What's soup? - Winter dishes

I love winter because I get to make loads of soups. I usually like to mix whatever I find appealing on the day I shop or what is left over in the fridge.

Even onion and carrots can turn into something delicious.

I always start my soup with onion lightly fried in seed oil - I don't know the exact term in English: basically, when the onion start turning transparent and soft, and no further. I also add salt at that point since I was told that this prevent onions from burning (? - heard this in a cooking class in Argentina, never heard about it before nor elsewhere, so take it with a pinch of salt... literally!).

Then I add diced vegetables, cover with cold water, let it cook for a while (until all veggies are soft) and then I either keep it this way or add spices/herbs if the blend is too mild.

There are some standard recipes I love to eat, besides those experiments quite random.

1 - Potage parmentier (leek soup)

A classic French soup with leeks, potatoes, cream, decorated with ciboulette / croutons / thyme (your choice!).

It is d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s and impossible to get wrong. It is also perfect served cold on summer.

Recipe here.

2 - Caldo verde (Portuguese cabbage soup)

A classic recipe from the northern Portugal. Kale (or other cabbage), chouriço salami, potatoes, onions and generous garlic.

Recipe here.

3 - Colcannon (Irish cabbage soup)

By now it is clear that there is no soup without potato in my home, and that I love cabbages (all varieties!). I must have been Irish in my past life...

The basic ingredients are always potatoes and cabbage, plus bacon. Actually, colcannon is not a soup but rather mashed potatoes with cabbage, however it usually turns out rather runny so I'll file it under 'soups' anyway.

Recipe here.

4 - Cassöela (Italian cabbage & meat)

This is a second course, but can be done quite runny and it is one of my absolute favorite. Basically, it is cabbage and various cuts of pork cooked together, together with carrot, celery, tomatoes.

Recipe (in Italian) here.

5 - Zuppa alla pavese (Italian bread-and-eggs soup)

My mom used this recipe to fix us a quick but yummy dinner. The important part is to have a savory meat broth, very very HOT. Put each serving into a broth cup, add rough, big pieces of stale bread, break a raw egg on top - it will cook instantly in the hot broth. Wait a few minutes before serving, add a generous dose of butter, grate cheese (grana or parmigiano reggiano) on top to taste.

Recipe (in English) here.

Quote from JAN

THE COUNTRY SHORT OF ARMAGEDDON AND YOU TALK ABOUT SOUP?

I am getting ready for famine

Quote from UK Man

Red lentil and grated carrot is my favourite. I haven't made it for a while though.

Do you cook the lentils aside? I have never really understood the difference between the various kind of lentils.

Quote from Rice

serafina, I’m going to try your salt trick next time. I hate burning the onions. A related tip from Louisiana cooks is to add herbs & spices immediately after sautéing onions, rather than later in the cooking process, to get the most out of their flavors before any stock or water dilute the soup.

When we traveled to India, we found out that spices are cooked beforehand, in a pan with just oil, and only afterwards the fresh ingredients are added.

There is a all a science to spice, but I am completely ignorant on the subject.

Quote from Rice

... or overnight. When we make soup, we find it is so much better the next day than the day we make it.

Agree! The more I reheat the soup, the yummier!

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Quote from Rice

Something else that greatly improves any kind of vegetable soup is shredded cabbage, which breaks down and thickens the soup, while adding flavor, richness and vitamins.

NancyAtAlki taught me to save all beef bones in the freezer, then simmer for hours with beans to make them SO delicious.

In Italy, butcher will sell bones for a nominal fee or they will give them away for free.

However, why don't take the chance to make an excellent broth and have a bollito/lesso, at the same time?

I loved to eat bollito with mayonnaise, though the traditional recipe would like to have it with parsley, garlic and oil (salsa verde).

Quote from Rice

What is this bollito, serafina? It looks like sliced meat?

It is boiled meat. You put a big chunk (or chunkes) in water with some veggies, the meat cooks, the veggies cook, then you eat the meat, save the broth for something else (like a risotto or a soup). If you do it with a piece of meat with a bone and marrow, you can suck the marrow and it is fabulous!