Soup Season

What’s better than soup on a chilly fall night? It’s an easy weeknight supper (with a simple salad), the first course for a dinner party, or just a hot option for lunch. And so practical–homemade soup can always be prepared ahead of time and reheated later. Here’s some of my favorite soup recipes. Maybe one might inspire a lazy Sunday afternoon spent cooking a big pot of Stracciatella, French Onion, or Italian Wedding Soup.

Stracciatella

Meaning “little rags,” stracciatella is the name for three different Italian foods; a soup popular in Rome, a cheese from Puglia, and a flavor of gelato found in Lombardy. It’s a little confusing, but the only thing they actually have in common is their name. All three are delicious, but February has me more in the mood for soup than gelato. The following is basically an egg drop soup–Italian style.

Serves 4

8 cups chicken stock (here’s my favorite homemade or use store bought)

4 large eggs

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Italian parsley, chopped (optional)

In a large saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

In a small bowl, carefully crack the eggs and whisk until combined. Season with salt and pepper.

While whisking the broth, slowly pour all of the eggs into the pot in a steady stream. Stop stirring, and simmer for about 1 minute, until the eggs start to harden, and lightly float on top of the stock.

Ladle into bowls, and sprinkle with parsley, if desired. Serve immediately, while hot.

French Onion Soup

French Onion Soup is so simple. Its success or failure comes down to two things: the onions and the broth. Cook them them correctly, and you have a masterpiece on your hands. Cook them wrong, and it's all lost. Caramelizing the onions slowly in butter until they are golden brown, plus the combination of both beef and chicken stock make this soup very flavorful. It does take a couple of hours to make, so give yourself plenty of time to enjoy the process.

Serves 4

½ stick of unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

8 cups yellow onions, thinly sliced (about 2-1/2 pounds)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon flour

4 cups homemade beef stock, or low sodium store-bought stock

4 cups homemade chicken stock, or low sodium store-bought stock

1/4 cup Cognac,

1 cup dry white wine

8 (1/2-inch) thick slices of French bread, toasted

3/4 pound coarsely grated Gruyere

Heat a heavy saucepan over moderate heat with the butter and oil. When the butter has melted, stir in the onions, cover, and cook slowly until tender and translucent, about 10 minutes. Blend in the salt and sugar, increase the heat to medium high, and let the onions brown, stirring frequently until they are a golden-brown color, 25 to 30 minutes.

Sprinkle the flour and cook slowly, stirring, for another 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove from heat, let cool for a moment, then whisk in 2 cups of hot stock. When well blended, bring to the simmer, adding the rest of the stock, Cognac, and wine. Cover loosely, and simmer very slowly 1 1/2 hours, adding a little water if the liquid reduces too much. Taste for seasoning.

Divide the soup among 4 ovenproof bowls. Arrange toast on top of soup and sprinkle generously with grated cheese. Place bowls on a cookie sheet and place under a preheated broiler until cheese melts and forms a crust over the tops of the bowls. Serve immediately.

Magical Leek Soup

This broth is adapted from Mireille Guiliano's memoir, French Women Don’t Get Fat. If I feel the need to detox, I’ll make this and sip it showly over a weekend. Sometimes I’ll heat up a bowl, then add a handful of baby kale or spinach, which will wilt lightly in the soup.

Serves 1 for a weekend

2 lbs leeks, sliced medium-thin. White parts only.

Juice of 1 large lemon

2-3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley (optional)

Clean leeks and rinse well, as they tend to be gritty.

Place leeks in a large pot and cover completely with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Pour off the liquid and reserve. Place the leeks in a bowl. Drizzle with a few drops of extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Add chopped parsley, if desired. Place back into the broth and enjoy.

