5 Favorite Homemade Soups for Fall

Let’s make soup!

Soup on the Run

I was intrigued, amused, even challenged, by an incident that Stacey Ballis describes in her book Out to Lunch. She tells this story. While at the Whole Foods’ salad bar, she hurriedly filled three cardboard containers with carrots, celery, sliced onions, shredded cabbage, chopped tomatoes. garbanzo beans and corn. Shredded chicken, peas, chopped cauliflower, and broccoli. Baby spinach leaves and cooked barley.

Once home she writes: “I don’t even take my coat off. I get out one of my big stock pots, and dump all three containers into the pot. From the pantry, a jar of Rao’s marinara. From the freezer, a container of homemade chicken stock. I don’t even bother to thaw it, I just plop it like an iceberg into the pot. Salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes for heat. I crank the heat to medium, give it a stir and leave it.”

By golly! I think Ms. Ballis maybe onto something here. Since soup mainly involves chopping and waiting, she’s cut the task in half. There was no indication how the soup turned out, but the inclusion of homemade chicken stock alone should assure success.

My Fab Five

Here’s 5 of my longtime favorite soups. I tend to repeat them throughout the cold months. So I don’t get into a rut, I’m currently gathering items for a new soup I’ve never made: Moroccan Chickpea Soup. I have high expectations, but there are 22 ingredients, for heaven’s sake! Some involve a trip to Global Foods. I’ll keep you posted on this one.

But for now, these Fab Five soups have proven themselves over the years and given me cause to look forward to fall—even though I prefer spring.

1. Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken soup is my therapy of choice when I’m feeling unwell. It slides gently down a scratchy throat and the mushy vegetables rest gently on the innards. This recipe makes enough soup to get an entire family through the flu season and freezes well in case you want some on hand the next time you sneeze. Don’t be deterred by the long list of ingredients.

2. Italian Minestrone

It takes about 45 minutes to get this soup in the pot. After an hour of cooking, you’ll have an incredibly delicious minestrone. I use a small tubetti pasta, because it doesn’t overwhelm the other vegetables in the bowl. Before serving, I add a dash of balsamic vinegar and fresh, grated Parmesan. Along with a chunk of sourdough bread, its a hearty, bone-warming meal.