Autumn Vegetable Soup - Recipe Girl (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to soup? ›

A squeeze of citrus, a dollop of yogurt or a drizzle of cream, a dusting of cheese or a good chile powder, a sprinkling of some herbs or croutons — all can take a perfectly fine soup into the realm of the delectable. Even a spiral of good olive oil to finish and some coarse sea salt can do wonders.

Milk or Half-and-Half: This is the other magical ingredient that turns your homemade chicken noodle soup into the creamiest soup ever. Use 1 cup of whole milk or 1 cup of half-and-half. If you want to make regular (non-creamy) chicken noodle soup, replace the milk with more chicken broth.

Make it gluten-free: Omit the all-purpose flour, and make a cornstarch slurry (with equal parts cornstarch and cold water whisked together) to thicken the soup instead. Once the rice has cooked, add in 1-2 tablespoons of the slurry to the soup at a time until the broth reaches your desired level of thickness.

Dried herbs and seasonings: homemade seasoned salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, and dried bay leaves lend flavor to the soup. Stock: I much prefer chicken stock over vegetable stock in terms of flavor, though if you want to keep this soup vegetarian, feel free to use vegetable broth or stock instead.

For clear, brothy soups, stock is your most important ingredient. If you want to make a good soup, you need to use an excellently flavored stock — otherwise, the entire pot could be tasteless.

Boosting Flavor

For more flavor add in more dried herbs (or even triple the amount of dried thyme). Other good herbs to add include basil, oregano, rosemary, marjoram, or Italian seasoning. Another option to add more flavor is to use a homemade chicken stock or vegetable broth.

Smooth vegetable soups always welcome some extra veg at the end, Mendes says – he suggests finely dicing some more of the veg you used as the base for the soup, then mix it with fresh herbs and lemon zest and spoon on top. “Or blitz raw cauliflower or broccoli into 'couscous', season and add herbs,” he adds.

Use what you love! Cream: Half and half, heavy cream, light cream or thickened cream all yield similar results, however heavy cream adds richness. Flour: We need flour to create that delicious, creamy texture mushroom soup is loved for.

What is the secret ingredient to thicken soup? ›

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute.

A beurre manie is another classic french technique. This method is luxurious way to thicken a soup or sauce. Just mix one tablespoon softened butter with one tablespoon all-purpose flour. Stir the paste into a warm soup to add a luxurious mouthfeel.

It's important to note that cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour. If you need to substitute cornstarch to thicken liquid in a recipe that calls for ¼ cup (four tablespoons) flour, you only need two tablespoons cornstarch.

If the grains aren't washed before cooking, the excess starch present in rice will make the rice sticky when it's in hot water. Rinse the rice thoroughly until the water runs clear. You can also place rice and water in a bowl and change the water several times.

Use a high-quality broth or stock as a base for your soup. Roast or caramelize your vegetables before adding them to your soup to bring out their natural sweetness. Add ingredients like mushrooms, tomatoes, soy sauce, miso, or seaweed to enhance the flavor of your soup.

"If your broth is lacking in savory richness, try adding roasted onion, tomato paste, mushrooms, seaweed, soy sauce, or miso. These ingredients add umami flavor and depth to broth," she says. The choice of ingredient depends on the recipe, though.

Savoriness can come from other ingredients besides salt. (Especially if you need to watch your sodium intake.) Adding umami-rich ingredients like tomato paste or a parmesan rind to the soup will add a deep, rich savoriness and body to the soup. (Here's what umami means.)