5 fall soups to keep the chill off because nobody wants to sit by the fire with a big bowl of salad.
I know you're thinking this is going to be a super-boring post about soup, because how interesting can soup be? But you'd be wrong in thinking that. Very, very wrong. Soup, as it turns out, has a very interesting history; none of which I know about.
I think there's something in there about nomads and broth and the invention of crackers but you don't need to know about the interesting history of soup to enjoy it so why even bog yourself down with that kind of information?
Table of Contents
The Soups
I have 7 soups that are in constant rotation in my kitchen from October to March. All of them are hearty enough to be an entire meal and all of them are easily adapted to be either vegetarian or vegan.
I always start with a chicken broth base for my soups. So that's the major change you'll have to make if you're going the whole no meat or animal products route. Just change up the chicken broth to vegetable and you're done.
Also you might want to omit the sausage from the Fire Broth soup, but that's totally up to you and how dedicated you are as a vegan. You might be one of those sausage eating vegans for all I know.
Pumpkin Soup
This pumpkin soup recipe is one I stole from an episode of Masterchef Australia years ago.
TIP: Don't even think of making this soup without making the bacon and pumpkin seed topping. Just don't. Also when you're at the grocery store pumpkin seeds might be labelled Pepitas.
Lions Head Soup Bowls are a classic restaurant ware soup bowl. And I love a classic.
Smoked Tomato Soup
This Smoked Tomato Soup recipe I stole from a cooking class I went to many years ago. I like to steal soup recipes whenever possible. It's a very inexpensive hobby. This tomato soup has KICK. It's smoked tomatoes and roasted red peppers with a huge hit of hot peppers. It is not meek. It is not for the meek. This is the kind of soup that a) takes a bit of time and b) is worth it.
You can smoke tomatoes in a regular BBQ. Just add some wood chips that have been soaked in water and then wrapped in foil. Punch a few holes in the tin foil so smoke can escape and lay the packet below the grill and above the grill burners.
Or you can buy a hand smoker which is the most fun cooking gadget in the world.
Potato Leek Soup
If you know me you know I like my potatoes. I grow hundreds of pounds of potatoes. Actually people who don't even know me know I like potatoes. I've never been told but I'm sure I smell like them. In a good way.
This is a NO MEASURE potato leek soup recipe. You cut up some potatoes, a couple of leeks then add enough broth to cover everything. The potato soup recipe has the full details.
Gently. Very gently. Always blend potato soup for a small amount of time on the lowest blender speed possible, otherwise you'll end up with glue soup.
If possible use a potato ricer and hand blend. (I've been using a cheap Fox Run potato ricer for over a decade and am still happy with it)
For fall soups I like heavier, more complex soups made out of wintery ingredients like squash, potatoes, carrots and other rooty stuff
I eat soup all season long but I definitely eat more of it during the fall and winter because a big bowl of soup just seems to warm you from the inside out. Like heartburn with flavour.
Szechwan Carrot Soup
Carrot soup can be bland and boring. Szechwan carrot soup is not. This soup has carrots of course, but it also has hot pepper flakes, a lot of ginger and peanut butter to give it more flavour than any other carrot soup you've had.
If you rarely use ginger but sometimes do, grab a hunk of it the next time you're at the grocery store and freeze it. Ginger freezes perfectly and you'll never say CRAP ... I have all the ingredients other than fresh ginger! Freeze it and you'll always have fresh ginger.
Fire Broth Soup
This sausage and vegetable soup is one I stole from a moment in time when I was doing a Paleo challenge with a Crossfit group. I've since denounced both insanties but continue to enjoy the soup. While sitting quietly. Eating hunks of bread chased with a mashed potato milkshake.
TIP: If you don't want to eat Fire Broth soup for the rest of your life half this recipe.
Curried Cauliflower Soup
This Cauliflower soup gets extra warmth from the curry and extra flavour from coconut milk.
Brazilian Black Bean Soup
I can't even begin to tell you how many black bean soup recipes I tried before finding one that was really, really great. THIS the final soup on my fall soup list - Black Bean Soup is really, very great. It's easily one of my favourite fall soup recipes. It's base is an Epicurious recipe that I played with a few times before deciding I didn't need to play with it anymore.
It has a deep, dark, black bean flavour with hits of cumin, lime and a base of orange juice.
TIP: This is not a first date soup. It's made entirely of beans. It may not even be a first anniversary soup.
I need not worry about that. Tonight ... it is Black Bean Soup.
The link to the smoker goes to a different product.
Thanks Billy, I'll have a look! ~ karen
Not a fan of 'spicy' anything but there were a couple good ideas for future soup tries in the mix. My personal favs would be a thick split pea with lots off the bone ham chunks and a hearty oxtail barley delight. A 'good ol' chicken noodle with lots of both is also in my repertoire.
I, too, am not a fan of overly spicy, Randy.
But I do find if I start the recipe using only a quarter or, at most, half of the 'spicy' ingredients, sometimes it really works out. If I find the results tasty, next time I might increase 'spicy' (or not!).
Stacey,
Can you provide the recipe for this banana curry soup?
Many shown on the web and I want to get it right the first time!
Thanks!
Kitt, Toronto
Soup. I LOVE soup. I love making soup. I love eating soup. I love chunky soups, creamy soups,(although I have to leave identifiable ingredients for the hubs), don't know what's in it soups ( unless its beets. NO BEETS!)
Some thoughts that arrived as I was reading your post
Store the hand of ginger in the freezer and just grate it into what you're making, then pop it back in the freezer for next time. Don't worry about the peel. Nobody has ever spit their food across the table at me while screaming "you didn't peel the ginger!!"
