STEPS FOR SOUPMAKING
STEP 1
STEP 2
Compile and prepare your ingredients.
•Having all ingredients prepared in advance makes building the soup much easier.
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•Wash your raw vegetables.
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•If using canned ingredients—especially beans—rinse them to remove the tinned flavor. NOTE: This doesn’t apply to canned tomatoes.
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•Slice or tear all meat and vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
Create the soup base out of fat and study vegetables. Allow time for it to cook down.
•Traditional soup base consists of fat (typically butter or oil) and carrots, onion and celery (all diced). But cooks should use what they have. Some bases include garlic, mushrooms and more.
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•The ingredients in the base should be those that take the longest to cook and/or develop flavor, since they’ll be in the pot the longest. They should be sturdy vegetables that won’t get mushy.
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•In a lidded pot on medium heat, melt the fat, then add the base vegetables. Cook for about 15 minutes. After the soup base has “sweated down,” or cooked with the lid askew until soft and fragrant (15-20 minutes later), you can move on.
•Be patient during this process. The base is the foundation of the soup, and it takes time to build up its flavor.
STEP 3
Add the broth and filler ingredients, paying special attention to each ingredient’s cook time.
•Add as much broth as desired. If it needs “topping off” as you add more ingredients, simply add more broth—or even hot water.
•Then add filler ingredients. You can add tomatoes, rice, pasta, chicken, kale... the list goes on!
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•Stagger the ingredients based on cook time. For example, if your pasta is raw and needs to be cooked for 10 minutes, but your chicken is fully cooked and just needs heating up, put the pasta in first.
STEP 4
Season and make finishing touches.
•Taste the soup after everything has been added and has simmered together for a few minutes. Season to taste.
•Skim any excess fat off the top (from your butter, oil, or stock) with a spoon.
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•Ladle the soup into a serving bowl and garnish. Garnishes might include cheese, croutons, a drizzle of olive oil, sour cream or crème fraîche, herbs or seasonings (pepper, chili flakes, parsley, cilantro, etc.), or a slice of crusty bread.