HOMEMADE Soup Tips Worth Passing Along!
Jill Nystul of “One Good Thing by Jillee” (www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com), shared some soup tips recently that are absolutely worth passing along. For instance:
BUY CHUNKS OF PAREMSAN CHEESE (instead of the pre-grated stuff) and save the rinds. Then add a rind to your soup pot. Its salty and tangy cheesiness will take your soup to a whole new level.
ADD CRUNCH. Texture can play an important role in how a soup satisfies. This is why croutons were invented and why folks began crushing crackers into soups. Seeds can deliver a nice crunch as well. Pumpkin and sunflower are especially nice (raw, salted, or toasted…it’s all good).
BUILD BODY AND CREAMINESS into a ramen or chicken noodle soup by adding an egg. Jillee suggests whisking it well then stirring it into your gently simmering soup. Finish with a topping of sliced green onions and some above-mentioned crunch (sesame seeds would be good).
USE GARLIC CHILI OIL. It adds a kick that wins raves. Make your own by briefly sauteing minced garlic and red pepper flakes in extra virgin olive oil. A little drizzle of this flavor punch over a bowl of soup is all it takes.
UP THE NUTRITION FACTOR by adding greens. Add fresh spinach or chopped kale before serving, stirring them in until they’re just wilted. They’ll contribute a nice pop of color as well as a lot of vitamins.
TURN SAUCE INTO SOUP, Jillee says. By combining these you’ll come up with a what she calls a “basic building block for a soup.” She suggests mixing equal parts marinara and chicken broth; doing so creates a great start to minestrone. Add some veggies, beans, and noodles (or whatever you have on hand, actually), and you’ll have a delicious, filling soup.
ADD A TOUCH OF ACID to a soup that already has enough salt and fat. Often what most ho-hum soups really need for well-rounded flavor is a titch of acid. A splash of apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, etc. will do the trick. It’s often the missing piece of the puzzle that gives balance to the other flavors.
INCREASE ITS HEARTINESS—make it more filling by adding leftover meat or veggies. This works especially well with those canned or boxed soups that aren’t quite filling enough on their own. And adding canned beans is another way to not only increase soup heartiness, but increase the protein and fiber content, too.
GIVE IT A CREAMY GARNISH. A dollop of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt looks pretty and contributes a velvety element that compliments a soup’s texture and flavor.
OPT FOR HOMEMADE BROTHS and STOCKS. Since many soups have a broth base, the better the broth you use is, the better your soup will be. Homemade broths are usually superior in flavor and are less expensive than the store-bought versions. Freeze your meat bones and veggie scraps for this project. Merle O’Neal, from www.tasty.co shares a terrific recipe for making veggie stock from food scraps:
Onion tops, bottoms, and skins
Celery, tops and bottoms
1 cup carrot, tops, bottoms, and skins
Mushroom tops and stems
Garlic tops, bottoms, and skins
Potato tops, bottoms, and skins
Parsley leaves and stems
water as needed
Directions:
Add Recipe to Cook'n
Lastly, MAKE LARGE BATCHES AND FREEZE LEFTOVERS in freezer pods. This way you’ll have individual soup portions that are easy to warm up whenever you need a quick and hearty meal.
And note: These pods are not only wonderful for freezing soups, they’re the best for all sorts of things that benefit from being frozen as individual portions (refried beans and mashed potatoes, for instance).
BUY CHUNKS OF PAREMSAN CHEESE (instead of the pre-grated stuff) and save the rinds. Then add a rind to your soup pot. Its salty and tangy cheesiness will take your soup to a whole new level.
ADD CRUNCH. Texture can play an important role in how a soup satisfies. This is why croutons were invented and why folks began crushing crackers into soups. Seeds can deliver a nice crunch as well. Pumpkin and sunflower are especially nice (raw, salted, or toasted…it’s all good).
