato soup w/ grilled cheese, DAMN! How am I ever going to eat this stuff! (In the grand scheme of things, a problem many would wish they could have.)

[dockhl]

- blend in sour cream (ala a kind of stroganoff soup)

- add egg noodles

That's my vote~it looks great and will probably last you (and your adoring friends) a while. Sounds good for breakfast..............

[phatj]

My cream of mushroom soup definitely has the "wow" factor. I devised the recipe to go into a from-scratch green bean casserole. It was way too mushroomy for that purpose, but was terrific on its own.

Recipe here: http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r1889.html

[Jamie Lee]

Seriously, it looks, smells and tastes so much better than I can capture..!

I ate a bit in a very small bowl, (and now am STUFFED!) and it was way good. It needs a rest in the fridge for melding flavors, and more importantly, defatting.

It is a pretty good recipe, actually, and I left out the most intriguing part!

The CI recipe supposes that since gelatin is the factor which adds most to the richness of "long-cooked" stocks, they actually add it in, in packet form, dissolved in cold water, at the end of this recipe. (A packet of unflavored gelatin.)

I got all the way to the finish line, and just couldn't do it! The soup is really delightful as is, and while I might have done it if I was going to serve the soup all at once... but since I need to portion and probably freeze it, I just wasn't sure how that gelatin would fare.

[Jamie Lee]

phatj:

That recipe looks incredible.... I'm living in a temporary and don't have either broiler or oven... can you suggest how you'd morph that recipe to stovetop? Would stove top "dry sauteing" work?

[phatj]

phatj:

That recipe looks incredible.... I'm living in a temporary and don't have either broiler or oven... can you suggest how you'd morph that recipe to stovetop?  Would stove top "dry sauteing" work?

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That would be worth a try, especially if you have a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. It would take some experimentation with temperature. On the other hand, it would probably be worth trying as a normal saute. Probably wouldn't be as intense, though.

[christine007]

I want to make my french onion soup, but its almost ninety degrees here today!

[dockhl]

I just made my favorite minestrone the other night -- from Epicurious. 

Minestrone

lindacakes~

I made this last night for dinner and had some this AM for breakfast, too ! So good, and hit the spot this cold morning (35' outside and !!! 46' IN THE HOUSE when I awoke. That'll teach me to sleep with the windows open )

[Jamie Lee]

Thanks to everyone for their posts...

I now have a cut on my left index finger... a sharp knife, a bad veg hold, and I just watched the knife slice into my flesh in almost slow motion.

So I now have (all blood free ), three containers of tortilla chicken soup in the freezer, one in the fridge, four smaller containers of beef/veg soup in the freezer, one larger one in the fridge, two ice cube trays of intense chicken stock in the freezer plus two 1-1/2 cup amounts in zip-lock bags (also in the freezer)...

My butcher is closed on Sunday and Monday, so I suppose that's a blessing, since I STILL WANT TO COOK!

I have enuf stuff in my pantry for other soups, so I will perservere... tomorrow maybe chicken chili, or chunky tomato soup, or ....

[Jensen]

When I saw the stacks of beets at the market this morning, all I could think of was Pille's borscht.

So, using her recipe as a start, I made my own. Normally, I would have cubed the root vegetables but the matchsticks looked so much more elegant than I went with that cut. As I was sauteeing the onions, I realised that I had looked straight at the fresh dill in the market and then walked right past it. Doh!

A quick perusal of my Gundel's cookbook showed that borscht is not particularly Hungarian (well, it didn't make it into the cookbook) but another soup (Caraway Broth with Poached Egg...which I am definitely going to try) inspired me to season my borscht with caraway. Hell, if I'm going to use a dried herb, does it really matter if it's dill or caraway?

Brussels sprouts, cut in a chiffonade, took the place of cabbage and I also included some of the beet tops.

I truly think this is the best borscht I've ever made:

(Forgive the cropping...the rest of the image was woefully out of focus.)

Edited October 7, 2007 by Jensen (log)

[Jamie Lee]

Borscht... damn... borscht.

Forget all my other dishes on the "Wish List"... I've got to have BORSCHT!

If the gods will it, borscht is next on my list!

[wallchef]

Sorry I don't have a picture but a nice Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Red Pepper Jam, Lardons of Pork Belly Confit, and Rosemary Oil.

[llc45]

OK - this thread has really pushed me into soup seaon even thought it is still unseasonably warm here in NJ. Have made Caldo Verde three times so far. Had a big bag of potatoes and lots of chorizo and andouille to use up. My locals farmers markets still have plenty of kale so what could be better.

Mid week I made my daughter's favorite Szechuan carrot soup. Yesterday I found a deal on white truffle oil at my local Marshalls so I used it to make roasted cauliflower soup with a drizzle of truffle oil.

Today, I am making a sweet potato soup of some sort. Don't know what kind yet but they had really nice red sweet potatoes at the farmers market. I also have the highly recommended Les Halles mushroom soup on the stove right now. Can't wait to try it. Will let you know how I make out.

[llc45]

Thank you for pointing me to the Les Halles mushroom soup recipe. My husband even loved it and he is not the soup person that I am. Thought I had good quality sherry in my pantry but could not find it. Ended up substituting the end of a bottle of supermarket sherry of unknown origin. Can't imagine how much better it will be the next time when I restock my sherry!

[Jamie Lee]

Onions.. onions! How can you be out of onions???

I have totally great beef/veg soup, great chicken tortilla soup, great deep chicken stock, but no ONIONS!

I'm so out of sorts... no onions!

Next up... Onions, beets, lemons, bread, every thing natural, all things real... I have them all on my lists.... give it to me!

Just waiting.

[little ms foodie]

I made a beautiful tomato cream soup today with fresh tomatoes, milk, homemade chicken stock and a bit of dried basil. mmmm.... it is quite rich and tasty!

[Jamie Lee]

Damn Little Ms Foodie.... that sounds awesome!

[emilyr]

Inspired by this thread, I made sweet potato soup this weekend, and found a much easier way to do it, too! I roasted sweet potatoes, apples, and onions in the oven with just a bit of olive oil and some spices (nutmeg, pepper, thyme, and a pinch of cinnamon). When that was done, I whirred it up in the cuisinart in batches with some simmered broth and cream. This was SO yummy and perfect for the beginning of fall - even though it was in the upper 80s on Sunday!

[newbie]

Had a Turkey Fricot last night, an Acadian soup that we grew up eating regularly after Christmas and Thanksgiving. Made stock with the turkey carcass, added leftover turkey, carrots, potatoes, onions, summer savory and my favorite part, dumplings.

For Thanksgiving, I made the Winter Squash Soup with Gruyere Croutons, which has become a tradition since I first made it three years ago. Even non squash eaters love this soup. I roasted some butternut and acorn squash in the oven with the garlic cloves in the cavity until soft. Added the squash and garlic to onions and chicken broth, along with some fresh thyme and sage and cooked for approx 15 minutes. Pureed everything together. I made this the day before and just had to reheat it, adding the cream, and make the gruyere croutons, for a quick and easy first course. I'm big on finding make ahead recipes that makes entertaining more relaxing and enjoyable without sacrificing the flavor of the food that I'm preparing and this recipe fits the bill perfectly.

[JAZ]

Crimini mushroom and garlic soup, finished with cream. The soup was pureed, with sliced sauteed mushrooms added at the end.