I love the French word soupçon meaning "a touch, a drop, a suspicion of something" [some dictionaries use inkling in their definition- another lovely word] I misunderstood this word the first time I heard someone say it - I thought she said "There's a soupspoon of mustard in this recipe" There's a deal of difference between soupçon and soupspoon, especially when cooking.
January has been National Soup Month. I only found this out recently - apparently it is held in January every year since Campbells started it in 1986. It is probably the most appropriate month to choose when you think about it. It's often very cold, and soup can be a warming, healthy comfort food - easy and nutritious, after the excesses of the Christmas Feasting.
We've had a fair number of soups recently - I am too cold to want salad every lunchtime, as we did previously when dieting [and the raised bed is hibernating under its thick cardboard blanket, nothing to crop there right now] Soup made with left over roast veg, or freshly prepared ingredients, or even a can of Crosse & Blackwells. We have certainly done our bit to mark NSM [even before we realised it was happening]
About 30 years ago my good friend Beryl [also the thrifty wife of a retired Rev] told us that whenever they had leftover coleslaw at church events, she would take it home, rinse off the dressing and make cabbage and carrot soup. I have never, ever done that. But I did process some red and white cabbage, plus carrot, recently to make some coleslaw. I mixed half with mayo, to serve with our meal- and the rest went, undressed, into a lock'n'lock for the next day. Next day it was
so cold I decided we needed soup. I sweated the grated veg briefly in a little oil, added stock, and half a can of chickpeas. I brought it to the boil, simmered for about 20 minutes then blitzed it with the stick blender, and seasoned to taste. Here is the resulting crimson creation
It was good and filling. I have yet to make rinsed coleslaw soup' but this version certainly worked well.I am happy with the saucepan and stick blender - and my Chef has a big liquidiser attachment.
I have looked at soupmakers and concluded that I do not need one. This topic is a bit "Marmite". I have many friends who love the gadget, and seem to throw in the veg, go and have fun, then return to find beautiful soup waiting for them. And others who are less convinced "My son's soupmaker is refusing to co-operate, so we are about to revert to the old method using a saucepan"
- What is your favourite soup flavour?
- If you make "Fridge Scrape" leftovers soup, how do you liven it up?
- Do you add a soupçon of something?
- Have you got a soupmaker, do you use it a lot?
UPDATE -SOME BRILLIANT COMMENTS AND SOUPY SUGGESTIONS BELOW- THANK YOU EVERYONE!
I love the Chinese Chicken and Sweet corn soup best. But I don't eat it very often now.
ReplyDeleteThe one I make most is Carrot and Lentil but I usually put tomatoes and courgette in too though C and L are the main stars of the meal.
I always add Turmeric and Paprika to my soups to give it a bit of an extra taste and enjoy serving with fresh chives on top if mine are in season. I started making carrot soup because we always had an excess of carrots left at school from the free fruit scheme and when they got a bit manky, the kids didn't want to eat them. I found they were fine after being peeled but of course there wasn't the time to do this at school!
I like carrot too. I've never added turmeric, I shall try that (throwing smoked paprika into lots of savoury dishes at the moment, for winter warmth)
DeleteP.S. No soupmaker in my house. Just saucepan and stickblender!
ReplyDeleteAnd that's all you need
DeleteNo soup maker here, although my with no microwave, no bread maker, no toaster, no electric kettle!
ReplyDeleteLots of good homemade food including soup.
Leek and potato is still a favourite. Homemade chicken stock improves any soup.
I couldn't do without my electric kettle.
DeleteI've got too many gadgets that I don't use often enough to introduce a soup maker to the mix! I've got a pressure cooker & a zuzzer. That's enough for me. Squash, chilli and coconut soup is a perreniel favourite here, as is curried parsnip & carrot
ReplyDeleteBob isn't keen on parsnips - but I could try out a curried soup and see if that's tasty.
DeleteI didn't know January was national soup month! I'm glad I made a pot of soup on Sunday, then, before the month was over! :D I don't have a soupmaker, I use a saucepan and I rarely blend my soups (only tomato soup). I don't have a favorite soup flavor, which is good because I often throw everything but the kitchen sink into my soups! The soup I made on Sunday started out with turkey bones to make the broth and then, I added vegetables and ham to it. A couple of green chilies chopped up and added to the soups always liven it up for me. :)
ReplyDeleteI like your ongoing, "see what turns out" approach. Like others, you use a turkey or chicken broth/stock for flavour. I think cans/cartons of stock are more common in the USA supermarkets than here.
DeleteI love Egyptian soup, and I can see me making a pot of it soon. There is something so warming about spiced root veggie soup.
ReplyDeleteSpices definitely improve the blandest of veg
DeleteI remember my older sister making leek and potato soup in cookery class in the 1970s. No soup makers or even stick blenders then, she had to rub everything through a sieve!
ReplyDeleteThat must have taken time and commitment!
DeleteI also only have saucepan and stick blender, I don't even have an electric kettle. Mostly I make fridge debris soup, if it tastes really bad I add curry powder.
