Favorite Winter Soup Recipes?

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Julia Childs The French Chief episode where she makes French Onion Soup is a good one. It took me a while to get the importance of cooking the onions until they are brown. Lately I think about "brown" as an ingredient.

[Rob Luter]

Hey Bob, so you use chicken broth for this or the meat balls make the broth?

I use both. If I need to add liquid I use chicken broth. if there's plenty of liquid from the onions, tomatoes, and canned white beans (usually is), I just add a teaspoon of chicken soup base. When I make this soup I prefer it to not be too brothy.

[Paul F Franklin]

Wow, no one has mentioned tomato soup...

Mary freezes the whole tomatoes from the garden each year. When the crop is done or the freezer is full, she processes them into sauce using the kitchen aid food mill attachment. The sauce is cooked down for a couple of hours in the oven and then we freeze it using a vacuum sealer. We have 20 or 30 quarts in the freezer now. The whole deal takes on a few hours. *SO* much easier than canning! To make the soup, she partially defrosts a bag, puts the sauce in the blender with a little olive oil, a little vegetable stock, a slice of good bread, and some herbs. That gets blended for a minute or two and then into the pot to heat. I am not a big tomato fan, but I could eat that soup every day during the winter (as long as it is served with a good home made baguette!).

The frozen sauce can also easily be turned into sauce for pasta or pizza.

[Michael Bulatowicz]

Here's one of my favorites, that I made just yesterday. It's a heavily modified version of someone else's recipe I encountered years ago.

I always make a large batch and freeze or refrigerate the leftovers. It keeps well in the fridge for a week or so and 6 months or more in the freezer.

This is a rich, hearty, sweet, and savory stew that's one of my most popular--even with several people who don't normally eat vegetables and shall remain nameless. You know who you are .

Hearty Sweet Potato and Squash Stew

The basics always remain about the same, but the details vary based on what's on hand and what's presently in season/available. All measurements are approximate and should be adapted based on the strength of the ingredients.

Makes 8 quarts

Basics:

Heat in an 8-quart pot (hot enough to brown, but not hot enough to burn)
1/2 cup or so coconut oil
1/3 to 1/2 cup minced fresh ginger (depending on strength)
1/4 cup or so minced fresh turmeric root or 1 1/2 tbsp powdered turmeric--if using ground (powdered) turmeric, hold off adding turmeric until the next step
3 medium-large onions (red, white, yellow, . . .), sliced or chopped as desired
2 bulbs garlic, minced

Once the scent has changed (in particular, the ginger will rather suddenly start smelling sweeter as it just starts to brown) add

4 cans coconut milk
3-4 pounds sweet potatoes, cut into approximately 1 inch cubes
2-3 pounds of your favorite squash, cut into approximately 1 inch cubes--leftover roasted squash also works well. Alternatively, substitute some of the sweet potatoes for squash or vice versa.
generous pinch saffron
salt to taste
2 tbsp fish sauce
3-4 tbsp "better than bouillon" chicken base or vegetable base, or equivalent of your favorite soup base/bouillon
Turmeric if not added in the previous step

Note that the soup will taste significantly different (less sweet and a bit sharper/spicier) if you don't lightly toast the ginger before adding the coconut milk and the other "after the scent has changed" ingredients--the slight browning of the ginger is important to the overall flavor.

Beyond the basics

For most batches, I then add:
2 pounds or so chopped fresh and/or frozen greens (it seems like a lot but it actually works quite well without making the stew taste like a salad at all)
2-3 pounds ground pork or pork sausage crumbles, browned to the point of being slightly crispy. Crispy crumbled bacon also works well, but use less of it. Sliced chicken or pork works well, too, but we prefer the browned/crispy ground pork or sausage.
1-2 pounds chopped mushrooms (particular variety not critical: we've used white, cremini, shiitake, chestnut, oyster, . . . and they all seem to be good)
"other vegetables," enough to fill the pot--experience says radishes, turnips, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, and green beans are all good--probably other vegetables, too.
Water as needed, just enough to cover ingredients

Simmer for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally.