Beans will definitely produce results, even with bean gas reducers ( can't remember the name of it) My lovely departed mother, bless her, thought one should remove to the facility, even at night, if one was going to give evidence of bean or brassica ingestion. Not happening in this house! Marriage is a learning curve, isn't it? our house is very ..musical at times.
Why would any one think of leaving bacon out, even if its not in the recipe???
Have you tried curried pear soup?
Potato Leak is one of my favorites, however, I found French onion is my favorite. I bought an enormous amount of Vidalia onions and needed some way to truly appreciate their flavor.
Lord knows where that recipe is now!
Hi Karen, is there a way for me to save these recipes, including the 2 recipes submitted in "comments", for, like... ever???
I can't wait to try them. Oh, and potato milkshake, YES!
So where is the magic print button that you used to have on your recipes so I don’t have to write it out by hand or look on the Internet every time I want to make it? Very disappointing.
Can't you just highlight and hit print? I don't do that so I'm not sure if it still works, as I haven't had a printer in about 10 years.
Seems like it would be an easy thing to do from the comments, also.
The only thing more wonderful than these soup recipes is your photography. Beautiful!! (on both counts.) Thanks for such great soup recipes.
Union of Genius is a small soup cafe in Edinburgh that rotates dozens of recipes to serve six soups daily with a variety of beautiful breads. Maybe you can beg a couple of their recipes. Thanks for sharing yours.
I'm a huge fan of oxtail/beef barley & vegetable soup, and some hearty split pea soup when I have a hambone.
Can't wait to try the black bean soup because I grew a s#%t ton of black beans in the garden this year!
I have a purse full of dried bean seeds for planting that I never got planted. Every time I pay for anything I have to pull the out of my purse to get to my wallet and yet I still didn't remember to plant them. Plus I look like a bit of a loon with a fist full of seeds every time I'm at a cash register. ~ karen!
Don't worry about looking like a loon in front of the cashiers, they need something to interrupt the boredom of "normal" people! ;)
You were probably a bright spot in their day! Lol!
Not as if I'm speaking from experience or anything... *cough* cough* ;)
Ha! Well, then consider me the days entertainment in the checkout line. ~ karen
For storing/preserving fresh ginger root I have used a trick from a Chinese cook's tip - just drop the root into a recycled mayonnaise jar half full of white wine and store in the fridge. Thereafter, you always have fresh ginger and the wine flavor disperses with cooking. They also taught us to just smash nickel-sized slices of ginger with the side of a knife and just pull off the peel before mincing. Doesn't get much easier - no fancy equipment needed.
I don't eat not hot stuff so that eliminates 3 of these soups...I think I would like the pumpkin soup best...my favorite soup is chicken corn soup...Fall & Winter are always the best time to make soups!
I don't eat not hot stuff? I'm confused, lol. ! karen!
Here's one of my recent discoveries over the past year and new favorite soups:
Slow-Cooker Pork Ditalini Stew (but I call it a soup)...(including my tweaks)
Ingredients
1½ pounds boneless pork shoulder roast (Boston butt), cut into 1-in. pieces (I use 2 pounds)
4 cups chicken broth
1 (28-oz.) can whole tomatoes, chopped, liquid reserved (use diced tomatoes for heaven's sake!)
6 garlic cloves, sliced (just smash 'em and dump 'em in)
½ tablespoon crushed red pepper (more or less depending on how zippy you want it)
1¼ teaspoons kosher salt (I cut to 1/2 teaspoon, the canned tomatoes bring enough salty flavor and so will the grated cheese you will add later)
6 ounces uncooked ditalini pasta
4 ounces baby spinach (of course the bagged spinach comes in 6oz packages, go ahead, use the whole bag)
2 ounces parmesan cheese, grated (about ½ cup) (I use Pecorino Romano) (...and who measures grated cheese? The more the merrier...or heartier...)
**my additions:
1-2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon savory (another favorite secret ingredient of mine)
How to Make It
Step 1
Combine the pork, broth, tomatoes and their liquid, garlic, red pepper, bay leaves, savory and salt in a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on high 6 hours....go out and play!
Step 2
Add the pasta; cover and cook 10 minutes. Add the spinach; cover and cook until the pasta is al dente, 2 minutes. Serve topped with the Parmesan.
Trust me, you'll love it!
Thank you for making me think about my favorite black bean soup that is served at my favorite local Mexican restaurant. By the way it is a tomato based black bean soup and it is to die for. I swear it has healing powers. Anyway, I cooked up some black bean soup and yes it is tomato based. I like it both ways.
Anything, and I mean anything I can do with tomatoes (I thought 14 plants was a good idea) is great. And that smokey tomato with the crisps, I'm on it!
Meanwhile, it's still 95F here in Dallas for the next few days. Sigh. COME ON AUTUMN. Mama needs a new pair o boots! (and some yummy soup!) :-)
All of these soups are delicious and easy to make. My mother raves about the beef and barley soup.
http://thefoodcharlatan.com/2014/10/02/beef-barley-soup-recipe/
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/coconut-red-lentil-soup-recipe.html
http://www.closetcooking.com/2009/01/spinach-white-bean-and-turkey-sausage.html
I love soup too, Karen. I think my fave is hamburger and vegetable soup anytime. Just use whatever you have in the fridge that you need to use or lose (wink) brown the ground round season with salt/pepper/garlic/Italian seasoning/crushed red pepper flakes/ whatever. Couple bay leaves and broth to cover and simmer. Seriously anything can go in. Leftover gravy, rice, noodles, any kind of veggies, beans, lentils... So good for you to eat the rainbow. :)
We call that “Mustgo” soup. Open the fridge and you will see, “This must go and that must go “
My chicken butt was just delivered! It is every bit as good as I thought it would be. You picked a great producer as it was fast service, great card, constant contact with order processing, and some fun goodies tucked inside. I love Cuddles butt, too!