Soup Swap: Comforting Recipes to Make and Share

By Kathy Gunst and Yvonne Duivenvoorden

Sixty recipes for soups, stews, and chowders to share and savor, from the James Beard Award winner and NPR chef.

There’s no better way to cultivate community, foster friendship, or simply nourish family than over heartwarming bowls of homemade soup. And here, soup lovers will find sixty terrific recipes, featuring such classics as creamy Tomato Soup with Grilled-Cheese Croutons alongside international favorites like Thai Red Curry-Chicken Noodle Soup.

Each recipe has suggested sides to make it a meal and tips for easy transporting, which makes them just right to bring to a soup swap where everyone can sample the offerings and then take home a variety of leftovers to enjoy all week. Whether taken to the party or savored at home, this trusted collection of soups, stews, and chowders is sure to satisfy all year long.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Sep 13, 2016
• ISBN: 9781452148519

Kathy Gunst

Kathy Gunst is a James Beard Award–winning journalist and the author of sixteen cookbooks. She is the award-winning Resident Chef for NPR’s Here and Now, heard on over 550 public radio stations with over 5 million listeners. She writes for many publications, including The Washington Post, EatingWell, Yankee, The New York Times, and others. Gunst teaches food journalism and cooking at schools and universities around the globe.

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THE FOUNDATION: MAKING BROTHS & STOCKS

Homemade stock—two scary words? Not really. Try one of these recipes and see just how simple it is to make stock at home. Add poultry, meat, or fish to a big pot with a few vegetables (or leave out the meat and add extra vegetables) and aromatics; add enough water to barely cover; and . . . walk away. An hour or so later you’ve got stock. Not so scary after all; is it?

The recipes here include classics—chicken stock, beef stock, and fish stock—as well as a really creative technique for using leftover vegetable scraps and chicken, lamb, and beef bones (the stuff you would normally throw away) to create rich, full-flavored stocks.

Remember, when you make your own stock you control the amount of salt you use. That’s not something you can say about boxed and canned stocks that are generally loaded with sodium and preservatives.

Why Aren’t There Specific Amounts of Salt and Pepper Called for in These Recipes?

Sure, I could tell you how much salt to add to each of these soup recipes. But I don’t know if you’re working with a canned or boxed stock that is loaded with sodium or with a low-sodium variety. And you’ll need a lot less salt if you’re using one of the homemade stock recipes.

The amount of salt and pepper you add to a soup is a very personal decision. When I say, Season with salt and pepper, I mean it quite literally. Add salt (and pepper, when called for) to a recipe in several stages and taste after each time you add it. Don’t add more until the end of the recipe, when you can see how all the flavors come together and how much more seasoning is really needed. It’s easy to add more salt or pepper, but there is no way to add less. Always steer toward less, knowing that you can adjust/add the salt and pepper before serving.

A word about salt: I like to use sea salt. I find that it offers a fuller flavor than processed salts, so less is needed. It’s not necessary to go out and buy an expensive bag of fancy sea salt. If you choose to use kosher salt (another good choice), you’ll need even less than sea salt, because kosher salt has larger and lighter crystals.

A word about pepper: If you don’t have a pepper grinder, it’s an investment (albeit a small one) you owe yourself. Grinding fresh peppercorns makes a world of difference in cooking. Cooking with preground black pepper is like using black sawdust. At the very least, buy peppercorns that come packaged in a rudimentary but serviceable grinder, now available in most supermarkets.

PEA BROTH

The time to make this sweet pea broth is late spring/early summer, when fresh peas are plentiful. As you shell peas for soup or salad, be sure to keep the shells to make this broth. It offers an exceptionally pure, subtly sweet flavor. This broth is the base of Late-Spring Pea and Lettuce Soup (page 53), but it can be used as a vegetable broth in virtually any recipe.

MAKES ABOUT 8 CUPS [2 L]

4 lb [1.8 kg] shells from shelling peas (also called English peas) or from sugar snap peas

1 onion, chopped

Dark green leaves from 1 large leek (optional)

6 peppercorns

¹/2 cup [30 g] packed chopped fresh parsley with stems

¹/3 cup [20 g] packed chopped fresh chives

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1. In a large stockpot, combine the pea shells, onion, leek leaves (if using), peppercorns, parsley, and chives and season with salt. Add enough cold water to just barely cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Taste the broth. If the flavor is weak, remove the lid and simmer over medium heat for another 15 minutes, or until the flavors have bloomed. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding pepper and more salt if needed. Strain the stock, pressing down on the pea shells to release all the juice, and let

Reviews for Soup Swap

[mchwest · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I found this cookbook in a little shop in Maine and so enjoy it!