What is your favourite soup? [Cooking]

2008 Sep 10
Now that the cooler weather is here I am going through my soup recipes deciding which ones to make. This Friday's supper will be navy bean soup. Next one on the list will be split pea soup with ham - yummy! Do you have a favourite fall soup you would like to share?

2008 Sep 10
i really love chowders. In the fall, on a cool evening, nothing better than a good Corn chowder :)

2008 Sep 10
I love French Canadian Pea Soup .... made with a smoked pork hock from either The Sausage Ktichen or The European Deli.

Great with a hot buttered crusty roll in the dead of winter.


2008 Sep 10
Captain Caper those smoked pork hocks from the Sausage Kitchen add a really nice flavour to the soup don't they? Have you tried any of their other smoked meats? I am planning on trying smoked something this fall - not sure what yet - I plan on picking whatever whets my appetite the day I go. I just bought some of their Cajun sausages yesterday after trying a sample - they sure have a nice kick!

2008 Sep 10
I made a German split pea Soup with Beer and Black Forest Ham and with Spaetzle dropped in.

It was truly amazing.

Any suggestions for non-pork soup starters?

2008 Sep 10
OliversRock There is the old standby chicken noodle soup - is this what you mean?... There is also beef barley soup and fish chowder in keeping with SteffQc's chowder theme.

2008 Sep 10
Mmmmm...how about using that lovely fall produce and making some roasted root vegetable soups? Creamy roasted sweet potato, butternut squash, carrot or beet maybe? Yum!

My personal fave chowder is potato-corn :P

2008 Sep 10
Caldo Verde...with lots of chourico (the real Portuguese/Azorean ones that are impossible to find in Ottawa)

2008 Sep 10
Puree of parsnips with buckwheat honey, granny smith apple confit and double smoked bacon:)

2008 Sep 10
I roasted a chicken tonight, then smacked myself on the forehead immediately after throwing the carcass in the rubbish bin. Gah.

I like chicken soup with big fat dumplings.
I also like beef stew with a secret ingredient of kale that the kids actually love.

I used to think lentil soup was a runny flavourless mess. Then my Syrian neighbour brought me a pot of hers. I'm in love. She's promised to teach me her recipe. So lentil soup is my newest soup love discovery.

I want to try my hand at making this: www.foodtv.ca as anything with prosciutto can't be bad.

2008 Sep 10
FoodIsHot: Have you had pumpkin soup? Oh my gosh. It is my favourite fall soup! Without a doubt.

DaButcher: Is that a T&M concoction? We met with Julie last week, and my, my the menu looks good...

I'm a fan of German split pea, but without question I love a good mushroom and potato soup, with all sorts of lovely mushrooms!

2008 Sep 11
My fav soup lately is a spicy sweet potato soup... recipe came from the Food & Drink mag a few years ago.
It has peanut butter, coriander and of course sweet potato... yummy!

2008 Sep 11
Pasta Lover - Sorry I wasn't clear. So many soups started with bacon, ham or just bacon fat are classic and delicious. I was wondering about non-pork (kosher) products people have used to add flavour that might have a similar effect.

I was thinking of trying a corned beef or smoked meat (duck breast?) split pea soup, but wonder if someone has tried something that worked?

2008 Sep 11
OliversRock Thanks for the clarification. I haven't tried using other smoked meats to flavour soup yet other than the smoked pork hock from the Sausage Kitchen. I already have the ingredients for my navy bean soup this weekend but the split pea soup is next. I have been spying those smoked meats at the Sausage Kitchen for some time now so I may make a field trip there next week and I might pick something up for my soup. I can keep you posted...

2008 Sep 11
I'm a sucker for pea soup: home-made, done with smoked pork hock.

That and a good chowder: corn and/or fish. And a whole whack of dulse slapped on top.

Also: turkey soup after Thanksgiving! Nothing but mirepoix, turkey carcasses and meat, herbs of your choice, and lots of black pepper.

To me, soup is primarily a delivery vehicle for crusty bread and butter.

