h. Soups

Soups come and go. In poor European cultures, they were long the only meal, mixing fresh vegetables, dried legumes, stale bread or cereals, a sliver of pork belly, and lots of water to fill you up so you would not notice you were hungry. Today’s younger set, more affluent and culturally deprived, considers soup as just boring, at least until they reach college age and are called on to survive themselves on the equivalent diet of ramen or some other Asian cousin.

You should try soups more often, whether you want to comfort yourself, cure a cold, or add a nice appetizer to a gourmet meal. You will find here different soups, inspired by different cuisines, all satisfying.  I start with a few blended soups, chosen for their appetizing visual and taste qualities, before addressing other types. 

Bell Pepper Summer Salmorejo

Let us start with a one minute cold soup involving no actual cooking. When you think about a cold soup originating from Spain, gazpacho comes to mind. But Andalusia has given us another wonderful combination, the salmorejo. This soup is a blend of raw tomatoes, stale bread, and olive oil said to date back to wandering Roman armies. It was originally very long and cumbersome to make with a mortar, but you will prepare it in seconds with a simple blender.

You can vary the recipe according to your taste. Personally, I like the sweet refreshing bitterness of green pepper. My proportions would be the following:

×           1 lb. tomato, cut up

×           1 lb. green or red bell pepper, chopped roughly

×           1 cup diced stale bread

×           ½ cup olive oil

×           ½ garlic clove, minced

×           ½ cup water

Mix the ingredients and blend until you obtain a thick soup.

Salt and pepper to taste. Mix again.

Add olive oil if needed.

Serve cold in individual bowls.

Salmorejo is customarily accompanied by side dishes of diced cooked prosciutto (or jamon iberico) and chopped hard-boiled eggs. Do not forget to put olive oil on the table! 

Butternut Squash Soup/Red Kuri Squash Soup

Fleshy butternut squash is available for several months in the fall and winter. Japanese Red Kuri squash (potimarron in French) is an alternative if you can find it. One added benefit is that Kuri does not need to be peeled.

You will need:

×           1 2-pound Butternut squash

×           1/2 sweet “Mayan” onion

×           Curry (1 tsp.)

×           Olive oil, salt and pepper

Chop the onion, salt, and sauté 10 minutes in a sauce pan until golden.

Meanwhile, prepare the squash by removing the seeds, peeling and cutting in 1-2 inch bit sizes.

Add to the pot and cover with water.

Add curry or turmeric.

Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes until cooked.

Blend. Add salt if needed, and pepper to taste.

Blend again, pour in small individual bowls, add chopped coriander or chives on top for color, and serve.

If you want your soup to be more French in spirit, limit the curry to a pinch and add a dollop of “crème fraîche” in each bowl before serving. Some crumbled chestnut flesh would be welcome too.

Carrot Ginger Soup

Sweet carrot and ginger marry well, all year round.

You will need:

×           1 ½ to 2 pounds of carrots

×           1/2 sweet “Mayan” onion

×           Fresh ginger

×           Curry (1 tsp.)

×           Olive oil, salt and pepper

Chop the onion.

Dice a small bit of fresh ginger (more or less 2 tsp.).

Put both in a heated pan or Dutch oven, salt, and sauté 10 minutes until golden.

Meanwhile, peel and cut the carrots in 1-2 inch bite sizes.

Add to the pot and cover with water.

Add curry or turmeric to taste.

Let simmer for about 15-20 minutes until cooked.

Blend. Add salt if needed, and pepper to taste. Blend again and serve.

Kuri Squash Ginger soup

This recipe, derived from the 2 recipes above combines squash and ginger. Kuri squash is more desirable for this recipe because of its nutty undertones and stunning color.

Zucchini & Pesto Soup

This soup is inspired by an experience in “La Zucca Magica,” a small restaurant in Nice. Blending it allows you to reach the taste contribution of pesto (basil/garlic/pine nuts) without any of the work usually involved in its preparation. You will need:

×           1/3 sweet “Mayan” onion

×           4 or 5 medium sized zucchini

×           1 garlic clove

×           1 handful of pine nuts

×           3 to 5 leaves of basil

×           Olive oil, salt and pepper

Roast pine nuts in a small non-stick pan until golden and set aside.

