Soup is the epitome of a home-cooked meal. My fondest vivid food memories are of arriving home from school and being besieged by the aromas emanating from the kitchen. Powerless against the magnetizing pull, I would drop my book bag and head straight there. In the kitchen, there was Grandma standing over a large cauldron on the fire, her magically talented hands conjuring up another masterpiece for us to savor.
Soup, according to the dictionary, is a liquid food derived from meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, and fruit. However, that does not come close to encapsulating what a soup is or means to humans. The popularity of soups today may be due to the increased emphasis on healthy living. On the other hand, it could be due to myriad other reasons. There are countless types of soups, such as clear, thick, vegetarian, ethnic, broths, chowders, etc. Whatever the case, soups are going nowhere and acquiring the skills necessary for soup-making is of paramount importance to any aspiring chef. The cooking of soup is both straightforward and complex. Single out your main ingredient, cook it flawlessly, and adjust the thickness. Certainly, there are nuances, the add-on components can make or break your concept. Creams add texture, body, and silkiness, but they also mute flavors. Oils offer a finishing touch that can take soups to another division. Do you puree and strain? What garnishes to use? That’s why I feel there is something magical about soup conjuring.
If you like gazpacho, you will love the creation pictured above. Watermelon and Tomato Gazpacho with Goat Cheese and Basil is the work of Silvia at Citron et Vanille. Perfect for the summer months when two seconds spent outside make you melt like an ice cream, this soup is a great study in balance and harmony. The inherent sweetness of the watermelon and tomatoes make a fine paring with balsamic vinegar, goat cheese, and hot chili powder. For best results serve this dish like you would revenge: dreadfully cold.
Article comments
1 - deana
This is a great recipe and love the fond soup memories... it is a primal attachment, don't you think? Well, maybe not cold soups but surely the cauldron kind!!!
2 - Stella
I agree that learning how to make 'soups' is an important skill for any chef or cook at all. So many people struggle with a homemade soup, yet it really is the easiest things to make once one gets the hang of it.
By the way, I love your use of vocabulary here Lazaro. I especially like this word "conjure" (smile)...
3 - citronetvanille
Great article, one among many...it's an hommage to "soups" - they're one of my favorite meals, fulfilling and healthy (if you don't add too much cream) - I don't think I ever tasted gandules, nor albarino, I will look into it. Thanks so much Lazaro for featuring my gazpacho and introducing those wonderful yogurt and asparagus delights!
4 - intuitive eggplant
I'm a soup girl from way back. All of these soups look and sound heavenly! Excellent post.
5 - Chef Dennis
Great Article Lazaro! and three amazing soups!
I have never cooked Gandules, its a good day when I find food I have never seen or used!
Keep writing these articles and keep making that soup!
6 - Tanantha @ I Just Love My Apron
I could feel the aroma as you described it! Soups can be simple or complex as you wish it to be. I have soup often just to warm me up in the cold. It's just so comforting. Great pick on those 3 delicious-looking soups!
7 - denise fletcher
Nourishment is for the body, but soup is definitely for the soul! You've touched a nerve here - I have countless memories of my grandmother stirring up wondrous aromas from her battered cooking pots sitting atop our trusty, albeit sooty, kerosene stove. It was always something good but nothing else got me quicker into the kitchen then the beckoning smells of my favourite soups! I love your soup recipe - pigeon peas are so new to me and including Albarino is a stroke of genius. Of course it only happens to be one of my very favourite white wines!
So simple yet potentially so sublime - I think soup making is an almost lost art and one that needs a revival. How very timely and persuasive your article is!!