2008 Sep 11
Goodness, how can I possibly narrow it down to one? Roasted red pepper bisque ... corn chowder ... Manhattan clam chowder ... potato and leek. Just a few of my favourite things ...

2008 Sep 11
Lately I've been making a tomato/fennel based fish soup. It basically consists of tomatoes, fennel, shallot, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, red snapper fillets, vermouth and stock (whatever is on hand). I garnish it with the lemon basil from Acorn Creek farms, delish, very rustic.

2008 Sep 11
I love a good butternut squash soup, with some chipotles thrown in for a little extra something.

2008 Sep 11
LWB- Nope, just one of my many creations.
I would have to say though if I could have just one soup.....
Split Pea soup, made with of course pork hocks, feet, belly and head.Savory, thyme salt and pepper...mmmmmagic..

2008 Sep 11
My all-time favourite soup is this Swiss brown potato one. The recipe is from my mom. If you don't include the optional smokies and cheese, and if you use veggie bouillon cubes, it is actually vegan even though the browned flour gives it a spectacular meaty heartiness. Oh, and it's a fantastic way to eat Brussels sprouts - even for people who don't like them!

I've added the recipe to our wiki: wiki.ottawafoodies.com

My mouth is watering now. I have to make this again soon!

BTW, browning flour can produce a bit of smoke so you might not want to make this recipe if your range hood doesn't vent outside. I used to be able to buy "Bisto" brand pre-browned flour but I haven't seen it around lately...

2008 Sep 11
FF: The recipe doesn't say HOW to brown flour short of "low heat, stir continuously" - I've never heard of browned flour short of making a brown roux. Do you add flour dry to a fry pan, or low heat in an oven? - any oil or butter added??? Sorry if that's a stupid question :P

2008 Sep 12
French onion also makes it to the top of my favs.

2008 Sep 12
like others here, i have strong preferences toward root veggie soups. Nothing beats pumpkin / squash soup for simplicity and great taste. its hard to go wrong with a couple simple ingredients.

A couple other honourable mentions, Asian in influence:

Homemade Miso soup w/ squash and shitaki mushrooms: hearty, delicious, nutritious.

Tom Yam (Thai) or Laksa (Singaporean / Chinese-Malay): both are fantastic for colds

Congee: simple pleasure for brunch, and a good hangover food

the Chigaes (Korean): bubbling broth, fun to eat (though care is required when ordering w/ or for vegetarians).

And, for local vendors, i've been pleasantly surprised w/ Bridgehead's soups. Some better than others, but they rotate the choices daily, and all are a fair deal (imo) @ $5.00 (bread included).

2008 Sep 12
Yum, my mouth is watering!

Some of my faves:
- vychissoise (delicious hot or cold)
- lemon, chicken and rice soup
- carrot soup
- mushroom soup

2008 Sep 12
I've been the king of "hodge-podge" soup lately.

Most recently I took 6 chicken drumsticks that had been brined with brown sugar and dill for 3 days, then baked in a dutch oven. They were VERY salty and VERY dill, and were left over from our last BBQ.

Put them in a pot and covered in water, and boiled 30 minutes. Saved the liquid, took the meat off the bones and saved it, then tossed out the bones.

Fried the chicken with some garlic scapes (4 to 5 tablespoons) and olive oil. Tossed in 3 or 4 sticks of celery and fried it with. I put it all into a 3 litre soup pot with the liquid, and added about half a softball-sized turnip, and about twice that many carrots.

Cut up 5 or 6 tomatoes of varying types - mostly heirloom from our CSA, and mostly very, very ripe. Peeled them first, then removed the seeds and 'goop', and just put the flesh into the soup.

Added about a half teaspoon freshly ground pepper. Didn't need any salt because the chicken was well-brined. There was not quite enough liquid so I fetched a 750 ml jar of my own home-canned turkey broth that had meat in maybe 1/4 of the bottom. It was just turkey and a bit of salt.

Cooked it until the carrots were just tender.

Most of the veggies were organic from my CSA.

