I made some parsnip soup the other day from an on line recipe, basically just stock, parsnips and fried onions, and it has come out very sweet. I've put some curry powder in it to offset that a bit, but is there anything else I could use to counteract the sweetness?
It's taken me a long time to develop a liking for leeks, but I'm finally there. Not parsnips, though.
However, leek and parsnip soup with haricot beans is fine. It just need a little something extra to lift it - not sure what. I should, perhaps, have tried lemon juice. Any other suggestions?
Indeed, vinegar! I make more borshch by first roasting the beets and sautéing the other vegetables. This requires some vinegar to balance the concentration of the sugars.
Vinegar? it's what we use for hot and sour soup, and I'll chuck a bit in to other soups if it seems too sweet or bland.
Thanks for the vinegar recommendation! We had some at lunchtime and I put a spoonful of vinegar in, it counteracted the sweetness and also seemed to bring out the flavour of the parsnips.
Indeed, vinegar! I make more borshch by first roasting the beets and sautéing the other vegetables. This requires some vinegar to balance the concentration of the sugars.
Indeed @Pangolin Guerre I am guilty of adding not only vinegar but also tinned tomatoes and (occasionally) a tiny amount of sugar to borshch. @Lamb Chopped - Love hot and sour soup but I must admit I've never actually made it.
Very very simple, if you know what it should taste like (in your opinion, that is). Take any standard recipe and trim out the bits that are too much of a pain to locate or deal with. In other words, to hell with the dried lily buds and reconstituted rare Japanese cave fungus harvested by a sage on the night of the full moon.
For me this means I end up with:
Several big packages/cans of chicken broth or stock (we usually make a big ol' pot of this soup, as it freezes pretty well for later);
two cans of sliced water chestnuts, the liquid drained out and the chestnuts dumped in;
ditto two cans of bamboo shoots, preferably the slivered ones, but slightly larger (still spoon-sized) ones will do;
some sliced mushrooms (I usually get the crimini/baby bella ones, but get whatever you enjoy) dumped in;
one to three blocks of tofu, depending on how much you like tofu. Try to get the silken, but any soft tofu will do. Slice that up to make tiny cubes (okay, I lied: fake it. We generally have spoon-sized wodges in there) and throw those in too. Heat all of that on medium to low on the stovetop, and just keep it going while you're doing all the rest.
AND
One or two packages of pork tenderloin, preferably unflavored, though you can get interesting effects with the pre-spiced versions. Take those out and slice them into thready globs--again, you're hoping for something you can fit on a spoon, more or less. Maybe a big Chinese spoon, but still). When the package(s) have been wodgified, dump all of it into a bowl, and add rice (or other) vinegar and sesame oil in a two to one ratio to serve as a marinade. Basically you just want to coat it well. Add some pepper to this and soy sauce too, if you fancy it. Stir it all up till everything's coated, stick it in the fridge and leave it for half an hour.
Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame to the soup to taste. Go really light on the sesame--you need half as much or less than you do of the vinegar and soy sauce. If it gets away from you, you will regret it.
When the half hour is up, take out the marinating pork and put that carefully into your hot soup a bit at a time, so it doesn't all clump together.
Stir everything and bring it up to boiling just long enough for:
An egg or two, well beaten, which you will drop into the boiling hot soup as slowly and tinily (is that a word) as you can. If the soup is actually boiling, you will get that nice egg-drop soup effect, with shreds and ribbons of egg floating throughout the soup. If it's NOT hot enough, you will get a really weird looking soup, but it will still taste fine.
Then eat it.
You will be tasting and adjusting the sesame/soy/vinegar thing all along. Sesame is the easiest to overdose, so be careful.
My emergency go-to soup is celery. It is quick & easy to make and is definitely flavourful. Doesn't freeze particularly well as it separates a bit, but serving with a dash of cream stirred in helps.
I buy a couple of heads and use the outer stems of both for soup (or as part of a mirepoix) and the more tender inner ones for salads or cruditeés.
I used to make a curried parsnip & apple soup, using bramley apple, which is quite sour, (we had a couple of bramley apple trees back then). With a potato and the curry paste in it was not particularly sweet.
