Soups Worth Making
A round-up of a my favorite soups from the archives - the ones that really stood out, the ones I love to revisit.
I'm just home from Japan - thanks to an efficient series of buses, trains, planes, and one fabulously upholstered ferry. The trip started in Tokyo, then on to Kyoto, eventually making our way to the incredibly special island of Naoshima. While I get unpacked and settled back in to my regular routine, I thought I'd do a quick round-up of a few of my favorite soups from the archives, the ones that really stood out, the ones I love to revisit. I love a good pot of soup, and (particularly) this time of year, make them a couple times a week. And while the following have become some of my stand-bys, let me know if you have a soup recipe you think I'm missing out on. I'm always on the look-out for new ideas to try. In the meantime, I'll try to pull together some pics and a write up of my plane lunch for later in the week! xo-h
- A Simple Tomato Soup: Pictured here - A simple tomato soup recipe inspired by a Melissa Clark recipe - pureed, warmly spiced, and perfect topped with everything from toasted almonds and herbs, to coconut cream or a poached egg.
- Pumpkin and Rice Soup: This was the pumpkin soup I made first-thing after arriving home from India last October - it has an herby butter drizzle and lemon ginger pulp. I serve it over a good amount of brown rice with a dollop plain yogurt.
- Coconut Red Lentil Soup: If emails are any indication, this is certainly one of the more popular soup recipes with all of you. Inspired by an Ayurvedic dal recipe in the Esalen Cookbook, it is a light-bodied, curry-spiced coconut broth thickened with cooked red lentils and structured with yellow split peas. It has back notes of ginger, slivered green onions sauteed in butter, and curry-plumped raisins. It also relies on an interested cooking method to bring it all together.
- Posole in Broth: My style of posole. This version has a vegetable broth base, lots of blossoming corn kernels, avocado and mung beans. It's topped with plenty of chopped olives and toasted almonds.
- Red Lentil Soup with Lemon: Pictured above here - An earthy, turmeric and mustard-spiked lentil soup served over brown rice with spinach and thick yogurt.
- New Year Noodle Soup Recipe: One of my very favorite soups, a bit of an effort, but well worth it if you have a lazy day at home. This is an amazing New Year Noodle Soup from Greg & Lucy Malouf's beautiful book, Saraban. A bean and noodle soup at its core, it features thin egg noodles swimming in a fragrant broth spiced with turmeric, cumin, chiles, and black pepper. You use a medley of lentils, chickpeas, and borlotti beans which makes the soup heart and filling without being heavy. You then add spinach, dill, and cilantro, and lime juice kicks in with a bit of sour at the end. Even beyond that, you also prep a number of toppings to serve with the soup - chopped walnuts, caramelized onions, and sour cream. Amazing.
- Dried Fava Soup with Mint and Guajillo Chiles: Easily one of the best and most interesting soups I've cooked in years. Adapted from a recipe in Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen - a dried fava bean and roasted tomato base is topped with a fascinating cider-kissed tangy/sweet quick-pickled chile topping. Don't skimp out on the topping!
- Green Curry Broth: A beautiful, thin green curry broth, fragrant with garlic, lemongrass, and ginger. It gets heat from serrano chiles, and a zing of tanginess from fresh lime juice. Cumin and coriander seeds keep things grounded, and a flurry of freshly chopped herbs make the sky open up.
- Richard Olney's Garlic Soup : In the realm of garlic soup recipes, this is a favorite of mine. From Richard Olney's The French Menu Cookbook, it is made by simmering a dozen or so cloves of garlic in water with a few herbs, then thickening it with a mixture of egg and shredded cheese. It's hard to beat a ladle poured over crusty day-old chunks of walnut baguette.
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Heidi - my Dad is sick, and it is heartbreaking watching him deteriorate. He can't eat much, but I think the garlic soup might be something he could stomach. So thank you for this - a bit of light in a dark time.
HS: I'm so sorry to hear this Era3.
ooh, any chance we'll see a veggie ramen recipe soon??
HS: So tricky! It's on my list for sure.
I have to tell you how much i love your soups, my husband is always so impressed when i make one of your soups! The fava bean soup blew him away (he grew up on fresh fava beans in Turkey), but my monthly cooks are always the orzo with roasted tomates (I use kale though) and the red lentil coconut curry....that soup is amazing!! I am always amazed at how tasty your dishes come out without having to add any dairy (I try to omit dairy), because you can make almost anything taste good with cream or cheese but it takes talent and thought to make something dairy free delicious! Thank you :-)
Dear Heidi, I´m a big fan of "your" Hassan's Celery and White Bean Soup with Tomato and Caraway. Our favourite in this time of year (end of winter in Prague) are pumpkin soups (best are made one from oven-roasted pumplik with garlic and rosemary and one from butternut squash with apple and fresh ginger) and plain pureed soup of parsley and celeriac.
There are a few soups in your recipe archives that I make again and again: - Vegetarian Split Pea - Mixed Mushroom - Porcini Mushroom - Baby Lima Bean w/ Chipotle Broth Thanks for those and all the others!
Yum, definitely got some soup cravings going!
Coming into soup weather as we soon will be, I too, love the Melissa Clark tomato soup - simple yet hearty and deliciously warming in cold weather. Another of my favourites is from your archives - the Red Lentil and Brown Rice soup, which I make a lot as always have both those ingredients in the cupboard - again a simple soup that is delicious with different bits and pieces to garnish it.....
These soups are so inspiring. The coconut red lentil soup is definitely on my list to try. The weather in the UK is still so cold and grey that soup is just what I need at the moment. I've been making lots of beetroot soup this winter and carrot and ginger for extra warmth.
Living in hot, sweaty Bangkok means I don't have such a seasonal need for comforting soups. Although, unable to shake a cold, the pumpkin and rice soup is just what I need tonight - looks devine!
Your red lentil soup with lemon has become one of the staple soups in my diet. It's so good and so easy to make. A great blend of spices!
from Japan, and glad to hear that you enjoyed Japan :)
I make the simple tomato soup once every 10 days or so. It's been a lifesaver this winter in Seattle. Welcome home!
HS: LOVE hearing that Megan. Hope to see you soon! xo
soup is my favorite meal, i am thrilled to try each of these inspired recipes, starting tomorrow with tomato! japan! how exciting!
Oh please please post about Japan soon! I am trying to plan a trip there for next month.
HS: You'll love it - Japan is one of my favorite places to travel, I'm trying to wrangle a map of some favorite Tokyo spots. Kyoto is magic. Mt. Koya-san, Naoshima Island....I'll do my best to pull something together. We fly into Tokyo, and out of Osaka.
I am this close to heading to the grocery store at 10:45 at night to get started on some of these soups, yum.
Your coconut red lentil soup and New Year noodle soup are probably my two favorite soups and I make both of them a LOT. I'll have to try the rest!!
What a great roundup. Tomato, coconut lentil. pumpkin and rice...yes please!
I loooove soup! I've blogged a couple times about my favorite recipes, and now these are on the list for sure! I'm excited to see what you ate on the plane because I'm leaving in less than two weeks for a month long trip to Europe! Your ideas are going to be very welcome. :)
Not long ago, I made your Spring Minestrone soup from SNC and fell in love with it - I made it 3 times in one week! I did the recipe version twice, then the 3rd time I tried the Asian-inspired version. Next up is your coconut red lentil soup - I have everything ready to go and can't wait to get a pot made!
What creative soups! Can't wait to hear about what you ate on the plane.
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