Name your favorite soup!

[margo49]

We usually do everything from scratch but there was this soup in the Friday paper and I just tried it tonight

1 onion sauteed in 1 tbsp olive oil for 5 min +
Add 2 tsp cumin and sautee 1 more min
before adding
1 can of tomatoes (8 oz = 400g) or 5 freshies which I did
1 can chickpeas (same size) rinsed and drained
good grind of black pepper (+/- 1/2 tsp )
cook 10 min before adding
1/3 can Egyptian broadbeans (fava)
juice of 1/2 lemon (or lemming if you prefer)
cook 2 min
then turn off heat
Add a big handful of chopped coriander (or parsley) and zest of the aforementioned lemon
Season (salt, tsp of sugar to straighten out the tomatoes)
Served with bread or pita

The funny thing is that the only cans in the house usually are occasional treats for the cat so when she heard the can-opening process she started to go wild . So I gave her some broad beans (fava) and she liked them!

[SouthernBelle]

In the health food section of my grocer there are soups that come in rectagular cartons, like soymilk. The brands Imagine and Pacific come to mind. I like the sweet potato and butternut squash soups. Plus since they are in the little cartons that can be resealed, you can pour out any size portion you want and refrigerate the rest.

Plus they are useful for sauces.

[winddance]

Here's my favorite soup recipe. It mostly comes out of cans, so it's very easy to make and tastes great on a cold evening!

Spinach Bean Soup
½ cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 T olive oil
2 cups water
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 can (14 ½) ounces reduced-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 tsp Italian herbs
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
5 cups packed torn fresh spinach
1 can (16 ounces) white beans rinsed and drained
1 can (8 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1-1/2 cups cooked small tube or other small pasta
½ - 1 tsp hot pepper sauce

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, sauté onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the water, tomato sauce and paste, broth, Italian herbs, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the spinach, beans, cooked pasta and hot pepper sauce; heat through.

[Pedal Wench]

My winter bean soup:

I use the tubes of seasoning and beans in the kosher section of the store, made by Maneschiewitz (sp?), usually the split pea.

First, overnight, I soak a lb of lima beans. If I don't have time, I'll use frozen, so I don't have to soak.
In a HUGE pot, I put two tubes of the powdered soup, plus a few cans of chicken broth. I add one bag of pre-washed/cut kale. Then I add the lima beans, and sometimes some more splitpeas (they don't need to be presoaked). Then come a few bags of shredded cabbage (I try to get three in the pot). A bunch of freshly ground black pepper, and an onion if I have one around. I add water or broth (I use the reduced sodium kind) as it cooks down, and once there's room in the pot, I like to add mushrooms, because it gives the soup some texture when it's the only thing I'll have for dinner. If I have spinach lying around, I'll throw that in too. It sounds complicated, but because everything is precut/wash except for the onion, it comes together in just a few minutes, although it's best when it can cook for hours. It comes out like a very thick split-pea/lima bean soup that is wonderful on cold winter nights.

[mimitabby]

okay, i'm hungry.

Chicken soup:
boil water
throw in chicken (raw, either boned or sectioned, without skin)
and carrots
boil until tender.
add onion,
mustard greens, salt, pepper. cook until greens and onion are done.

serve with good bread.

[Eden]

ooooh chicken soup - this is my Italian grandma's recipe, but unlike a lot of Italian grandma's she was actually a pretty lousy cook (EXCEPT for this chicken soup - I loved my grandma, but serioulsy she used Ragu. I think that cooking for her 10 or 11 brothers and sisters from the time she was a pre-teen, after her mom died, probably burned her out early) so I don't know that its particularly Italian.

