By that title I mean that even if it's spring, it's never too late for some kind of soup. I also mean it's never too late in the day to think about cooking soup, because a good soup doesn't have to cook forever.
I was born into a family of soup lovers, so I'm always in the mood to cook up a batch. Because I love soup so much, I want it to be homemade, since that is the best kind. Because I love soup so much, I also don't want to wait for several hours or days for my soup to be ready.
There is nothing wrong with canned or packet soup, both are okay in a pinch, but anyone can taste the difference between those and homemade. Having said that, a satisfying soup can be made with canned stock or even water if the rest of the ingredients are flavorful. There are good stocks without a lot of additives in most major supermarkets these days. Plus, if you don't have to make stock from scratch, you can have your pot of soup so much faster. Don't be put off by a long list of ingredients in any of the recipes. The soups come together more quickly than those lists might suggest.
The variety of soup is almost endless. There are even fruit soups, which I confess I've never tried, but always thought might provide a way to have soup for breakfast. I'm not a big fan of cold soups either, although vichyssoise and gazpacho do have their charms on a hot summer evening. For me, soups are like a comforting blanket on a cool day, even if that cool comes from my air-conditioner!
The Recipes
Spring Soup - serves 4 - 6
This is adapted from a recipe called Suppa d'erbiglie from one of my favorite books, "The Frenchwoman's Kitchen" by Brigitte Tilleray from Cassell publishers, 1990. Her recipe did not include asparagus, but I still associate that vegetable with spring, even if it is available all year long, so I add it. Very thin asparagus doesn't need peeling, so that saves time. Asparagus spears always tell you where they want to be trimmed. Bend the stalk and the woody portion will naturally snap off. You can just use water instead of stock in this, but I think stock gives it more depth of flavor. If you want to make this ahead of time and want the herbs to keep their green color, reserve them to add you're ready to reheat the soup.
1 tomato
6 small red potatoes
1 lb baby lima or fava beans
1 lb early peas
1 bunch thin asparagus
4 green onions
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup mixed fresh herbs, including tarragon, parsley, thyme, marjoram and basil
Salt and pepper
To peel the tomato, cut a small cross in the rounded end and drop into boiling water. Leave for the count of 8. Place in cold water and pull back the peel, starting at the cross. Chop roughly and set aside. Scrub the potatoes and peel them, if desired. Cut into 1- inch pieces. Shell fresh limas or favas and fresh peas. Snap the asparagus stalks where they break naturally, rinse well and cut into 1 1/2- inch pieces, leaving the tips whole. Roughly chop the green onions.
Heat the olive oil in a deep soup pot and cook the garlic for 1 minute. Add the potatoes and the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer gently until potatoes are beginning to soften. Add the limas or favas, peas, asparagus and tomato. Simmer all the vegetables for 15 - 20 minutes or until tender. Add the green onions once vegetables are almost done. Stir in the herbs and adjust the seasoning. Serve with garlic croutons.
Mulligatawny Soup - serves 4 - 6
As a soup, this was unknown in India before the British Raj. It was an invention for the officers mess when dinner required a soup course, and it started out a thin, peppery mixture. The name mulligatawny is said to come from the Tamil words molegoo (pepper) and tunes (water). Over the years, other ingredients were added, and I've added a few myself. I'm fond of this soup when I feel a cold coming on. I swear I even stopped one in its tracks with a particularly spicy bowlful in London.
6 - 8 cups chicken broth
2 chicken breasts or thighs, skinned
3 tablespoons oil
1 cup diced onions
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 tablespoons mild curry powder or 1 tablespoon hot curry powder
2 apples, peeled, cored and coarsely grated
2 teaspoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons mango chutney
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice
Salt and pepper
1 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut cream
Cilantro leaves
Combine 6 cups chicken broth with the chicken portions in a large pot. Cover and bring to the boil, then simmer, partially covered until chicken is cooked, about 20 minutes. Strain and reserve broth. Bone and dice the chicken.
Heat the oil in a stock pot and add the onion. Cook until lightly browned. Stir in the flour and curry powder. Cook 1 minute and add the reserved broth, stirring well. Add apple and tomato paste. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Add more broth as the soup cooks, if needed. Stir in the diced chicken and remaining ingredients and heat through. Top each serving with a few cilantro leaves.
