My Favorite Soup ... What's Yours?

For the longest time I have been wanting potato soup. I couldn't find my usual recipe so I just made one up from what I could remember.

I looked on the net though most I found called for cream and bacon.  I never used those in my soup.

I cooked three diced potatoes, half a diced onion, and a stalk of celery with the leaves that I sliced thin.  Cooked these until the potato was cooked.  I removed the potato and left the onion and celery in the pan.  Melted a couple of tablespoons of butter and added a couple of tablespoons of flour.  When the flour butter mixture started to brown I added a cup of milk then stirred until it thicken and added the potatoes and enough milk to cover the mixture. While this was thickening, I remembered that I had cooked some carrots so I added a few of these. Salt and pepper to taste and it was so good.

What is your favorite soup?



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That sounds very tasty Anne!   Since you were going for just a potato soup, I wonder if you're familiar with vichysoisse?  Although it's eaten cold (good in summer), it mostly features potato, leek, chicken stock and some cream.

One of my favourite recipes for soup is a Thai style Chicken soup which is very tasty. I make it with a good chicken stock (from simmering organic chicken bones) and it features lime (zest and juice), shallots (OK not authentic Thai!), garlic, broken egg noodles, pak choi and cooked chicken.  Actually I'm surprised it doesn't have red chillies or ginger....might include those next time I make it.

I love potato soup but I also have a quick chicken tortellini soup and a chicken tortilla soup that I fall back on.

Dice up a couple of chicken breasts brown them in the stock pot with onions and a diced carrot in olive oil.  Chicken stock and tortellini in after the chicken is cooked and onions translucent, once the tortellinis are cooked add some chopped spinach or chard and that's it.

Dice up a couple of chicken breasts brown in stockpot with onions and green bell peppers, I add some diced chili peppers. If I don't have a homemade tomato soup I use an organic boxed Pacific tomato soup. One can kidney beans, one can black beans, corn, some cumin and a bit of  taco seasoning.  A family member was going to make some rye bread that uses a bread flour and cracked rye. Rather than using rye they cracked cummin seeds in the mill and made winnipeg cumin bread an unusual mistake/twist that actually worked really well with this soup

Borsch, any receipe,  is our preferred winter soup. We enjoy experimenting.  Of course homemade dark rye bread goes well with it.  

I'm also a big fan of potato soup, mine is spicy and made with beer and cheese.  My favorite soup, however, has to be Hot and Sour.  My recipe is based on a Vietnamese recipe but with many Americanizations to overcome certain missing ingredients (and I'm not a big fan of fish):

Onion, Carrot, Celery, and hot peppers, garlic, ginger, hot bean paste, and about a quarter of my spice rack get simmered in olive oil.  Then I toss in the chicken (or veggie) stock and bring to a slow boil.  Separately, I combine soy sauce, red wine vinegar, sugar and a little flour (to thicken) and whisk well.  Then you toss everything together and keep with the heat.  Last thing I do is I add thinly sliced chicken and slowly drizzle some beaten eggs both of which will cook almost as soon as they hit the soup.  

Our favorite is Caldo Verde, a Portuguese soup which we’ve adapted to what we grow.  Cook the peeled potatoes until very soft, mash with a potato masher and continue cooking until creamy, meanwhile adding some grated carrot to color it.  Last few minutes throw in a big handful of finely slivered kale, collards, Lamb’s Quarters greens or Bok Choi.  Slivered onion optional.  Before serving add a dash of olive oil.  Very filling and satisfying.  You don’t want to overcook the greens, bring to a simmer, simmer one minute, turn off heat and let it sit for 10 minutes covered.  

My second favorite is the traditional Southern Gumbo made with butter beans, field peas, corn, okra and tomatoes.  Just salt and a little cooking oil added.  Make sure the butter beans and peas are young, tender and well cooked so they are digestible.  I’m a southern gal, so love those southern style veggies I grew up with.  Okra, by the way, is a great lymph cleanser, and good for the gut health.  Eat more okra!

