Soups are liquid food which is best when somebody is sick. It is also had as a pre-dinner snack as it curbs craving, reduces calorie intake and also keeps you more hydrated as it has a lot of water content. Soups are no different than stews; also mostly broths are used to make most of the soups. Soups are of two different kinds- Clear Soups and Thick Cream Soups. I will be taking about two different kinds of soup in each category.
Clear Soups:
I will be talking about two different kinds of clear soups which originated from different parts of the world. Though they have different tastes cause of the spices used but mostly have similar ingredients- Minestrone Soup and Hot and Sour Vegetable soup. Minestrone Soup originated from Italy where as Hot and sour soup has a Pan-Asian inheritance.
Minestrone Soup:
Ingredients required:
- Two table spoon of olive oil
- One Onion Diced
- Two to three cloves of garlic finely chopped
- Two stalks of celery diced
- Two carrots chopped into cubes
- Two to three green beans finely chopped
- One potato chopped into cubes
- Two tomatoes finely chopped
- Half Cup tomato puree
- One tea Spoon of oregano
- One tea spoon of dried Basil
- Six cups of Chicken stock(If you are a vegetarian you can use six cups of vegetable stock)
- One cup of elbow pasta
- Two table spoon of olive oil
- Salt to taste
- Two to three basil leaves finely chopped
- Parmesan cheese for garnish
How to make Minestrone soup:
- Take a Large pot, heat two spoons of olive oil. Add one diced onion. Shallow fry until brown. Then add three cloves of finely chopped garlic to it. Cook for 30 seconds.
- Once done Add diced carrots, chopped celery, green beans, potatoes, tomatoes and mix well. Add one tea spoon of oregano, dried basil powder to it and mix well for the herbs to mix along with the vegetables.
- Add six cups of chicken stock or vegetable stock to the pot.
- Add one cup of elbow pasta to it. Cook on medium flame until the pasta and vegetables are cooked. Add salt to taste. Add Parmesan cheese and basil leaves to garnish while you serve.
Minestrone soup is ready to be served. It goes best with a loaf of bread, some olive oil and fresh ground pepper.
Hot and Sour Vegetable soup:
Ingredients Required:
- Two table spoon of vegetable oil
- One onion diced
- One inch ginger finely chopped
- Two to three cloves of garlic finely chopped
- One Bell pepper finely chopped
- Two to three mushrooms finely chopped
- One cup finely chopped cabbage
- One carrot finely chopped
- Two to three beans finely chopped
- Two Green chilly finely chopped
- Two table spoon soy sauce
- one table spoon chilly sauce
- Six cups of vegetable stock
- two spoons of Corn starch
- Two spoons of pepper powder
- Salt to taste
How to make Hot and Sour Vegetable soup:
- Take a Large pot, heat two spoons of vegetable oil. Add one diced onion. Shallow fry until brown. Then add three cloves of finely chopped garlic and one inch ginger finely chopped to it. Cook for 30 seconds. Add two finely chopped green chilly.
- Once done Add diced carrots, green beans, bell pepper, cabbage, mushrooms and mix well. Add two table spoon of soy sauce and one table spoon of chili sauce. Mix well
- Add six cups of vegetable stock and cook until the vegetables are cooked.
- Take two spoons of corn starch mix it in 30 ml of water and add it to the pot. Cook for another two three minutes for the soup to become little thick.
- Add salt and pepper and serve hot.
Hot and Sour Vegetable soup is ready to be served. You can also add cooked soft noodles to it or can also add crispy noodles for best results. Add finely chopped spring onion for garnish.
Thick soups:
Thick soups are classified based on its thickness. I will be talking about two different types of thick soup- Broccoli soup and Pumpkin puree soup. Both have an Italian inheritance. These soups are not only easy to make but also requires very simple easily available ingredients.
Broccoli Soup:
Ingredients required:
- Two table spoon of salted butter
- One medium sized of onion finely chopped
- Two stalks of celery stick diced
- One medium broccoli head washed and chopped into small chunks
- One and half tea spoon of dried Oregano
- One cup of vegetable stock
- One cup of heavy cream (150 ml to 200 ml)
- One tea spoon of Fresh ground pepper
- Salt to taste
How to Make Broccoli soup:
- Take a large pot and add two table spoons of butter and melt it. Once melted add one medium sized finely chopped onion it. Shallow fry until golden brown.
- Add two stalks of diced celery stick and cook well.
- Wash the broccoli head and chop it in to small chunks.
- Add this to the pot and mix well.
- Add one cup and vegetable stock and cook until the broccoli and celery is fully cooked.
- Once done add one cup and heavy cream and cook for another two minutes.
- Use a hand blender and blend this mixture until smooth.
- Season with one tea spoon of dried Oregano.
- Add salt and pepper and serve hot.
Broccoli soup is ready to be served. It goes best with croutons and a loaf of bread on the side. Also u can add few chunks of cooked broccoli for garnish.
Pumpkin soup:
Ingredients required:
- Two table spoon of salted butter
- One medium sized of onion finely chopped
- Two stalks of celery stick diced
- One medium sized pumpkin peeled, deseeded and chopped into small chunks
- One and half tea spoon of dried Oregano
- One cup of vegetable stock
- One cup of heavy cream (150 ml to 200 ml)
- One tea spoon of Fresh ground pepper
- Ten to twelve pumpkin seeds.
- Salt to taste
How to Make Pumpkin soup:
- Take a large pot and add two table spoons of butter and melt it. Once melted add one medium sized finely chopped onion it. Shallow fry until golden brown.
- Add two stalks of diced celery stick and cook well.
- Peel the pumpkin, deseed it and chop it in to small chunks.
- Add this to the pot and mix well.
- Add one cup and vegetable stock and cook until the pumpkin and celery is fully cooked.
- Once done add one cup and heavy cream and cook for another two minutes.
- Use a hand blender and blend this mixture until smooth.
- Season with one tea spoon of dried Oregano.
- Add salt and pepper and cook for few more minutes.
- Take a sauce pan add the pumpkin seeds roast it until crisp. Chop it into small pieces and add to the soup and the soup is ready.
Pumpkin soup is ready to served. This goes best with any kind of bread too. Hope you like these soup recipes and try at home.
