IT’S PERT NEAR SOUP SEASON, MOTHERFUCKERS.
I am searching for reasons to look forward to fall this year in order to get rid of this aversion I suddenly have to the idea of cold weather. (Long story short: I had a real bad fall and winter last year, and I need an attitude adjustment this year).
So here’s installment one: a list of soups that I’ve made before and that I cannot wait to enjoy in the next few months:
Daube Provençal (from Katie at the Kitchen Door). French beef stew with orange zest, olives, and an entire bottle of Côtes du Rhône in it. N made it for me a couple of months after we got together, and I always crave it when the weather starts to turn cool.
44-Clove Garlic Soup (from Smitten Kitchen). This soup literally has 44 cloves of garlic in it, some roasted and some boiled. It is far less overpowering than you’d guess from that intimidating number – instead, I found it refined, rich, elegant, autumnal. Absolutely sublime for dinner on a cool evening, with a glass of wine and a toasted baguette.
Chicken Tortilla Soup (from The Pioneer Woman). I am not a fan of Ree Drummond or her show, but I can tell you that around Christmas last year, I made three batches of this soup in one month. It is legit, and it makes a ton. N and I made a huge pot for his family when they came over for Christmas Eve, and they ate every. single. drop of it. in one sitting. Be sure and serve it with lots of fixings: radishes, cilantro, lime wedges, crema, cotija cheese, tortilla strips, diced avocado.
Wild Mushroom Bisque (my own recipe, from the bricolab). I have been working on this recipe for years, through at least a half-dozen iterations. Here is the best version. A cup of it is like a holy grail containing essence of mushroom. Not a pretty soup at all, admittedly – but rich, thick, earthy, and insanely delicious.
Spring Pea and Onion Soup with Crispy Shiitakes and Parmesan (my own recipe, from the bricolab). This one is, no joke, a ten-minute recipe, including sautéing the mushrooms. Vividly green and sweet/salty.
Poached Cod in Tomato and Saffron Broth (from Bon Appétit). Not technically a soup, but you can double the ingredients to make more of the addictive spicy/winey broth.
Cauliflower Soup (from America’s Test Kitchen). Yes, this soup does have a whole stick of butter in it (about half of it goes into the brown-butter-sautéed cauliflower garnish, which you can omit if you’re a fool and hate good food, or if, you know, you’re watching your fat intake). It does not have a drop of cream in it at all, but you would never know it. A creamy, delicious, magical soup.
Garlicky Carrot Soup (my own recipe, from the bricolab). Kind of a “cleansing” soup. Very easy, very healthy, and very pretty and vivid.
Pasta e Fagioli (adapted recipe, from the bricolab). Made this for the first time recently from a lightly-adapted recipe. Huge fan. Huge. Put in a Parmesan rind if you have one.
Vichyssoise (adapted recipe, from the accidental kitchen). I took a 1962 recipe from Gourmet magazine and spruced it up a bit with truffle oil and Greek yogurt, both of which make this soup something really special.
Thai Coconut Shrimp Noodle Soup (from Food52). Green curry based. Add mushrooms, substitute all tofu, dowhatchalyke.
Thai Coconut Curry Soup (from Chef Michael Smith). Tied for favorite Thai soup recipe. Red curry based.
Aaand now I’m hungry.