This was one of the most incredible soups EVAR! And even my wife agreed, and that's rare! I've been discovering lately just what a huge difference tomatoes make in soup, especially a variety of heirlooms. Most of the soups I've put together lately - like this one - were just "on the spur of the moment" concoctions meant to use up veggies from our CSA.

I don't recall if it was this one or the last one that I also put in a whole smallish Kohlrabi alone with about half if the Kohlrabi greens.

2008 Sep 12
Food is HOT, I wasn't sure if flour-browning techniques were common knowledge or not. I guess not! :-)

You put the flour into a dry frying pan (non-stick or regular, it doesn't matter) then heat over low heat and stir continuously (no cheating) for a good 10 minutes or so until it takes on a uniform medium brown colour. The depth of flavour this creates is quit incredible (think toasted oats or nuts vs raw ones).

Flies love it, so if you open a window to let the smoke out you may get some unwelcome visitors. ;-)

2008 Sep 13
i'm going to be the first person to say pho. followed closely by cream soups, bisques, and chowders with bread on the side (this part is crucial)

2008 Sep 14
I'll be right behind you with the pho vote, Monty.

Soup is my very favourite 'genre' of food, and pho for me, defines that 'genre' very specially.

I'm also lucky to be located in Ottawa, ON, where a Vietnamese population is currently striving.

2008 Sep 15
Wow! What a great response! I will have to join in with monty and Saurian pho is definitely tasty! Good to know also about the Bridgehead soups. I rarely buy soup since it's so easy to make but I will have to try one of their soups now. If I do buy store bought German Town Deli makes some awesome soups and you can't beat the price!

2008 Sep 15
I confirmed there was not Kohlrabi in my recipe above - that was the batch before that one.

2008 Sep 16
Hot and Sour soup! One of the best around can be found at the Five Star in Kemptville.

2008 Sep 16
My wife makes a mean hot and sour soup - actually I enjoyed it for about 3 days during this thread but never mentioned it because trying to get a recipe out of her is like pulling teeth.

2008 Sep 17
Mm. A nice Thai hot and sour soup is probably second for me only to pho. It can be made with or without coconut milk, but there's gotta be lots of lemongrass, galangal, shrooms and shrimp!

Does anyone have any H & S recipes they can share? Zymurgist, I'm counting on you to keep pulling those teeth...

2008 Sep 17
My favourite soups are Minestrone, and Creamy Potato and Leek.

2008 Sep 17
Another pretty tremendous hodge-podge soup on my part tonight, if I do say so myself!

I had 7 chicken thighs in the freezer that I wanted to use up, along with some CSA veggies.

Put the chicken into a 5 litre pot, covered in water and boiled for an hour or so. Scooped out the chicken on to a plate to cool, and started putting other stuff into the pot.

I had a bunch of tomatoes from last Thursday's CSA drop off. 2 huge "Russian Green" which are very green even when very ripe. 3 big heirlooms that were red with white whispy stripes, a couple of regular 'beefsteaks' or whatever, and a roma. After I seeded them and cut out a few bad spots there was 7 or 8 cups of tomato. Into the broth it went where I boiled it about 10 minutes, then used a hand blender to puree. The broth became an incredible uniform orange!

I cut up about 2 cups of carrots and in they went to boil.

2 sticks of celery got fried with some oil and about 5 tablespoons of "garlic scape goop" for about 10 minutes, then in it went.

Removed the skin from the chicken and tossed it out, then removed the meat from the bones and put the meat in the pot.

Salt and pepper to taste, cook til the carrots were done.

Incredible!!!

2008 Sep 18
BTW, I had a big jar of that soup for lunch today and it was VERY yummy!

2008 Sep 19
My new favourite soup: Creamy Beet courtesy of Bridgehead.

I was very skeptical, but the tang and the creaminess and the tartness and the texture of the beets all went so well together. I will be seeking out such a recipe!

Yum Yum!

2008 Sep 19
I have a beet soup recipe around here somewhere - I still have some in mason jars from this time last year. It was a bit too tangy for my tastes. Let's see if I can find it.

