CLASSIC SOUP RECIPES & PROCEDURES

Classic Soup Recipes

After you have your stocks made and you can enrich their flavors by reducing further more roasted bones, mirepoix, and flavor profiles appropriate for the meal. Use these rich broths to make your soups.

Un-thickened soups are called Clear Soups

To start with, use very rich broths to make Clear Soups. I prefer a rich broth, instead of plain stock, so to reduce the soups cooking time and not overcook the vegetables and lose nutrients.

The first soup is basic Clear Vegetable Soup. This recipe is a good base to use to build other great soups.

Please notice the extreme versatility in these recipes and techniques.

Once you know these basic recipes like vegetable soup; just add one or a few of the following ingredients to create dozens of other variations:

1. Add fully cooked, hearty legumes & grains like: rice, wild-rice, brown rice, barley, lentils, amaranth or sprouted buckwheat 2. Add cooked egg noodles, tortellini pastas, bite-size cut pastas like linguine, tiny macaroni tubes or Large Israeli

Cous Cous 3. Larger chunky-cut garden vegetables: mirepoix, zucchini, tomatoes, green Beans, corn, peas, lima beans, potatoes, large julienne-cut cabbage, kale or escarole (For Minestrone add cooked beans, pasta, oregano to a hearty vegetable soup)

CLEAR VEGETABLE SOUP

Yield: 6 qt Portions: 24 Portion Size: 8 oz.

6 oz. butter or olive oil 1 ½ lb. Onions, small dice 1 lb. Carrots, small dice 1 lb. Celery, small dice .

In a large soup pot cook these together till they are soft.

Then add the following and simmer another 10 minutes. 6 qt. quality chicken broth 1 bay leaf 1 lb. canned, whole, imported Italian Plum Tomatoes, rough cut Season with sea salt and white pepper

Thick Soups

Two favorite styles of thick soups are Puree Soups and Cream Soups. There is a basic rule, which you can apply to almost any cream soup recipe. Use your sauce knowledge, and start the base of your Cream Soup as either a Béchamel or Velouté. Now thin-out or dilute that creamy sauce with your chosen broth and infuse it with your desired ingredient for which the soup in named. (For example: Crème of Broccoli, or green peas, corn, onions, celery, carrots, asparagus, spinach, mushrooms, chicken…) then adjust seasonings and finish.

This is a very simple rule to knowing dozens of soup recipes instantly. Turn a basic “Main Sauce” (Béchamel or Velouté) into a soup quickly…

The Formula to follow is a ratio of 3:1

A nice Velouté style Soup consists of approximately:

1 quart Velouté Sauce 3 quarts Rich Broth A proper amount of the Pureed “Main Flavoring Ingredient” … Then tighten or thicken, and finish with a Garnish of main flavoring ingredient. For example, a traditional, proper garnish for a “Crème of Broccolis Soup” would be small, bite-size pieces of cooked Broccolis.

To make Fantastic and Quick Cream Soup recipes is easy. Simply, follow this formula and design your own balanced Signature Soup:

Béchamel Sauce (1 quart, thick consistency) Pureed flavoring ingredient Flavor-rich Broth, dilute to desired consistency Finish with Butter and Cream Garnish with main flavor ingredient

The following is a recipe for a Cream of Mushroom Soup. Use this as guide for creating many other creamy soups by replacing the main ingredients with different flavor profiles and seasonings.

CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

In this cream soup method, the roux for the Béchamel is made directly while sautéing the mushrooms with the butter and adding the proper amount of flour, broth, hot milk & cream

Yield: 6 qt. Portions: 24 Portion Size: 8 oz.

12 oz Butter 12 oz. Onions, chopped fine 1 ½ lb. mushrooms, chopped 9 oz. Flour .

In a large soup pot sweat the mushrooms and onions in the butter, when cooked and developing fond in the pan from the cooked mushrooms, and then add the flour slowly. Mix completely and slowly whisk-in the hot broth and cream.

3 cups of heavy cream 4 ½ qt. White broth, either veal or chicken, Hot

Whisk the broth till it thickens and simmer it till the vegetables are well cooked and can be pureed or passed through a food-mill. Then Pass the pureed soup through a fine china cap or through cheese cloth… (This is a general rule for most cream soups) …But, we are not going to strain this mixture since the goal is a very rich & hearty mixed mushroom soup. In this method, also add the cream with the mushrooms and simmer to develop a richness and desired texture.

Simmer about 10 minutes, and puree with a “wand-style” emulsion blender. Next, add enough hot milk to the soup to bring it to proper consistency. (Thick or Thin)

3 pt. Milk, Hot Salt & white pepper .

Finish this soup with a garnish of sautéed mixed mushroom, garlic, shallots and fresh herbs (I like parsley, chives & tarragon) 8 oz. mixed mushroom, chopped 1 oz shallot, minced ¼ oz. fresh garlic clove, minced Sauté in butter till browned, add chopped herbs and serve…

Purée soups

Purée Soups are made by simmering dried legumes and/or fresh vegetable, especially high-starch vegetables, in stock or water, then Puréeing the soup. This type of soup is relatively easy to prepare. Puréed Soups are not as smooth as Cream Soups but are heartier and coarser in texture and character.

One popular traditional Purée Soup is Split Green Pea. The following recipe is derived from a simple traditional recipe.

PURÉE OF SPLIT GREEN PEA

Yield: 6 qt. Portions: 24 Portion Size: 8oz. 6 oz Bacon, small dice

(Everything in this soup is cut no-bigger than the size of the peas being used) Mirepoix: 10 oz. Onion, small dice 5 oz. Celery, small dice 5 oz. Carrots, small dice

In a soup pot, render the bacon and then sweat the vegetables till soft. Then add:

6 Qt. Ham stock (or water if ham stock is not available) 1 ham smoked ham-bone or ham hock (optional) 3 lbs. dry split peas (Rinse and scan for debris & pebbles) Sachet: 1 whole Bay leaf 1 tsp. whole Pepper corns 1 whole Clove spice 2 whole Garlic cloves

Add all ingredients, cover and simmer about one hour till completely tender. Puree with a “wand-style” emulsion blender, add a little water to adjust consistency, season with salt and pepper

Bisques

My general definition of Bisque is a tomato & creambased soup. This tends to be a very elegant, smooth texture, savory flavored treat. Small portions can be used as a course in a multi-course menu; even large portions with nice garnish, will be rich enough to stand-alone as a meal in itself.

To make a fine Bisque is a true piece of art. This recipe is a savory reduction of cream, tomato, seafood and vegetables, finished with French Brandy and a nice toasty shrimp crouton. In this case of Lobster Bisque requires some planning.

I will only make Lobster Bisque when my freezer has accumulated enough lobster, crab and shrimp shells kept from the production of past meals. I will wrap them properly in plastic and freeze them till there is enough to make nice elegant bisque.