It’s finally soup weather
- Scott Daniels: We Ate Well and Cheaply
- October 12, 2023
- 520
The text came without hesitation in answer to my question to my wife: “What’s for supper?”
“Soup!” she answered. “It’s finally soup weather.” And happily, she’s right. It’s cool enough to start pulling out sweaters and warmer throws for chilly evenings.
Soups and broths must surely be some of the oldest forms of cooking. Someone somewhere struck on the obvious plan of adding things to steaming water to create a meal, stretching resources while also giving a full tummy.
If all there is to cook are some root vegetables and a little marrow bone, you can add enough to make a potion to serve a family, if not a few boarders as well. If you need any further convincing, look to the 1947 children’s book, “Stone Soup,” by Marcia Brown.
Soldiers come to the village, where the inhabitants have hidden their food, knowing the men would be hungry. So the soldiers set out to make a big kettle of stone soup using just three little rocks. Soon peasants are coming out of their homes with a carrot or two or a bit of meat — things to make the soup more palatable. You can make soups out of darn near anything.
Store shelves are well stocked with little quart boxes of broth to get you going, but making your own is always best. There’s a trick to getting a truly rich, unclouded meat stock. Stocks are simmered for hours or even days, with several strainings along the way. The key word here is “simmer.”
You don’t want the liquid to go beyond the merest bubble. If your stock gets to a rolling boil, it causes the ingredients to disintegrate to such a degree as to release a cloudiness into the broth that is well nigh impossible to correct. Give it very low heat and a lot of time.
Soups also are a wonderful means of world culinary exploration. Every nation has its soups, from the bird’s nest soup of China to the tortilla version found in Mexico. There’s Vietnamese Pho, easily one of the richest and most awakening soups in the world, so much so that it’s common breakfast fare there. Most European traditions have soups with dumplings or egg noodles, and the chicken soup made by Israeli mothers has come to be known as “Jewish penicillin” for its ability to cure whatever ailment you have.
Russians have their cold beet borscht, which they probably deserve. Greeks and Italians have more soups than you can count, and of course, the French have made humble broth and vegetables into another art form they can claim.
Tonight at my house, it’s tortellini soup, one of our favorites and the one we usually reserve for changes in weather just such as this. It’s quick and simple to make and packs plenty of flavor. You can adjust the herbs to your licking.
CREAMY SPINACH TORTELLINI SOUP
3 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, small dice
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 carrots, diced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups chicken stock
1 package (12 ounces) frozen cheese stuffed tortellini
1 cup heavy cream
1 handful fresh spinach, roughly chopped
Heat a pan or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. When hot, add the butter, then the onions, garlic, carrots, herbs, and salt and pepper. Cook carefully for 5-6 minutes, watching that the butter doesn’t brown. Add the flour and thick until crumbles form.
Slowly add the stock, whisking it in to avoid lumps. Bring the soup up to the slow boil and add the tortellini. Cook a further 6 minutes until the pasta is cooked through. Stir in the cream, add the spinach, and cook for another 5 minutes until creamy and a bit thickened. Check for salt and serve.