Vegetable Soup - Cooking Classy (2024)

FAQs

What gives vegetable soup that depth of flavor? ›

Tips for Flavorful Vegetable Soup

Flavor the base: We add Italian seasoning and tomato paste to the aromatics and warm them up to bring the seasonings back to life. You could use fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary, or even add a Parmesan rind for more flavor.

Root vegetables such as squash and potatoes add a good element of heartiness and fiber. Carrots and zucchini hold up well in broth and kale or Swiss chard add nice flavor, a splash of color and a serious dose of nutrition. Tomatoes and tomato paste give your recipe an Italian twist.

"If your broth is lacking in savory richness, try adding roasted onion, tomato paste, mushrooms, seaweed, soy sauce, or miso. These ingredients add umami flavor and depth to broth," she says. The choice of ingredient depends on the recipe, though.

If a soup is tasting bland in the bowl, consider adding acid rather than salt. A squeeze of lemon or lime, or a dash of yogurt or sour cream can add brightness to the bowl.

For clear, brothy soups, stock is your most important ingredient. If you want to make a good soup, you need to use an excellently flavored stock — otherwise, the entire pot could be tasteless.

Perk up a Bland Soup With Simple Pantry Staples

Add a splash of vinegar (any kind!), or a squeeze of citrus. Chances are, you could use a little more salt. Go ahead—it's ok. Salt perks up flat flavors and helps balance out bitter-tasting ingredients.

It may sound a bit strange and unusual for some, but vinegar is a common ingredient in some soup recipes, and there is a good reason for it. If you think about it, vinegar is really a flavor-enhancer (umami). That's why it is so often used in cooking, sauces, and salad dressings. The same is true with soups.

Basic principles of preparing soup are also outlined, including starting with cold water, cutting vegetables to size, selecting protein, simmering, and skimming.

Fresh lemon juice squeezed into the soup at the very end wakens up the broth. The soup won't taste lemony, just brightened and lively. Fresh herbs and fat from a dollop of prepared pesto stirred into each bowl before serving is a real treat.

Usually you add onion at the beginning of cooking if your recipe calls for chunks or a coarse chop of them. Root veggies such as carrots and turnips are added in the first half of cooking time, and greens, especially thin and tender greens are added toward the end of cooking.

Why add celery to soup? ›

But once those vegetables are exhausted, they're strained and switched out for a fresh set of thinly sliced celery and carrot. These are added for the final 4–5 minutes of cooking so that they're tender but nowhere near mushy. You get the sweet luxury of long-cooked vegetables and the freshness of crisp-tender ones.

But to put some pep back in your soup's step, you're going to want to add more. Start by sautéing any combination of finely chopped vegetables and alliums—like onion, garlic, carrots, celery, bell peppers, and ginger. Whatever you choose is going to infuse the entire can of soup you're about to heat.

Soy sauce or liquid aminos

These dark brown liquids bring both saline punch and some welcome caramelized flavor to dishes, along with a good boost of umami.

You can extract a clean, strong broth from a combination of water and several pantry ingredients. It's all about layering powerful flavor-enhancers that you probably already have on hand—bacon, tomato paste, herbs, peppercorns, a Parmesan rind, and, of course, kosher salt.

Using different seasonings can completely transform your plant-based cooking. Spices like chile powder, curry, smoked paprika, cinnamon, cumin, and black pepper can do wonders for vegetables. And never forget the most important seasoning: salt (just remember to add a little bit at a time and keep tasting).