Serve with a generous drizzle of olive oil, shredded cheese as desired, and crackers or bread if desired. Some even like to mix in seaweed crisps and top with nutritional yeast.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Wow, no one has mentioned tomato soup...

Mary freezes the whole tomatoes from the garden each year.

....

Does Mary de-seed the tomatoes before making soup? We caned for the first time and did not de-seed. I am going to try tomato soup, I am thinking the seeds maybe should not be in the soup?

[Maurice Mcmurry]

My Grandmother was from Italy and raised chickens here in PA. She liked the old roosters to make stock, stew and soup.

Grandmothers with those skills sure set the bar high! Grandma Mcmurry liked a fat, old hen for chicken noodle. With homemade noodles and ascending sizes of premature un-laid eggs. I thought the eggs were a little creepy as a kid but they sure were good!

[Rob Luter]

One of our favorites is Turkey Corn Chowder. It originally used leftover turkey from Thanksgiving but I often throw Chicken or Seafood in for the protein.

i knew a guy from PA who raved about Chicken Corn Chowder. Seemed it was a regional thing.

[Jim Becker]

Wow, no one has mentioned tomato soup...

I merely forgot to mention it...tomato basil soup is a staple here, too.

[Paul F Franklin]

....

Does Mary de-seed the tomatoes before making soup? We caned for the first time and did not de-seed. I am going to try tomato soup, I am thinking the seeds maybe should not be in the soup?

Maurice,

The kitchen aid attachment for her stand mixer (I think they actually call it a fruit and vegetable strainer) separates the skin and seeds from the tomatoes as they are processed. She used to do it with a hand cranked food mill, which works well also, but the attachment is faster and easier. So the sauce ends up seed and skin free. You can probably remove the seeds from your canned tomatoes with a strainer or food mill.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

All right! Thanks! We have a Kitchen Aid mixer. I did peel the tomatoes, it is rather tedious. Your process sounds like the way to go. I like gardening, figuring out how to deal with lots of produce all at once has been a stumbling block.

Here is a rustic stew my mom and I made on a campfire in October when her Grand kids were passing through on a bicycle tour.

Butter, A free range chicken from the farm, home grown onions, potatoes and carrots, salt, pepper. It disappeared very quickly.

IMG_0765 2.jpg

[Stan Calow]

Two signs of winter

1) Wife's cheese soup. Velveeta, can of cream of potato soup, shredded carrots and sprinkle of green onions and paprika.
2) Mother's barley soup. Can of tomato paste, some water, sour cream, barley, and chunks of beef short ribs.

[Bryan Hall]

What a fantastic stack of ideas to try. Thanks for the ideas everyone! My wife pulled a new one out of the hat yesterday. Taco soup, pulled pork as the meat. It's a hit for sure, hearty and tasty!

[Rob Luter]

As the weather starts cooling off the soup pot comes out more frequently. I usually do a big batch every other week that's good for a couple dinners and a few lunches. So far this year:

Chicken and wild rice with vegetables. I use a whole rotisserie chicken for the meat and the bone broth.

Beef vegetable. I simmer bones for hours first to extract the marrow and collagens. It makes for a high gravity bone broth that adds flavor and body.

Italian Wedding. Another hearty recipe with lots of tiny hand made meatballs and orzo pasta.

Italian White Bean. This one is next so I can use up the sausage I got for the wedding soup. I make meatballs using 1/3 ground beef, 1/3 sweet Italian Sausage, and 1/3 hot Italian sausage along with other ingredients. I use white beans and lots of diced carrots and onions that have been sautéed, with a little red pepper flake mixed in. A can of diced tomatoes at the end finishes it off. It's a great cold weather belly warmer.

Epic! I added a little spinach and some cream at the end to richen the broth a bit.