Slice onion, salt, and sauté 10 minutes in a sauce pan until golden.

Slice unpeeled zucchini and throw them in.

Add a garlic clove.

Cover with water and let simmer for about 10 minutes until cooked.

Add the roasted pine nuts and basil, salt if needed, and pepper.

Blend and serve.

Lentil Soup with Lemon (Lebanese Lentil Soup)

You will need:

×           1 ½ pound of green French lentils

×           ½ sweet “Mayan” onion

×           1 or 2 garlic cloves

×           1 or 2 lemons (Meyer OK)

×           Cumin (2 tbsp.)

×           Olive oil, salt and pepper

Soak lentils for 2 hours in water with 1tbsp of baking soda, then rinse.

Slice onion, salt, and sauté 10 minutes until golden.

Add rinsed lentils and cover with water.

Add a garlic clove.

Let simmer for about 40 minutes until cooked.

It is already wonderfully good like that but it is not “Lebanese” yet. You will need to add cumin and the juice of one lemon.

Blend. Salt if needed, and pepper to taste. Serve.

Garlic Soup

This variation on the famed onion soup, originally from Périgord, will seduce garlic lovers. Its only drawback is the total time necessary for its completion. You will need:

×           1 large onion

×           6-12 cloves of garlic

×           1 egg yolk

×           1 tbsp. of vinegar

×           Salt and pepper

Chop the onions and sauté until golden.

Add the peeled garlic and sauté for 10 minutes more.

Add a quart of water, bring to a light boil and let it simmer for 40 minutes.

Pour the liquid out through a fine mesh colander or a vegetable mill to eliminate solid parts.

Before serving, salt and pepper, bring to a last boil and turn off the heat.

Add one tbsp. of vinegar, and then an egg yolk. Stir vigorously. Serve (over garlic toast?)  .

Alexandre’s Tomato Soup (Soupe Rouge)

This soup, which went in the family by the simple name of Red Soup, was a regular appetizer at the family table when I was growing up, made from fresh garden tomatoes in season, and from home preserves the rest of the year.

To make this soup, you will basically use Alexandre’s Tomato sauce (see Vegetable section), freshly made for that purpose or out of the refrigerator. You need to mix equal quantities of this sauce and water to obtain a clear soup, which you will serve hot with a turn of the pepper mill in the plate. It can be served with angel hair vermicelli or over stale bread slices.

Leek and Potato Soup

So easy to make, this basic soup, with its rather bland, basic flavor, is ideal fare for people who are feeling sick or on the verge. You will need:

×           2 leeks

×           2 lbs. of potatoes

×           Salt and pepper

Bring a quart of water to a gentle boil. Add salt.

Meanwhile peel the potatoes and dice them in ½ inch cubes.

Throw potatoes in the pot and let them boil gently for 10 minutes until almost cooked.

Add the leek, cleaned and chopped and boil it for 5 minutes only, so it stays green.

When potatoes are cooked (check with a fork), your soup is ready.

Add pepper and spices to taste.

You can serve this soup as is or blend it. You can improve it greatly by adding a spoonful of butter in everyone’s plate. The taste will of course become more sophisticated. Let every guest enjoy the melting of the butter, aided by the movement of their spoon in the plate, building up expectations. Food appreciation is built of such mundane details. 

Mixed Vegetable Soup

This was the hearty peasant French soup par excellence, marrying fresh vegetables and dry legumes. French peasants did not have much meat and routinely used a small piece of salted pork or a teaspoon of rancid lard to achieve a meaty taste, the way Italians use sausage for their minestrone, a close relative to this soup.

My point of view is that today, we should look for the purity of “veggies only.” This recipe is only indicative. You can select the ingredients which make you happiest, or the ones that are available.

