Quick & Satisfying Soup

Soup – the perfect meal for a cold winter day. And when time and/or money are short, nothing says welcome home like a quick and hearty saucepan soup or the aroma of a simmering crock pot favourite. Homemade doesn’t have to be time consuming. It’s all in the approach - and in the recipe.

In our house, soup is a swift standby for those busy weeknights. At least once a week, we sit down to a hearty soup (or chowder) for dinner. But, if I can’t say ‘Soup’s On!” within 30 minutes of pulling out my first ingredient from the cupboard, then it’s a ‘no go’ as far the recipe becoming a weekday favourite.

The key to a speedy pot of homemade soup in our house is keeping a well stocked pantry, especially on those extra busy nights when I’m short on both time and energy. Many a night, my pantry has saved my ‘bacon’.

My winter pantry would be bare without a few cans (or cartons) of chicken, vegetable and beef broth, diced tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, beans, dried pasta, cream-style corn and an assortment of dried herbs. I’ve also found it doesn’t hurt to keep a healthy supply of carrots, onions, potatoes, garlic, frozen vegetables, tortellini and some leftover cooked meat and bacon (frozen in half lb packages) on hand as well.

For instance you can throw together a quick and nutritious soup by opening a carton of chicken broth, bringing it to a boil and tossing in a couple of handfuls of frozen (meat or cheese filled) tortellini, adding a couple of diced cloves of garlic (or a little garlic powder) and in the last couple of minutes throwing in a quarter package of frozen spinach. The soup when cooked to the specifications on frozen tortellini bag usually only takes seven to ten minutes. Garnish with a little Parmesan cheese.

A great soup starts with a good base. When making soup from scratch, I always check out my frozen reserves of vegetable water and leftover raw vegetables. Why pour good cooked vegetable water down the drain or throw out leftover raw vegetable ends when they can become the basis of a nutritious and cost-effective meal? Asparagus ends and broccoli stalks are among my favourite vegetables for making a rich weekend vegetable broth. Throw any leftover water and vegetables together in a pot and let simmer for an hour or so and you’ll have a flavourful broth you can turn into a quick soup or put aside as a soup base for later in the week.

One of the best ways I’ve found to make a thick and hearty soup is to use leftover Sunday roast scraps (a couple of pieces of meat, some roasted potatoes, carrots, turnip, onions, green beans etc.) and put it all in a blender along with any leftover gravy. This is ideal for both roast beef and roast chicken (or turkey). The result is a thick and delicious puree. Depending on your blender, thirty seconds to one minute should do it. You still want to be able to detect the individual flecks of vegetable colour. Mix the whole works with some beef broth or vegetable stock. Add some chopped roast beef, carrots, onions, celery, and some frozen vegetables. Cook until the raw vegetables are tender.

Following are some more tips for making great soup:

• To thicken soup, add instant rice or mashed potatoes.

• Draw calcium out of turkey or chicken bones by adding a couple of tablespoons of vinegar to the water when making stock.

• Soup stock will keep for long periods if left undisturbed in the refrigerator. The stock will solidify and seal, much like paraffin seals jelly in a glass. But if you use only a portion of the stock, bring what's left to a full boil, cool and return it to the refrigerator, again leaving the fat.

• Like your vegetable cooking water, don’t throw out your bones from a roast. Freeze them, and you've got the makings of a great soup base.

• To remove the fat from soup, put ice cubes on top. The fat will be drawn to the ice and harden around the cubes in about ten minutes. Now, just lift the fat away!

When you accompany your soup du jour with fresh cheese biscuits or bread and salad you’ve prepared a delicious yet cost effective meal. Vary the soup, bread and salad every time and you’ll have a host of new comfort foods to carry you through the entire winter season. As I look at it, nothing warms the spirit like a steaming pot of soup.

Please see Quick & Easy Soup Recipes for some of my favourite soup recipes that will have you experiencing a warming tread in no time.