Published: January 17, 2008 03:24 pm            

Soup it up: 'Ultimate comfort food' can be good for the soul

Picture this: A newly married young man comes home from a hard day of guy-related activities, eager to get on the outside of a nourishing macho meal that his wife offered to fix for him.

He sits down at the table and his wife brings out a salad. Then his wife brings out a loaf of French bread. And finally she brings out the main course: a hearty bowl of French onion soup.

“This is nice,” the young man says. “But where’s the rest of the meal?”

The young newly married woman is crushed.

Fast forward 20 or 30 years. The now not-so-young woman comes home from a hard day of woman-related activities, eager to get on the outside of a nourishing macho meal that her now not-so-young husband offered to fix for her.

She sits down at the table and her husband brings out a salad. Then her husband brings out a loaf of French bread. And finally he brings out the main course: a hearty bowl of French onion soup.

“This is nice,” the woman says.

“Yes, it is,” her husband replies.



Face it, folks tend to look at food differently as they age. What once might have been a pleasant appetizer, over time, becomes a meal. Sometimes, tastes change for health reasons and sometimes they change because people begin to appreciate foods they used to take for granted.

Foods like French onion soup.

David Blum andhis wife, Cindy, own and operate the Red Onion Cafe and Bella Pepper’s Italian Kitchen in Joplin, Mo. At the Red Onion, which opened in 1995, Blum has offered up a French onion soup for years, and he says his staff can’t make it fast enough for his customers.

Blum said that one of the appeals of a good French onion soup — aside from its amazing flavor — is the fact that the soup manages to be simple and complex at the same time.

On one level, he said, a French onion soup is not complicated. Mix some onions with a strong beef broth, add a large crouton-type slice of bread and top with mozzarella cheese. But on another level, the soup has all the complexities of a seven-course meal.

“The onions give the soup an outstanding flavor when they cook down in the stock,” Blum said. “The croutons soak up the soup and the cheese holds the flavors together. It’s warming to the soul, much like chicken soup.”

Of course, French onion soup is not the only soup out there and certainly not the only soup that Blum and his wife serve at their restaurants. Blum said he is quite proud of the bacon and potato soup available at the Red Onion, as well as the sausage and potato soup and the classic minestrone soups served at Bella Pepper.

“Soup is the ultimate comfort food,” Blum said.

And in many cases, a nice bowl of soup is very healthy - although Blum admits that some soups are healthier than others.

The bacon and potato soup and the sausage and potato soups that he makes are cream-based soups and therefore maybe not as waistline friendly as, say, the minestrone or French onion soups.

“They may not be as good for you, but they are good for your soul,” he said with a smile.

Properly done, a soup is indeed a meal in itself.

The Bella Pepper minestrone is ripe with a rich beef stock and chock full of vegetables. And Blum’s cream-based soups are made with a roux and bursting with the flavors from the meats in each soup and an artfully arranged array of spices. During the winter especially, he said, the sausage and potato and the bacon and potato soups are staples with his customers.

“When it’s cold outside, they sell like crazy,” he said.

Soup — it’s what’s for dinner.



Because Blum’s staff cooks in such large volumes, it’s impossible to break down a soup recipe into smaller units. The following recipes are popular takes on the some of the soups listed above.



Famous Barr’s famous French onion soup

The recipe for this soup — long a staple at the former Famous Barr Store in St. Louis — first appeared in the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

5 pounds onions, unpeeled

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper, freshly ground

2 tablespoons paprika

1 bay leaf

7 (16-ounce) cans beef broth, divided (recommended Swanson’s)

1 cup dry white wine (optional)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour or instant flour (such as Wondra)

Caramel coloring (optional) or Kitchen Bouquet (optional)

2 teaspoons salt

French baguettes (optional)

Swiss cheese (optional) or gruyere cheese (optional)

Peel onions and slice 1/8-inch thick, preferably in a food processor. Melt butter in a 6-quart (or larger) stockpot. Add onions; cook, uncovered, over low heat for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. (The long cooking time makes the onions mellow and sweet.) Stir in pepper, paprika and bay leaf; sauté over low heat 10 minutes more, stirring frequently. Pour in 6 cans broth and wine. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Dissolve flour in remaining 1 can of broth. Stir into boiling soup. Reduce heat and simmer slowly for two hours. Adjust color to a rich brown with caramel coloring, season with salt. Refrigerate overnight. To serve, heat soup in microwave or on stove top. If desired, pour into ovenproof crocks or bowls. Top with a slice of bread and a sprinkling of grated cheese. Heat under the broiler until cheese melts and bubbles, about five minutes. Leftover soup can be frozen.

Serves 16.



Minestrone

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons minced pancetta (about 1 ounce)

1 medium Spanish onion, chopped

3 medium carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks (with leaves), chopped

5 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 medium zucchini, chopped

1/4 head Savoy cabbage (about 9 ounces), cored and shredded

7 drained whole, peeled, canned tomatoes, roughly chopped

9 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned

1/3 cup tubetti or other small pasta, such as orzo, or broken spaghetti

1 can cannellini beans (about 16 ounces), with liquid

2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

3 tablespoon minced fresh marjoram

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring, until slightly crisp and the fat has rendered, about one minute. Lower the heat to medium, add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are somewhat soft, about 15 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for three minutes. Add the cabbage and cook, uncovered, stirring, until wilted, about three minutes more.

Stir in the tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the pasta, lower to a simmer, and cook until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. In a small bowl, mash half of the beans with a fork. Add the mashed and whole beans to the soup and cook, stirring, about three minutes. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the herbs and cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide among warm soup bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan. Serve immediately with more cheese for passing at the table.

Source: The Food Network



Aunt Jojo’s politically incorrect potato and sausage soup

6 to 8 Yukon gold potatoes (or 4 large baking potatoes, like russets), peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces

4 cups chicken stock

2 pounds hot sausage, out of the casing

1 1/2 cups diced onion

1 3/4 cups finely diced celery

4 ounces butter

1 quart heavy whipping cream

3 or 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (white or dark)

1 tablespoon vanilla

4 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Salt and pepper, to taste

To a large stock pot, add potatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until potatoes are fork tender, about 20 minutes. To a sauté pan over medium heat, add sausage and chopped onion in pan and sauté until completely cooked. Drain sausage mixture, add celery and sauté a few additional minutes. Add sausage mixture to stockpot with butter. Add cream and extra broth if needed. Add vinegar, vanilla and parsley at end of cooking. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Source: The Food Network





Mike Pound writes for The Joplin (Mo.) Globe.

        

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