As soon as the temperature drops, pureed soups instantly warm up your insides and bring you back to life. All you need to do is follow these five simple tips, which involve vegetables, liquid, acid, garnishes and an immersion blender.
Read on below to see how to make creamy pureed soups.
Vegetables
Dial up your oven to 400°F and roast a big batch of vegetables on a couple of jelly roll pans. Roasting the vegetables softens them while adding a little bit of caramelized flavor that you don’t get from cooking on the stovetop. If you prefer not to roast, you can dice your vegetables and do a quick sauté in the pot instead.
As a general rule of thumb, vegetables that make for great soup building blocks are: brassicas (cauliflower or broccoli), squash (acorn, pumpkin, butternut squash) or root vegetables (sweet potatoes, potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes) because they’re easy to blend after roasting. If you end up not using all the vegetables you roasted, store them away in containers in the freezer to use in other dishes during the week.
Liquid
Adding liquid is essential to thin out the soup and ensure it doesn’t turn into the texture of thick baby food. It’s also great for adding another layer of flavor to the soup. Vegetable or chicken stock are standard, versatile liquids. Don’t have stock or broth on hand? Make a miso broth by stirring a tablespoon or two of miso paste into hot water. For a creamier soup, add heavy cream, yogurt, or coconut milk.
Acid
If you just combine liquid with vegetables, you’ll end up with a very one-dimensional soup. To offset this, add in a dash of acidity—rice wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sherry wine vinegar, red wine vinegar. Lemon juice also works if you want a more citrusy flavor profile.
Garnishes and Other Add-Ins
This is where you can get creative and add texture! Chopped herbs like scallions, basil, cilantro, thyme, or fresh ginger are great for adding another flavor dimension as well as some texture. For even more texture, throw in crunchy croutons, sesame seeds, or scallions. For an extra kick, stir in add-ins like hot sauce, curry paste, or goat cheese.
Puree Techniques
Use an immersion blender to simply blend together the vegetables and liquid, add a touch of acidity and then top with garnishes. Once you get the hang of basic soup-making, you can start experimenting by adding new flavors to introduce a little more complexity.
Here are some three combinations worth trying. Made piping hot, these will certainly cure frozen toes and fingertips:
- Butternut squash, miso broth, apple cider vinegar, grated ginger, sesame seeds, and scallions
- Cauliflower, coconut milk, rice vinegar, curry paste, Thai basil
- Lentils, greens, chicken broth, lemon juice, feta cheese, and cilantro
Now that you’ve unlocked the key to pureed soups, try these dinner recipes that'll get kids to eat vegetables, summer puree ideas when temperatures rise and other foods that freeze well.