ReplyDeleteOoh I like the name Fridge Debris. It probably has more texture than my Fridge Scrape!
DeleteI wouldn't thank you for a soup maker! I just feel they are a waste of money, and I like the good old fashioned way of making soup, adding, tasting, stirring...I often save a bowl of vegetable water to add to a next day soup.
ReplyDeleteThankyou - I've been using your veg water idea ever since you told me about it a while back!
DeleteI particularly enjoy making soup out of the outer leaves of a cauliflower with a little onion and a potato for thickness - it feels very frugal especially now they leave so many leaves on to disguise the shrinking size of the inner white curds! I often add a tablespoon of soya cream to enrich it. Telma chicken stock (doesn't contain chicken) which comes in large cartons is my go to base when I don't have time to make stock, and my absolute favourite is whole baked butternut squash, including the skin, seeds and innards, just remove the little knob at the top, whizzed with a couple of tins of tomatoes, a tin of coconut milk and a tin of beans, with a good shake of chilli sauce or a whole chilli added - really creamy and indulgent, and saves all the faff of peeling squash. We have soup most days and I usually just wing it with whatever leftovers we have, but this is one I make deliberately.
ReplyDeleteA tin of coconut milk is a useful standby for creamy leftover soups and curries. Sounds like you may be a vegetarian - I've never seen Telma stock here.
DeleteThat's a good idea to prep all the veggies for coleslaw but only add the mayo or dressing to some of it, that way it makes for a much more versatile mixture saved in the fridge.
ReplyDeleteFavourite soup - Potato
I liven up fridge bottom scraps with spices and herbs.
No, I'm too generous with dashes of this and that for it to qualify as a soupcon ... although I LOVE the word and always end up saying it at least 3 times.
I did have a soup-maker and used it regularly, now Alan uses it as he has more space on his worktop. I'm back to a saucepan and my handheld stick blender :-(
I like potato and leek soup - but currently lo-carb so I'm avoiding spuds at the minute
DeleteMy stick blender is my favourite small appliance, especially for blending a pot of soup!
ReplyDeleteMy favourite soups to make are carrot, pumpkin & red lentil, and mushroom barley, but really soup is whoever veg is leftover and needs to be used up, plus some lentils, split peas or barley to thicken it up - no recipe required.
I haven't used split peas for ages. Thanks for the suggestion.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favourite go-to soups is spiced Autumnal soup made of roasted carrots, butternut, sweet potato & red onion. Seasoning are a shake of some cumin, cinnamon & paprika with possibly a few chilli flakes if you like a bit more spice. I pre-roast all the veges when the oven is on at some stage during the week. It's then an easy meal to finish off soup on top of stove by heating up with vege stock then blend with my stick blender. Warming & delicious!
ReplyDeleteUsing the oven to pre roast veg when it's on for something else is a good idea, saves energy, saves money, saves time
DeleteMy cousin’s wife always called her soup made from leftovers “cream of bottom shelf”.
ReplyDeleteFantastic name, can't see Crosse and Blackwell using it tho
DeleteMy favorite itesm to add flavour to soups (or stews) I make such as lentil or leek is dried Herbes de Provence. Just a tsp or two. For tomato based soups, I use a Tuscan blend that has spices such as rosemary, oregano, red pepper flakes, as well as some sesame seed, lemon peel and sea salt. Always keep a jar of each on hand.
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of Tuscan blend, ready mixed in a jar
DeleteCarrot and Coriander last week, enough to last a couple of days lunches then frozen while new flavour soup is made. This week, courgette and mushroom, from the ingredients my daughter-in-law left behind yesterday when they visited and brought lunch (can I just admit that I milked the broken ankle injury for all it was worth, without being judged too harshly for enjoying being thoroughly spoiled?!) I did keep the little'est person amused all the while though!It depends what mood I'm in but when soup-making, sometimes I leave it chunky, other times I puree with the stick blender. No fancy-schmancy soup makers in this house, unless you count me, myself and I!
ReplyDeleteI hope the ankle is improving, carrot seems to be a popular choice
DeleteMy stick blender is great as I donated my blender years ago. One favourite has been to peel and cut up any decent stems of broccoli (I note Fifitr's great suggestion of cauliflower leaves). I add plenty of cut up onion, water, and salt and pepper and my own magic ingredient, cumin, which I love. Once cooked and stick blended, I add a chunk of cream cheese if I have any, or else some milk, regular or canned, or cream if there is any around.
ReplyDeleteUHT milk is a good standby for soups too
DeleteI don't have (or want) a soup maker, but I do make a lot of soup, often using recipes from one of the New Covent Garden books. I wouldn't be without my liquidiser, as I usually puree my soups. However, my favourite soup recipe involves carrot, lentils and orange, all items which I generally have to hand. I have to admit that I'm really not fond of tinned soup, which is why I make my own!
ReplyDeleteI think home made is better - and cheaper - than canned
DeleteHomemade soup is the best! Mom used to call the soup she made out of the first vegetables from the garden each summer Poor Man's Soup. It was delicious!
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting name!
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