2008 Sep 19
I'm glad someone mentioned Beet Soup... Borscht is one of my favourite Fall soups. Others are Roasted Squash, Carrot, Potato Leek, Clam Chowder, French Onion, Hot & Sour, or Leftover Soup (especially when made with Thanksgiving Turkey or from a Roast of Beef).

2008 Sep 21
i can live off soup!
(well, in the winter...)

carrot-ginger (to really warm up)
chestnut (homeiness!)
borscht
coconut + beet
congee (for those lazy or sensitive stomach days)
dahl

it's rather limiting to make soups with no butter, cream or land-animals.
ugh!

2009 Oct 2
The temperature was a measly 3 degrees when I got up this morning - brrrr! So it's now time to pull out the stock pot. Tonight's supper will be an autumn minestrone with delicata squash, chard, carrots, and soybeans. Anyone making soup yet?

2009 Oct 2
The Pea Soup thread - ottawafoodies.com/forum/371

My recipe is there. It is probably my favorite soup, with ham I've smoked myself. In fact I have a smoked ham in the freezer and was thinking I need more jars of pea soup at work, so may do that up this weekend.

2009 Oct 2
Yes, since the weather has turned cooler we too have had an autumn soup. Tomatoes , leeks, carrots, papaya squash and chickpeas - yum!

Winter squash soup is on the to do list.

2009 Oct 2
Not a soup, per se, but I just made a black bean & turkey chili which was amazing. Otherwise, split pea and smoked ham soup is one of my favs as well, or smoked kielbasa, white bean and cabbage soup... cream of broccoli with chevre... clam chowder... POZOLE! the list goes on...

2009 Oct 2
Pasta Lover - Haven't made any soup as of yet (maybe this weekend after a trip to one of the Markets)... BUT, Fall's nip is definitely in the air, "The Man" and I made a big batch of Chili the other night. May even make a second batch this weekend as well... stockin up the freezer (love it when the freezer has things that one can just pull out and reheat).

2009 Oct 2
I made roasted pumpkin the other night...dead simple: toss a pumpkin in the oven for 1h15, make veg stock in pressure cooker...blend all the limp veggies with the roasted pumpkin flesh, add stock to get the right consistency and you are good to go with a little salt, pepper and nutmeg. Not a drop of oil or fat I might add...which isn't really my style!

I am jonesing for some good minestrone or a bean/pea soup with smoked ham hocks.

2009 Oct 2
I absolutely love this pork spine and bean with potato soup that my mom makes... I'm not sure of the translation in English... so pork spine it is.

2009 Oct 2
I think in a standard Canadian grocery store it might be "pork soup bones" or if they are really brave "pork neck for stew" haha. I find sometimes ambiguity is a good thing when getting cautious people to try new things!

2009 Oct 2
True... I suppose pork soup bones seems much more palatable than pork spine for the cautious!

2009 Oct 2
I swear to god that a monster bowl of hot and sour soup from Yangtze is the real cure for the common cold. One of my top ten favorite foods.

I also really enjoy pumpkin or squash soup in the fall. A good French Onion soup may not be terribly original, but damn is it good, but can take nearly a full day for me to make it.

2009 Oct 2
Nice to see this thread come up as I've developed a love of soups over the past number of years, but it poses a difficult question - favourite fall soup? Singular? Soup? I have so many faves, most of which have been mentioned in some form. Maybe the most flavourful is a Thai tom yam that I got from a Thai woman before some of you were born - I do love a good tom yam. Totally different but almost my fave are two red lentil soups with cumin, one with smoked sausages, the other with apricots and tomatoes. The two I make most often, and do so love, as do my wife and kids, are a corn and potato chowder sprinkled with smoked bacon bits and a tomatillo and corn soup, one of the first recipes I tried using home-grown tomatillos. There are more that I love but that's more than enough.
Someone mentioned chili and it is often found in soup threads - reading this thread earlier today sparked a strong desire for some and that is what we had tonight for dinner - no crusty bread but we had warm cheddar and cumin scones.