There is one bottle of soup left in the freezer from last winter - can't quite remember what, but I think it is squash, possibly sweet potato, and coconut milk.
I freeze my soups in 2pt plastic supermarket milk bottles
Very very simple, if you know what it should taste like (in your opinion, that is). Take any standard recipe and trim out the bits that are too much of a pain to locate or deal with. In other words, to hell with the dried lily buds and reconstituted rare Japanese cave fungus harvested by a sage on the night of the full moon.
For me this means I end up with:
Several big packages/cans of chicken broth or stock (we usually make a big ol' pot of this soup, as it freezes pretty well for later);
two cans of sliced water chestnuts, the liquid drained out and the chestnuts dumped in;
ditto two cans of bamboo shoots, preferably the slivered ones, but slightly larger (still spoon-sized) ones will do;
some sliced mushrooms (I usually get the crimini/baby bella ones, but get whatever you enjoy) dumped in;
one to three blocks of tofu, depending on how much you like tofu. Try to get the silken, but any soft tofu will do. Slice that up to make tiny cubes (okay, I lied: fake it. We generally have spoon-sized wodges in there) and throw those in too. Heat all of that on medium to low on the stovetop, and just keep it going while you're doing all the rest.
AND
One or two packages of pork tenderloin, preferably unflavored, though you can get interesting effects with the pre-spiced versions. Take those out and slice them into thready globs--again, you're hoping for something you can fit on a spoon, more or less. Maybe a big Chinese spoon, but still). When the package(s) have been wodgified, dump all of it into a bowl, and add rice (or other) vinegar and sesame oil in a two to one ratio to serve as a marinade. Basically you just want to coat it well. Add some pepper to this and soy sauce too, if you fancy it. Stir it all up till everything's coated, stick it in the fridge and leave it for half an hour.
Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame to the soup to taste. Go really light on the sesame--you need half as much or less than you do of the vinegar and soy sauce. If it gets away from you, you will regret it.
When the half hour is up, take out the marinating pork and put that carefully into your hot soup a bit at a time, so it doesn't all clump together.
Stir everything and bring it up to boiling just long enough for:
An egg or two, well beaten, which you will drop into the boiling hot soup as slowly and tinily (is that a word) as you can. If the soup is actually boiling, you will get that nice egg-drop soup effect, with shreds and ribbons of egg floating throughout the soup. If it's NOT hot enough, you will get a really weird looking soup, but it will still taste fine.
Then eat it.
You will be tasting and adjusting the sesame/soy/vinegar thing all along. Sesame is the easiest to overdose, so be careful.
Thanks @Lamb Chopped, this is really helpful. I've tended to put off making hot & sour soup unless I have dried cloud ear mushrooms because a friend from Hong Kong told me dried shiitake are not right. This version sounds fresher and lighter. I do add some dry sherry and ground white pepper to the black vinegar, soy and toasted sesame and have found that if I stir the soup clockwise fast so that it swirls as I dribble in the beaten egg yolk, it goes more thready.
We have been getting meals on wheels since I had been ill and Mr. Image is disabled. We had several for over the weekend that simply did not look appealing. So I put some stock in a pot brought to a boil added the frozen veg and meat, chicken, and hamburger from the packaged meals, and it not only looked more appetizing but tasted very good. It was easy to prepare and with some bread and apples that they sent, made a good dinner.
There is one bottle of soup left in the freezer from last winter - can't quite remember what, but I think it is squash, possibly sweet potato, and coconut milk.
Got that wrong! It was cauliflower and coconut soup.
I served it with toasted desiccated coconut sprinkled generously over the top (coconut flakes would probably be better, but I didn't have them).
The other day I took a blottily labelled package out of the freezer on which it was just possible to make out the word 'soup'.
This morning, went to put it on for beef broth, to find it was the remains of a gammon joint. No problem, gammon and lentil it is. Except no lentils or split peas in the cupboard.
So added some potato to the diced onion, carrot and courgette, good tsp of curry powder, veg stock, boil, liquidise, add the diced gammon and heat through. Perfectly good.
