MEMORABLE SOUPS
Winter or summer, soups are bliss,
the perfect comforter, warming in freezing weather and utterly refreshing chilled on a hot
day. Soups are a great talking point and when well made can be memorable. To make
excellent soup you simply have to have a good stock, preferably home-made, using either a
base of meat, fish, poultry and vegetables plus appropriate seasonings. The most important
point is of course consistency, a soup is not a substitute for porridge. Consommé should
be thin and delicate, cream soups velvety and vegetable soups or those made with pulses
should have a deep flavour. A good soup should have a particular character which reflects
the main ingredient.
CHOICE INGREDIENTS
Beef bones, marrow bones, brisket on
the bone, sliced shin with marrow, chicken giblets. Chicken stock is the most versatile
and produces a depth of flavour which enhances almost any ingredient. For certain soups
such as pea, bean or lentil use slices of smoked sausage or some form of smoked ham. Among
basic vegetables are carrots, celery and onions. You will need either a touch of olive oil
to sauté vegetables and in cream soups butter. For binding, use corn flour, this is
lighter than flour. Sea salt, freshly milled pepper and fresh or dried herbs.
ESSENTIAL EQUIPMENT
A large, heavy-based stock pot. A
good cook's knife for dicing and a vegetable peeler and a chopping board.
VITAL HINTS
Use well-rinsed chicken gizzards that
have had the crinkled lining stripped off or the stock will be bitter. These make an
excellent basic chicken stock particularly if gently cooked overnight in a slow cooker
which extracts every last drop of flavour. Necks are good too but do not have as much
flavour as the gizzards and you will need to strain the stock carefully. Chicken livers
can be rinsed and dried, sautéed in a drop of olive oil with seasoning for a second or
two, then chopped up and served on a crostini!