Homemade Soups 101 ­| Broth Basics | Cream Soups

The world of soups can often make our vegetarian/vegan readers feel sidelined. All this talk about animal bones and fish heads! Are there just no soups that do not involve animal bones while simultaneously not being a compromised version of a non-vegetarian soup?

Luckily there are! Not just a select few but a whole category of delicious vegetarian soups called Cream Soups.

Cream soups are made solely out pureed vegetables. The name comes from the unique velvety texture that a good cream soup has and it is not due to the addition of cream (much like butter chicken). So that’s some great news for vegans!

How do I make one at Home?

Well, the first step is to pick your favourite vegetable!

Ingredients:

1. Butter/Oil- 3 tbsp
2. Diced onions- 1 medium-sized
3. Garlic- 4 cloves
4. Leek- Half a stick
5. Peppercorn- 5
6. Bay leaf- 1
7. Chosen Vegetable- 500 grams
8. Vegetable stock- As required
9. Salt and pepper- for seasoning

Process:

1. Heat a pan with either three tablespoons of butter or olive oil or a little bit off both.
2. Add peppercorns and bay leaf. Make sure you count the number of peppercorn and bay leaves added as they are to be removed later in the process.
3. Sweat roughly diced onion and garlic. Make sure that your vegetables do not brown.
4. Sautee roughly chopped vegetables with the onion and garlic for 10 minutes.
5. Add enough vegetable stock to submerge the vegetables.
6. Cook on low till everything is well done.
7. Strain the mixture and remove the peppercorn and bay leaf.
8. Let cool and blend to a smooth paste and pass it through a sieve.
9. Pour it back in the same pot and dilute with the strained liquid. Add more stock if required.
10. Season with salt and pepper and finish with a cream or flavoured oil.

What are the best cream soups to make?

Technically, any vegetable can become a cream soup, from juicy tomatoes to starchy potatoes. But my favourite soups are of spinach, cauliflower, mushrooms and green pea. You can even go for white wine instead of vegetable stock to lighten the soup. Adding toppings like stir-fried mushrooms for mushroom soup can also be a great way of taking it to the next level. In case you are using pulpy vegetables, you might need to thicken it. Use corn starch, or boiled potatoes or even cooked rice in that case. Make sure you do not dilute the soup too much, as it can cause the pulp to split into pulp and stock.

Until next time.