Steaming Up the Kitchen

The makings of a white bean, roasted garlic, carrot, and parsley soup with a single bay leaf.

I love soup.  And I love making soup.  Especially this time of year.  Going in the kitchen, putting on an apron, getting out my chopping board and enormous chopping knife, looking through the fridge for things to add--celery, parsley, left over squash or potatoes.  It all gives me a sense of satisfaction.  Oh, yes, and listening to some Bach while I cook.

Then, too, according to Chinese medicine--those who practice acupuncture or teach Tai Chi or make feng shui adjustments--it's best not to eat raw/cold in winter but cooked/hot.  So there go my salad lunches for the time being.

I enjoy cooking, but these days, at least, I usually wing it and don't refer to recipes unless I'm making some hot-shot dessert or fancy entree.  Generally, I just set out the ingredients I want to use and go from there.  And most of the soups I make start the same way:  sauteing chopped onions.  So I get out my Le Creuset enameled cast-iron dutch oven, set it on a lit burner, then, when it's hot, add and heat either ghee or olive oil, then toss in a chopped onion to start the whole process.  Stirring, I let that cook for five or ten minutes over lowish heat so it doesn't burn.  (If I'm making a curry-flavored soup, this is when I'd add that flavoring since such spices like to be heated with the onions, but only for a minute or two.  This would also be the time to saute a bit of chopped garlic.  And, note:  if I'm including bacon or sausage, I saute those even before the onions.)

Then I add the broth.  Something I've made from ham, lamb, beef, chicken, or turkey bones.  Or something commercial.

Next, I put in the rest of the ingredients.  Celery can be stringy so unless I'm planning on pureeing the soup and then straining out the strings, I like to cut a stalk into thirds, drop that into the pot, and then easily pull it all out at the end.  I often make bean soup so add a can of white, red, or black beans  Or lentils.  Maybe some tomatoes.  Mushrooms.  Then I add a bit of salt, put on the lid, turn down the heat, and let everything bubble for a good half hour. 

Or, if I want a slightly thicker soup, I'll add 4 tablespoons of cous-cous to the broth after it's first come to a boil.

My current supply of red and white onions, garlic, and shallots, any of which are splendid in soups.

A drizzle of olive oil or a bit of bacon fat adds a nice richness. As for other flavoring, a bit of tamari, or roasted sesame oil, or a half-teaspoon of vinegar works well.  Plus a selection between bay leaf, parsley, chives, sage, oregano, and celery seed.

Once the soup is cooked and cooled, I often put it in the food processor.  Pureed is good.  But I also like soups that are a bit chunky--made by pulsing them just a bit rather than pureeing them.  Then I have a choice about how to serve.  (If I've pureed or pulsed the soup, I'll need to reheat it.)  Sometimes, I add a bit of half-and-half to each individual bowl.  Or, I particularly like the taste of miso--a paste-like ingredient that goes in at the very end since it prefers not to be heated.  If you're planning to use all the soup without reheating next day, you can just spoon a bit of miso in the pot at the tail-end and stir well.  Otherwise, the best way is to put a half teaspoon of miso in your empty soup bowl, add a small amount of liquid, stir until it's all incorporated, then ladle in the soup. That provides the flavoring without cooking the miso.

The beginnings of an onion and shitake mushroom soup

Using sauteed onions as my basic start, here are some of my favorite soups:

• White bean ... with or without sausage
• Cauliflower
• Onion ... with or without curry seasoning
• Potato and leek
• Summer squash ... good in summer, pureed, and then served chilled
• Asparagus
• Mushroom
• Lentil
• Broccoli

One recent batch gave me a lot of pleasure because everything was produced locally.  I'd gotten a beef knuckle bone from one farmer ... leeks, parsley, and carrots from others.  Plus some chives and sage from my herb garden.  It produced a good old-fashioned pot of soup!