January, February, and March are without a doubt the season for soups. Nothing warms you up like a nice hot bowl of chicken soup and some thick crusty bread for dipping. Chicken not your thing, how about a rich, savory bowl of French Onion soup covered with melted provolone. Still not your style, you can always make a roasted butternut squash soup that is not only filling but very healthy as well. You see, the thing about soups is, there are a gajillion combinations that you can come up with to get to the flavors that you like best.
After the holidays, things sort of slump off from a culinary perspective. Thanksgiving is over, Christmas is over and New Years is long past. All we have to look forward to is St. Valentine's day and even that is getting less and less attention. One of the ways to re-awaken your palate is to dive into a warm bowl of soup.
I'd like to give you some pointers on making a great pot of soup, so you can keep your taste buds alive, and still shed a few pounds in the process. There are three keys to making a great soup and they are:
1. Great ingredients. If you think that you are going to make a great chicken soup with freezer burnt chicken and limp celery you are sadly mistaken. Your soup will only be as good as your ingredients. Celery, Carrots, and Onions are quite inexpensive, even if you buy organic, which I do recommend. Chicken can be purchased at any big box store and properly preserved in any freezer zip top bag. A few chicken bouillon cubes, some sage and a few cups of corn, lima beans, green beans, and peas makes a bowl of soup that not only tastes amazing, but it's sure to knock off the edge of any cold that may be trying to set in. Fresh ingredients ensures the highest vitamin and mineral content and well as best flavor.
2. Method. When making any soup there is a phrase that every cook worth his (or her) salt remembers. Color equals flavor. How do I get color into my soups? Sauté the vegetables first. I'll almost always sauté my onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes for 10 min or so to give them a little color. That little bit of color will bring out the sweetness in the vegetables like nothing else. Plus, it makes the house smell amazing. By taking the time to add this little bit of color to the vegetables you are taking what could be a good pot of soup and turning it into a great pot of soup.
3. Storage. If you have ever made a big pot of soup, eaten a bowl and then you put the whole pot right into the fridge, you have made the same mistake that many cooks and chefs have made. If you have gone to all the trouble to make the perfect pot of soup, please, store it so that it's just as good the next day, if not better, than it was the first. So, how should you store the soup? I like single servings. If you have bowls that you can wrap with plastic and fridge space, then glass bowls are a great option. Glass transfers heat quite well and it will not leach any weird chemicals into the food like plastic will. This means that it will cool down rapidly and it can be re-heated in the same bowl. Less mess and it protects the flavor of your soup like nothing else will. One warning, never, ever, store your soup in an aluminum pot. Aluminum has all sorts of properties that are simply bad for you. I'll stop there to avoid getting on my soap box. Needless to say, glass is always the best bet and is the proven safest option.
So, there are the three keys to a great pot of soup. Find your favorite recipe, make sure that you use the freshest ingredients available, be sure to add color by sautéing the vegetables and by all means take care when storing your finished product. By following these simple rules, you will have soup to get you through to the spring.
Chef Pat @ CFL
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