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Sides, Salads, Soup

Soup on the Brain

By January 28, 2013October 2nd, 201360 Comments

This post is for those of you in the Northeast who havenโ€™t felt their toes since last week. And for those of you who keep tweeting and emailing requests for soups right now please, Jenny!ย And for my mom who called me last night and said Why havenโ€™t you done some kind of soup yet? For those of you in warmer climes, sorry, this post is not for you. In fact, Iโ€™m going to do my best to suppress my envy of you and your warmer climes by just ignoring you completely.

Best Get-it-On-the-Table Fast Soupย Greek Chicken Soup (Avgolemono), above. A Greek twist on chicken noodle. Just donโ€™t do what I did last night, which was try to temper and whisk the egg into the broth during the 30 seconds my egg-hating sous chef Abby was retrieving bowls for serving. I panicked, didnโ€™t get the egg mixture hot enough, whisked it into the main soup just as she was coming my way, only to find the pot of broth more Egg Drop Soup-ish than creamy, luscious Avgolemono. This wasnโ€™t a disaster (I love Egg Drop soup) except Abby kept picking up little strings of white and yellow with her spoon and saying โ€œThis looks an awful lot like an egg.โ€ (Me: โ€œYou were with me the whole time. How could there be an egg in there??โ€) If you have everything you need, you can be eating this in under 20 minutes.

Best Soup for Picky Eaters Tortilla Soup. If you are all set up for Super Bowl Nachos, then you are all set up for this soup. For me, itโ€™s all about the lime, but for the kids, it might be all about the cheese. So think about the diners at the table as you assemble and customize accordingly.

Healthiest and Heartiestย Butternut Squash Soup. Lately, Iโ€™ve been experimenting with this one, replacing the curry powder with smoked paprika (just a little; stuffโ€™s strong) and topping with pepitas and Greek yogurt instead of walnuts and creme fraiche. No matter what you do, though, itโ€™s a classic. It was also the recipe that convinced Andy that butternut squash was maybe worth a shot.

Scrappiest Soup Grated Vegetable. This is a riff on the soup made famous by Jacques Pepin thatโ€™s always good to have in your back-pocket. You basically bring a pot of chicken stock to a boil, then shred whatever vegetables you have directly into the pot. The only rules are to keep your carrots-onions-celery to an even ratio and, if you are using greens, to tear instead of shred. Simmer for about 15 minutes and stir in a few tablespoons of grits to thicken if desired. Serve with grated Parm or Gruyere and olive oil drizzled on top. And crusty bread.

Soup Most Likely You Could Convince the Baby Was His Regular Old Vegetable Pureeย Ariel & Yolandaโ€™s Broccoli Soup. This looks so good, and calls for ingredients I always have in the pantry โ€” I think Iโ€™ll try it out for lunch today since (shocker) girls are home from school due to inclement weather.

Others from around the web:ย Chorizo and White Bean, Tomato Bread Soup, Jamie Oliverโ€™s Leek & Potato, Ina Gartenโ€™s Italian Weddingย โ€” amazing I havenโ€™t made a version of this for the girls yet.

Stay warm.

Photo credit: Marcus Nilsson

60 Comments

  • Avatar Melissa@Julia's Bookbag says:

    thank you for all this lovely soup inspiration! it has not been as cold in the Pac NW as it has been for the East Coast, but itโ€™s grey and rainy and I was planning on making soup this week, just didnโ€™t know what. Now I have some direction! ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Avatar Leslie says:

    I made the Tomato&White Bean Soup from the DALS cookbook last night โ€“ now itโ€™s being added to the regular rotation! We topped it with some grated Manchego and it was out of this world.

  • jenny jenny says:

    Oooo Leslie, thatโ€™s a good one, too. If you toss some rock shrimp in there itโ€™s even better.

  • Avatar Kelsey says:

    This Ohio girl hasnโ€™t felt her toes in a solid weekโ€ฆthis is the perfect post. Greek chicken soup is one of my favorite recipes from time for dinnerโ€ฆthank you for reminding me of that. Dinner tonight, done!

  • Lori@ In My Kitchen, In My Life says:

    Homemade tomato soup with a little cream and sherry (I have to keep my strength up in this frigid weather, after all!) and a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch in a few minutes. Iโ€™m already salivatingโ€ฆ

  • Avatar Kay says:

    Thanks for all the soup ideasโ€ฆI think just about any time is a good time for soup (I live in Oregon, after all!) Stay warm & dry.

  • Avatar bridgit says:

    Re: butternut squash soup: we discovered that as much as we like roasted pumpkin seeds, we LOVE roasted butternut squash seeds: they are so much snappier than the seeds from inside jack-o-lanterns. Totally awesome on top of butternut squash soup.

