Get Cozy on National Homemade Soup Day With These Tasty Recipes

Cauliflower Chickpea Soup

By Stacey Isaacs – chef and cookbook author behind the website Kitchen of Youth (kitchenofyouth.com), which focuses on recipes and food plans to promote wellness.

“This simple soup is vegan, decadent, and just perfect in its simplicity,” says Isaacs, the owner and head chef at The Harvest Inn on Long Island in New York.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, roughly chopped
• 1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
• ½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
• 5 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 16-oz cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• White truffle oil, to garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Add the onions and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring.
3. Add cauliflower, red pepper flakes, about 2 teaspoons salt (or to taste) and about 20 grinds of black pepper.
4. Pour in 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat, partially cover the pot and simmer for 40 minutes.
6. Pour the soup, in 3 batches, into the blender and whiz it up until completely creamy and smooth.
7. Pour each batch into a large bowl after they are pureed.
8. Transfer the three batches of soup back into the pot once all are pureed and add the chickpeas
9. Simmer for 15 minutes . Ladle the soup into bowls. Drizzle a little bit of white truffle oil on top of each bowl as a garnish.

PRO TIP: When pureeing hot liquid, cover the blender tightly with a clean dish towel instead of the normal cap so the steam can release and you can stay safe!

Courtesy Everyday Maven

Beef Barley Soup

By Alyssa Brantley, the cookbook author and creator of the food blog, Everyday Maven. Serving size: 8

“This homemade beef barley soup is a complete meal in a bowl,” Brantley writes on her website EverydayMaven. “Loaded with tender beef, thickly sliced mushrooms, plump barley and studded with carrots and celery, this beef and mushroom barley soup can be made ahead of time, freezes great, and is the perfect hearty soup to warm your body and soul!”

Unfamiliar with using pearled barley in soup? Brantley says it's "a great grain for soup-making," adding that the starch released during the simmering process does a wonderful job thickening up broth.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
• 1.5 pounds beef stew meat, cut into ½ inch pieces
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into ¼ inch half-moons
• 2 large celery stalks, cut into ¼ inch half-moons
• 1 pound white mushrooms or crimini, ends trimmed and sliced into ½ inch thick slices
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 12 cups low sodium beef broth
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme (substitute 1 teaspoon dried thyme if you don't have fresh)
• 1.5 cups pearled barley rinsed

DIRECTIONS

1. Make sure beef stew meat is cut into 1/2" pieces.
2. Dice yellow onion.
3. Rinse and peel carrots before cutting them into 1/4" half moons.
4. Rinse celery and cut into 1/4" half moons.
5. Rinse pearled barley and set aside.
6. Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat and add olive oil, cubed beef stew meat, and a pinch of salt and pepper once hot.
7. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until meat is browned and mostly cooked through.
8. Add chopped onion, carrot, celery, sliced mushrooms, 2 teaspoons of kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Continue cooking for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften.
9. Add in beef broth, fresh thyme sprigs, and bay leaf.
10. Bring to a boil before adding pearled barley.
11. Cover and simmer for 75 minutes, stirring occasionally.
12. Remove lid and use tongs to remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs (the leaves will have fallen off into the soup so just remove the sprigs) and discard.
13. Allow soup to cool for 15-20 minutes before serving or storing for future use. It will continue to thicken as it cools.

Courtesy Milk Street

Somali Chicken Soup

By the recipe developers at Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street. Serving size: 6

“Where long-simmered soups often result in one-note flavor and uniformity of texture, this Somali-inspired soup offers distinct, bright layers,” says the team at Milk Street.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon grapeseed or other neutral oil
• 2 large yellow onions, chopped
• Kosher salt and ground white pepper
• 2 serrano chilies, stemmed and thinly sliced
• 4 medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 4 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, stems chopped, leaves finely chopped, reserved separately
• 4 plum tomatoes, cored, seeded and chopped, divided
• 1½ quarts low-sodium chicken broth or water
• Four 12-ounce bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
• 11/2 cups jasmine or basmati rice, rinsed
• 2 tablespoons lime juice, plus lime wedges
• Thinly sliced radishes and/or chopped red cabbage, to serve (optional)
• Green chili sauce, berbere sauce or other hot sauces, to serve

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until it shimmers.
2. Add the onions and ½ teaspoon salt
3. Cook, stirring, until beginning to brown (about 5 minutes).
4. Add the chilies, garlic, coriander, cardamom, cilantro stems and half of the tomatoes.
5. Cook until fragrant, stirring constantly (about 30 seconds).
6. Add the broth and bring to a simmer over high heat.
7. Submerge the chicken breasts and cover the pot.
8. Cook over low until the chicken registers 160°F and is no longer pink at the thickest part (about 30 minutes).
9. Combine the rice, 2 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
10. Bring to a simmer before reducing the heat to low.
11. Cook, covered, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, (15 to 20 minutes).
12. Move the saucepan off the heat and remove the lid before laying a clean dish towel over the pot and letting the rice sit.
13. Transfer the chicken from the Dutch oven to a large plate and set aside to cool.
14. Strain the broth into a large pot or heatproof bowl, discarding the solids.
15. Return the broth to the Dutch oven.
16. Shred the chicken into bite-size pieces once it is cool enough to handle, discarding the skin and bones.
17. Add the chicken to the broth and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
18. Remove the Dutch oven from the heat and stir in the remaining tomatoes, cilantro leaves and lime juice.
19. Taste and season with salt and white pepper.
20. Fluff the rice with a fork before mounding a large spoonful in each serving bowl.
21. Ladle the broth and meat over the rice, then top each portion with radishes and/or cabbage (if using) and the hot sauces. Serve with lime wedges.

Courtesy Kitchen of Youth

Immune Boosting Onion Chicken Soup

By Stacey Isaacs, the chef and cookbook author behind Kitchen of Youth (kitchenofyouth.com)

“I make this Immune Boosting Onion Chicken Soup in my slow cooker, but you can also make it on top of the stove — either way it is delicious and comforting,” Isaacs says.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 giant onion (or 2 large onions), chopped
• 4 scallions, sliced – “Be sure to also add the root ends to the soup – they are extra healing,” Isaacs says.
• 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
• 3 celery stalks, sliced
• 12 large garlic cloves, smashed
• 4 large sticks of wakame seaweed (you can use whatever seaweed you have, or you can omit this)
• 1 quart chicken bone broth
• 3 cups water
• 1 pound boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup grain-free chickpea shells (or any small pasta)

DIRECTIONS

1. Put all of the ingredients except the shells into your slow cooker.
2. Cook on high for 4 hours.
3. Add shells and cook for an additional 15 minutes or until the pasta is cooked al dente.

PRO TIP: If you’d prefer to cook this soup on top of the stove, you can follow the directions above but you’ll only need to cook the soup for about 1.5 hours as opposed to 4 before adding the shells.