I propose:

×           ½ cup of split peas (alternative, lentils or beans)

×           1/2 sweet “Mayan” onion

×           5 to 7 carrots, peeled and cut in 1-inch sections

×           2 turnips, peeled generously, cut in similarly-sized pieces

×           2 branches of celery, cut in 1-inch sections

×           1 small cabbage, cleaned, cut in eighths, and rinsed

×           2 leeks, cleaned and chopped in large chunks

×           1 or 2 garlic cloves (optional)

×           Salt and pepper

×           Herbs (rosemary or thyme)

Soak split peas for 1 hour in water with 1tbsp. of baking soda, then rinse.

Put the peas with cold water and salt in the pot.

As a general rule, I recommend to add water gradually, so that vegetables are always barely covered.  

Bring water to a gentle boil for ½ hour.

Meanwhile prepare all your vegetables.

Incorporate all vegetables in the following order:

×           Carrots

×           Cabbage (after 10 more minutes)

×           Celery (after 5 more minutes)

×           Turnips (after 5 more minutes)

×           Leeks and herbs (after 5 more minutes)  

Continue cooking gently for 15 minutes.

Add pepper and spices to taste.

Serve this soup unblended over some slices of stale bread, so you can savor each ingredient separately. You will know it is successful if your spoon stands in it vertically without falling.

Minestrone

Minestrone is the common Italian name for the same type of soup as above. There may be as many versions as there are families and restaurants. All will also include 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, some tomatoes, and some pork meat like pancetta or sausage.

Bouillon de Pot-au-feu

This clear broth, laced with the complex aromas of meat, vegetables and herbs is an all-time favorite. It results from cooking Pot-au-Feu (see the Meat section).

Unless you want to have some right away, as a starter before the meat course, the broth should be poured into jars and refrigerated. This will allow you, when you want to prepare some soup, to remove the frozen fat on the surface, and just pour some of the pure broth in your sauce pan.

You can serve as a light clear soup or add some fine angel hair vermicelli. My mother used to make her own serving with tapioca because it does not alter the final taste as much as pasta does.

Tomato Bouillon

Short of a consommé, which will require a number of additional steps and time, a ripe tomato cut in 4 to 8 pieces can be added to the broth above and cooked for 20 minutes. This is another heavenly variation.

Miso Soup (2-steps)

This soup is made by adding miso paste to a dashi stock. It provides the quintessence of the elusive umami taste, discovered more than 100 years ago but rarely acknowledged as such in our conscious experience. We normally consume Miso soup in Japanese restaurants rather than at home as it blends into that particular universe of tastes, but sometimes, we just crave to have it at home as well.

There are now ways to make it instantly, but it can easily be made from scratch, provided you find the key ingredients. The expression “from scratch” is ambiguous in this case.  Konbu (dried giant kelp) and hanakatsuo (dried bonito flakes) are packaged in plastic pouches. Miso, a paste produced by the fermentation of soybeans, as well as wheat or barley, is found in sealed containers in the refrigerated section in an array of colors. You still have to pick the right type (if you do not read Japanese, labels won’t help much!), but as long as you do not make it for Japanese friends, who would know if it was the right one or not?

Dashi Stock

You will need first to make the fish-based dashi stock that is apparently a cornerstone of Japanese cuisine:

×           1 oz. konbu

×           1 oz. hanakatsuo

×           1qt. water

The process, honed over decades of tradition, must be strictly observed to reach required subtlety and avoid any off-taste given by the 2 dried ingredients at high temperatures.

Put 1 quart of cold water in your pot with the konbu.

Heat, uncovered,on medium heat, until it almost boils. Remove the konbu. Turn off the heat.

Check if the konbu is soft, meaning it has released its flavor properly (if not, you will need to cook it for 2 more minutes).

Bring the water to a full boil for a second.

Add some water to lower the temperature ( ¼ to ½ cup), and add the bonito flakes.

Bring to a boil again and remove the pot from the heat immediately.

Wait for the bonito flakes to settle on the bottom of the pot and filter the content of the pot. Your dashi is made. It can be used right away or kept in the refrigerator for a few days in a tightly closed container.

