Soups On!
A winter’s day and a steaming
bowl of soup has been a winning combination dating back to Mesopotamian
culture. Soup, or “sop” as it was known
in the Middle Ages, is filling, frugal and tasty.
In essence, soup was a way to
use leftovers. Oxtails, ham bones, skinny chickens past their laying prime and
other animal parts that might otherwise go on the scrap pile were found to be
useful in making broth. Add in some
vegetables that were either overabundant or had been in storage for a while and
a little salt, and boom – you have a meal.
Variations on this theme evolved – adding milk or cream created bisques
or “cream of” soups, adding legumes (peas, beans, lentils) or oats and you have
a thick concoction known as “porridge.”
For people who didn’t have a lot of resources, soup was a way to make
the most out of what little they had. In today’s economy, what was old may
again become new.
Soup shouldn’t always come
from a can, and indeed, anyone on a salt-restricted or fat-restricted diet may
choose to make his or her own soups for health reasons. Meat stocks can be made in bulk ahead of
time and frozen; a Dutch oven or slow cooker makes this job a breeze. Skim off excess fat and strain through
cheesecloth before storing, and the resulting broth will be nice and
clear. Of course, soup stock is also
available in cans or refrigerated containers, so no one has to be a total
do-it-yourselfer in the kitchen to make soups. Another alternative is to use
bouillon cubes as a starter.
What to add next is solely up
to the cook. Some traditional seasoning materials include onion, celery, leeks,
pepper, garlic, thyme and parsley.
Pieces of meat (chicken, stew beef, ham or lamb), vegetables and rice or
noodles make a hearty soup, and heavy cream or evaporated milk turn the soup
into a decadent and luxurious dish.
Following is a simple recipe
for chicken stock. This is a wonderful way to use those packages of mixed
chicken parts that often go on sale.
4 lbs. chicken backs, necks
and wings chopped into 2 inch pieces
1 large yellow onion, chopped
Olive oil
2 quarts water
2 bay leaves
salt to taste
In large saucepan, sauté
onion in olive oil until soft and slightly colored; remove cooked onion to
bowl. Add half of the chicken pieces to
oil, and sauté until no longer pink, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove to bowl
containing onion. Sauté remaining
chicken the same way.
Return all chicken and onion
to pan, cover and lower heat to low. Simmer until chicken releases its juices,
about 20 minutes.
Add water, bay leaves and
salt to chicken pieces, and raise the temperature until water begins to simmer.
Lower the temperature again, cover, and simmer mixture for another 20 minutes.
Discard bay leaves and strain
out the solids. Broth is now ready to use as a base for soup or stew.
For more soup recipes, visit www.homemadesoup.org