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Magazine
Gourmet Files
Liquid treasure chest
VASUNDHARA CHAUHAN
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The sight and smell of soup satisfies every need: for warmth, for something slurp-able, for the aroma of spices and the freshness of herbs.
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Photo: Vasundhara Chauhan
Nothing like rich, fragrant soup...
“I live on good soup, not on fine words.”
Moliere
Soup, potage, zuppe… Even minestrone, which I always thought was a particular soup, means just: soup.
In France, where it all started, a soup was originally the piece of bread on to which potage, the contents of the pot, were poured. So the “soup” was both the liquid and the piece of bread soaked in liquid. Today for a small fraction of the world’s diners — those who eat at restaurants or formal dinner parties — it’s one course of a meal. But for many of us it is the meal. Which takes us back to its origins: a soup with solids in it was a meal for poorer people. The word “supper” probably came from here.
Whatever. Is there anything quite as good as a hot soup on a winter evening? There’s already a nip in the air — one doesn’t have to work hard remembering what winter can be like. Already I’m thinking of pulling out the woollies. And, at the dinner table, the sight and smell of soup satisfies every need: for warmth, for something savoury, for something soothingly slurp-able, for the aroma of spices, for the freshness of herbs. And it obeys the directions of received wisdom, that, in winter, one must eat more nutritiously. Thence meat or vegetable stock.
Childhood baggage
When we were kids we were forced to eat soup. I suppose it wasn’t that bad, but the discipline was. There were rules in my mother’s kitchen: soup must contain every vegetable of the season. (Exaggeration: sarson ka saag and radishes were not included.) Soup must not be strained or blended. So you got this stew of lentils and tiny chunks of carrots and tomatoes, whole leaves of spinach, florets of cauliflower (and, in later years, broccoli). Reeking of that special steamy fug only winter vegetables can produce. But, worse, of HEALTH. That was what was wrong with it.
But now, many years later, I find that a soup can be quite, quite, different. Steaming, fragrant, rich in the flavour of ingredients that have been simmered slowly, a soup can be a liquid treasure chest where each mouthful offers something new and a variety of not just taste but of texture. Crisp vegetables, barely cooked; creamy potatoes, soft to the bite; nuggets of meat or flaky fish; whole shrimps pink and succulent; drops of egg cooked in the simmering soup; silky strands of noodles or the occasional grain of Basmati.
Experts differentiate between thick and clear, chowder and consommé, strained and chunky. And though traditionally a soup is a savoury dish, you can see recipes for cold, sweet “soups” of puréed fruit — like smoothies. From California, no doubt. There are cold soups too — but of those, another time.
Keeping it simple
To most of us a soup is a hot, savoury liquid with seasonal ingredients either floating about or blended in it. These can be anything you fancy; like the Mock Turtle, a fictional character Lewis Carroll devised in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
The Mock Turtle’s Song
Beautiful soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Beau—ootiful Soo—oop! Beau—ootiful Soo—oop!
Soo—oop of the e—e—evening, Beautiful, beautiful Soup.
Cooking a soup can be daunting if you have to start from scratch. I find it a huge help to freeze stock, and then thaw as much as we need for a meal. The rest is quite quick.
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Hearty winter vegetable soup
Serves four
Ingredients: Four large ripe tomatoes; Two carrots; Four cups stock; 200g winter vegetables (butter beans, cauliflower, broccoli); Half tsp dried herbs (oregano, basil); One cup cooked chicken or thinly sliced sausage (optional); Salt; Pepper; Parmesan cheese.
Roughly chop tomatoes and one carrot and pressure-cook for two minutes in three cups of stock. Cool and purée in blender. Meanwhile, chop remaining carrot and winter vegetables fine and simmer in remaining 1 cup stock till half done - they should still be quite crisp. Return puréed tomato soup to large saucepan and add herbs. Simmer for five minutes, then add cooked winter vegetables (include the stock they were simmered in) and chicken or sausage, if using. Grind pepper over and serve hot with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Traditional bouillabaisse might contain all of the above — or mackerel, whiting, and prawns, but they’re not essential. Most any other fish will do, as long as there’s good olive oil, fish and saffron, the flavour is authentic.
Bouillabaisse
Serves four
Ingredients: Three tbsp olive oil; Four cloves garlic, chopped fine; Two onions, chopped; One kg fish, cleaned, cut into chunks; 250g headless prawns, shelled; Four tomatoes, blanched, skinned and chopped; 10-12 strands saffron; One litre fish stock, heated; One bay leaf; Two sprigs parsley; Six slices French bread; Salt; Pepper; Two tsp chopped parsley.
Heat oil in a large, heavy pot. Add garlic and onions and cook, covered, for 3-4 minutes, until onions are transparent but not browned. Uncover and cook fish for 10 minutes over moderate heat, stirring occasionally. Add prawns and tomatoes. Stir saffron into hot stock and pour into pot of fish. Add bay leaf, parsley sprigs, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Take out and discard bay leaf and parsley sprigs. Place bread slices in a soup tureen and ladle in the soup. Serve hot, sprinkled with chopped parsley.
The author is a Delhi-based food writer. She is with the ASER Centre.
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