Comments
That has overtones of what poor Charlie Bucket used to eat - from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!
WTF? Hands off.
If you will look here, you will see that the faux pas (mistake) has been addressed.
jedijudy-Heaven Host
You are very welcome!
However, leek and parsnip soup with haricot beans is fine. It just need a little something extra to lift it - not sure what. I should, perhaps, have tried lemon juice. Any other suggestions?
Thanks for the vinegar recommendation! We had some at lunchtime and I put a spoonful of vinegar in, it counteracted the sweetness and also seemed to bring out the flavour of the parsnips.
@Lamb Chopped - Love hot and sour soup but I must admit I've never actually made it.
For me this means I end up with:
- Several big packages/cans of chicken broth or stock (we usually make a big ol' pot of this soup, as it freezes pretty well for later);
- two cans of sliced water chestnuts, the liquid drained out and the chestnuts dumped in;
- ditto two cans of bamboo shoots, preferably the slivered ones, but slightly larger (still spoon-sized) ones will do;
- some sliced mushrooms (I usually get the crimini/baby bella ones, but get whatever you enjoy) dumped in;
- one to three blocks of tofu, depending on how much you like tofu. Try to get the silken, but any soft tofu will do. Slice that up to make tiny cubes (okay, I lied: fake it. We generally have spoon-sized wodges in there) and throw those in too. Heat all of that on medium to low on the stovetop, and just keep it going while you're doing all the rest.
AND- One or two packages of pork tenderloin, preferably unflavored, though you can get interesting effects with the pre-spiced versions. Take those out and slice them into thready globs--again, you're hoping for something you can fit on a spoon, more or less. Maybe a big Chinese spoon, but still). When the package(s) have been wodgified, dump all of it into a bowl, and add rice (or other) vinegar and sesame oil in a two to one ratio to serve as a marinade. Basically you just want to coat it well. Add some pepper to this and soy sauce too, if you fancy it. Stir it all up till everything's coated, stick it in the fridge and leave it for half an hour.
- Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame to the soup to taste. Go really light on the sesame--you need half as much or less than you do of the vinegar and soy sauce. If it gets away from you, you will regret it.
When the half hour is up, take out the marinating pork and put that carefully into your hot soup a bit at a time, so it doesn't all clump together.Stir everything and bring it up to boiling just long enough for:- An egg or two, well beaten, which you will drop into the boiling hot soup as slowly and tinily (is that a word) as you can. If the soup is actually boiling, you will get that nice egg-drop soup effect, with shreds and ribbons of egg floating throughout the soup. If it's NOT hot enough, you will get a really weird looking soup, but it will still taste fine.
Then eat it.You will be tasting and adjusting the sesame/soy/vinegar thing all along. Sesame is the easiest to overdose, so be careful.
I buy a couple of heads and use the outer stems of both for soup (or as part of a mirepoix) and the more tender inner ones for salads or cruditeés.
I used to make a curried parsnip & apple soup, using bramley apple, which is quite sour, (we had a couple of bramley apple trees back then). With a potato and the curry paste in it was not particularly sweet.
There is one bottle of soup left in the freezer from last winter - can't quite remember what, but I think it is squash, possibly sweet potato, and coconut milk.
I freeze my soups in 2pt plastic supermarket milk bottles
Thanks @Lamb Chopped, this is really helpful. I've tended to put off making hot & sour soup unless I have dried cloud ear mushrooms because a friend from Hong Kong told me dried shiitake are not right. This version sounds fresher and lighter. I do add some dry sherry and ground white pepper to the black vinegar, soy and toasted sesame and have found that if I stir the soup clockwise fast so that it swirls as I dribble in the beaten egg yolk, it goes more thready.
I served it with toasted desiccated coconut sprinkled generously over the top (coconut flakes would probably be better, but I didn't have them).
This morning, went to put it on for beef broth, to find it was the remains of a gammon joint. No problem, gammon and lentil it is. Except no lentils or split peas in the cupboard.
So added some potato to the diced onion, carrot and courgette, good tsp of curry powder, veg stock, boil, liquidise, add the diced gammon and heat through. Perfectly good.