The Soup Topic (2013–)

[shain]

Romanian bean soup (ciorba de fassole)

Bell peppers, carrots, lots of celery, paprika: both smoked and sweet, onion, garlic and obviously beans. 

Finished with plenty of tarragon, some more garlic and a little fresh dill. 

Served with sour cream, chopped onion and a soft fresh bread with crisp crust. 

[FrogPrincesse]

I made this root vegetable soup with apples a few weeks ago when I got a kabocha squash and all the other vegetables I needed from my CSA (carrots, parsnips, leeks, fennel). The thyme was from my backyard.

 

I absolutely love this recipe. It's from Tom Colicchio's Think Like a Chef. I didn't have any duck prosciutto left so I garnished with Parma ham.

 

[shain]

Creamy mushroom soup without cream or milk. Used a vegan recipe by Kenji Alt from Serious Eats, but I used butter instead of oil, because butter... Very nice, but the shiitake mushrooms are slightly too strong, will mix them with other varieties next time.

[liamsaunt]

We were supposed to have fondue Friday night but I have a bad cold and did not think that dipping into a communal pot was a good idea, so I turned all of the ingredients into a soup instead.  Onions, garlic, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and celery cooked in chicken stock and white wine, blitzed with a stick blender and then cheddar and cream stirred in, topped with bacon and hot sauce.

 

[lindag]

I ran across this recipe the other day and copied it as it looked so good.

I had made a similar recipe in my crockpot last week but I added a few ounces of sautéed pancetta which added a lot of flavor.

Here's this recipe: 

MINESTRONE ALLA ROMAGNOLA

 

1 lb Zucchini
1/2 cup Olive Oil
3 Tbs Butter
1 cup Onion, sliced very thin
1 cup Carrots, diced
1 cup Celery, diced
2 cups Potatoes, peeled & diced
1/2 lb Green Beans
3 cups shredded Cabbage
1 1/2 cups canned Cannellini Beans, drained
4 cups Beef Broth
2 cups Water
Parmesan Rind
2/3 cup canned Plum Tomatoes, with juice
1/3 cup Parmesan, grated

 

Soak the zucchini in a large bowl of water at least 20 minutes. Drain and dice fine. Soak the green beans in water, drain, trim and dice.

 

In a large stockpot, mix the oil, butter and sliced onion. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook until onion wilts and becomes pale gold, but not darker.   Add the diced carrots and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add the celery and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add the green beans and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add the shredded cabbage and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes.  Add the broth, water, cheese rind, and tomatoes with juice. Salt very lightly. Stir thoroughly. Cover the pot, and lower the heat to simmer.

 

When the soup has cooked 2 1/2 hours, add the drained cannellini beans. Stir and cook another 30 minutes.

 

Just before serving, remove the cheese rind. Swirl in the grated cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Source: Epicurious

 

 

[liuzhou]

This doesn't look great, but was one of the tastiest soups I've made in a while. Donkey soup.

 

 

Donkey meat, carrots, leeks, garlic and bird's eye (Thai) chilli. I browned the meat with the garlic and chilli then added home-made chicken stock and the vegetables. Also a smidgeon of MSG, Seasoned and simmered until the carrots and garlic were soft. 

[lindag]

With regard to the Epicurious minestrone soup recipe I posted above; I have a question about the method of pre-soaking the zucchini and the green beans in advance.  What is the purpose of that?  I've never run across that before.

Edited February 8, 2016 by lindag
clarity (log)

[shain]

Roasted sweet potato soup with Indian curry spices (turmeric, fenugreek, cumin, curry leaf, black pepper, coriander seeds, chili, fennel seeds), ginger, garlic, tangerine orange peel and juice, coriander leaves, browned butter. Topped with yogurt and a mixture of coriander leaves, toasted pistachios, tangerine peel and black pepper. 

This soup is really good. The flavors work together so nicely.

[Darienne]

10 minutes ago, shain said:

Roasted sweet potato soup with Indian curry spices (turmeric, fenugreek, cumin, curry leaf, black pepper, coriander seeds, chili, fennel seeds), ginger, garlic, tangerine orange peel and juice, coriander leaves, browned butter. Topped with yogurt and a mixture of coriander leaves, toasted pistachios, tangerine peel and black pepper. 

