Once Labor Day has passed, and fall is in the air, it's time to start thinking about soup. There's nothing like a bowl of chunky, satisfying soup on a nippy day, to warm the cockles of your heart.
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Soups in Ireland
Soups come in all colors, textures, and tastes. In fact, I think it's safe to say there's probably a soup to to suit every palate.
In Ireland, we describe a chunky soup by saying:
"There's eating and drinking in that."
Remember, in this case, the word "eating" is usually pronounced in a manner similar to "eightin", as in the number 8.
But whether you prefer drinking a clear, soothing broth, or eating a thick, substantial stew, I'm quite certain there is an Irish soup for you.
In the next few weeks and months I plan to share some of my favorite soup and stew recipes.
I know some people feel a recipe is unnecessary for concocting a perfect soup, sticking to the motto:
"You can't go wrong with soup."
Truthfully, you can and you can't go wrong with soup. For some all-in-the-pot, mix-it-all-together kind of soups, they taste delicious no matter what.
But on the other hand, you can go very, very wrong with more delicate, puréed soups, that require the perfectly flavored stock, the right amount of seasoning, or a dash of cream or milk to add depth, and an underlying richness.
To prepare for the "soup making season" I thought a post on some basic tips for soup success is in order.
1. Fresh is Best
Any soup is only as good as the ingredients used to make it, and with that in mind, my motto is "fresh is best". Fresh vegetables and good quality stock are keys to tasty soup.
Now don't think I'm not known for opening a bag of frozen peas for a quick soup. I do use frozen vegetables frequently, since they are flash frozen at peak freshness, but I tend to steer clear of canned ingredients in my soups. The canning process adds way too much sodium for my taste buds.
2. A good stock
Stock dictates the underlying flavor and ultimate taste of each and every soup. Choosing between vegetable based stock, chicken, beef or fish stock is the most important decision for any soup.
I often use store bought stock, but truly they don't come close to the flavor of a good home-made stock. Recently, I have been paying quite a bit of attention to food labels and try to steer clear of any ingredients I can't pronounce.
Some cheaper stocks are full of preservatives, and are laden with salt. Organic stocks are twice the price, but worth it for flavor and goodness. However, the budget friendly decision is to make homemade stock.
In the coming days and weeks I'll share my stock making tips with a few basic stock recipes. With a crockpot you can simmer a good stock even while you're out and about. Here's my crockpot chicken stock recipe.
3. Herbs and spices
Herbs and spices can lift a soup from ordinary to extraordinary. They're my soup pot heroes.
They add flavor, working away busily spreading their magic in the pot.
Fresh or dried herbs work well, but the general rule for dried herbs is to use one third of the quantity of fresh.
4. Make sure the vegetables do the sweating, not you!
Many soup recipes start out be telling you to 'sweat' the vegetables. The term does sound a little gross for those not used to culinary lingo, but to tell you the truth, it's a very accurate description of what is going on in the soup pot.
When "sweating" vegetables, they are gently cooked in a tiny bit of fat, to get their juices to leak out, and to release their inner flavors. You get their juices flowing, so to speak.
To promote this process, the pot is covered to trap steam, which helps soften the veggies. It's important to keep the steam trapped in, so lifting the lid is not recommended. Instead, lift the whole pot and give the veggies a good, old shake to stop them sticking.
This "sweating" usually takes about 10 minutes. The ingredients shouldn't be browned or caramelized, but slightly pale after their time in the pot sauna.
5. Simmer, don't boil
Simmering is vital for good soup. When vegetables are boiled they end up tumbling all over the pot, hitting off the sides, damaging their texture and spilling all their flavor into the stock. So simmer, to avoid somersaulting peas and carrots.
Similarly, when reheating a soup it's important to simmer without boiling. This is especially true for soups with added cream. When the cream boils it separates and creates a fatty film on top of the soup. So, my rule of thumb is, gentle heat for luscious soup.
6. In praise of hand held blenders
In my granny's day smooth soups were achieved by mushing and sieving the cooked vegetables. No such work for today's cook. Liquidisers or blenders do a fine job of puréeing soup, but ladeling the liquid in batches is slow, not to mind the risk of splattering hot liquid all over the place if the jug is overfilled.
