Making Soup

I could eat soup every day. And in these days of economic austerity, soup is a good choice. It’s certainly flexible: cheap, peasant, elegant, rustic, you name it and there will be a soup recipe that fits the description.
Recently I’ve been on a tomato soup kick. Hell, Campbell’s made an entire empire out of lowly cream of tomato soup so there must be something soul satisfying about a red bowl of soup.

Here’s my ½ hour to make tomato soup recipe.
Roughly chop up a carrot, a stalk of celery and a medium white onion. Sauté the vegetables in a bit of olive oil. Maybe toss in some bacon or guanciale. Let the vegetables soften and relax, then add a can of tomatoes. Let simmer for about 20 minutes. Use an immersion blender or a regular blender and puree everything. Maybe add a dollop of cream if you want cream of tomato soup. Or a sprinkle of smoked adobe chili powder. Or gently poach an egg in the soup and then break the runny yoke into the soup. Or whatever strikes your fancy. Reheat and serve in a fancy bowl so that it looks like it took you all day to make the soup. Unfortunately, I don’t own any fancy bowls.

Not in the mood for tomato soup? How about leek and potato soup?

Roughly chop up some leeks, a carrot and some celery. Sauté until everything is soft and mushy. Add a peeled and diced potato. Add a cup of water. Let simmer for about 20 minutes. Puree like crazy. Serve with a swizzle of good olive oil and lots of fresh ground pepper.

It doesn’t take hours or days to make a simple vegetable soup, so go take a look in your fridge and let me know what you come up with. I’m thinking a roasted pepper soup would be nice for tomorrow…