Soups - Good place to start?

[Goodweed of the North]

For most veggie soups, I'd agree whole heartedly that the seasonings, time, attention to flavor, and frequent testing over a long period are required. But I have a simple soup that tastes truly great with very little work.

Here it is.
Gazpacho:
Ingredients:
20 oz diced tomatoes
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 tsp. Salt
15 oz. Dark Red Kidney Beans
4 Halepino Peppers, diced
1 onion, diced
1.8 cup freshly minced Cilantro
1 carrot, sliced
1 Yellow Crookneck Squash, sliced
Water

Combine all ingredients in a large soup pot and bring to a simmer. Allow to cook for an hour. Taste. Add more salt if required. Add more cilantro if you need to. Adjust for your taste.

Remove from heat and refrigerate overnight. Serve ice-cold.

Another host of soups you may not have considered are fruit-based soups that can contain things like cream, yogurt, sour cream, fruit juice, etc. These can be made hot or cold and are wonderfully refreshing.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

[Phantom of the Kitchen]

I appreciate the recipes you guys have generously divulged; when I have time I'll have to make them. I havn't responded for a while becuase i'm taking a summer class and it's really taking a toll on me.

I always get really great advice here and I will definitely review this thread before I make my next soup. thanks much.

brad

[unmuzzleme]

Since I'm sort of new to the forum, I don't know if admitting this is a DiscussCooking taboo, but I often use store-bought vegetarian stock when I'm making vegetarian soups (my sister is a vegetarian, and I like to cook for her). It comes in either cans or cardboard boxes and can be found in the soup aisle of your local supermarket. But don't confuse broth with stock! Though, as one person pointed out already, "stock" refers to the bone that is put in the water, the vegetarian broth and stock are also very different...stock is much richer.

I have made home made stock before, and there is definitely a difference, but since you seem to be busy, maybe this quick-fix option is a good bet for you! I would beware of any recipe that calls for multiple cups of water rather than stock or broth as the base. The stock/broth add a "simmered all day" flavor that you just can't get otherwise (as Rachel Ray likes to say, anyway).

Good luck! If you'd like some good soup cookbook recommendations, I'd be happy to help (I'm also a bit of a soup fanatic!).

[jpmcgrew]

Its all about the stock wether its vegetable,chicken,beef,fish or anything else.If you start with water the soup will be bland.Always add some celery,onion,carrots to any stock on top of that be sure you add some salt also a little chicken stock added to beef stock will pull out the beef flavor and vice versa.You can also enhance stocks like beef with some red wine or sherry,chicken stocks are good with white wine or a little lemon juice or sherry Im big on adding enough garlic and the appropriate herbs.You can make a great vegetable sock by adding vegetable scraps like the ends of celery,scallions,onions and just about any other vegies.Again you need to add enough salt to pull the flavor thru.It takes a little practice to know whats missing in a soup.If you dont want to make stock you can get some decent broths{beef,veggie and chicken} at the store although I find those a little weak I like the Minors brand of bases to be quite good also.You can get them online they have it all from the regulars to lobster,mushroom,veal,fish and so on.Joy of Cooking has alot of info on stocks and soups.
James Peterson's book Soup is also very informative.

[txoldshirley]

Went to a restaurant today and I ordered the Avocado Vegetable Soup and my co-worker ordered the Chicken Poblano (sp?) soup. They were both heavenly. I wondered if anyone here had any recipes for either or both of these to share?
I would like to try making them.