soup’s on

Nothing warms the soul like a hot bowl of homemade soup. You might think making your own, in your home, is beyond your reach. Think again. Making a creamy vegetable based soup is as easy as one, two, three.

First- begin with a base of sautéed onions. Second- add three to four cups of chopped vegetables, cover with liquid, and simmer until tender. Third- carefully puree with an immersion blender and adjust the seasoning.

To get started all you need is a large stainless steel pot, a wooden spoon, and an immersion blender. Your kitchen is incomplete with all three.

Place a large nonreactive pot over medium heat and add two tablespoons butter or olive oil. Add one chopped onion along with a pinch of salt and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally taking care not to brown the onions.

Add three to four cups chopped vegetables, sauté for a minute or two. Add seasoning, if using, and give a big stir.

Cover the vegetables with four cups of chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Homemade chicken stock would be heavenly. But don’t faint… I usually use store brought broth with great success. My favorite is College Inn.

Puree with a hand blender (taking care that the hot liquid doesn’t splatter). Add a little more liquid if needed to thin to the desired consistency. Adjust the seasoning.

Almost every soup is best made a day ahead of time. Let cool completely uncovered to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate. Gently rewarm on top of the stove.

Ladle the hot soup into bowls and garnish as desired. You’ll be surprised at how simple a rich, velvety soup is to make.

Here are a few of my winter favorites:

Asparagus Leek Soup

Black Bean Soup

Carrot and Turnip Bisque

Mushroom Bisque

Cream of Tomato Soup

And note that pureed vegetable-based soups freeze wonderfully, meaning you can wrap yourself up in one of these whenever the tempature drops.