That potato soup sounds very tasty! I love potatoes (obviously) but I dont often eat them in soup. Usually roasted, baked, mashed, or fried.

The guy's favourite soup is carrot.... It is about the most basic soup that one could get. I saute carrots with onions, garlic and some grated ginger, then add in stock and boil (usually chicken in spring or autumn, and often pork broth in winter, depends on what we have been eating :))

This gets pureed with the stick blender, and then I add in salt, black pepper, cayenne, nutmeg, cinnamon, cumin, and a spoon of honey. When I serve it I will sometimes add a spoon of plain fat-full yogourt into the bowls. Served with crusty whole wheat sourdough.

This is one of my standard winter soups, and if I am making it on snowy days when there is a lot of shovelling, I will increase the amount of cayenne to add more warmth.

Pumpkin and butternut squash also are favourites on the rotation.

My inlaws makes pasulj. It's a simple bean soup very common throughout most of the Balkans. Also better as a winter soup, since it is very heavy. We generally don't eat any soup in the summer.

Cucuzza Stew! My recipe is similar to this one. My tomatoes are chopped though. Of course, as much as possible, my ingredients are from the garden!

Here is an old favorite, just made some today. Super simple and easy and very low cal, especially if you don’t add the chicken. I like it nice and chunky!

4 cups low sodium chicken or Veg broth
2 red potatoes, diced
4 carrots, 1” chunks
2 small or 1 large onion, diced
4 stalks celery, 1” chunks
Diced chicken (optional - thigh meat is best)
Zucchini (or summer squash) halved, then 1” chunks
1 can Organic low sodium diced tomatoes
Chopped parsley and/ or chopped cilantro (optional)

Simmer the potato, carrot, celery and onion in the broth until softened. Add the squash and tomato, simmer another 15 minutes or so, then add the parsley/cilantro. Almost eats like a stew, and of course almost anything in it can be substituted to what you have on hand. Tasty and filling!  I like to top it with some sriracha sauce in the bowl to give it some zip!

In this particular version, I didn’t have any fresh parsley, cilantro or squash, but it was still delish!

My husband's favourite is a very simple carrot lentil soup.

You cook some red lentils in stock and, in the meantime, roast all your veg in the oven. I use carrots, onions, garlic, celery, mushrooms. Roast everything until caramelized with little burny edges.

Then you just throw everything in the blender, adding extra stock as needed to blend. Adjust seasoning and you're good to go.

Lately, I have been making Potato Corn Chowder.



I basically make the potato soup:

I cooked three diced potatoes, half a diced onion, and a stalk of celery with the leaves that I sliced thin.  Cooked these until the potato was cooked.  I removed the potato and left the onion and celery in the pan.  Melted a couple of tablespoons of butter and added a couple of tablespoons of flour.  When the flour-butter mixture started to brown I added a cup of milk then stirred until it thicken and added the potatoes and enough milk to cover the mixture.

While this was thickening, add salt and pepper to taste.

Then I add a can of whole kernel corn.  I would use fresh corn if I had some.



I sometimes add some ham:



It is also good with smoked sausage:

I recently got a huge 2L thermos and have been making soup in that. I love it. Our favourite "soup" so far has been a lentil soup. "Soup" because it's more stew thickness.

I don't usually cook soup from a recipe, but I have to make sure it all fits in the thermos, so I've got measurements for this one.

Bring to boil and simmer for a few minutes:
1 1/3c red lentils
140g carrots
165g celery
240g tomato
1 fist-sized onion, diced
4T chopped parsley

Add to thermos containing:
1T shiitake powder
1tsp ground coriander
1tsp dried tarragon
1 bay leaf
(Salt) and pepper

Shake to combine dry ingredients, lay thermos on its side and let sit for a couple/few hours until lentils are cooked.

I leave out any fat while cooking cause it's easier to clean the seal on the lid without it. You can cook it with or add fat later if you want.

I'm a fan of Ham and Navy Bean Soup. I grew up eating it at my grandparent's house when I was young on regular occasion after holidays. Good times.