Soup-u-ary
A round up simple and satisfying soups to warm you up this January.
January is always my month of soups, for the past three years running I’ve dubbed it soup-u-ary because it’s arguably the most dreary month of the year, and the most comforting, easy to make meal is soup. It also happens to be the time of year where I seem have permanently burned the roof of my mouth, drop a comment if you’ve got a salve.
Two points on cooking soup that I must stress:
They always taste better the next day, or at least a few hours later because the flavors deepen once the soup cools down.
Many recipes call for you to add the spices and seasoning after the stock is added, you’re cheating the soup of a lot of flavor. A chef I once worked with at Gjelina in Venice Beach told me his secret to soups was to stir the spices in with the *soffrito and I’ve never gone back to my old methods since.
Additionally, I really think soup just tastes better with a slice of dark or sourdough toasty bread, bit of butter and thin slice of a pungent, semi-hard cheese like Gruyère, Comté or Pilota. Although, this goes against many diets around this time of year, it’s a necessary indulgence when soups become your main meal in winter.
On the topic of cleanses: I typically join my friend and nutritionist, Mia Rigden’s “Reset” a 21-day cleanse that is actually achievable and maintain your normal routine: work, exercise, and social life. Her cookbook Foodwise has numerous recipes that I love for quick-healthy meals. More details on Mia’s Reset HERE.
As some of you might have seen on my Instagram, I’m not home I’ve been traveling in Europe with friends and won’t be returning home to Los Angeles until the end of January – so while I can’t participate this year, I’ve been making these soups to warm up by the fire in Spain, and enjoying on the mountain.