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Would you like to learn how to make soup? Homemade soup is very adaptable; you can use whatever foods you have on hand. Soup is usually an inexpensive way to nourish your family and friends. Soup is versatile and can be served as a starter or be featured as the main course. Read on to learn how to make soup step by step.
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How To Make Soup From Leftovers
This video discusses how to make soup from leftovers. While no precise recipe is given, the narrator does provide some general guidelines on how to handle specific foods. He advises to saute leftover vegetables in olive oil before adding to the soup for extra flavor. Fresh herbs and leftover noodles should be added at the end, before serving.
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Introduction
Soup is one of the most basic forms of human nourishment. many people view soup as a comfort food, and have memories of consuming a hot tomato or vegetable soup as a child. Soup is easy to personalize; there are no hard and fast rules about what ingredients you need. This page will outline some general principles that will guide you to making great soup. -
Step 1: Select a Soup Base
All soups start with liquid. Most soups begin with a broth, or stock, but some, as in the children's story Stone Soup begin with water which is flavored as the ingredients are added. You'll need about 8 cups of liquid to make a soup that serves 4-6 people for a main course. Several choices for a soup base are:- Water
- Chicken stock
- Beef stock
- Fish stock
- Ham broth
- Veal stock
- Vegetable stock
- Milk
- Cream
Soup Base Tips
- If you're making a stock or broth, make it a day ahead of time and refrigerate it. This will make it easy to remove the fat that has congealed on the top.
- If you are making a stock with bones, add a tablespoon of vinegar to the pot. The vinegar will cause calcium to be extracted from the bones, enriching the calcium content of the broth.
- Don't add salt to the stock; wait until you have assembled the soup to check for seasoning.
- Feel free to blend different types of liquid when making a soup. A mix of chicken and beef stocks, for example, is a common soup base.
Step 2: Select Soup Ingredients
You can use almost any vegetable, meat, fish, shell fish, or legume in a soup. The amount you add will affect how thick your soup is. Rice, pasta, and grains can also be added to enrich a soup. Plan on about 2 pounds of meat, 8 cups of vegetables or legumes, and 2 cups of cooked grains for 8 cups of liquid.
Soup Ingredients Tips
- For a heartier soup, brown meat before adding. You can then saute the vegetables briefly in the meat drippings before adding them to the soup.
- If using dried beans, cook them separately before adding them to the soup, as some common soup ingredients, such as tomatoes will toughen the beans, increasing the cooking time. Lentils are the exception to the rule; they can be added with the rest of the soup ingredients]]
- Add vegetables at different times, depending on how long they take to cook. Root vegetables, such as potatoes and turnips should usually be added first, tender greens can be added 15 minutes before serving.
- Cook rice, pasta, and noodles separately if the soup will be sitting overnight. They tend to absorb liquid, so are better added right before serving.
Step 3: Enhance the Soup
- Soups can be pureed to give them a creamy texture. You can puree all of a soup, or just part of it. Consider pureeing half of the soup and then blending it with the unpureed soup for a mix in textures. Meats generally do not puree well, so should be added after the soup has been blended.
- Herbs and spices can be used to flavor the soup. Combine whole spices and herbs in a small piece of cheesecloth (you can also use a tea ball) so that you can flavor the soup while its cooking, but remove the herbs and spices before serving. This works particularly well for woody herbs such as bay leaves or springs of fresh thyme.
- Add a splash of wine, sherry, or lemon juice before serving.
- Top soups with a dollop of creme fraiche, sour cream, or yogurt.
- Garnish soups with crumbled bacon, chopped herbs, or croutons.
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