My best soup-making friend is my hand-held blender. I take great satisfaction in blitzing a soup with a quick dunk of its all-powerful blades. There's nothing like a quick whizz with a hand held blender for a perfectly textured soup. I highly recommend one of these gadgets.
And so there you have it! A few good soup-making tips, to whet your appetites for some delicious soups over the coming months. As I type this blog post, a tasty chicken stock is simmering away in my crock pot. I'll share my recipe in the next few days.
Stay tuned for plenty of stock and soup recipes in my upcoming recipe posts.
Here are some links for some favorite Irish soups.
Thanks for following my recipes and ramblings.
Slán agus beannacht,
(Goodbye and blessings)
Mairéad -Irish American Mom
Pronunciation - slawn ah-gus ban-ock-th
Mairéad - rhymes with parade
Here are some more recipes you might enjoy...
Irish Soups And Stews
- Easy Cauliflower Leek Irish Soup Recipe
- Homemade Vegan Vegetable Stock Cubes
- How To Make Irish Style Cream of Celery Soup
- Beef and Ale Stew
Patricia
All that soup speaking is getting me hungry for soup eating!
Irish American Mom
Patricia - There's something about September that gets me thinking about soup. But rest assured I had plenty of soup in Ireland even during the summer months, when there can be plenty of days with a nip in the air.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
Aimee
We have soup once a week all year! We get a couple of whole chickens a month and make 3 batches of broth (about one and a half gallons) out of one carcass. Then when making said soup, I add in a dash of gelatin from grass fed cows to boost the nutrient content. Yum- soup is the best!
Irish American Mom
Aimee - What a great tip for extra goodness. Home made broth is so much more flavorful than store bought.
All the best,
Mairéad
brian@irelandfavorites
I vote for a good lamb stew and a pint on the side, next to that hunk of bread and a slap of good Irish butter.
HHHMMM,
Brian.
Irish American Mom
Brian - I'll have to share a lamb stew recipe before the fall is over. There's nothing like a warm lamb stew with a pint in a cozy pub with a fire blazing.
All the best,
Mairéad
emily
I am looking forward to your upcoming posts on soups! We love soups! Those pictures of what reminds me of a cauldron. Over fire make me want to make huge batches of soup for friends outside!!
Irish American Mom
Emily - Soup and a song around an open fire would be lovely with friends. Soups and stews will be my recipe focus for September, so stop by to check out my postings over the coming weeks if you have a moment to spare.
All the best,
Mairéad
Anne from Pintesting
Oh, I LOVE soups and stews. I've been making a crockpot recipe called Irish Beef Stew that probably isn't all that Irish, but is super delicious and has been a family favorite for years and years. (It's best served with some home-made bread.) It's still very warm here in Florida, but soups are yummy no matter what the season. I'm so looking forward to your recipes!
Irish American Mom
Anne - Once your stew tastes good, whether or not it 's a true Irish stew is unimportant. Once it is satisfying and nutritious we'll award the title "Irish Stew" to most slow-cooked, all-in-the pot recipes.
Thanks so much for stopping by,
Mairéad
Cheryl Barker
I love soup season!
Irish American Mom
Me too, Cheryl. I love when there's a little nip in the air and a hot bowl of soup is the perfect, warming meal.
All the best,
Mairead
T.M. Johnson
Mairead, for decades we have had a soup tradition to help the household suffer our dreary Pacific Northwest winters: "Saturday Soup" we call it, soup simmered Saturdays (alliteration purely accidental) on our woodstove (also a toasty place for those homemade breads and rolls to rise). In my opinion, soup should never be made in small quantities; there should always be enough for leftovers or to freeze. The latter comes in handy on those long winter nights when one has little desire to cook. Favorites of the household: Shreveport gumbo, hamburger barley, split pea with ham, white chili, sausage soup, potato/leek soup, seafood and clam chowder made with Pacific Coast razor clams, and "never the same way twice" chili.
My mother-in-law lives in another part of the state and for several years in October while the mountain passes were still passable, my wife would spend three days with her mom cooking a variety of soups and freezing them in single meal containers to help m-i-l with her winter meals. (My mother would prefer soup over steak for any meal.)
And what better way to stem the tide of the season's garden tomatoes than to soup them up in a garden-fresh cream of tomato soup.
