What is the true litmus test of a cook? A flawless omelet, a perfect baguette? Melissa of The Traveler's Lunchbox has her own opinion. "From my perspective," she says, "nothing cuts to the chase of kitchen competence like a bowl of plain old vegetable soup."
Why does she consider this the end-all-be-all of a cook's skill? "Vegetable soup," she says, "unfortunately is often seen either as a dumping ground for what is too old or tasteless to consume in any other form, or as a form of punishment from the school of 'if it's healthy, it must taste accordingly!' philosophy."
Melissa argues that a pot of vegetable soup doesn't need truffles, dairy, or other gilded additions to surpass such dull sludge. As evidence she exhibits this Spanish soup: Olla Gitana (Gypsy Pot) from Anya von Bremzen's The New Spanish Table. With a host of delicious things (chickpeas, almonds, tomatoes, saffron, pumpkin) it stands out as an especially delicious example of the genre.
Read her whole piece — it's a cheering section for vegetable soup!
• Get Melissa's recipe and read her full piece on vegetable soup: Gypsy Pot, or the Art of Vegetable Soup at The Traveler's Lunchbox
What are your thoughts on vegetable soup? Do you have favorite recipes or techniques for making a vegetable soup stand out?
Related: Basic Techniques: How to Make Homemade Vegetable Stock
(Images: Emma Christensen; Melissa Kronenthal)
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I love vegetable soup! Maybe that's why I've never felt the need to make it "stand out."
I just made a couple pots o vegetable soup.. one with beef stock and the other with chicken stock... but always like to use V8 spicy vegetable added for that extra kick.. I cube tofu and either add it fresh as is or sometimes, I like to pan sear it first with olive oil and garlic and then toss it into the soup for added protein and to make it diverse on the 2nd day or so. I tend to use a lot of veggies so I thin it out by just adding more V8 or stock as soup runs out... makes extra for freezing after your all souped out.
Vegetable soups of varieties are a staple in my vegetarian kitchen. I very, very rarely waste anything b/c I always know I can make a great and healthy, satisfying soup is need be. Great post!
I don't feel the need to make it stand out either. I will generally chop up a bit of uncooked veggies before I make each nights dinner and stick it in a bag. I combine those bits saved from the week with my sauteed mirepoix, whatever broth or concentrate I have on hand, maybe some meat, spices, and possibly some orzo or barley. It's simple, hearty, and healthy. Sometimes simple is good.