7 Ways to Make Your Soups Even Better
By Claire Saffitz
Photo: Christopher Testani
The last time I ordered soup in a restaurant was—well, let me see—possibly never. That’s because in my mind, soup is something to be made and eaten at home, ideally with a cuddly animal at your feet in front of a blazing fireplace while the wind whips outside. The soup I’m talking about is never bland or thin; it’s hearty, warming, and nourishing. I’m talking about transforming chicken wings into a full-bodied, deep-amber stock. I’m talking about quietly coaxing cauliflower into a lush purée—no cream required. These techniques take some time, so set aside a lazy afternoon to let soup do its thing, melding disparate flavors into a cohesive whole. You’ll be rewarded with a bowl of soup that’s far more than a first course: It’s satisfying enough to be called dinner.
Technique #1: Sear Before You Simmer
Our Double-Dark Chicken Noodle Soup recipe starts with our best-ever chicken stock. We use wings, which have a high skin-to-meat ratio. Browning the wings results in lots of caramelized nooks and crannies that imbue the stock with a deep, savory flavor.
Related: Double-Dark Chicken Noodle Soup
Technique #2: Always Season As You Go
Photo: Christopher Testani
Adding unseasoned ingredients to seasoned ones makes your mixture bland. This is why it’s imperative to add salt not just when the dish is complete but at every stage of the process. Sweating aromatics? Season them. Adding more stock? Salt it. Tossing a bunch of veg into the pot? You get the point. Taste constantly and adjust as you go—you’ll be amazed at the intensity that comes through when you nail it.
Related: Kale Minestrone with Pistou
Technique #4: Sweat Your Vegetables for Silky Purées
Photo: Christopher Testani
Simmering vegetables in a covered pot over low heat so that they steam in their own liquid—a French technique called à l’étouffée—is the ticket to achieving a soup with pronounced depth. We love this method with cauliflower, but also try it with celeriac or rutabagas.
Related: Cauliflower-Cashew Soup with Crispy Buckwheat
Technique #5: Textural Trouble-shooting
When making any puréed soup, don’t blend all the liquids and solids together at once. Hold back some liquid at first and use it to thin the soup as needed. You can always add more liquid, but there’s not much you can do to fix a too-thin soup.
Technique #6: Heat Your Bowls
Ladling hot soup into cold bowls will chill it slightly. Simple preventive measure? Preheat your oven to its lowest temperature (usually around 200°). Turn off the oven, place soup bowls inside, and allow them to warm up for 10 minutes.
Technique #7: Save Some for Later
These aren’t your make-on-a-Monday-night soups, but they can still be weeknight staples. Many soups improve the next day, and these are all freezable (just leave out the noodles in the chicken soup). To reheat, thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then slowly bring the soup up to temp in a covered pot over medium heat, stirring often and scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.
More from Bon Appétit:
Honey Recipes for Drinks, Sides, Meats, and—of Course—Dessert
20 Spring Recipes Cause It’s Almost Here!
The 18 Best Irish-Inspired Recipes Just in Time for St. Patty’s Day