New England Clam Chowder

Kennedy-file that I am, I couldn’t resist a copy of René Verdon’s The White House Chef Cookbook, published in 1968. I had a lot of fun making several recipes, primarily those described as personal favorites of either Jack or Jackie Kennedy. This hearty, cream-based clam chowder is adapted from one named “South-of-Boston Style” by Chef Verdon. I can just image JFK eating some of this rich “chow-dah” for lunch, as he once did, with the Canadian prime minister, requesting it three days in a row.

serves 8

4 dozen little neck clams

4 cups cold water

1 cup clam juice (can be found in canned fish area of most markets)

1 tablespoon butter

2 oz pancetta, finely diced

1 large yellow onion, finely diced

4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced about 1 inch

2 cups whole milk

1 ½ cup heavy cream

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Cheese cloth

Wash clams thoroughly. Place in a deep pan with the cold water and clam juice covering the clams. Bring to a boil for about 10 minutes, until the shells begin to open. Discard any clams that did not open.

Strain the broth through the cheesecloth and reserve.

Remove the clams from their shells, clean and chop roughly.

In a large sauce pan, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, until slightly translucent. Add pancetta and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Do not brown.

Add the broth and potatoes. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Season lightly with salt (clam juice is salty) and pepper.

While the potatoes are cooking, combine the milk and heavy cream and heat gently over the stovetop or in the microwave. Do not boil, as a “skin” can form.

Add clams and remove from heat.

Remove potatoes mixture from heat and slowly add the milk and cream. Adjust seasoning as needed and serve immediately.

Winter Minestrone


Minestrone is a thick, broth-based soup made with whichever vegetables are in season. This is a version I like to make during colder months.

serves 6

1 medium yellow onion

6 medium stalks celery

3 medium carrots

1 small sweet potato

8 oz pastina (small pasta such as stelline or ditalini, etc.) Optional

2 cloves garlic

1 (15-ounce) can white beans, such as cannellini or navy

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 (2x3-inch) Parmesan rind

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes

6 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth

1/2 medium lemon

2 tablespoons of your favorite pesto (optional)

4 cups baby kale

Parmesan cheese and crusty bread, for serving

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning

Dice the following: 1 medium yellow onion (about 1 cup), 6 medium stalks celery (about 2 cups), 3 peeled medium carrots (about 1 1/4 cups), and 1 peeled small sweet potato (about 2 cups). Finely chop 2 garlic cloves. Drain and rinse 1 can white beans.

Place 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once the butter melts and begins to sizzle, add the onion and 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and sauté until softened but not browned for about 3 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and cook another 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the sweet potato and sauté until slightly softened at the edges, about 3 minutes, then add garlic, and cook for about another 2 minutes.

Add 1 (2x3-inch) Parmesan rind, 1 can diced tomatoes and their juices, 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth, and the beans. Stir to combine and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Simmer for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the carrots and sweet potato are tender, 20 minutes or so. Remove the Parmesan rind and add pastina (optional). Finish cooking according to pasta instructions, usually about another 7 minutes.

Squeeze in the juice from 1/2 lemon (about 1 tablespoon). Stir in 2 tablespoons basil pesto and 4 cups baby kale and simmer until combined and the kale is wilted. Season to taste.

Italian Wedding Soup

Growing up, my mother made Italian wedding soup often, based on my step-grandfather’s recipe. He always used escarole, a bitter green that looks like lettuce, but tastes more like radicchio. Since escarole is hard to find in Southern grocery stores, I tend to replace it with kale.

Serves 6-8

1 pound of your favorite meatball recipe (or store bought). Make the meatballs bite-sized, about 1 inch in diameter

12 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 pound kale, coarsely chopped

2 eggs

2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish

8 oz stelline or other small pasta shape*

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and kale and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, 8-10 minutes.

Whisk the eggs and cheese in a medium bowl to blend.

Stir the soup in a circular motion. Gradually drizzle the egg mixture into the moving broth, stirring gently with a fork to form thin stands of egg, about 1 minute.

Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve. Finish soup with parmesan cheese if desired.

I cook the pasta separately and toos with a tablespoon of olive oil, so that it will not stick together. Add for kids, or anyone who wants a heartier soup.