This recipe from Stephanie Izard is among the best tomato soups I've ever made. The secret is not only to use apples, which help thicken the soup give it some body, but also to skip the stock and use apple cider instead. Along with white wine, it adds acidity and sweetness, which are also the best qualities in a good tomato. A hit of sambal paste (a vinegary, chile condiment) gives it a tantalizing kick. The result is an intense base of flavor, rich and satisfying. More

I make no claims of this soup's authenticity, and to be fair, neither does Martha Stewart. But if you're looking for a dead simple and flavorful soup, it's hard to find a better example than this specimen from Martha Stewart's Dinner at Home. Comforting without being heavy, this rice soup comes together in about 30 minutes, and yet tastes like it took hours. More

I have a huge soft spot for egg drop soup, specifically the Chinese-American version I first tasted as a kid. You know, the kind that's golden yellow with shards of cooked egg? I assume this fond memory is actually based on a bowl of gloopy, bland, and inauthentic egg drop soup, but that's okay. Luckily, this recipe from Andrea Nguyen's Into the Vietnamese Kitchen is the opposite. It is bright, fresh, and dynamic. More

This Mexican-style soup proves that there are more cold tomato soup options than gazpacho. The tomatoes are pureed until smooth with olive oil, but the soup really comes alive with the addition of a roasted corn guacamole. More