Homemade soup is quick and easy, despite what you've heard

As I mentioned in a previous entry, I recently came down with a bad cold that prevented me from writing up this post earlier. But now that I am restored to health, I am returning to soup. There is an odd notion in this country that the making of soup is a long, involved, laborious process. I have no idea where this belief comes from [cough—Campbell's—cough], but I am here to debunk it; the vast majority of soups can be made in less than an hour. And yes, while there are some labor-intensive soups out there (I’m looking at you, French Onion Soup), you can make homemade soup on a weeknight without straining yourself unduly.

This particular recipe (original at the end, as usual) comes from Sara Moulton’s excellent book Sara’s Secrets for Weeknight Meals. She calls it Creamy Cauliflower Soup, although it strikes me as a variation on a Portuguese soup called Caldo Verde—Green Soup—which is made from greens (usually kale, although other greens can be used), potatoes and chorizo. Regardless of its origins, this soup is really quite simple to make and is very good, and I say that as someone who doesn’t really like cauliflower very much.

This leads us to a brief discussion of chorizo (chouriço if you’re Portuguese), of which there are two principal types—Spanish/Portuguese, and Mexican. The Mexican version, which is more common in American supermarkets, is a fresh, raw sausage that must be cooked before eating. The Spanish/Portuguese version—can we just call it Iberian for brevity’s sake? Cool. The Iberian version is a cured sausage which only needs to be heated through. Some versions of Iberian chorizo are relatively hard, like salami. Other versions (sometimes labeled as “cooking” chorizo) have a softer texture, like a kielbasa. Some are hot, some are mild. The Iberian versions are usually seasoned with paprika, which gives them their distinctive red color.

For this soup, however, any chorizo will do. In fact, you can use any kind of sausage you want here, including Italian, Polish, German, whatever. And yes, chicken or turkey sausages will work fine. I suspect that tofu- or tempeh-based products would work as well, but my lack of interest has prevented me from doing any experiments with them. 

OK, back to the soup. I’m using the hot salami-like Iberian version here (shown in the poorly lit photo above), but if you’re a wimp, you can go mild.

We need to slice it into chunks and put it into a Dutch oven or large saucepan. I used about 4-5 ounces here, but when I read the original recipe, I was shocked to see that Moulton calls for 10 ounces. This marks the first time in recorded history that I have reduced the amount of meat in a recipe. I've also noticed that she thins her soup out more, and adds pretty little cauliflower florets and garlic toasts as garnishes. To each her own.

Turn the heat to medium-low-ish, and cook gently for 5-10 minutes, until the chorizo begins to render its fat and crisps up a bit. Remove the chorizo with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Leave the fat in the pan. If you are feeling especially ascetic, you can remove the chorizo fat altogether and use olive oil. You will regret it, though.

[Please-don’t-sue-me-if-you-contract-trichinosis note: if you are using Mexican chorizo, Italian sausage, or other fresh (raw) sausages, you will need to sauté them for a while over medium heat to render their fat and cook them thoroughly—probably 15-20 minutes total.]

Slice an onion and sauté it in the fat left in the pan until it’s soft and translucent, stirring occasionally. Add a pinch or two of salt and pepper while you do so. 

Meanwhile remove the core from a head of cauliflower and break it or cut it into florets. Finesse is not required here, because we’re going to be pureeing this later. 

Peel a medium potato and cut it into chunks. This one is a Yukon gold, but russets (baking) potatoes work well here, too. This will thicken the soup when we purée it.

Add the cauliflower to the pot and stir, combining it with the onions and toasting it lightly in the oil.

You can, if you wish, add a bit of Spanish smoked paprika at this point. As it is one of my favorite spices, I did so.

Now pour in 4 cups of chicken (or vegetable) broth, and add the potato. Raise the heat to medium-high to bring the mixture to a boil; then lower the heat to maintain a simmer. Simmer it until the cauliflower and the potato are completely tender, usually about 20 minutes in my experience. 

I made a bit of a mistake here. You’re supposed to add some sliced kale at the end of the cooking time, and then simmer it for a few minutes until it’s just cooked. This will give the soup a lovely bright green element. I, however, put the kale in at the beginning of the cooking process, which is why my kale ended up having a lovely olive drab hue. I blame the cold medications I was on at the time. It still tasted fine, though.

Now, if you want to be extra-rustic and peasanty about this, you can serve the soup as is. I wouldn’t, though, unless you’ve been super-careful to cut and dice everything very finely. No, I strongly recommend that you purée the soup. You can do this in a food processor, or in a standard blender. However, I’m pulling out the hand blender for this one.

Mine is rather old, and they now make models that are more efficient and easier to clean, but mine still works well for this kind of application. It takes longer than a standard blender or food processor would, but it also means you can purée the soup in the pot you cooked it in rather than transferring it to something else, which is a bit of a pain.

[Another-please-don’t-sue-me note: when you put soup or any other hot liquid into a standard blender, never fill it more than half-full, and crack the lid open a bit so that the steam can escape. If you don't, the steam can build up and blow the lid off the blender, sending hot soup in a wide dispersal pattern around your kitchen. You have been warned.]

Once you have puréed the soup, stir the chorizo in, squeeze in some lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and serve. That's it. Homemade soup. You didn't have to chop eighty different ingredients, and you didn't have to cook it for hours.  

From Sara Moulton, Sara’s Secrets for Weeknight Meals:

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Makes 6 servings

2 Tb extra virgin olive oil

10 ounces chorizo or andouille sausage

1 medium onion, sliced (about 1 cup)

1 medium head cauliflower (about 2 pounds)

1 small Yukon gold potato (about 4 ounces)

4 cups canned chicken broth or chicken stock

1 bunch mustard greens, kale, or spinach, or a mixture, tough stems discarded, rinsed, dried, and thinly sliced

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Kosher salt and freshly milled black pepper

Paprika, preferably smoked

Grilled or broiled slices of homemade-style bread, rubbed with a cut clove of garlic, optional

1.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat until hot. Reduce the heat to medium, add the chorizo, and cook, stirring occasionally until the pieces are lightly browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer the chorizo with a slotted spoon to a plate. Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.

2.  Meanwhile, cut 2 cups of small florets from the cauliflower and chop the rest. Peel and thinly slice the potato. When the onion has softened, add the chicken broth, chopped cauliflower, and potato to the saucepan; bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 8 minutes or until the cauliflower and potato are very tender. Transfer to a blender in three or four small batches and puree until very smooth.

3.  Measure the pureed soup and return it to the saucepan. Add water, if necessary, to make 7 cups. Stir in the reserved cauliflower florets and simmer for 4 minutes or until they are almost tender. If you are using mustard greens or kale, add them to the soup with the florets. When the florets are just tender, stir in the chorizo and lemon juice; add salt and pepper to taste. If using spinach, stir it in with the chorizo. Ladle the soup into bowls; sprinkle each with some paprika and serve with garlic bread, if desired.