2009 Oct 3
A classic Potage Parmentier. Comfort food.

2009 Oct 4
Omnivore said://I swear to god that a monster bowl of hot and sour soup from Yangtze is the real cure for the common cold. One of my top ten favorite foods.//

All well and good, but have you tried the one from Royal Treasure? Everyone I know swears by it. It is the best soup this side of China I've ever had.

2009 Oct 5
Favourite soup has to be Borscht! My mum has worked at an originally Ukranian restaurant, now turned into a diner-style place, for 25 years in the Niagara Region called "The Blue Star". They have a lot of the original, traditional recipes that started the restaurant off like homemade perogies, cabbage rolls and soup! Some of the best Borchst comes out of that kitchen!

2009 Oct 5
LWB,

Thanks for the suggestion, I will have to try that very very soon, I think I feel a sore throat coming on...ha ha!

Royal Treasure coming soon.

2009 Oct 7
There is this absolutely amazing soup in the Looney Spoons Cookbook, can't remeber what it is called right now but it is cauliflower,butternut squash, leeks and just the right amount of curry powder.. obviously some more spices as well, but it is amazing!!

The recipes calls for serving the soup chunky and adding rice, but I puree it with a hand blender and leave out the rice. It is absolutley amazing, it tastes like it is made with heavy cream and uber fattening but soooo good for you. Also amazing with a dollop of sour cream on top..

Definetly would recommend it to anyone who loves a thick, warm and comforting soup :)

And on a side note its SUPER EASY to make

2009 Oct 11
tom khaa goong (coco lemongrass with shrimp) just with a ton of fresh chilis

lobster bisque (preferably my own)

chantrelle bisque

shiitake and ginger consomee

shanghai pork, mushroom and pickled mustard green soup

my shellfish pho

mannish water (jamaican goat head soup)

2009 Oct 15
Just back from California on a fantastic trip to Nappa as far down as Carmel. So much amazing food to be had and hospitality in general. Had our 24th Anniversary dinner at Terra Restaurant, (St. Helena)Michelin star dining featured on the Fine living network and went to (see photo) Celebrated Chef/Author Cindy Pawlcyn's restaurant, Cindy's Back Street Kitchen in St. Helena.

Coming back to this cold wonderful weather was a shocker but inspired me to make this soup for thanksgiving. Some things are just best made simply and this one is super tasty. I cut back on the spice a bit as we had two kids at the table. It is sure to be a big hit.

Spicy Pumpkin Soup Recipe

Ingredients
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
Pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)
3 (15 oz) cans 100 percent pumpkin or 6 cups of chopped roasted pumpkin*
5 cups of chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian option)
2 cups of milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream

Method
1 Melt butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add spices and stir for a minute more.

2 Add pumpkin and 5 cups of chicken broth; blend well. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.

3 Transfer soup, in batches, to a blender or food processor. Cover tightly and blend until smooth. Return soup to saucepan.

4 With the soup on low heat, add brown sugar and mix. Slowly add milk while stirring to incorporate. Add cream. Adjust seasonings to taste. If a little too spicy, add more cream to cool it down. You might want to add a teaspoon of salt.

Serves 8.

*To make pumpkin purée, cut a sugar pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff, lie face down on a tin-foil lined baking pan. Bake at 350°F until soft, about 45 min to an hour. Cool, scoop out the flesh. Freeze whatever you don't use for future use.


2009 Oct 15
Mm..favourite soups...this depends on the context. If I'm tired and feeling sick, my favourite meal is canned Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup and some hot buttered toast. I love fishing the little bits of cubed mushroom out of the bottom! If I forget to turn it off in time, the soup bubbles up and burns, which makes it even more delicious.

I also really, really love laksa. At least, I love the laksas I used to get in Malaysia...can't find a good version here.

A few years ago, when I was pregnant, I was bemoaning to my sister the fact that I wasn't eating enough vegetables. She recommended vegetable soups! Shortly thereafter my mother gave me a book called "Barefoot in the Kitchen: A Pregnancy Survival Cookbook" (very funny and realistic pregnancy cookbook - my favourite line in it is "eating healthy when you're pregnant is important. But as every woman knows, it's survival that counts!")