BUILD BODY AND CREAMINESS into a ramen or chicken noodle soup by adding an egg. Jillee suggests whisking it well then stirring it into your gently simmering soup. Finish with a topping of sliced green onions and some above-mentioned crunch (sesame seeds would be good).
USE GARLIC CHILI OIL. It adds a kick that wins raves. Make your own by briefly sauteing minced garlic and red pepper flakes in extra virgin olive oil. A little drizzle of this flavor punch over a bowl of soup is all it takes.
UP THE NUTRITION FACTOR by adding greens. Add fresh spinach or chopped kale before serving, stirring them in until they’re just wilted. They’ll contribute a nice pop of color as well as a lot of vitamins.
TURN SAUCE INTO SOUP, Jillee says. By combining these you’ll come up with a what she calls a “basic building block for a soup.” She suggests mixing equal parts marinara and chicken broth; doing so creates a great start to minestrone. Add some veggies, beans, and noodles (or whatever you have on hand, actually), and you’ll have a delicious, filling soup.
ADD A TOUCH OF ACID to a soup that already has enough salt and fat. Often what most ho-hum soups really need for well-rounded flavor is a titch of acid. A splash of apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, etc. will do the trick. It’s often the missing piece of the puzzle that gives balance to the other flavors.
INCREASE ITS HEARTINESS—make it more filling by adding leftover meat or veggies. This works especially well with those canned or boxed soups that aren’t quite filling enough on their own. And adding canned beans is another way to not only increase soup heartiness, but increase the protein and fiber content, too.
GIVE IT A CREAMY GARNISH. A dollop of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt looks pretty and contributes a velvety element that compliments a soup’s texture and flavor.
OPT FOR HOMEMADE BROTHS and STOCKS. Since many soups have a broth base, the better the broth you use is, the better your soup will be. Homemade broths are usually superior in flavor and are less expensive than the store-bought versions. Freeze your meat bones and veggie scraps for this project. Merle O’Neal, from www.tasty.co shares a terrific recipe for making veggie stock from food scraps:
Food Scraps Veggie Stock
Ingredients:
Onion tops, bottoms, and skins
Celery, tops and bottoms
1 cup carrot, tops, bottoms, and skins
Mushroom tops and stems
Garlic tops, bottoms, and skins
Potato tops, bottoms, and skins
Parsley leaves and stems
water as needed
Directions:
Remove the tops/bottoms/skins/stems from any vegetables you are preparing (avoid vegetables like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, or cauliflower as they will add a bitter taste to your stock) and place them in a ziplock bag - they can stay frozen up to 6 months.
Note: You can add many other vegetable scraps such as corn cobs, winter squash, zucchini, and other squash, beet greens, fennel, chard, lettuce, parsnips, green beans, pea pods, bell peppers, eggplant, asparagus, and other herbs like dill, thyme, cilantro, and basil.
Continue like this until bag is full.
Dump bag into pot and fill ¾ of the pot (or until scraps just start to float) with water.
Bring water to a boil and then let it simmer for at least 30 minutes.
Strain water out of stock.
Refrigerate stock up to 4 days, or freeze up to 3 months.
Note: You can add many other vegetable scraps such as corn cobs, winter squash, zucchini, and other squash, beet greens, fennel, chard, lettuce, parsnips, green beans, pea pods, bell peppers, eggplant, asparagus, and other herbs like dill, thyme, cilantro, and basil.
Continue like this until bag is full.
Dump bag into pot and fill ¾ of the pot (or until scraps just start to float) with water.
Bring water to a boil and then let it simmer for at least 30 minutes.
Strain water out of stock.
Refrigerate stock up to 4 days, or freeze up to 3 months.
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Lastly, MAKE LARGE BATCHES AND FREEZE LEFTOVERS in freezer pods. This way you’ll have individual soup portions that are easy to warm up whenever you need a quick and hearty meal.
And note: These pods are not only wonderful for freezing soups, they’re the best for all sorts of things that benefit from being frozen as individual portions (refried beans and mashed potatoes, for instance).
Alice Osborne
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com
