sure you can buy soup - i mean, the soup aisle at the grocery store is a shiny mecca of thousands of gleaming cans and promises...but as always, i think people should know just how easy this can be to make at home. plus - i hate waste, and this particular soup has bailed me out a couple times when i buy a couple potatoes swearing i'm going to eat them...then a week later they're looking a little haggard and the idea of waiting for a baked potato for dinner bores me to tears. this recipe doesn't call for anything terribly out of the ordinary, so about 25 minutes and a couple pantry items later you have a fantastic "comfort" soup - kinda thick and seemingly creamy, really savory, and dense enough to be a meal - though not heavy so a cup makes a great appetizer or side. i also really like that there's no iron-clad flavor profile for this soup - we'll talk variations so you can make it to your taste and not have to go out and buy specific seasonings.
ingredients:
- 1/2 tbsp oil (any kind will do - veg, olive, etc)
- 6 baby carrots (or 1 average carrot) diced - which might sound tough when carrots are round - just cut them in half length-wise so they have a flat side to sit on, then cut them - size isn't important here because we're going to blend this
- 2 celery stalks cut up - like the carrot, size doesn't matter much since we'll be blending it
- 1/2 average onion same - cut size doesn't matter, nor does onion size - more or less would still be dang good...i prefer more rather than less :)
- 3 garlic cloves diced (it came to my attention that i might want to specify - "cloves" are the little sections in that harder, dry skin within a head of garlic. don't use 3 heads of garlic...unless you really like garlic)
- 1 + 1/2 tsp salt (if you want to be really good - use 1 tsp...i'm a sucker for salt...i use 1 + 1/2)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp thyme (remember, we'll talk about different seasonings - don't run out and buy thyme just yet)
- 2 cups water
- 2 average potatoes skinned and chopped into bigger chunks (the kind of potatoes you use to make baked or mashed potatoes - the larger, brown-skinned kind we are all used to - not the little guys or purple ones or anything)
- 1 + 1/2 cups soy milk (make sure you don't have vanilla flavored! most will specify "plain" for unflavored ones. you can also use cow's milk, though there's more fat/saturated fat/cholesterol in cow's milk - you could use skim also - just note that will thin your soup a little more. almond milk would also work well)
- 1 + 1/2 cup corn (i often use canned corn, and you can definitely just round up to 1 whole can to make it easier - just make sure you drain the liquid out first! frozen corn also works really well - neat tip: trader joe's sells bags of frozen, roasted corn that lends a nice smokey flavor!)
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| the size of my potato pieces |
what to do:
1. prep - cut up your veggies and garlic, skin you potatoes and chop them up - when it comes to your potatoes the smaller you cut them, the faster they'll cook, not that you need to mince them - just cut each in at least 8 pieces
2. in a medium pot, get your oil heating up over a medium fire. add your carrot, celery, onion and garlic. simmer for about 5-7 minutes. as usual - we're not really looking for browning, you want your onion and celery turning translucent. stir them 2 times while cooking - you don't need to be compulsively mixing - you're just making sure everything gets cooked.
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| step 2 as it's done |
4. add your potatoes and water, give it a little stir to make sure nothing stuck to the bottom of your pot. turn your heat up a little (medium-high fire) and cover your pot. the point here is your cooking the potatoes. should take about 10 minutes. do not over think this - it's ok if it boils - just make sure it's not outta control.
5. check your potatoes by poking the biggest piece with a fork or knife - if it feels soft (would you be able to mash it with a fork?) turn your heat off.
6. i recommend you let this cool before blending it to avoid scalding hot liquid spattering on you. if you're confident and live on the edge (like me, obvi) don't wait, but be very careful while you use a ladle or spoon to scoop out the chunks into your food processor or blender (either will work for this) then pour some of the liquid into the blender/processor as well. you'll likely need to do this in batches, just make sure each batch has a combo of chunks and liquid so it'll blend easily/smoothly. if you use a blender, be careful! if you put the lid on tight and the ingredients are hot - when you take the lid off it might spatter or a gust of steam will rush out the top. do not put your face over the top when you open it. idiot. also, open the lid, using a towel or potholder, away from you to let that steam out. if you use a processor there should be a little hole to let steam escape, but use a towel/potholder when taking the lid off also.
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| blended mix from step 7 |
8. once it's all blended, rinse your pot to get any little chunks out and pour the soup back into your pot. put that over a medium heat again and stir in your soymilk/milk. at any point here, add your corn. make sure at this point your don't boil your soup - you don't need to in order to incorporate the soymilk, and if you were to accidentally let it boil for too long, it'll "break" or separate - the milk will will get chunky. ew. don't get scared because i said that! it won't happen as long as you don't violently boil the poor soup for 5 minutes straight. you don't want to do that to any soup really - but canned soups have a bunch of weird emulsifiers and crap to help stop this from happening.
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| step 8 complete! we have soup! |
hints:
- i considered underlining the main points of each step in this recipe for people who are more comfortable cooking. you could likely follow just the main points and know how to make this recipe - but it got a little messy looking and confusing. i go in depth in each step on purpose so people who are not adept at cooking can make this as well. i bet if you're a pro it might seem a little long-winded, so just read through the whole thing once - it'll take about 3 minutes of your life. you'll probably get the idea. but the explanations are there for those who need them - and please ask if anything is unclear!
- you can make this soup and store it in tupperware in the fridge for a week - hi, convenient dinner. when reheating this soup - you can do it in the microwave or a pot - either way, the concern in step 8 ("breaking" or separating) is still there. it's not rocket science - just don't boil it or microwave it for a ridiculously long time. 1-2 mins microwaving for a cup of soup should be plenty!
- seasonings - so you don't have thyme? you know what i actually like even more in this? a bay leaf. if you have a bay leaf sitting around (it probably came with the generic spice rack assortment and you have no idea what the hell to do with it) add it when you add the water and potatoes - the flavor will release when you simmer or boil it. just make sure you remove it before you blend the soup! if you don't have either, use 1/2 tsp dried basil. i just don't highly recommend oregano or rosemary (also often lumped in the same family) as they can be a little strong and make it seem very attempted "italian" flavor. otherwise, if you don't have any of that stuff but you got garlic for this - just use an extra clove or 2! who wouldn't like a peppery, garlicky chowder?
-if you want your soup thicker or thinner - add more or less milk. duh.
nutritional info:
recipe yields about 4 cups soup - 1 cup is a serving. info per 1 cup:
calories: 205
fat: 4g
saturated fat: 0.4g
cholesterol: 0mg
sodium: 884mg (this is for the 1 + 1/2 tsp salt, that's why i say reduce it if you're watching your salt)
carbohydrates: 37.3g
fiber: 4.2g
sugar: 8.5g
protein: 6.3g
vitamin A: 46%
vitamin C: 25%
calcium: 18%
iron: 6%
Sounds delicious :)
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