We all enjoy a good classic soup recipe, right? It's so comforting to dig into a favorite soup with all the ingredients we know and have grown to love. But, sometimes it would be nice to kick up these classics and make them a little classier. Perhaps you'd like to serve soup as a starter for a special dinner, and that soup needs to stand out a bit. Or maybe the soup is the star of the meal and needs to really shine.
Let's take a look at a few classic soup recipes and see what you can do to turn up the class.
Tomato Soup
This basic soup is well know on lunch menus everywhere. It's an easy soup to make and very comforting, especially when served with a grilled cheese sandwich, right? What if you took those flavors and combined them into one glorious, cheesy soup? Start by roasting the diced tomatoes to bring out the garden fresh sweet flavor, adding onion and garlic to the roasting pan if you wish. Then, once the tomatoes are roasted, pour into a soup pot along with the broth, and simmer slowly. Want more magic? Create a cheesy, creamy soup by stirring Bleu cheese or goat cheese or any soft, rich cheese into the tomato soup. Then toast some bread cubes with a little butter and garlic, and sprinkle the croutons on top of the cheesy roasted tomato soup. Add a pinch of freshly chopped basil and the meal is complete, and fancy enough for a special occasion!
Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
For this classic favorite you only need to add one ingredient – curry. The classic soup stands on its own quite well, but the addition of curry makes the soup more substantial and noteworthy. You may want to use a stronger Cheddar cheese in order to complement the curry, and use cream instead of milk when you puree the cooked cauliflower. Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of chopped chives for a pretty, and delicious, classy soup.
French Onion Soup
Even though we sometimes
want our soup fast and easy, in order to turn this classic soup into a
classy soup, you'll need time. The trick for getting this soup 'ready
for the runway' is caramelizing the onions. This is the process of very
slowly cooking onions until the sugars develop and the onions turn a
light golden brown and become quite sweet. Slice the onions thinly and
cook them in a big heavy pot over very low heat with some butter, but no
salt, for a good twenty minutes or more. Once they are soft and sweet,
you will be adding some very classy ingredients – red wine and balsamic
vinegar – before you add your vegetable or chicken stock. Simmer this
slowly until fragrant and you are ready for the classy finish. Ladle the
soup into broiler proof bowls, then top each with a piece of cocktail
rye bread and a good amount of Gruyere or other very rich cheese. Finish
the soup under the broiler just long enough for the cheese to melt,
then sprinkle fresh thyme leaves over the cheese and serve hot. By just
slowing down the onion cooking process, and bumping up the level of
ingredients, you have moved from ordinary to extraordinary with this
formerly simple soup.
Soup can be a simple, classic, even humble meal. Or, you can tweak the preparation and ingredients and turn just about any simple soup into something quite special. Try these ideas, and the next time you call “soup's on,” watch the surprise, and delight, on the faces around your table!
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