The Soupmaker's Kitchen

How to Save Your Scraps, Prepare a Stock, and Craft the Perfect Pot of Soup

Soup, beautiful soup—the most basic of cooked foods, the universal cure-all, a nourishing way to use small amounts of food or leftovers, a dish that can always be stretched to feed more …

Once again award-winning chef Aliza Green invites you into her kitchen to share her time-tested techniques for making dozens of soups, bisques, chowders, and purées. From the basic foundation of stocks to the older, European-inspired concoctions, such as Zuppa Pavese and French Onion Soup, Aliza outlines the origins, ingredients, and steps necessary to create a warm and satisfying culinary experience every time. Explore more than 100 soup recipes, plus variations on each one, from all over the world, and in every style of soup you might want to eat. Recipes include:

—Hungarian Woodlands Mushroom Soup with Sour Cream and Paprika

—Tuscan Pappa al Pomodoro

—Senegalese Peanut and Yam Puree with Ginger

—Provencal Soupe au Pistou with Savoy Cabbage, White Beans, and Leeks

—Wild Salmon Chowder with Sweet Corn & Gold Potatoes

—Tom Kha Gai (Thai Chicken Coconut Soup)

—Cream of Cauliflower with Nutmeg and Chives

—Kerala Red Lentil Soup (vegan)

—Vietnamese Pho Soup with Beef Brisket

—Caribbean Callalou Soup with Crabmeat and Coconut

Accompanied by Steve Legato’s clearly detailed, full-color photography, your soup making success will be effortless. Inside you’ll find a wide-ranging collection of recipes to suit every palate including seafood, poultry, pork, beef, vegan and vegetarian formulas, and a wealth of information you will use over and over again in your culinary endeavors.

Basic Stocks: The importance of using your vegetable water, roasting juices, trimmings, seasonings, and the right vegetables to get optimum flavor from your stock

Soupmaker’s Tips: Ingredients prep—how to correctly wash, slice, and dice ? When fresh versus frozen is important ? Using flavor enhancers such as fresh herbs and appropriate spices ? How to get the best results from the proper utensils ? Invaluable time savers ? Creative serving suggestions

Basic Techniques: How to properly chill soup, the process of cooking dried beans, the correct shredding method for cabbage, the art of cutting leaves into chiffonade, and many more