Scroll down for the following recipes:

ASIAN BEEF NOODLE SOUP

BACON & POTATO SOUP

BLACK BEAN SOUP

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP                                 

CHILLED ASPARAGUS SOUP

CHILLED COCONUT-TAPIOCA SOUP

COLD APPLE SOUP

CORN SOUP
CREAM OF CARROT SOUP

CREAMY BACON VEGETABLE SOUP
CREAMY SPINACH SOUP

GAZPACHO
HABANERO-AVOCADO SOUP

MARK’S MATZO BALL SOUP

POTATO SOUP
PUMPKIN BISQUE
VICHYSSOISE

ASIAN BEEF NOODLE SOUP

8 oz rice noodles
6 oz. flank steak, sliced into very thin one inch pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable oil as needed
1 batch scallion, chopped
3 large button mushrooms, chopped
1 long hot pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz. bean sprouts
3 tablespoons rice wine
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 ½ quarts chicken broth
1 small batch cilantro, leaves and stems, chopped
Sesame and/or hot chile oil for drizzling

       Rice noodles cook within a few minutes.  Have your water boiling and ready and add them when the soup is almost finished.  Finish cooking them in the soup if need be.  The best way to thinly slice the flank steak and other meats as well is to freeze it first.  Then microwave it for just one minute.  Slice it very thinly against the grain.  Season the meat with salt and pepper and sauté in a very hot pan with a generous amount of vegetable oil.  This should take no more than a minute.  As soon as the meat is done, remove it from the pan and place it aside.  Add more vegetable oil to the pan and sauté the scallions, mushrooms and hot pepper with some salt and pepper.  When the vegetables are soft add the garlic and bean sprouts and sauté briefly.  Deglaze with the rice wine, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce.  Add the broth and bring to a boil.  Add the rice noodles and cilantro.  Finish by drizzling with sesame or hot chile oil.

BACON & POTATO SOUP

This recipe comes from momsmenu.com 

6 slices bacon
Olive oil, as needed
½ cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped carrots
1 stalk celery, chopped

Salt to taste
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups potatoes, cubed
1/8  teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
½  cup grated cheddar cheese, optional

            Cook the bacon until crisp, remove and drain well on paper towels.  Set bacon aside.  Add the olive oil to 3-quart saucepan and sauté the onions, carrots, and celery with salt until the onion is soft but not brown, about 3-4 minutes.  Stir in the chicken broth, potatoes, and pepper; bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Stir in cheese, heating just until melted; do not boil.  Chop the bacon, add to the soup and serve.

BLACK BEAN SOUP
 
Olive oil, as needed
One and a quarter pounds of onion, chopped
Four poblano peppers, chopped
Two long hot peppers or four jalapenos, chopped
Four tablespoons chopped garlic
Quarter cup, (2 oz.), tomato paste
Four tablespoons cumin
Four tablespoons chile powder
Two tablespoons paprika
Two tablespoons coriander
One gallon beef or veal stock
Two large cans (1 lb. 13 oz.) and four small cans (15.5 oz) Goya black beans.
Salt and pepper to taste

            Sauté the onions and peppers in the olive oil until they start to get soft.  Add the garlic, tomato paste, cumin, chile powder, paprika, and coriander and sauté three minutes more.  Add stock, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer.  Puree the two large cans and one small can of beans, including the liquid, in a blender in batches, and add to the soup.  Drain the excess liquid from the three leftover small cans of beans and add them whole to the soup.  Simmer for a half hour uncovered.  Taste the soup and then add the desired amount of salt and pepper. 

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP                                    

One two-pound butternut squash, peeled and chopped into medium dice

Two tablespoons sugar

Five tablespoons butter

One small onion, chopped

One quart water

One cinnamon stick

Two ounces heavy cream

Salt & white pepper to taste

             In a soup pot sweat the squash, sugar, and some salt in the butter, covered, for three minutes.  Remember sweating, as opposed to sautéing, means low heat.  We do not want to brown the butter or the squash, just soften it.  Add onion and sweat ten minutes more.  Add water and the cinnamon stick and simmer, covered, for thirty minutes.  Remove cinnamon and puree soup in a blender for at least one minute.  Then pass through a fine mesh chinois or strainer.  Finish with cream, salt and white pepper to taste.  A final option is to sprinkle some nutmeg on it just before service.

