Soup.
The mere sound or mention of the word conjores up images of a blustery day. While it hasn't yet turned blustery in New Jersey yet this fall, our first freeze a couple weeks back propelled me into the my wintery world of soup creations. Beyond the joys of fresh veggies from the summer garden, soup may qualify as one of my all time favorite foods both to eat and prepare.
Even the wikipedia discussion of soup warms my bones:
Soup is a savoury liquid food that is made by combining ingredients, such as meat, vegetables and beans in stock or hot water, until the flavor is extracted, forming a broth. Boiling was not a common cooking technique until the invention of waterproof containers (which probably came in the form of pouches made of clay or animal skin) about 5,000 years ago (possibly longer), so soups presumably were little-known before that time.
Over the centuries, the terms gruel and potage have become separated from broth and stock (and their refinement, consommé). The language may have shifted over time, but the modern definitions of soup and stew were established in the 18th century: soups usually are more liquid; stews are thicker, containing more solid ingredients. Stews are cooked in covered containers for longer periods of time, at a gentle boil with less water and at a lower heat.
Traditionally, soups are classified into two broad groups: clear soups and thick soups. The established French classifications of clear soups are bouillon and consommé. Thick soups are classified depending upon the type of thickening agent used: purées are vegetable soups thickened with starch; bisques are made from puréed shellfish thickened with cream; cream soups are thickened with béchamel sauce; and veloutés are thickened with eggs, butter and cream. Other ingredients commonly used to thicken soups and broths include rice, flour, and grain.
Whether it is a clear broth or a creamy creation, a puree or cold, soup is the ultimate comfort food. Short of raw cut up veggies, it's also one of the easiest things you can make when time is short making it the ultimate convenience food. The variations and possibilities are truly infinite limited only by your imagination or what you have on hand. For me, it's the ultimate in leftover patrol.
For me, the best soups come from a stock but it isn't necessary. It's quite possible to just throw a bunch of stuff with complementary flavors into a pot, add in some seasonings to taste and a liquid - generally water for a clear or puree broth, or milk for a cream soup.
I keep a bunch of large zipper bags in my freezer to gather my stock making ingredients as I go along.
One receives vegetable peelings and scraps. I always make a point of checking out the "seconds" table in the produce area of the market or at the local farm stands for anything to stick in there, especially towards the end of summer as I know I'll be dragging my stock pots out soon. You want to restrict your freezing to firm vegetables that freeze well. Tomatoes freeze well too if you are interested but I suggest freezing them separately for tomato or vegetable soup down the road and not using them for stocks.
Another receives pork scraps and bones. I have an organic pig farmer nearby who sells meat by the cut at a great price so I tend to eat a lot of pork. All bits and bones go in to this bag cooked or not.
Yet another collects beef parts. I'm not a huge beef eater but whenever I have a steak or something, I always freeze the bone; it pisses my dog off but she loves having stock on her kibble so I figure it's a fair trade-off. Most of my beef stocks are from the soup bones sold at the market.
You can have three guesses what the last bag collects.
Chicken is the meat I probably eat the most. It's cheap, it's versatile, and it's an easy sell to kids. The farmer I buy the pork from also raises free range chickens and these are killed to order. I always choose to take the feet and head as they make the best stock. If I am cutting the thing up for the grill or something else, I stick the back and bones in there. If I roast it whole, I save the carcass.
Also in there is an assortment of herbs from the garden. I freeze them in many different ways and this aspect will need to be it's own diary next summer when it's topical.
On the first cold weekend in the fall, I set about making my stocks for winter. Once made, I freeze them in one quart containers.
I have a couple of rules that I set for myself when making clear stocks for later use:
They must be clear. That means no little bits of this or that floating around in there.
They must be relatively free of fat. Accomplishing this takes some time.
They must be salt free. I like salt, I use salt, but I like to add it when I create the soup not the stock so I make the stocks without salt as I feel it gives me better control over a recipe down the road.
Onions and peppercorns are a must. To me the onion and the peppercorn are miracle foods and flavors.
Zipper bags are your friend.. They work great for freezing stocks. I think it's self explanatory why.
Food safety can be an issue with stocks because of the slow cooling time. If you live in the wintry north, use that snow to your cooling benefit - I would stick my pots right into the snow when I lived in Buffalo. If not, consider an ice bath to cool your stocks quickly for freezing. The other option is to can them but consult an expert on that as I don't know squash about it.
A basic stock is simply the meat and vegetable assortment along with appropriate spices. I like to put my vegetables and spices into a cheesecloth or potato sack cloth bag to make clarifying easier when done. Put your ingredients into your stockpot and bring to a boil. For any stocks with raw meat and bones in it, you will need to be attentive to skimming the scum off the top as it begins to cook. The scum will make your stock cloudy and can impart a bitter taste into it. For this reason also - never ever use chicken livers in the stock. Gizzards and necks are fine.
For vegetable stock, just omit the obvious.
Simmer everything for a few hours. You want your proteins to basically fall apart and the collagens from the bones to do their thing. Technically, you can continue to cook this down and making it more and more concentrated if you desire. The only limitation to knowing when to stop is your time restrictions.
Once done, strain it to get the solids out. A colander won't really do. You need an actual strainer or an adequate supply of cheesecloth. I have a large handheld fine screen strainer that I picked up several years ago; it was one of my best kitchen investments as I use it almost weekly and sometimes daily. You may need to strain it a couple times. I usually use my strainer a couple times and then run it through a couple layers of cheesecloth.
Stick it in the fridge and go have some wine or something at this point. I hope you had something else planned for dinner because your stock still isn't done.
The next day pull that fat off your stock. It should be solidified. If it is gooey and not solid (such as with beef stock), I find using a skim of cloth will grab most of it. A gravy separator will work just fine too for this. Please share your better suggestions.
Freeze it and you will have the most wonderful soup base for your winter recipes.
Recipes:
Vegetable Soup
This works for summer or winter vegetables and is insanely easy.
Take whatever vegetables you have on hand, even tomatoes cut into bite sized pieces. Put into a quart of beef or vegetable stock and simmer for a bit. Enjoy.
Mushroom Soup
This is a traditional Polish Wigilia recipe from my family and is one of my favorite soups that I now cook regularly when Mrs. TVB is out of town (cuz she hates mushrooms and is weird that way). It doesn't require a stock but if I were to use one it would be a beef stock.
Soak some dry mushrooms in boiling water until soft. Reserve liquid when soft.
Meanwhile, saute some onion in butter.
Add mushrooms and some water. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Add some chopped assorted mushrooms. Use whatever is available.
Simmer another 15 minutes.
Mix a can of cream of mushroom soup with some water and add that to the soup. Blend well.
Enjoy.
Chicken Noodle Soup
Cook some noodles and add it to your stock.
If you like meat with your CNS, cook it ahead of time and add it in then to keep your stock clear.
Add a few sprigs of chopped parsley if desired. Fresh bell pepper is nice too but don't cook so long as to make it mushy.
It's all pretty simple and dinner is done in a snap and is guaranteed to warm your body, and ward off all sorts of evil bugs all winter long.
What's for dinner in your home this week?