Soup makes such a delicious and wholesome meal it was even celebrated in literature
"Beautiful soup, so rich, so green/Waiting in a hot tureen./Who for such dainties would not stoop./Soup of the evening, beautiful soup." Alice in Wonderland TMJ
Irish American Mom
T.M. - I like the sound of "never the same way twice" chilli. Since I didn't grow up eating chilli, and have no family recipe handed down for generations, my chillis are always different. I'm constantly experimenting with them.
Love your list of family favorite soups too. Split pea is also high on my family's list. Making soups for the freezer in single serve portions is a wonderful way to help your wife's mom. Soup is perfect for winter lunch or dinner. I'd even give it a go for breakfast sometimes.
Love the poem from Alice in Wonderland.
Thanks for stopping by.
Mairead
Amy Brennan
On my first and only solo trip to Ireland, I ordered a bowl of vegetable soup with brown bread for my lunch one day. I was surprised when the bowl arrived to the table, to see a bright orange, creamy soup instead of chunky veggies swimming in broth like we're accustomed to here. It was and remains one of my most favorite comfort foods of all times. I don't bother with chunky veg anymore, unless I'm making a stew. It always saddens me when eating in American restaurants to find "bagged" heat and serve soups; when it's so much yummier and healthier just to make it fresh. I miss Ireland and hope we can move home someday soon. <3 (And you're right, the hand-held, stick blenders are a God-send.)
Irish American Mom
Hi Amy - I think Irish people really enjoy soups, especially vegetable soup. It seems to be on the menu every where you go in Ireland, but each place has it's own unique blend. I remember eating cream of vegetable soup when I was a little girl. I'll have to make it for my blog someday soon.
All the best,
Mairéad
Mary Sullivan
I have three packages of mushrooms and need a recipe for Irish mushroom soup. I've looked in the few cookbooks I have and their are none. I know I saw a recipe somewhere. That's why I bought the mushrooms. Help!
Irish American Mom
Hi Mary - Cream of mushroom soup is one of my favorites. I'll have to make this recipe for my blog someday soon. I make it frequently but I haven't looked at my recipe in a long time. I tend to just eyeball everything and judge my quantities by consistency.
I found my old Irish recipe from a cookbook called "Full and Plenty", that calls for 2 ounces of flour to 2 ounces of butter and 2 pints of liquid, to make the roux and create the soup. However, these ratio's are Irish measurements, where a pint is bigger than an American pint. Here's my converted recipe which I hope will help. Simply adjust the amount of milk to get the consistency you are looking for ....
Ingredients:
1/2 small onion or a shallot finely chopped
3 tablespoons of butter
8 ounces of white or button mushrooms chopped
3 tablespoons of flour
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock (I prefer chicken, but we're not vegetarian)
2 cups of whole milk (if it's a little thick add more milk)
Directions:
Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or soup pot. Add the onion and saute for 2 minutes.
Add the chopped mushrooms and stir and saute for a further 4 minutes.
Stir in the flour, salt and pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes stirring constantly. This creates a mushroom roux.
Gradually add the chicken stock, then the milk stirring constantly.
Bring to simmering point, stirring to prevent burning.
Season to taste - I find this soup takes more salt than I use for other soups.
I hope I have the ratios right here. Happy soup making.
All the best,
Mairéad
Melanie Bourne
I'm only now reading this on a snowy second day of spring on the east coast - couldn't resist chiming in as I so love a good soup and really enjoy your posts, with or without recipes. The best soup I ever ate in my life was a seafood chowder in a Dublin pub about a year and a half ago. It was heaven. I'm returning to Ireland this summer, bringing my sister - I will find that pub and have that chowder!
We are kindred spirits - I am in love with my immersion blender for making soup. It's a wonderful invention. I eat soup for breakfast, too!!! Warming, nutritious, portable and easy. What's not to like? It's going to snow all day here in MD - I think I'll go make a pot of lentil soup. 🙂
Thanks for your inspiration!
Irish American Mom
Hi Melaine - I hope you're staying warm up in the northeast. Talk about crazy weather this year I hope you enjoyed your lentil soup - that's a recipe I must share someday soon. Red lentil soup appeared regularly on my childhood menu. My mom never added spices but I love to add some toasted spices to add a little zing. A nice seafood soup is another great idea for my blog. I'll have to get cooking and photographing!
All the best, and thanks for stopping by to check out my blog,
Mairéad