making soup?
So here's the thing...i want to learn to make soup--like, really good, restaurant quality stuff. every time i've tried at home, my soup comes out watery and kinda flavorless. I don't have a lot of equipment, and around here it's kinda hard to get "weird" ingredients, but i'd love to learn how to make thick, flavorful soup...can anyone point me to a book or website or anything like that?
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12 Comments:
I've been making soups for a restaurant lately... here's one secret... lots of butter and flour(make a white roux) and add whole milk and cream. also lots of salt.
andshewas at 4:11PM on 05/13/09
Another cheat is meat first soup bases. THese contain 25% meat 20% fat and 25% salt along with other flavorings so that they are shelf stable and provide a huge kick in flavor. A great thing to keep on hand for stir fry's instead of canned or refrigerated stock, Great for making a quick gravy as well. Look for them in restaurant supplly stores, Minor's and Custom Foods are two good brands, they make multiple quality levels, depending how much non meat protein is in them, so read the ingredient declaration, meat should be the first thing.
Meat guy at 4:26PM on 05/13/09
Stock, make stock! A good chicken stock, plenty of vegetables, simmered, blended with a dash of cream, a knob of butter and salt and pepper to taste is all you need. You can vary this endlessly depending on what veggies you have on hand.
vegemite at 5:08PM on 05/13/09
What sort of soups? Pureed/creamy soups, clear soups, the kind with stuff in them? Soups with meat, or veg soups?
renzata at 7:11PM on 05/13/09
@vegemite, agreed! At the dawn of every great soup recipe lies the makings of a great stock! Like @vegemite said, you can vary the veggies you use that will add depth and body to your soup. The french traditional is 2 parts onion, 1 part celery and 1 part carrot. Some use peppers, garlic and onions. Either way you need to use SALT! lol and BUTTER. You don't always have to add cream.
Secret* I sometimes use chicken bouillon cubes when I don't have my own stock at hand...shhh! Works just as well.
Good luck!
philadooklyn at 7:11PM on 05/13/09
if you want soup and not a chemical "brew" -- try roasting some bones, veggies until they get some nice color..... put them into a stock pot, cover with water, add onions, parsley, carrots, celery .... and simmer for hours.
strain it and use it as a base for other soups.
the internet has all kinds of recipes.... don't cheat. if you want to make a good soup - make a good soup.
pooch at 8:01PM on 05/13/09
Pooch has the right idea. Roast your bones and vegetables and make a good rich stock. then make soup using fresh ingredients. Discard the stock stuff as the flavor from them has been exhausted. In a vegetable soup, a spoonful of tomato paste makes the flavor richer without being a tomato soup. I add wine to the stock pot and, often, in the soup as well.
I also make a simple soup by cooking some potato and onion, adding broccoli, cauliflower or asparagus at the end and pureeing them all together before adding some 1/2 & 1/2 or cream. Salt and Pepper. A small bowl of a good "cream of"...soup makes a lovely first course. Sauteed mushrooms are a good addition to add a richness.
I've been making soup for many years and one result is never like any other because I use what's in season and in the refriserator....I always use onions or leeks and garlic in the stock.
My one favorite made from a recipe is Julia's French Onion. With sweet onions and good rich homemade beef stock it's wonderful.
suegsf at 1:06AM on 05/14/09
Unless I'm sick and need a thin broth, I add cream to almost all my soups. That, and I am addicted to my immersion blender. I puree a lot of my soups to thicken them, and top with fresh veggies, cheese, etc.
dharmon at 7:50AM on 05/14/09
I've never met a soup that was not somehow made "just that much better" by a healthy handful of freshly grated parmesean cheese and some crusty bread on the side.
juliebugsmama at 9:03AM on 05/14/09
Stocks definitely made my soup making much better than it used to be. I've never made my own, frankly because I don't have the space in the box I live it, but my dad does with great success. I just buy the organic kind at the grocery store for now until I get a larger kitchen (ha) or freezer (double ha!)
meem21 at 10:19AM on 05/14/09
If you're making your own stock, you need to use chicken backs and necks, and dark meat pieces (like thighs). Peel off the skin and remove as much fat as you can. You can poach and serve chicken breast with the finished soup (only if you insist - white meat does nothing for me).
Make sure you use AMPLE chicken. Place the chicken parts with the veg into a very large, narrow saucepan, then cover with water (filtered if you live in FL) to about 3" over the level of the chicken parts. A friend of mine once proudly announced "I made my own chicken stock." I peered into the saucepan where she had basically "boiled" four chicken breasts on the bone. I said, "we'll go to the store, you'll make chicken stock." I put together the whole thing for her and after about 20 minutes she sniffed into the air and said, "I can smell it! Why couldn't I smell mine??" (What I wouldn't do for an eye-roll emoticon right here...)
Simmer the chicken parts in the water with carrots, onions, celery, parsley, peppercorns and a bay leaf for ONE HOUR. Remove the thigh meat from the bones, set the meat aside to cool, use a cleaver or very heavy chef's knife to break the thigh bones and return them to the stock. Fish out the backs and necks and hack through them to expose as much marrow as possible, then return them to the pan. Simmer the mixture over low heat another 3 hours or so, adding small amounts of water if necessary. Strain out ALL the solids and you should be left with a golden, gelatinous (success!), luxurious, flavor packed stock.
There is a split of opinion as to whether stock should be salted while it's being made. I do not salt my stock. This is how I was taught in school. I will instead salt my end products - the dishes that will utilize the stock. Ina Garten (who I love) says unsalted stock tastes like dirty dishwater and she's got a point but I rarely have the stock on its own - it's always "an ingredient."
I make stock anytime the mercury dips in the winter - it's almost like Pavlovian response. Freeze your stock in containers - LABEL and DATE them.
Enjoy!
therealchiffonade at 11:42AM on 05/14/09
Savoring Soups and Salad is a great collection of recipes from William Sonoma. It has both classic and unqiue recipes organized by region. My sister gave me this book for my 22nd birthday and it was a wonderful way to learn the basics behind most soup and salad recipes while creating more sophisticated dishes.
rdrnr44 at 12:24PM on 05/14/09