            Some recipes instruct you to roast the squash first in the oven.  I’ve tried it both ways and found that the roasted squash, (which inevitably browns to some degree), produces a darker, unappealing colored soup.  Sweating and simmering the squash renders a soup with a more vibrant hue. 

1 large onion, sliced thin

Olive oil, as needed

1 teaspoon chicken base

1 quart water

1 ½  pounds of asparagus, sliced thin 

12 oz. spinach, blanched

Salt and pepper to taste

             Sweat the onion in the olive oil until soft.  Sweating is not sautéing.  You are not trying to brown the onion, only soften it.  Thus, use lower heat and add a little salt to help draw out the fluid.  When the onion is soft, add the chicken base and cook for a minute or two.  Add the water and asparagus and boil for five minutes.  Using a hand blender, or a regular blender in batches, thoroughly puree the soup.  Then blend the spinach into the soup.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  If you want a very smooth soup, you can then work it through a fine mesh chinois or sieve.   Finally, chill the soup before serving.

            Chicken base is basically dehydrated, powdered chicken stock.  If you can’t find it in the supermarket, grind chicken bouillon cubes.  For the asparagus, cut about two inches off the stem end.  You don’t need to peel it.  To blanch spinach, simply drop it in boiling salted water for one minute and then immediately submerge it in ice water to stop the cooking and retain the color.  The spinach will provide the soup with a vibrant green hue. 

CHILLED COCONUT-TAPIOCA SOUP 

            Although a “soup,” this dish is really a dessert.  It’s cold and creamy and makes a perfect ending to a summer barbeque.

2 oz small pearl tapioca
1 pint water
1 cup milk
3 oz. sugar
Zest of 1 orange
1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
6 oz. heavy cream

            Tapioca can scorch very easily.  Use your highest quality, heaviest clad saucepan.  First bring the tapioca and water to a boil over medium heat.  Remove from the heat and let it rest, covered, for 10 minutes.  Add the milk sugar, and orange zest and simmer for 15 minutes.  Watch the heat and stir frequently while scraping the bottom.  Add the coconut milk and cream and slowly return it to a boil stirring along the way.  As soon as it hits a boil pour it into a stainless steel bowl that you’ve chilled in the freezer or fridge.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Allow the wrap to actually touch the soup so a film doesn’t form.  Place it in the fridge until thoroughly chilled.  

COLD APPLE SOUP

             Think of this soup as a dessert more than a soup.  Indeed, you could serve it as a dessert or as an appetizer.  This is summer comfort food at its best. 

Four large apples, peeled, cored, and cut into a large dice.
Six ounces white wine
One oz apple juice
Two oz. sugar
Half a cinnamon stick
Two oz. sour cream
Two oz. heavy cream
Lemon juice to taste

             Bring the apples, wine, apple juice, sugar and cinnamon stick to a boil.  Immediately reduce the heat and simmer until the apples are soft, about 20 minutes.  Discard the cinnamon.  In batches, puree the soup well in a blender, transferring each puréed batch to a new pot.  Whisk the sour cream and heavy cream together and then stir it into the soup.  Then you must check for consistency and sweetness.  If the soup is too thick, thin it with a little more apple juice or water.  Which one you use will be determined by the sweetness.  If the soup tastes sweet enough for your liking and needs some thinning, than obviously use some water.  Now add a few drops of lemon juice to taste.  Chill the soup thoroughly and serve. 

2 ounces butter

1 onion, chopped

Salt and white pepper to taste

2 ounces flour

1 ½ pounds of carrots, (before peeling and trimming), thinly sliced.

1 quart chicken stock

4 oz. heavy cream

             Melt the butter in a large saucepan or pot and add the onions.  Sweat the onions with salt and pepper until soft.  Use lower heat and do not brown the onions.  Add the flour, stir well to make a roux, and cook for two minutes.  Add the carrots and cook for another minute.  Add the stock and scrape off any flour that has stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Cover, bring to a boil, and then simmer for 20 minutes.  Puree the soup in a blender, working in batches if necessary, for a full minute.  Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a new pot.  Add the cream, adjust the seasoning if needed, return to a simmer and serve. 

2 and a half ounces of Israeli couscous, (or the pasta of your choice)

1 small to medium onion, chopped

1 hot pepper, chopped, (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil as needed

1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 pint chicken broth

1 pound baby spinach

4 oz. heavy cream

             Boil the pasta separately from the soup.  While the pasta is cooking sweat the onion and hot pepper with salt and pepper in the olive oil.  Do not brown the vegetables; merely soften them.  Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Add the spinach in bunches until it all wilts.  Add the cream, simmer for a few minutes and add additional salt and pepper if need be.  Add the pasta and serve.