This soup is really good. The flavors work together so nicely.

This will be for us tomorrow.  I have been wondering what to do with the extra sweet potatoes and this soup just caught my eye and my taste buds.  Thanks, shain.

[shain]

1 minute ago, Darienne said:

This will be for us tomorrow.  I have been wondering what to do with the extra sweet potatoes and this soup just caught my eye and my taste buds.  Thanks, shain.

I am glad to hear so! Please post your version of it, I'll be eager to see it

[lindag]

Yesterday I had a terrific soup at a local restaurant.  I'd never had Sausage Potato Soup before and was amazed at how such simple ingredients could be so amazingly flavorful.

(The soup I had did not have the kale added.)

 

Here's a similar recipe I'm going to try although I'll scale it down by half and use less kale:

 

Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup

 

2 bunches Kale, Picked Over, Cleaned, And Torn Into Bite Sized Pieces
12 whole Red Potatoes, Sliced Thin
1 whole Onion, Chopped
1-1/2 lb Italian Sausage
1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (more To Taste)
2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
2 cups Whole Milk
4 cups Half-and-half
Splash Of Heavy Cream
Fresh Or Dried Oregano
Black Pepper To Taste

 

Prepare the kale and set it aside.

 

In a medium pot. boil sliced potatoes until tender. Drain and set aside.

 

In a large pot, crumble and brown the Italian sausage. Drain as much as the fat as you can. Stir in the red pepper flakes, oregano, chicken broth, milk, and half-and-half. Simmer for 30 minutes.

 

Give it a taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Add the potatoes, a splash of heavy cream for richness, then stir in the kale. Simmer an additional 10-15 minutes, then serve.

 

Servings: 12

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

That sounds very interesting, @lindag!  I love the combination of sausage, potato and kale but usually make it in a clear broth soup (less potato than this recipe and with dried beans)  rather than including any milk so this is a very different spin on it. Do report back back after you make it.

[lindag]

I did make this recipe last evening.  I just couldn't wait to enjoy those flavors again!

As I described, I roughly halved the recipe and used less kale than the two bunches (about three quarters of a bunch, I think).  It made just about the right amount for me (I didn't need enough to serve twelve).

The soup was just great.  Oh, I did use the spicy Italian sausage rather than the sweet or plain type.

I will definitely make this again and again.

 

[LindaK]

"Peasant Soup," a Turkish chicken-vegetable soup from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Sultan's Kitchen

 

It features root vegetables--carrot, parsnip, turnip, celeriac, potato--so it's perfect for this time of year.  The celeriac really makes it stand out, and a squeeze of fresh lemon at the table elevates the whole thing.  For a simple recipe, it is different enough to be rather special.

 

[Smithy]

2 hours ago, LindaK said:

"Peasant Soup," a Turkish chicken-vegetable soup from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Sultan's Kitchen

 

It features root vegetables--carrot, parsnip, turnip, celeriac, potato--so it's perfect for this time of year.  The celeriac really makes it stand out, and a squeeze of fresh lemon at the table elevates the whole thing.  For a simple recipe, it is different enough to be rather special.

 

 

I love that cookbook, enough that when the Kindle version came out I bought it for travel although I've had the print version since it came out.  How, then, have I missed this soup?  Thanks for the recommendation.

[LindaK]

7 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

I love that cookbook, enough that when the Kindle version came out I bought it for travel although I've had the print version since it came out.  How, then, have I missed this soup?  Thanks for the recommendation.

 

Probably for the same reason I waited so long to try it--at first glance, it looks like any other chicken vegetable soup. The differences in ingredients and technique are few and subtle. What finally got me to try it was a big bunch of celeriac I'd picked up at a farmers market, and was looking for ways to use it. This recipe turned up on my Eat Your Books search, and I've been making it ever since. If you try it, let me know what you think.

