Soup loves you back

Tried-and-true recipes for trying times.

The trusted travel company Prior asked me to share 10 favorite soup bowls from around the world for a big “soup package” next Saturday. How’s that for timing? Given this cold, grim, terrifying moment, we all need the restorative, reassuring care that soup offers, whether it’s a bowl of matzo ball enjoyed solo at the counter at S&P Lunch (on the menu at breakfast, by the way) or a pot of lentil soup that you put on the table for friends — bread, butter and wine not optional.

Here are some of my favorite soup recipes, from daily drivers to dinner-party show-offs. Do yourself a favor and get in the habit of freezing a pint or quart right out of the pot — a love letter to your future self.

Also nourishing: Tamar Adler’s 66 beautiful reasons why she cooks. (#56: “So that when things are bad, you can make some things or some part of things good.”)

Please share your favorite soups in the comments: We need all the good recipes we can get!

Camille Becerra’s spicy feel-good soup delivers

The Taste/

The Core Recipes

Amy Chaplin’s French Lentil Soup with Rosemary, Squash and Rainbow Chard is pure alchemy. Is it the kombu and six bay leaves used for cooking the lentils? The genius finish of tamari and good balsamic? I can only tell you that this soup, from the fantastic At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen, has cemented friendships. Invite a friend crush over for lunch and let me know how it goes.

When Camille Becerra developed some truly creative soup recipes for Bon Appétit a zillion years ago, my favorite was called Spicy Feel-Good Chicken Soup. It’s been rebranded as Spicy & Healthy Chicken Soup, but who am I to push back against SEO? As soon as the sidewalks ice over or I feel a cold lurking, I make this clever recipe. (You cook a whole chicken with a ton of chiles and aromatics to make the stock, then simmer veg and the shredded meat in it.) The fiery broth and abundance of fresh herbs that you pile on at the end make everything feel brighter. Please also try Camille’s back-burner stock, which makes use of charcuterie trimmings — you know, those chorizo and salami butts you always toss.

David Tanis is a one-pot wonder. The Posole with Red Chile recipe that he shared with BA has a hell of a lot of flavor. Worth every step, including sourcing the hominy. (Sources, plus the vintage Dansk bowl that’s perfect for this dish, are in the Prior piece.)

The late Naomi Pomeroy had mastered the proper velouté — the soup that accurately translates to “velvety.” In the spring, her Asparagus Velouté with Walnut Pistou from Taste and Technique is a must. (More on her essential cookbook here.) Even more surprising is her Celery Velouté with Spring Herb Salsa Verde, a great way to cheer up your winter. The neglected vegetable emerges triumphant from the back of the crisper, transformed into something noble. NB: Naomi loved Champagne vinegar; you can use sherry. And don’t worry if you can’t find lemon-infused olive oil. Who can?! Or maybe kill two hard-to-find birds with this citrus-chardonnay vinegar.

Inaugurating These This Month*

The old inbox has really been giving lately. Can’t wait to make these soups, from people whose recipes I adore:

In this week’s Food Processing, Carla Lalli Music adapted her recipe for Soft Tofu and Clam Soup — her take on Korean haemul sundubu-jjigae — from her last cookbook. (She also kindly shares her favorite wintry lip balms, some of which may be moisturizers.) I’ve been on a soft tofu jag, buying tubes of silken soon tofu at HMart and ordering the mushroom tofu soup at BCD Tofu House on W. 32^nd St. (BCD also sells ready-made soup kits in the tofu section at HMart.)

Over at the Green Spoon, Fanny Singer and Greta Caruso share their time-tested recipe for The Only Minestrone, which realistically makes room for canned beans and store-bought pesto. Thank you!

After writing about ribollita for Prior, I was inspired to dig online for the River Café recipe, since my cookbooks are still in storage. Found it hiding in this story in The Independent.

You can tell an Andy Baraghani recipe by its unabashed love of herbs (and yogurt), and a flavor register that zings between earthy and tart. It’s all there in his newest recipe for NYT Cooking, Chicken and Red Lentil Soup with Lemony Yogurt. Can’t wait to try.

*Too soon?

Not Technically Soup, But…

Every week that I have my son, we make Anna Stockwell’s Coconut-Apple-Ginger-Dal from BA. No exceptions! Try it with crisped-up methi (fenugreek) paratha from Kalustyan’s or — new favorite — Little India Market. Pick up a few packages on your way to that 5:30 table at Borgo and freeze.

Hetty Lui McKinnon’s Butternut Squash Congee with Chile Oil has the same powers as chicken noodle soup, minus the chicken. Perfect for those who always have leftover rice in the fridge, stock in the freezer and kombu in the cabinet. I throw in lots of ginger and garlic, since I always have them for that apple-ginger dal.

The legendary culinary historian Jessica B. Harris’ recipe for West African-Style Peanut Stew is a hearty, and heartening, braise for sharing.

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