GAZPACHO

          Gazpacho is a cold summer soup that originated in Spain.  It has many different variations both in terms of ingredients and fabrication methods.  Basic ingredients will always include tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions, garlic, and some kind of acid, (lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar, or some combination thereof).  From there, other additives include olive oil, tomato juice, tomatillos, croutons, and various types of herbs. 

6 medium tomatoes, peeled
1 medium to large Spanish onion
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded
1 poblano pepper, seeds and stem removed
2 jalapenos (optional).
2 cloves garlic
1 small batch of cilantro, stems included, chopped
Juice of 2 limes
Salt and pepper to taste

            Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds and then immerse in ice water.  Remove the skins.  Roughly chop the tomatoes, onion, cucumber, peppers, and garlic and puree them in a food processor until the desired consistency is achieved.  You are not seeking to pulverize the vegetables.  I aim for a mildly coarse texture.  Chop the cilantro separately, (it tastes better chopped by hand), then add it, the lime juice and salt and pepper to the soup.  Chill the soup and serve. 

HABANERO-AVOCADO SOUP

             This recipe comes from the book “Hot & Spicy Latin Dishes” by Dave DeWitt et al., of Chile Pepper Magazine.

2 large ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
1 habanero chile, seeds and stems removed, minced
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
6 tortillas, quartered and fried in oil until crisp

             Mash the avocados and put them through a sieve.  Place them in a heated soup tureen.  Heat the habanero and chicken stock with the cream in a saucepan and stir well.  Pour the stock into the avocados, stirring to mix, or beat lightly with a whisk.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and sprinkle with cilantro.  Serve immediately with the tortillas. 

MARK’S MATZO BALL SOUP 

1 cup matzo meal

2 eggs

4 egg yolks

4 tablespoons vegetable oil (or for the best flavor, chicken fat)

Chopped parsley to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Chicken broth, as needed

             Mix all the ingredients except the broth and rest for one hour in the fridge.  Form into balls the size of your choice.  Bring an ample amount of chicken broth to a simmer and cook them, covered, for 30 minutes.  The balls will absorb some of the broth so use more than what appears necessary.  You also need enough broth left over for the final soup.  Finish with some chopped parsley and salt and pepper. 

This recipe comes from Jon Gatewood, the executive chef of Emma’s restaurant in the Silas Griffith Inn in Danby, Vermont. 

4 cups pumpkin pulp, chopped
1 cup leek, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, chopped
2 ounces butter
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 cup white wine
1 quart water
1 pint half and half
1/2 cup maple syrup
Salt and pepper to taste
Nutmeg to taste
Angostura bitters to taste

             Peel the pumpkin, cut out the pulp and chop.  Briefly sauté the pulp, leek, and carrot in butter in a heavy pot.  Add the garlic and bay leaf and sauté briefly.  Deglaze with wine and reduce slightly.  Add water and simmer until the pumpkin is soft, (about 30 minutes).  Puree soup with a hand blender or in a regular blender in batches.  Strain through a medium sieve.  Add cream, maple syrup and seasoning.  Note:  the water should cover the ingredients by an inch.  Adjust the amount accordingly.  Also, add the nutmeg last, just before service.

VICHYSSOISE  

Four leeks, tough greens removed, thinly sliced

Three tablespoons butter

Two large or three medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced

One quart chicken broth

One cup half and half

One cup heavy cream

Salt and white pepper to taste

Chopped chives for garnish (optional)

             First and foremost:  leeks are a very gritty onion and must be cleaned thoroughly.  Cut off the root end and then cut the green end where the greens start to get tough.  Slice the leek lengthwise and open up the layers under running water.  Then slice them thinly crosswise.  Lightly sweat the leeks in the butter.  Add the potatoes and chicken broth.  Bring to a boil and then immediately reduce to a simmer until the vegetables are completely soft, 20 – 25 minutes.  Add the half and half and the cream and bring back to a simmer.  Strain the soup through a fine mesh sieve, crushing and pushing the potatoes through it.  Some folks put it in a blender before straining it.  If you do, puree it briefly.  Overworking the starch in the potatoes can make the soup gluey.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Chill the soup with plastic wrap resting right on top of it to prevent a film from forming on the surface.  Ladle it into chilled bowls and sprinkle with fresh chopped chives if you like.