The making of soups and stews is a culinary technique, a health practice, and a way to save time and money in the kitchen. Cooking ingredients together in a watery base makes their nutrients eminently available for the body, maximizing the ease of digestion. A batch of soup can be cooked and will improve over a few days’ time, or can be frozen for future meals. Soup in a thermos is easily transported to work or school and can save you a lot of money on dining out!My studies and experiments in soup and stew making over the years have led me to discover the five elements of soup. All the elements need not be present in every good soup, yet most good, traditional soup recipes contain at least three. They are:
The high notes:
· Spicy/aromatic: These flavors and aromas brighten the energy of a soup, and hit your palate first. Onions, garlic, pepper, celery, fennel, leeks, spices such as curry, and red and black peppers are aromatics. Sometimes they are cooked into a soup, sometimes they are sprinkled on at the end. (LUNG organ/METAL element in Chinese medicine)
· Bitter: Bitter greens lift and lighten flavors and awaken the appetite. Stir in spinach, arugula, kale, watercress in the last few minutes of cooking, or sprinkle on parsley, cilantro, citrus zest, etc. as a finishing touch. A great way to work more greens into your diet. (HEART/FIRE)
· Sour: Can give a lift, or a kick to the top end of a soup. Lemon, lime, or best yet, ferments like sauerkraut or unpasteurized vinegar, are wonderful here. (LIVER/WOOD)
The middle tones:
· Sweet: the body of the soup. Most likely, the middle tones are whatever you used most of in the soup, carrots, chicken, potatoes, carmelized onions, etc. Many of these foods are complex carbs with a sweet flavor. Or they may be thickeners, such as rice or noodles, which give a broth body and make the soup a meal. (SPLEEN/EARTH)
· Fat: is the carrier of flavor. It may be used in sautéing the ingredients, as in ghee, coconut oil or lard, or it may be used as a finisher, such as crème fraiche or butter swirled in at the end of the process. (LIVER/WOOD)
The baseline:
· Salty/umami: is derived from the flavors of mineral-rich stock or bone broth, miso, tamari, fish sauce or seaweed. It gives depth to the soup, making it satisfy and nourish us, literally, to the bone. (KIDNEY/WATER)
White Bean Kabocha Stew
1 cup Great Northern Beans or other white beans
1 strip kombu seaweed, about 6”
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons olive oil, ghee or pastured lard
1 cup coarsely chopped leeks
1 cup tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 cups Kabocha squash, chopped into 1 1/2” cubes
½ cup coarsely chopped celery leaves
1 tablespoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup green beans, trimmed
2 pinches crumbled saffron threads (saffron is a digestive aid, fights inflammation and “seems to convince human cancer cells to induce their own death”)
Garnishes: watercress, cilantro, basil, pesto…
Soak the beans overnight in cool water. Place them into a 2-3 qt. saucepan with the kombu, bay leaf, carrot, celery, and onion, with water to cover by about 1 ½ inches. Bring to a boil and simmer until the beans are almost tender, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. Drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid, and remove the bay, carrot, celery and kombu. In a heavy soup pot, heat the fat. Add the leeks and sauté until they are beginning to turn golden, then add the tomatoes and cook for a few more minutes. Pour in enough water to cover the vegetables, and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the Kabocha, celery leaves, salt and a few grindings of black pepper, and reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes or so. Now add the green beans, the white beans and their cooking liquid along with the saffron. Simmer for 15 minutes or until all is tender. Correct the seasoning, and serve with the optional garnishes. You can use almost any seasonal vegetables in this dish.
