Making Soup

January 28, 2015

Shrimp Bisque

I love making soup. You can find me year round eating a bowl of this good stuff, even during the warm summer months. I love a good bowl of chicken noodle soup, or a creamy bowl of broccoli soup. Why wouldn’t I love soup? It’s a healthy girl’s dream. I mean, making a bowl of soup is a great use for extra barley, left over veggies, and uneaten cuts of meat. Veggies and leftover meat does not have to spoil or be thrown out when you can make a pot of soup. It’s like the food collection center in my kitchen! Today I’m going to give you some tips for getting good use out of the foods in your kitchen by making hearty, healthy soups all year long!

Making soup is quite simple, as long as you have a good base. You can always go with a premade broth. I keep broths around the kitchen at all times because they’re really useful. Broth is good for deglazing a pan and making gravy, or can be used during cooking in the place of oil/butter to prevent food from sticking to a pan. There are plenty more uses for broth, but that’s a post for another day. When choosing a premade broth, I go for low fat and low sodium options. My goal is to make healthy foods, so the excess fat and sodium defeat the purpose.

Making your own broth takes a bit more time (or a lot more time, lol) but I find it to be a good option. Homemade broths tend to taste better. The catch is that with meats involved, you may not have as much ease with making the broth low fat. To cut down on the fat, trim it off of the meat you’re using to make the broth. Once the broth is cooked, let it cool and skim the fat from the top.

 

Chicken Soup

Homemade Soup with Homemade Broth

 Making a base for your soup:

  1. In a large soup pot, add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil or butter and warm it on medium heat for about 30 seconds.
  2. Lower the heat to medium low and add ½ a large chopped onion and 4-6 diced garlic cloves. Add desired herbs to the mix for flavor (I like parsley, thyme, and/or oregano for soups).
  3. Once the onions and garlic are soft (after 2-3 minutes), add 1 chopped carrot and 2 chopped celery stalks to the mix and cook for about 5 minutes. The carrots and celery can be chopped into large chunks if you will not be using them as a part of the soup. The large chunks are easier to discard than small pieces.

Soup broth – homemade:

  1. Add 12-16 ounces of water to your base in the soup pot.
  2. If you’re using meat, add it now. You can use meat with the bone in, such as chicken neck bones or a whole chicken. You can also use seafood in the shell, such as clams, or oysters. Wrap seafood with shells or bony meats that may fall apart in cheesecloth to be removed later in the cooking process. You don’t want the bones/shells to get into the soup. Other meats can be put directly into the water as they will become a part of the soup.
  3. If needed, add more water to your pot. Add enough water to cover all ingredients and a bit more (maybe 2-4 inches more depending on the size of your pot).
  4. Allow this to simmer for 45-60 minutes. You can simmer for up to 3-4 hours if you like.
  5. Remove from heat and cool.
  6. Remove cheesecloth. Discard contents of cheesecloth.
  7. If you are not using the veggies and meat in the broth, strain the broth into another container to remove veggies and meats. Discard the veggies and meats.* Keeping the veggies and meat. If you are using the meats, set them to the side to cool more. Once the meat is cool, remove it from the bone and chop or shred it as desired for the soup. Leave the veggies in the broth.

Soup:

  1. Add 1-2 bay leaves to the broth.
  2. Begin adding the soup ingredients (such as noodles or rice, vegetables, meat, etc.). This includes the meat that you have removed from the bone in step 7 above.
  3. Add more water as needed.
  4. After ingredients and water are added, add your seasonings (like salt and pepper, or a bouillon cube).
  5. Stir the ingredients together and simmer for 1-2 hours as desired.
  6. Remove from the heat.
  7. Allow to cool, and serve.

 

Vegetable Soup

Homemade Soup with Premade Broth

 Making a base for your soup:

  1. In a large soup pot, add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil or butter and warm it on medium heat for about 30 seconds.
  2. Lower the heat to medium low and add ½ a large diced onion and 4-6 diced garlic cloves. Add desired herbs to the mix for flavor (I like parsley, thyme, and/or oregano for soups).
  3. Once the onions and garlic are soft (after 2-3 minutes), add 2 chopped carrot and 2 chopped celery stalks to the mix and cook for about 5 minutes.

Soup:

  1. Add pre-made broth over soup base. The amount of broth used depends on how much soup you are making.
  2. Add 1-2 bay leaves.
  3. Add your other soup ingredients (such as noodles, vegetables, meat, etc.) and seasonings (like salt and pepper, or a bouillon cube).
  4. Stir the ingredients together and simmer for an hour or 2 as desired.
  5. Remove from the heat.
  6. Allow to cool, and serve.

When I make soup in the crockpot, I toss everything in with no base and I usually use a purchased broth. I let it cook for 6-8 hours so that the flavors really come out in the cooking. If you are using the crockpot and you want to make your own broth, you can use meat on the bone and/or shellfish in the shells. Just make sure you wrap them in cheesecloth so that you don’t have bones and shells floating in the soup. Once the soup is done, simply remove the cheesecloth with the bones/shells in it and serve the soup. You can also add chopped meats, like chicken breasts or chunks of beef, to increase the flavor of crockpot soup. If time allows, I like to sear or pre-cook the meats a bit, then use water or broth to deglaze the pan. I then add this to the crockpot (meat, deglazed liquids and all).

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What should you put into soup? I have a few things that I like. I add a bag of mixed frozen veggies (such as peas, carrots, corn and string beans) for vegetable soups. A can of diced tomatoes is great for flavor and goes well in vegetable soups. For starches, I add corn, potatoes, or uncooked noodles or rice (and a bit of extra water as the noodles will soak it up). Fresh vegetables that I like for soups include celery, carrots, onions, garlic, and a bit of ginger. Herbs, such as parsley, dill, cilantro, oregano, and thyme enhance soup flavor. I always add bay leaves to clear soups. I’m an omnivore so yes, I like meats added to my soups. I also like to add beans or barley to soups to make them more filling and give a boost of fiber.

How do you thicken soup? I thicken soups with pureed vegetables and/or cream. To cut fat, instead of full fat cream, try half and half or low fat milk. For tomato soups, a can of tomato sauce or adding tomato paste can thicken the soup.

To get more flavor out of your soup, add leeks or shallots to your base. You can also season and sear your meat in your soup pot for a bit before adding the broth. One other flavor technique is to add a splash of cooking wine or vinegar.

Alright, that’s how I do it. What’s your favorite soup? Do you have any techniques that you love for making soup?

~ Cece

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