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Soup is one of the most versatile foods on Earth, and can also be one of the easiest to prepare. It's rare, though, to find one specific food that you're really craving both when it's 100 degrees outside and also when it's snowing, so it's important to have a versatile set of soup recipes at your disposal.
When I think "winter soup recipe," I think rich, thick, and warm, and then I instantly think of chowder, specifically the New England variety. New England chowders are made with a thickened milk or cream base and potatoes. Technically New England chowder should also include bacon, but often this gets left out so that a broader set of people can enjoy this soup. A recipe that I've made many times is the Best Clam Chowder Recipe; it involves a few more steps than the simplest soup recipes out there (because you have to make a roux), but the results are totally worth it and the whole thing comes together in less than an hour. If you don't have an hour, or if you want your kids to get involved in the kitchen, you can always start with condensed soups and add what you need like in this recipe; it's just as thick and takes 15 minutes. (This one is almost as easy but has bacon!) If you're a chowder nut, you'll probably enjoy browsing The New England Chowder Compendium, an incredible compilation of thousands of chowder recipes over the decades.
Another classic winter soup recipe is stew; one I've made several times comes from this brunswick stew recipe (make sure you have a dutch oven; they retain heat much better than a normal stockpot). If you want something fancier and know your way around your kitchen and local grocer, try this chicken stew; I've made this when entertaining guests who really appreciate good soup. Recipes for stew can be stunningly simple; just throw a bunch of stuff in a crock pot and walk away.
When it's cold, what could be more traditional than chicken noodle soup? Recipes abound, ranging from the very simple (four ingredients including water!) to the very complex (completely from scratch). This chicken noodle soup recipe is one of my all time favorites; it's simple enough that you can make it when you're sick! The rosemary focus makes that soup recipe very earthy and comforting.
Summer soup recipes are more tricky. If you're in Las Vegas in June, you probably don't want to be eating brunswick stew in 110 degree heat! A classic summertime favorite is gazpacho, typically a tomato based soup served ice cold. Gazpacho is almost always vegan, although variants with egg and ham do exist. This is a very traditional gazpacho soup recipe which I've made a few times, and for REALLY hot days I love either watermelon gazpacho or mango gazpacho. You almost don't NEED a soup recipe to make something awesome for summer; try just throwing honeydew, mint, honey, orange juice, and lime juice in a blender, mix it all up, and chill it until it's delicious. It's almost hard to mess up. Too thin? Add more melon. Too thick? Add more juice.
If you want to impress your guests, cool off, and say a fun word all at the same time, make Vichyssoise, which is pureed root vegetables in a cold creamy soup. Recipes are actually not easy to come by; I've made this one once and loved it.
Finally, when it's really hot outside, you can stretch the definition of "soup" a bit and find soup recipes that are basically smoothies. Recipes like Strawberry "Soup" and Cherry "Soup" stretch the definition of soup, but they're so delicious that really no one will care.
Email This
Soup is one of the most versatile foods on Earth, and can also be one of the easiest to prepare. It's rare, though, to find one specific food that you're really craving both when it's 100 degrees outside and also when it's snowing, so it's important to have a versatile set of soup recipes at your disposal.When I think "winter soup recipe," I think rich, thick, and warm, and then I instantly think of chowder, specifically the New England variety. New England chowders are made with a thickened milk or cream base and potatoes. Technically New England chowder should also include bacon, but often this gets left out so that a broader set of people can enjoy this soup. A recipe that I've made many times is the Best Clam Chowder Recipe; it involves a few more steps than the simplest soup recipes out there (because you have to make a roux), but the results are totally worth it and the whole thing comes together in less than an hour. If you don't have an hour, or if you want your kids to get involved in the kitchen, you can always start with condensed soups and add what you need like in this recipe; it's just as thick and takes 15 minutes. (This one is almost as easy but has bacon!) If you're a chowder nut, you'll probably enjoy browsing The New England Chowder Compendium, an incredible compilation of thousands of chowder recipes over the decades.
Another classic winter soup recipe is stew; one I've made several times comes from this brunswick stew recipe (make sure you have a dutch oven; they retain heat much better than a normal stockpot). If you want something fancier and know your way around your kitchen and local grocer, try this chicken stew; I've made this when entertaining guests who really appreciate good soup. Recipes for stew can be stunningly simple; just throw a bunch of stuff in a crock pot and walk away.
When it's cold, what could be more traditional than chicken noodle soup? Recipes abound, ranging from the very simple (four ingredients including water!) to the very complex (completely from scratch). This chicken noodle soup recipe is one of my all time favorites; it's simple enough that you can make it when you're sick! The rosemary focus makes that soup recipe very earthy and comforting.
Summer soup recipes are more tricky. If you're in Las Vegas in June, you probably don't want to be eating brunswick stew in 110 degree heat! A classic summertime favorite is gazpacho, typically a tomato based soup served ice cold. Gazpacho is almost always vegan, although variants with egg and ham do exist. This is a very traditional gazpacho soup recipe which I've made a few times, and for REALLY hot days I love either watermelon gazpacho or mango gazpacho. You almost don't NEED a soup recipe to make something awesome for summer; try just throwing honeydew, mint, honey, orange juice, and lime juice in a blender, mix it all up, and chill it until it's delicious. It's almost hard to mess up. Too thin? Add more melon. Too thick? Add more juice.
If you want to impress your guests, cool off, and say a fun word all at the same time, make Vichyssoise, which is pureed root vegetables in a cold creamy soup. Recipes are actually not easy to come by; I've made this one once and loved it.
Finally, when it's really hot outside, you can stretch the definition of "soup" a bit and find soup recipes that are basically smoothies. Recipes like Strawberry "Soup" and Cherry "Soup" stretch the definition of soup, but they're so delicious that really no one will care.