· Spicy/aromatic: These flavors and aromas brighten the energy of a soup, and hit your palate first. Onions, garlic, pepper, celery, fennel, leeks, spices such as curry, and red and black peppers are aromatics. Sometimes they are cooked into a soup, sometimes they are sprinkled on at the end. (LUNG organ/METAL element in Chinese medicine)
· Bitter: Bitter greens lift and lighten flavors and awaken the appetite. Stir in spinach, arugula, kale, watercress in the last few minutes of cooking, or sprinkle on parsley, cilantro, citrus zest, etc. as a finishing touch. A great way to work more greens into your diet. (HEART/FIRE)
· Sour: Can give a lift, or a kick to the top end of a soup. Lemon, lime, or best yet, ferments like sauerkraut or unpasteurized vinegar, are wonderful here. (LIVER/WOOD)
The middle tones:
· Sweet: the body of the soup. Most likely, the middle tones are whatever you used most of in the soup, carrots, chicken, potatoes, carmelized onions, etc. Many of these foods are complex carbs with a sweet flavor. Or they may be thickeners, such as rice or noodles, which give a broth body and make the soup a meal. (SPLEEN/EARTH)
· Fat: is the carrier of flavor. It may be used in sautéing the ingredients, as in ghee, coconut oil or lard, or it may be used as a finisher, such as crème fraiche or butter swirled in at the end of the process. (LIVER/WOOD)
The baseline:
· Salty/umami: is derived from the flavors of mineral-rich stock or bone broth, miso, tamari, fish sauce or seaweed. It gives depth to the soup, making it satisfy and nourish us, literally, to the bone. (KIDNEY/WATER)
White Bean Kabocha Stew
1 cup Great Northern Beans or other white beans
1 strip kombu seaweed, about 6”
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons olive oil, ghee or pastured lard
1 cup coarsely chopped leeks
1 cup tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 cups Kabocha squash, chopped into 1 1/2” cubes
½ cup coarsely chopped celery leaves
1 tablespoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup green beans, trimmed
2 pinches crumbled saffron threads (saffron is a digestive aid, fights inflammation and “seems to convince human cancer cells to induce their own death”)
Garnishes: watercress, cilantro, basil, pesto…
Soak the beans overnight in cool water. Place them into a 2-3 qt. saucepan with the kombu, bay leaf, carrot, celery, and onion, with water to cover by about 1 ½ inches. Bring to a boil and simmer until the beans are almost tender, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. Drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid, and remove the bay, carrot, celery and kombu. In a heavy soup pot, heat the fat. Add the leeks and sauté until they are beginning to turn golden, then add the tomatoes and cook for a few more minutes. Pour in enough water to cover the vegetables, and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the Kabocha, celery leaves, salt and a few grindings of black pepper, and reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes or so. Now add the green beans, the white beans and their cooking liquid along with the saffron. Simmer for 15 minutes or until all is tender. Correct the seasoning, and serve with the optional garnishes. You can use almost any seasonal vegetables in this dish.
Curried Chicken Coconut Soup
Like many chicken soups, the inclusion of chicken meat in this is totally optional. The really beneficial part of the dish is in the broth, made by long-simmering a chicken carcass in water with a splash of vinegar. Of course, you could use veggie stock for a vegetarian version. In that case, substitute some miso for the fish sauce to get the important umami tones.
2 tablespoons coconut oil, ghee or lard
1 red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2-3 slices ginger, cut in tiny matchsticks
1 cup shitake, maitake or other mushrooms, sliced
1 qt. chicken stock (or Magic mineral broth or other stock)
1 yam, diced
1 daikon radish, sliced
¼-1 tsp Thai curry paste
1 can coconut milk (not lite!)
1-2 teaspoons fish sauce or tamari
1 Nappa cabbage, sliced thin
1 bunch watercress, coarsely chopped
Juice of 1-2 lemons or limes
Garnish: cilantro, basil, chili oil, etc.
Heat the fat in a large soup pot, then add the onion, and begin to sauté until it is turning golden. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for a few moments more. Next, add the mushrooms and cook and stir until they begin to slightly brown. Add the stock and bring the soup to a boil. Add the yam and daikon and simmer for 10 minutes or so until they begin to get tender. Meanwhile, dissolve the curry paste in a little of the coconut milk, then add this and the rest of the can to the soup. Simmer 5 minutes more or so, and then add the fish sauce or tamari and cabbage. When the cabbage begins to wilt, taste and correct the seasonings. Stir in the watercress and lime juice at the last minute, serve chopped with any of the optional or other garnishes. Variations? Endless.
