Soup Season

I love soup. It’s a one pot dish, very forgiving in terms of measuring ingredients, warm and comforting in the winter, and all around delicious. Frankly, it’s perfect.

December through February is soup season, which not only means that it’s the default meal when I don’t know what to cook, but also that it’s intentionally on the dinner menu at least once a week.

I particularly love making soup on Sundays; even though I am of Italian descent, the classic sunday sauce was not a tradition I grew up with. But sunday soup is my version, and serves the same purpose – it’s a big pot of something simmering on the stove for a long time, making the house smell warm and inviting.

Soup is often thought of as a side or starter to a meal, for when you’re sick or a college student living off of microwave ramen cups, etc. But I’d like to formally reclaim soup as quiet luxury that can be a real show-stopping, filling meal.

Basic chicken soup is a classic in my household, but additions like meatballs and tortellini are two of my favorites that really make soup a meal I crave.

Perfect Chicken Meatballs
• 1 lb ground chicken
• 10oz frozen chopped spinach (thawed, then squeezed to remove all the water)
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (parmesan or pecorino)
• 1 egg
• 3 cloves of garlic, grated
• Glug of olive oil
• Salt and pepper
Optional: other dried herbs (oregano, basil, etc)

You can truly throw all these ingredients into a large bowl and mix together, but for an even and homogenous mix, I like to beat the egg first and add everything except the meat. It will form a paste texture that you can accurately season with salt. Then add the ground chicken and season that with salt too. When ready to bake:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment and drizzle with olive oil. Form meatballs however large or small you’d like and place them on the baking sheet. Drizzle the tops with more olive oil.

2. Bake in a 400° oven for 20-30 minutes (depending on meatball size) or until the pink-ish meat turns beige and the bottoms are a light golden brown.

Soup’s On!
When I’m making soup, I follow more of a formula rather than a recipe:

Olive oil
Chopped onion, celery, carrot, potato
Mix of additional veggies*
Main protein or starch**
Flavorful liquid***

However, I am a person who likes texture, and mushy veggies in soup is not what I’m after. The order you add your liquid and veggies depends on how soft you want them, so your process may look different from mine. If you like soft veggies, you might sauté them with your onions before adding liquid. I like to add liquid before veggies and boil my potatoes in it until I can mash them which adds creaminess. I then add carrots and celery – if I added them any earlier, they’d be too soft for my liking.

I also don’t follow exact measurements, because it all depends on how big your pot is. For a large batch, I may use two whole onions and five potatoes. For a smaller batch, I may use half an onion and one potato. It’s not an exact science, and you should use your eye to look at proportions and tailor it to what you like.

My method looks like this:

1. Start with a large pot over medium heat with olive oil. Add chopped onion and a good sprinkle of salt. Let the onions soften.

2. Add liquid and chopped potatoes; bring to a boil.

3. Boil the potatoes until soft enough to lightly mash the pieces with the back of a wooden spoon – this will thicken the broth a bit and disperse bits of potato throughout.

4. Add the chopped celery and carrot, and cook until they’re soft but still have texture. If using other veggies like zucchini or broccoli, add them now to soften.

5. Add already cooked protein / quick-cooking pasta / noodles and let them fully heat up in the broth. Add spinach at the last minute.

6. When ready to serve, taste and add salt as needed.

*Spinach, broccoli, zucchini, etc
**Meatballs, chunks of chicken breast, lentils, dumplings/wontons, tofu, tortellini, mini ravioli, gnocchi, other pasta / noodles
***Chicken stock, veggie stock, water with bouillon, plain water with seasoning