Chicken wings (I acutally prefer other cuts of chicken since wings are really hard to get the meat/bones separated, but I think she liked them becasuse they were cheap...)
2 or 3 tomatoes cut in quarters
4 or 5 stalks of celery cut in 2 inch pieces
1 onion cut in eighths or quarters depending on the size of the onion
cover with water and simmer all until the chicken is falling off of the bones, the tomatoes and onions have all but dissolved and the celery is nice and soft

cook a cup of pastina (little pearl pasta) separately, so it won't cloud the soup and add to the cooked soup

serve with pepper and some grated parmesan or romano cheese
this also works nice with left over turkey

[mimitabby]

ooooh chicken soup - this is my Italian grandma's recipe, but unlike a lot of Italian grandma's she was actually a pretty lousy cook (EXCEPT for this chicken soup - I loved my grandma, but serioulsy she used Ragu. I think that cooking for her 10 or 11 brothers and sisters from the time she was a pre-teen, after her mom died, probably burned her out early) so I don't know that its particularly Italian.

Chicken wings (I acutally prefer other cuts of chicken since wings are really hard to get the meat/bones separated, but I think she liked them becasuse they were cheap...)
2 or 3 tomatoes cut in quarters
4 or 5 stalks of celery cut in 2 inch pieces
1 onion cut in eighths or quarters depending on the size of the onion
cover with water and simmer all until the chicken is falling off of the bones, the tomatoes and onions have all but dissolved and the celery is nice and soft

cook a cup of pastina (little pearl pasta) separately, so it won't cloud the soup and add to the cooked soup

serve with pepper and some grated parmesan or romano cheese
this also works nice with left over turkey

it sure is an Italian Recipe! and it's related to mine. the only reason i don't put pasta in my soup is because I usually make it to last several days and the pasta grows and sucks up all the broth.
I didn't know you were Italian, Eden.

[Pedal Wench]

okay, i'm hungry.

Chicken soup:
boil water
throw in chicken (raw, either boned or sectioned, without skin)
and carrots
boil until tender.
add onion,
mustard greens, salt, pepper. cook until greens and onion are done.

serve with good bread.

Mustard greens? I might have to try that instead of kale in mine. Is it bitter? By the time the kale and cabbage cook down in mine, they're don't add much flavor, or texture, but oh-so-many vitamins! The mustard greens probably are just as nutritious.

[Eden]

it sure is an Italian Recipe! and it's related to mine. the only reason i don't put pasta in my soup is because I usually make it to last several days and the pasta grows and sucks up all the broth.
I didn't know you were Italian, Eden.

All the way on my Daddy's side - my maiden name was Battaglia. His grandparents were all immigrants- from near Napoli on my Grandma's side and Sicily on Grandpa's. Funny enough my Grandma's family actually lived out here in Oregon, near Tillamok, for a while when she was a kid- I seem to remember it even had something to do with a cheese factory. I didn't know that until recently. There might even still be some Tedesco relatives of mine down there for all I know - there are definitely some down in California, but its a really big family and I never got to know very many of my great aunts or uncles. My mom's family is classic American mutt - English, Irish, Scottish, German, Slovak and probably more.

[mimitabby]

Mustard greens? I might have to try that instead of kale in mine. Is it bitter? By the time the kale and cabbage cook down in mine, they're don't add much flavor, or texture, but oh-so-many vitamins! The mustard greens probably are just as nutritious.

mustard greens are more pungent than bitter!
to keep their flavor, don't overcook them!

Eden very cool paisana!

[Deanna]

My favortie canned soup is Campbells (the fancy can Campbells) Italian Wedding Soup. Lately it's the only canned soup I buy.

[mimitabby]

My favortie canned soup is Campbells (the fancy can Campbells) Italian Wedding Soup. Lately it's the only canned soup I buy.

yeah, that is a good kind. Sometimes those get into my cupboard, DH buys it.

[7rider]

I really miss Rhode Island Clam Chowder.
All of the yumminess of chowder, but it's not cream-based. Clear broth.

I just had some butternut squash/carrot soup that a vegan friend of mine gave me the recipe for (my version wasn't vegan, as I used chicken broth instead of veggie broth (or water)). Nice and hearty and spicy...perfect for a cold winter day. If I can find the recipe in this disaster zone that serves as a kitchen, I'll post it.

I view canned soups in the same way as icecream....if you don't go for the "real version" - i.e., NOT low fat, low salt - what's the point?

[Veronica]

I agree with you except for the low salt. Canned soups are only salty because of the canning process.

V.

[seychelle]

Homemade lentil soup. Yum ! I also love leek & potato and butternut squash soups.