1 red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2-3 slices ginger, cut in tiny matchsticks
1 cup shitake, maitake or other mushrooms, sliced
1 qt. chicken stock (or Magic mineral broth or other stock)
1 yam, diced
1 daikon radish, sliced
¼-1 tsp Thai curry paste
1 can coconut milk (not lite!)
1-2 teaspoons fish sauce or tamari
1 Nappa cabbage, sliced thin
1 bunch watercress, coarsely chopped
Juice of 1-2 lemons or limes
Garnish: cilantro, basil, chili oil, etc.
Heat the fat in a large soup pot, then add the onion, and begin to sauté until it is turning golden. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for a few moments more. Next, add the mushrooms and cook and stir until they begin to slightly brown. Add the stock and bring the soup to a boil. Add the yam and daikon and simmer for 10 minutes or so until they begin to get tender. Meanwhile, dissolve the curry paste in a little of the coconut milk, then add this and the rest of the can to the soup. Simmer 5 minutes more or so, and then add the fish sauce or tamari and cabbage. When the cabbage begins to wilt, taste and correct the seasonings. Stir in the watercress and lime juice at the last minute, serve chopped with any of the optional or other garnishes. Variations? Endless.
Bone Broth
Start by collecting bones. A chicken carcass, the center bone of a lamb roast, small bones from chops, big bones by the bag from the Farmer’s market or your meat CSA, any or all of these will do. Put them in a big plastic bag in your freezer. Whenever you eat sustainable meat or any meat, add those bones to your collection. If you are shy when dining out, tell them the bones are for your dog. When you have enough to fill your crock pot or stock pot ½ to 2/3 full with bones, go ahead and empty your bag into the pot, cover with cold water and add 1-2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Let it sit at room temperature for an hour, letting the acid begin to bring all those good minerals out of the bones and then bring to a boil and simmer for a really long time. For mostly chicken bones, cook at least 24 hours. For mixed bones or others, 2-3 days is good. Let your stock cool a bit and then strain. Don’t worry if it looks disgusting at first, strain in a fine strainer and then place the stock in a container in the fridge until the fat hardens a bit at the top. Scoop most of it out, as this is not the finest fat from the animal (I give the extra fat to the city for composting) and pour the stock into jars, old yogurt containers or ice cube trays and freeze, labeled for later use. With stock and cooked beans in the freezer I know that soup, the staff of life, is always close at hand.
I'll be co-teaching a soup workshop in December:
Cooking at the CoG: Ways with Soup
Friday Dec. 4th 7pm
Join CoG members and cooking teachers Vanessa Barrington and Nishanga Bliss in an exploration of the many ways of making economical, nourishing, delicious soups. Veggie stocks and bone broths, the wonders of miso, cream soups and bean soups, soups and fermentation, recipes, and much much more! Bring a mug and spoon for tasting. FREE! Visit http://thecog.org/ for more info.
About my co-conspirators: Vanessa Barrington is a writer, a chef, and a CoG member.Read her blog here: vanessabarrington.typepad.com Susan Fleming is a graphic designer, a food enthusiast, and a CoG member.Visit her design studio here: www.adelinedesign.net
Join CoG members and cooking teachers Vanessa Barrington and Nishanga Bliss in an exploration of the many ways of making economical, nourishing, delicious soups. Veggie stocks and bone broths, the wonders of miso, cream soups and bean soups, soups and fermentation, recipes, and much much more! Bring a mug and spoon for tasting. FREE! Visit http://thecog.org/ for more info.
About my co-conspirators: Vanessa Barrington is a writer, a chef, and a CoG member.Read her blog here: vanessabarrington.typepad.com Susan Fleming is a graphic designer, a food enthusiast, and a CoG member.Visit her design studio here: www.adelinedesign.net