Miso Soup

For the miso soup, you will need:

×           1 pint of the Dashi you just prepared

×           4 tbsp. miso,

×           Sliced green onion

×           Other desired ingredients, e.g. ¼ cup diced tofu, ¼ oz wakame seaweed (also found in dried form), mushrooms, parched salmon bits from a previous meal, etc…

To incorporate the miso into the dashi, you need to soften it with some dashi in a separate container, bowl or ladle for example, with a fork or a whisk.

Once the blend is homogeneous, pour it in the dashi.

Add the different ingredients, heat up again to a simmer for 5 minutes avoiding any boiling.

Serve piping hot in the small traditional wooden bowls and sprinkle with green onion.

Only now, drained by all the attention you have given to the process, will you know if it was worth the trouble or not. My experience of Japanese drama series indicates that miso soup is still a breakfast favorite (because it is so easy to make?). Some series go all the way by staging the traditional shaving utensil with the bonito itself on top!

Mediterranean Saffron Fish Soup

Unfortunately, this soup cannot be prepared anywhere and anytime you want.  It relies on the availability of a variety of very fresh, small, second rate Mediterranean fish which could never make it as a main dish for various reasons (too small, too bony) but lend to a soup their flavorful contribution. For all practical purposes, unless you go out fishing yourself, it cannot be prepared in the U.S. where fresh, whole sea-water fish is a rarity, even on the seaboard.

A recipe with proportions would be useless. This is why I will only mention the principles of its preparation. The idea is to make a broth based on vegetables (sautéed onions, tomatoes, carrots, some garlic, potatoes in some traditions) and whole fish. Besides some herbs, a generous pinch of saffron and some cayenne provide the flavoring of choice.

With that kind of long cooking, the fish’s flesh has spread all over. The French tradition is to eliminate the most ominous bones and blend the rest into creaminess. This is what I did myself for a long time until I discovered the luxury of Japanese clear broths. Now I would recommend to simply filter out all the solid parts, and serve the broth in a bowl, over a toasted baguette slice. You may also want to poach another fish for 10 minutes in that broth, to be served at the same time.

Harira

This Moroccan soup traditionally breaks the Ramadan fast, as soon as the sun goes down. Actually, it seems the sun has gone down into this winter soup. Even if you have never been to Morocco, it will transport you.

Many recipes exist and they may all be good. I think the following one will please more people because chicken replaces the more traditional lamb that not everyone likes. My second choice is to eliminate entirely the Tedouira, a side preparation designed to add flour in the end to thicken the soup. Unless your mother prepared this soup for you when you were a kid, you do not need it.

Gather the following ingredients:

×           2 chicken legs

×           1 minced onion

×           1 celery branch

×           1 cup lentils

×           1 large peeled tomato (about 2 cups of flesh)

×           2 quarts water

×           1 tsp. turmeric

×           ¾ tsp. cinnamon

×           1 generous pinch saffron

×           1 lb. cooked and peeled chickpeas (about 2 cups, see Vegetable section)

×           1 bunch cilantro, chopped

×           1 bunch parsley, chopped

×           1 tsp. ground pepper

×           Salt

Brown the chicken and the onions in the pot until golden (10 to 15 minutes). Salt.

Add the tomatoes, the lentils, the water, the turmeric and the cinnamon.

Simmer for 45 minutes, skimming regularly.

Add the chickpeas, the cilantro and the parsley.

Simmer for 30 minutes more. Add salt if needed.

Add the pepper (1 tsp.) and the saffron. Keep simmering on low heat while you prepare to serve.

Transfer the chicken to another dish for a later meal.

Prepare large serving bowls with 1 tsp. butter, 1 tsp. lemon juice and 2 or 3 tbsp. minced cilantro.

Ladle the soup in each bowl, carefully giving the same ingredients to everyone. 

This is a soup you approach with your eyes closed before eating. Then, you smell for a while. Then, you have your first sip. And then…