It has a great recipe for pureed Leek and Carrot soup that has become my favourite as it's so easy. Before that I had never cooked with leeks. Now I am a leeks-in-the-soup convert!

ps. Fresh Foodie, I saw Bisto at the Loblaws in Bell's Corners just last night! It's in the gravy and sauces section.

2009 Oct 16
I love soup, period. I don't think it's a question of what is my favourite soup, but rather when can I eat it next.

My top 5?

-Royal Treasure's Hot and Sour
-My German family's Kurbis (sqaush) soup
-My borscht
-Thai lemongrass soup
-Gazpacho (or, in winter, a really good, chunky tomato soup)

2009 Oct 17
There's no way I could choose just one. Soup is a mood thing for me.

But my top list:

-Pho
-Hot and sour
-Miso
-Mushroom, but without a lot of cream
-Really healthy homemade vegetable
-Thai lemongrass
-Borscht
-Onion (French or otherwise)
-Bouillabaisse
-Egg drop soup
-I'll stop now because this could get lengthy

As far as canned soups go, I've just discovered these low calorie soups from Weight Watchers too, and I'm pretty impressed with them, the Southwestern vegetable one in particular.

2010 Dec 10
Now that the colder temperatures are finally here it's time to pull out the stock pot. I just polished off some clam chowder using the fish stock from the salmon I poached here: Forum - How do you clean a salmon?

So what is everyone else making? I will start. This weekend I plan on making some French Onion Soup from the epicurious website:

Simple Onion Soup Bon Appétit | September 1998

Yield: Serves 4

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 pounds onions, thinly sliced
3 14 1/2-ounce cans beef broth
1/2 cup dry red wine

1 1/3 cups seasoned croutons

4 thin slices Swiss cheese
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions; cook until deep brown, stirring frequently, about 25 minutes. Add broth and wine; boil until soup is slightly reduced and flavors blend, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 500°F. Put 4 deep ovenproof bowls on baking sheet. Put 1/3 cup croutons in each bowl.

Ladle soup over croutons. Top with cheeses. Bake soup until heated through and cheeses melt, about 8 minutes.

2010 Dec 10
My favourite soup is muligitawny. Whenever I make mango chutney chicken I add a little extra chicken and rice to use the leftovers for the soup.
The recipe is from joy of cooking, but I add a can of diced tomato to mine.
Generally I have more rice and chicken that is called for so the soup is thick.
They use to make it at work from scratch, and it was sweet, so if I get nostalgic I will add a bit of brown sugar.

2011 Jan 24
Since we broke the record for cold early this morning, I just knew I had to make homemade soup for supper tonight. I've made a rutabaga and carrot soup which I intend to serve with grilled cheese sandwiches on PC Potato Scallion bread using Le Silo 8 yr old Quebec raw cow's milk cheddar I picked up during my first foray to Serious Cheese on Bank Street yesterday afternoon. I had an opportunity to try this cheese and several others last week at a Port and Cheese tasting put on by Saavy Company. I didn't have a recipe for the soup but love the combination of rutabaga and carrot together so I chopped up a small rutabaga and a couple of carrots and simmered them in chicken stock with a chopped onion and a pinch of nutmeg, spoonful of dried thyme, several grinds of the pepper mill and a teaspoon full of brown sugar. When the veggies were soft I pureed all in the pot with my emersion blender. It smells divine. The thought of supper is helping me get through this bitterly cold day.

2011 Jan 24
Good idea. I have a bunch of homemade chicken stock in the freezer and a brocolli in the fridge, so I'll be making Cock-O-Broc soup tonight.

I peel and cut the stalks into small chunks that I simmer on the stove with an onion until soft. When almost done I put the cut up crowns in. They don't take as long to cook and not overcooking them keeps their vibrant green colour. I throw in some curry paste or other and then the chicken stock and let it simmer for a while. Then I take the immersion blender to it and make it fairly smooth.

Done. In less than 30 minutes you have soup. Then I usually put a dollop of yogurt on top or maybe some cheddar cheese. A couple of nice big hanks of bread and dinner is served.