  • Emily says:

    Paprika and greek yogurt in butternut soup! Genius!

  • Avatar Tara says:

    I love your Greek lemon soup so much. It is so easy and comforting, and easy, and quick, and did I mention easy? Frequently I sprinkle a bit of fresh parsley in at the very end because it looks pretty and it makes me feel like, even if I donโ€™t have the energy for a salad, Iโ€™ve eaten something green.

    Youngest child is in the final stages of the coughing snotty creeping crud; Iโ€™m about halfway through the same, and my son just had a positive strep test. So we are in a hardcore soup phase right now. Thanks for all the suggestions. They are most timely.

    Wash those hands, everybody and stay well!

  • MK says:

    It is soup time of the year, clearly. Came home to Kale, Sausage & White Bean Stew last Friday night (which = I am loved) and 4 people texted or tweeted at me that they were making something similar. And now, Avgolemeno is on tap for tonight. http://instagram.com/p/U7a8mXECsW/

  • Avatar Lena says:

    Your Abby and the Greek Chicken Soup bit is hilarious. My four-year-old hates eggs and when I made your GCS, she kept saying, I rwiwwy rwiwwy fink ders eggs in here. I kept saying, it doesnโ€™t look like eggs does it?! Her little brother, dad and I ate it all. She had PBJโ€ฆ Tonightโ€™s soup is a sorta made up crockpot deal of pinto beans, butternut squash and tomatoes. Weโ€™ll see. I am already suspecting PBJ on the menuโ€ฆ

  • Avatar Ani says:

    Iโ€™ve challenged myself to a 52 soup project this year โ€“ one soup a week in 2013! My hubby and I have done 4 so far and theyโ€™ve kept us nice and warm (yes, weโ€™re cold here in so.cal too!). Check out my first fourโ€ฆ Iโ€™m thinking your tortilla soup recipe might need to make this list very soon! Sounds delicious!
    XO

  • Avatar Stacey says:

    I saved part of a rotisserie chicken to make the Avgolemeno (I like to sprinkle it on top as a garnish). Also, fresh oregano is very tasty in this soup.

  • Avatar Denise says:

    Ina Gartenโ€™s Italian Wedding Soup is the BEST soup I have ever made. Runโ€“do not walk- to the store to buy the ingredients and MAKE this asap. You will never regret it.

  • Jenny Jenny says:

    Whoa, Denise! What an endorsement. Iโ€™m running, Iโ€™m running!

  • Avatar anna says:

    that grated veggie soup is my go to. it is so easy and delicious. i have brought to sick family and friends on more than one occassionโ€ฆand they all declare it the best veggie soup. i think i will give that italian wedding soup a shot. it would be a big hit in my house, too.

  • Avatar Andrea says:

    I made this last night (from Smitten Kitchen) and it was SO good!

    http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2013/01/lentil-soup-with-sausage-chard-and-garlic/#more-9604

  • Heather H. says:

    Itโ€™s not soup weather in Chicago today. High of 65 degrees. But itโ€™ll be perfect for soup on Thursday with a high of 15 degrees. Iโ€™ll be making the Greek chicken soup then!

  • Avatar Lori says:

    Totally off topic but had to tell you โ€“ I made fish cakes (not from leftovers, but intentionally) from DALS, and the kids INHALED them, I mean, inhaled, need-to-make-more-if-I-want-any-dinner-myself inhaled. Thanks for a keeper.

  • Courtney says:

    Iโ€™m with Denise โ€“ Inaโ€™s soup is the BEST winter soup! We had it just last week for two dinners, and a few lunches! It will warm you right up ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Avatar Meg says:

    I found a recipe this weekend that totally belongs on this site. I made the Fiorentini with Butternut Squash (you can use any curly pasta) from this monthโ€™s Bon Appetit. It is so easy, and so delicious! Almost a sweet taste. I kind of want to make it again this weekend.

    http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2013/02/fiorentini-with-butternut-squash

  • Avatar Kathleen says:

    I made the Sausage, White Bean, and Kale soup last night and LOVED IT. More yummy soups to tryโ€“thanks!

  • Avatar Jen says:

    Mmmm! The butternut squash soup sound incredible! I think greek yogurt makes everything better!

  • Avatar Sally says:

    I have soup on the brain all the time. I made one or two pots of soup weekly all year round. I have on my โ€œto makeโ€ list now โ€” all new to me. Iโ€™ll have to add my vote for Ina Gartenโ€™s Italian Wedding Soup. Itโ€™s so good.

  • Avatar Sally says:

    Goodness gracious! That should read โ€œI make one or two pots of soupโ€ฆโ€ and โ€œI have four on my โ€˜to makeโ€™ list nowโ€ฆโ€ I thought Iโ€™d proofread. Guess not.

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