Pub/hotel soup

kowloonkev

Any soup made for soup's sake is generally not very nice imo. Cubes and powders shouldn't be involved.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122696435#Comment_122696435

Practically every single soup requires some sort of stock.

HeidiHeidi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122696435#Comment_122696435

I couldn't disagree with this more!

Soup is one of the easiest things to make, in a whole variety of flavours and textures, full of nutrition, and deliciously comforting as we come into the wintry weather.

The quality of stock you use will make a difference, fair enough - but what percentage of people have enough bones/heads/shells lying around the place to make stock from scratch? Not to mention the time, or the nostrils (I was fumigating my house for about a week the one time I tried it!)

To answer the question above re turnip - you can put literally anything you like into a soup! I've used potato, celeriac, cauliflower and/or turnip to thicken the texture - it's really how much liquid you use that dictates how thick the soup will be - I've also made soup with none of those and still had thick luxurious soup.

10-10-20

Christ, I have a hankering for a home-made soup now.

Ever try nettles? Added some young nettle heads to a veg soup about 5 years ago and it made a noticeable difference. Very hard to describe the taste, but a dark zing or something. Must try again in Spring.

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122696529#Comment_122696529

Once a year we make a batch of nettle soup.

Onion, celery, potato, lots of young nettle tops, wild leek, wild garlic and homemade chicken stock. It's very dark green,strong tasting and thinish. We love it.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122696546#Comment_122696546

Alright… I'll have to give that a simmer. I see wild garlic in numerous places (it's like daffodils, right?), where is wild leek found when it's at home?

the beer revolu

@heidiWhile I agree that you can make very nice soups with stock cubes/pots (I often do), you are making out that making stock is a huge deal - it isn't.

If you freeze bones as you collect them, anyone can have enough bones to make stock. Perhaps fish stocks can be rather odourous (I don't make fish stock) but making a bone stock isn't smelly any more than making any other slow cooked dish is. Making stock is easy.

I usually reduce it and keep it for sauces, though. It doesn't go far if making soup.

HeidiHeidi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122696567#Comment_122696567

No room in my freezer - it's too full with a selection of soups (it's my go-to when I'm sufficiently bored or hungover, or if veg is in the fridge a few days too long!)

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122696559#Comment_122696559

Wild leek is kinda like daffodils also known as three cornered leek or garlic. Wild garlic has flat, wide leaves.

They both have white flowers.

They are both known by different names, so it gets confusing.

Wild leek. Triangular cross section stem. Bell like flowers.

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Wild garlic. Flat leaves. Star burst like flowers.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122696582#Comment_122696582

Ok, I'll do some reading, thanks for the pointers!

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122696588#Comment_122696588

We have both in the garden. The wild leek have a very short season but are really tasty just as a chopped herb or in soups, sauces, salsa etc.

The wild leek lasts for ages and comes up twice a year for me. It gets used wherever you might want chopped spring onions. It's a great thing to have in the garden and gets used a lot! Bit like chives.

kowloonkev

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122696493#Comment_122696493

I agree about the time constraints, but I stand by the point that there is really no comparison between a real soup borne out of freshly cooked ingredients and that of preserved nutrients in a cube.

I will say homemade with a cube is better than the potato sauce served up in 99% of restaurants.

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122697477#Comment_122697477

But stock is only one element of the soup. As someone who likes to make stock, I'd argue that, done right, you can make a very good soup without homemade stock.

The knor stockpots, for example, are very good. Pretty neutral tasting and not stoccubey, if you know what I mean. The vegetable one in particular is good at allowing other flavours through.

It's pretty snobby to claim soup made with a stock cube isn't "real" soup.

Gloomtastic!

You hear loads of professional chefs extolling the virtues of stockpots.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122696567#Comment_122696567

We often make chicken stock when we do a roast chicken but it does produce a strong smell, I can see why some couldn't be bothered with it.

Our house is new and pretty airtight so it doesn't take long for the entire place to smell like chicken. 😅