2011 Jan 24
Caperbeachgal It's definitely chilly out there! Last weekend when it was so terribly cold out I made a black eyed pea and tomato soup. Spices include cumin, tumeric, and a hot pepper or three. The warm soup and the kick from the spices really hit the spot. I love soup and I often make it for supper on Fridays so I can have leftovers for lunch during the rest of the week. That rutabaga and carrot soup sounds delish!

2011 Jan 24
Pasta Lover So do both the Choc-O-Broc soup and your black-eyed pea and tomato soup! Pity I can't spell "immersion"!!

2011 Jan 24
I love making soups from any kind of fall/winter squash. My favorites are the giant blue hubbard squash or kubota(sp?) squash. I roast huge quantities of it with onions, celery, and maybe some roasted apples or pears if I have them handy. After I roast them, I add a bit (not too much) of good chicken stock, add some herbs, usually a healthy dose of curry and or hot sauce and simmer together for a while. I puree with an immersion blender and then force through a sieve. That is important as it gives the soup an incredibly velvety texture. At this point I freeze it, then reheat and add some whipping cream just before serving (sorry). I garnish it with a bit of crisp pancetta or serrano ham or toasted pumpkin seeds or shredded apple. It almost doesn't matter what combination you use. Never quite tastes the same, but always good.

2011 Jan 24
Caperbeachgal - you seem to have some trouble spelling Cock as well.

;)

2011 Jan 24
Blahahaha!!

2011 Jan 25
With the cold weather I've been craving soup so this weekend I put in an order for brisket and it should be coming in, in the next day or two, and I will be making a Korean Soup using beef brisket.

But my other favourite soups include: roasted red pepper, meatball soup,and chicken and rice.

2011 Jan 25
Leek, pea and sauerkraut soup is my favourite, but I also love celery soup. I found both the recipes on The Wednesday Chef. Besides those, I make a lot of bean soups.

2011 Jan 25
I plan to vanquish the last of my cold with the following recipe this evening...had my eye on this one for a few years...

www.nytimes.com

2011 Jan 25
Just finished off a very simple, very homey, yellow split pea soup. You can get really fancy with how it's made, or you can be lazy like me. The proportions here make for a fairly loose soup, as things go, which I quite like. Makes me feel like a voyageur every time I eat it.

1 lb. split yellow peas, picked over for rocks and rinsed

1 smoked pork hock (I got mine from Sausage Kitchen this time around; I had them remove the skin beforehand, because I hate separating the skin from the meat afterwards)

2L chicken stock (I used the boxed, low-sodium stuff this time around)

1 largish carrot, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
5-6 smallish onions, diced

Throw everything in a gigantic pot, all at the same time, cover, and simmer for about three hours, until the peas are mostly disintegrated.

Pull out the pork hock, shred the meat with a pair of forks, and return the meat the pot.

That's it. I usually grind a fair amount of pepper into mine before serving.

If you wanted to fancy it up, consider:

- Half-way through cooking you can throw in some thyme, or some savoury, or some sage, or a couple bay leaves, or whatever you want.
- You could also reserve half the onions and cook them until soft in butter and throw them in at this time: this gives you a bit more consistency, since they won't have turned to mush at the end of cooking like the ones added at the beginning.

2011 Jan 25
One of my favourite soup recipe websites is www.soupsong.com/index.html The lady running the website is now living in Paris and blogging about her adventures on the other side of the pond: soupsong.com/blog/ It seems to be mostly about life in Paris but she does squeeze in a few foodie stories here and there.

2011 Jan 26
Pho of course! My favourite homemade soup is the Roasted Garlic and Brie soup, from Bon Appetit. I believe it was first published in 1998...

Tracinho: That soup sounds delicious! I am making it this weekend for sure. Have you tried freezing it?


2011 Jan 26
Poutine - I haven't yet, and although I made a lot it is so good I think I will have no problem polishing it off. I added fresh cumin and coriander, and substituted bok choy for collards.