 

Btw, I usually increase the amount of vegetables, depending on what I have on hand. And I think it benefits from a longer simmer than the recipe calls for (though it's tasty regardless). Leftovers freeze pretty well, so long as you don't mind that the potatoes will get a bit mushy.

[sartoric]

On 18 February 2016 at 1:42 PM, LindaK said:

"Peasant Soup," a Turkish chicken-vegetable soup from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Sultan's Kitchen

 

It features root vegetables--carrot, parsnip, turnip, celeriac, potato--so it's perfect for this time of year.  The celeriac really makes it stand out, and a squeeze of fresh lemon at the table elevates the whole thing.  For a simple recipe, it is different enough to be rather special.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have that that cook book too ! This is is not from the book.

Its a kind of minestrone with what's in the veggie draw, plus red kidney beans, risoni pasta, and a dollop of pesto. 

Served with buttered sourdough toast. 

 

 

 

Edited February 22, 2016 by sartoric (log)

[liuzhou]

Carrot, leek and lentil soup

 

 

With home made crusty bread

 

[Katie Meadow]

One of my reliable and easy soups--one which I typically have all the ingredients for on hand--is a basic Italian tomato soup with rice. It is just onion, garlic, celery or fennel, half a can of good plum tomatoes, chicken or other broth and rice. I like to use arborio rice, and if I have some I will add swiss chard or Tuscan Kale or peas. But really it's a simple comfort soup that can be made when sick or when there is nothing but staples in the house.

 

I also have a recipe kicking around that I've never made called "Smoky Tomato Soup" which is put together in a way that doesn't appeal to me, but which has one remarkable ingredient: lapsang souchong tea. Other recipes for smoky soups usually include the flavor of chipotles or smoked paprika, but I that's not what I wanted. So I decided to simply add some smoky tea to my regular recipe. The smoky soup recipe calls for steeping the tea in chicken broth, but that just seems totally weird. So instead I made a strong cup of the tea and tossed it in shortly after adding the broth to the mix. To my surprise it was really a great addition, and gave no extra flavor except the smokiness to the soup. The one cup of strong tea was pretty subtle and it would be interesting to see how it tastes with stronger brew.

[FrogPrincesse]

Spicy carrot soup from vegetable literacy with creme fraiche and sumac.

 

 

[shain]

@FrogPrincesse I love sumac, and this combination sounds very nice!

 

Corn and egg drop soup. With soy sauce, sliced baby corn, black pepper, chili, scallions, sesame oil. Stock is vegetarian made from shiitake mushrooms and kombo.

Half of the corn kernels were pureed until milky smooth and the rest left intact. Cornstarch added to the eggs prevents it from overcooking.

This is a very quick soup to make.

 

[Anna N]

 

Like so many of us I have heard about the soup for years.  This is Gordon Ramsay's broccoli soup (made in the Thermomix).

 

It really, really is as amazing as is claimed. Broccoli, water, salt and pepper -- really?  Yep really. I added some goat cheese as suggested. Still shaking my head. 

[Darienne]

Just read through Chef Ramsay's recipe and I think it's now slated for the coming week.  Thanks Anna.

[Anna N]

2 hours ago, Darienne said:

Just read through Chef Ramsay's recipe and I think it's now slated for the coming week.  Thanks Anna.

2 hours ago, Darienne said:

Just read through Chef Ramsay's recipe and I think it's now slated for the coming week.  Thanks Anna.

 Pretty sure you tried it once and were underwhelmed.   Can't figure out how to link to your comment but you could not eat it and offered it to your dogs.  Trying to save you the trouble.  

 

Edited to add.  It is in the recipes that rock 2011 topic.  

Edited March 12, 2016 by Anna N (log)

[Darienne]

22 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 Pretty sure you tried it once and were underwhelmed.   Can't figure out how to link to your comment but you could not eat it and offered it to your dogs.  Trying to save you the trouble.  

 

Edited to add.  It is in the recipes that rock 2011 topic.  

Found my post.  You are absolutely correct.  I can't recall what the dogs thought about it.  Sorry.  Gosh.  I am surprised.  Thanks, Anna.