Caraway Counter-Spell Soup - serves 4
My Slovak grandmother was quite superstitious, only I didn't know how much so until recently. My mother probably told her not to fill my head with such nonsense when I was growing up. The story goes that when my mother, her brother and sister were children and mentioned to my grandmother that someone in town had complimented them, she usually said, "They might have cast a spell on you." Then she whisked them into the kitchen and cooked this soup for them. If she had time, she made little egg dumplings to go into it. Does the counter-spell work? Caraway was long thought to protect against spells, and since both Friday the 13th and tax day are coming soon, it couldn't hurt! Besides, it really does taste good.
4 tablespoons bacon drippings
1 tablespoon caraway seed
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 clove garlic
6 - 8 cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper
1 large egg, beaten
2 - 3 tablespoons flour
Heat bacon drippings and fry the caraway seed for a few minutes or until seeds begin to pop. Remove and set aside. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly over fairly high heat to make a dark roux. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add 6 cups of the stock and whisk until smooth. Return the caraway seeds to the pot and simmer about 20 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add more broth or water, if needed. Strain if desired. Adjust the seasoning. Mix the egg and 2 tablespoons of the flour to a smooth paste, but don't over mix. If the mixture is still very runny, add a little more flour just until it drops easily from a spoon. Bring the soup to the boil and drop in very small amounts, about 1/8 teaspoon, of the dumpling mixture and cook until they float to the top. Serving immediately.
Presto Soup - serves 6
A very quick way to have an Italian-style meatball soup. It's a very hearty, filling soup, perfect as a main course. I really like hot Italian sausage for this, but mild is good too. Turkey Italian sausage is fine if you want to cut down on the fat a little. To make the soup without sausage, add some mushrooms.
1 lb bulk Italian sausage
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove minced garlic
4 - 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
15 oz can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or basil or 1 tablespoon dried
2 cans red beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 lb baby spinach, rinsed and roughly chopped or 10 oz frozen, chopped spinach, thawed
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 cups cooked soup pasta
Salt and pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese
Shape the sausage into a flat, square cake about 1/2 - inch thick on a lightly oiled plate. Place in the freezer until firm, but not frozen solid. Cut into 1/2- inch dice. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot and add the sausage pieces. Saute until lightly browned, turning often, keeping the pieces separated. Drain the sausage. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook a few minutes. Drain any remaining fat in the pot and return the sausage along with 4 cups of the broth, tomatoes and their juice and herbs. Simmer about 15 minutes adding more stock, if needed. Add the beans and spinach. Cook a few minutes then stir in the vinegar and the cooked pasta. Heat through, adjust the seasoning and serve with cheese.
Avgolemono Soup- serves 4
Eggs are the thickener in this soup. Those eggs, symbols of spring and renewal are probably why it comes to mind at this time of year. It has a sunny, springlike daffodil color, too. Rice is the usual addition to this soup, but I once had a version with orzo and really liked it, so I've made it that way every since. The most important thing to remember is to not allow the soup to boil once the egg yolks are added. There are few things less appetizing than scrambled egg soup. If you are worried about the egg yolks not cooking completely, use pasteurized eggs available in supermarkets.
6 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup orzo
Juice and zest of 1- 2 lemons
3 eggs, separated
1 1/2 tablespoons water
Salt and pepper
In a deep saucepan, bring the chicken stock to the boil. Add the orzo and cook until just tender. Drain the orzo and reserve it along with the broth. Return the broth to the pot. Grate the lemon zest before squeezing the juice and add half of the zest to the broth. Squeeze the juice and add 1/4 cup to the broth. Reserve remaining juice. Beat the egg yolks with the water until well mixed. Beat a small amount of the hot stock into the egg yolks to warm them slightly and then beat the yolks into the rest of the broth. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the soup thickens slightly. Stir in the cooked orzo and adjust the seasoning. Add more lemon juice, if needed. Serve immediately.
Microwave Croutons
One more recipe and it's a strange one. This really does work, and you can flavor them however you like.
2 cups of 1/2- inch cubes of bread
Olive oil or melted butter
Finely grated Parmesan cheese, minced garlic, finely chopped herbs, sesame, celery and poppy seeds and red pepper flakes
Place bread on a microwave oven safe plate. Microwave 4 - 5 minutes on HIGH (100%), stirring every 2 minutes, until dry. To flavor the croutons, first toss the bread cubes in olive oil or melted butter to coat lightly, but evenly. Sprinkle with whatever flavoring ingredients you choose and toss to coat. Microwave as before.
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Next time: Making Waves