2011 Jan 27
Poutine Tracinho's recipe is similar to a Zimbabwe peanut and vegetable stew recipe I got from the soupsong website I posted above. I have frozen the leftovers no problem but, like Tracinho, I never seem to have a problem polishing off the leftovers-;) This is the recipe I use: www.soupsong.com/rpeanut1.html

2011 Mar 25
Won ton soup
Classic chicken noodle/rice
Hot and sour soup

2011 Mar 26
Soooo many soups, so little time... I can't really pin down any favourite in particular since for me it depends on many factors, season, weather, mood, occasion, etc... Winter chowders and pea soups, fall root veg soups with turkey, summer tomato gazpachos, tortellini en brodo, the list goes on. This thread has so many great ideas. I just can't wait to try the Brown Flour Potato soup.

2013 Nov 3
With the colder weather, been in a soup mood.

Made some butternut squash and carrot soup from Loony spoons for thanksgiving. Did a lentil and vegetable soup last week.

Currently making beef barley since I have been cravy it.

Some I am eyeing are:
* Fish soup with tomato and fennel
* potato and leek soup
* beet and apple soup and
* good old pumpkin or fall harvest soup since I bought one for the jack o lantern but never caved it.
All the ingredients are in the house so just depend on what I am in the mood to do next so I can fill up my parents fridge / freezer a bit since I can make them low sodium.

What soup are you making?

2013 Nov 4
I picked up a nice piece of brisket from Around the Block Butcher Shop and we made a lovely beef stroganoff with part of it, and a really hearty beef stew with the rest. I love brisket for this. You really need to cook it for a while to soften it up, but when it's done it's the best thing in the world. It gives so much beefy flavour to a dish.

2013 Nov 6
I love soups made with hubbard squash, although I can't seem to find it in Ottawa. Lots of it just across the border in NY state. It cooks to a velvety texture that is good in a soup with roasted apples and curry.

2013 Nov 6
Potato leek soup. And this reminds me that I've 4 gigantic leeks that need to be used this week..

2013 Nov 6
My so many soups!
One of my favorites is Jamaican One Love Soup.

Jamaican One Love Soup

Ingredients
1 tbsp Cooking Oil
1/2 small Onion, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 stalk Celery, diced
12 cups Water or chicken stock
1/2 cup Coconut Milk
3 Vegetable Bouillon cubes ( if not using chicken stock )
1 cup dry yellow Split Peas
3 cups cubed squash any kind ( I like butternut or buttercup )
1 inch fresh Ginger, minced
2 sprigs fresh Thyme (or 2 tsp dried)
3 Red medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 cobs fresh corn (or 2 cups frozen)
3 Carrots, diced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Salt, or to taste
1 scotch bonnet pepper, whole or dry chilli pepper to taste (optional)

Method
1. Saute onion, garlic and celery in cooking oil until onion is transparent
2. Add water and boullion ( or stock ), coconut milk split peas and 1 cup of pumpkin/squash to pot and bring to a boil on High
3. Lower heat and cook on a slow boil until the split peas are soft; about 20 to 20 minutes
4. In the meantime, cut 2 cobs of corn into 1/2-inch “wheels” and shave the kernels off of the remaining 2 cobs; set aside. If corn is not in season you can use 2 cups of frozen corn instead.
5. Optional: once split peas are soft, use a hand blender to puree the broth in the pot until smooth
6. Add the remaining pumpkin/squash, potatoes, carrots corn, ginger and thyme to the pot and simmer on medium for about 20 minutes, or until carrots and potatoes are soft
7. Stir in the remaining seasonings: black pepper, cayenne pepper, and salt. If using, place the scotch bonnet pepper on top
8. Simmer soup for about 5 to 10 more minutes or until the flavour of the seasonings are released into the soup; discard scotch bonnet pepper
Serves 6 to 10


2013 Nov 7
@ Blubarry

I saw hubbard squash yesterday at Farm Boy Britannia.

2013 Nov 8
Well right this second i'm enjoying the split pea and ham soup from the Streats Truck and i have to say, it's pretty awesome.