Soup Recipes to Warm Your Soul and Fight the Cold
What’s your go to dish to keep you warm this winter? You might say a pasta bake, or a meat and vegetable filled casserole or pie. But, we offer up the humble and mighty soup. In today’s blog, we’ll look at the history and different varieties of this liquid meal. And, share some tasty classic recipes from around the world!
Everything You Need to Know About Soup
As we’e already highlighted, soup is primarily a liquid food. It generally finds itself being served hot, although cool or cold varieties do exist. To make this dish, we must combine ingredients such as meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. An additionally characterisation is when we boil the solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavours are extracted. Thus, forming what is known as a broth.
Although a soup might appear similar to a stew, it is, in fact, more liquid like a broth.
Its History
The consumption of soup dates back as far as 20,000 BC. Although boiling was not a common cooking technique yet, water could heat on hot rocks in animal hides or watertight baskets.
The word has Latin and Germain roots linking back to the word “sop”, meaning a piece of break used to soak up a thick stew. Additionally to this etymology, the word restaurant first found its use in describing a highly concentrated, inexpensive broth sold by street vendors. It advertised itself as an antidote for physical exhaustion. In 1765, a shop open specialising in such soups. Thus, the use of the modern word restaurant came about to refer to eating establishments.
The commercialisation of the food came about with the invention of canning in the 19th century. Additionally, dried mixes also find them selves on store shelves — requiring only the addition of hot water in order to be consumed. You may recognise this type when buying stock cubes or preparing instant ramen.
Around the World
Almost every country around the world has its own variety of soup. Check out their recipes!
Europe
- Gazpacho (Spain). Initially served without tomatoes before it introduction in the 16th century, this cold dish boasts fresh ingredients such as garlic, onions, pepper, and olive oil.
- Yayla Çorbasi (Turkey). Drawing upon the most used ingredient in Turkish cuisine, yogurt, prepare by cooking rice and chickpeas in a spice and herb flavoured broth. Additionally, add feta cheese for an extra creamy kick.
- Minestrone (Italy). First appearing in WWI, a scarcity of ingredients resulted in the invention of a salt broth and whatever vegetables were available. Sometimes, in classic Italian fashion, there is the addition of pasta.
- Caldo Verde (Portugal). Traditionally served in clay bowls, this soup utilises collard green, potatoes, and pieces of chorizo. Perfect for the coldest and rainiest region in the country it comes from.
- Soupe á l’Oignon Gratinée (France). A classic feature of French cuisine, this broth uses browned buttered onions to create a velvety texture. Bread and gratin cheese accompany it on top.
- Goulash (Hungary). Traditionally, shepherds cooked their meat until it to take on trips when moving animals. Then, they heated them again with water thus forming a goulash. Today, additionally ingredients such as paprika, tomatoes, and potatoes find themselves in the dish.
- Borscht (Russia/Ukraine). Getting its colour from beets, this recipe also includes vegetables, meats, and mushrooms. You can eat it hot or cold and with a serving of sour cream.
Africa
- Harira (Morocco). Traditionally consumed during Ramadan, this fragrant broth uses lamb, chickpeas, and tomatoes. Additionally, it encompasses spices such as saffron, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
- Efo Elegusi/Egusi (Nigeria). Egusi is the West African name for pumpkin and melon seeds — the main ingredient in this dish. They fry in palm oil then add to a broth with fish, dried shrimp, beef tripe, vegetables, and spices.
Asia
- Laksa (Malaysia/Singapore). Prepared with a base of spicy curry, ginger, and coconut milk, add shrimp, chicken, tofu, and noodles to compliment this dish.
- Tom Yum (Thailand). The aroma of this broth comes from lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaves. Other types of this variety include the addition of shrimp, chicken, or pork.
- Phở (Vietnam). To make, cook rice noddles and slice beef in a broth flavoured with spices such as coriander, ginger, and cardamon. Traditionally, the base takes more than 12 hours to be ready and is consumed for breakfast.
- Wonton Soup (China). A very find a very fine dough, called wonton, cooking in a spicy broth with vegetables and meat. It dates back to the 17th century during the Qing Dynasty.
- Soto (Indonesia). Generally, this is a fragrant broth made with meat and rice noodles. The most popular variation includes boiled chicken served with eggs, tofu, and friend onions.
- Tinola (Philippines). With a ginger, garlic, and fish sauce base, this broth cooks chicken and local vegetables such as papaya and chayote.
- Ramen (Japan). This traditional broth consists of pork, fish, or chicken seasoned with taré and served with noodles. It is then topped with local vegetables and a boiled egg.
The Americas
- Tortilla Soup (Mexico). In this dish, pieces of fried corn tortilla mic with a tomato broth seasoned with onion, garlic, parsley, and pepper.
- Chupe de Marisco (Peru). Popular in the southern region of Peru, seafood cooks in a cream seasoned with pepper and garlic with the addition of cheese and white wine. Other variations include shrimp, beef, and chicken.
- Chowder (USA). There are three main variations of this beloved creamy broth: New England Clam (with onions and potatoes), Manhattan Clam (with tomato broth replacing sour cream), and Rhode Island Clam (with bacon and shellfish).
- Tacacá (Brazil). The flavour of this dish is a result of a broth made from tucupi, jambu, dried shrimp, and tapioca.
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