As fall temps drop, it’s time to warm up the menu with cozy, comforting soups. No doubt you already have some favorites in the recipe file, but these five soups should make welcome additions.
Lemony Orzo Soup with Spinach and Chicken Mushroom Meatballs
This robust soup is a meal in a bowl, but dietitian Pam Smith makes sure it delivers a healthy portion of vegetables along with protein and pasta. She stretches ground chicken with roasted mushrooms for a lighter, plant-forward version of meatballs. The meatballs can be made ahead, refrigerated and reheated in the soup. Click to see recipe.
Vegans and vegetarians will appreciate this soup from Chef Arkan Bajalani at Louisville’s famous Brown Hotel. It’s chock-full of eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, chickpeas and squash in a fragrant tomato-vegetable broth. The chef, who was born in Iraq, serves the soup with grilled naan bread. Click to see recipe.
Photo courtesy of North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission
Carolina Sunshine
Sweet potatoes are available throughout the fall and winter and add color, flavor and texture to a soup. At Cortez Seafood & Cocktail, the chef combines the orange tubers with lots of garlic, ginger and orange juice to brighten the soup’s flavor, then adds spinach and mushrooms to make it even heartier. Click to see recipe.
Chef Dusty Cooper developed this plant-based version of Vietnamese pho, using a fragrant ginger-hoisin broth as the base and adding rice noodles, fresh pumpkin and shiitake mushrooms. Diners can choose from an array of garnishes, including Thai basil, red onion slivers, jalapeno pepper slices and bean sprouts. Click to see recipe.
Fresh dill and Swiss chard turn this soup a color more spring-like than fall, but the creamy texture and lively flavor provide warmth and comfort as the days turn chillier. It’s a favorite at 229 Parks Restaurant & Tavern at Denali National Park in Alaska, where long, cold winters are routine. Click to see recipe.
University of Florida’s solution for feeding students in the midst of construction of a new dining hall has turned out so well, it will almost be a shame to see it go.
The endlessly colorful cuisine of Mexico is always in season, but Cinco de Mayo is a great time to bring some new recipes to the party, starting with El Rio Picante, an alternative marg, and finishing with DIY churro sundaes.