soup season - by deb perelman
Monday, October 17, 2022
Good afternoon!
It’s my favorite time of year and I’ve been cooking up a storm. How could I not when the markets are overflowing with both late summer and fall produce, when it’s cooled off enough that we don’t mind having the oven on for a bit, especially for this, and when I have a to-do list as long as the month ahead and I’d rather avoid it? Plus, it’s finally soup and stew season. It took me a long time to come around to soup; I used to find it too monotonous, too boring. But now I get it, especially when the recipe is as vibrant and nuanced as any soup that’s worth our time to make should be. Plus, the leftovers, whether poured in thermoses for office or school lunches, or heated up the next day, are always phenomenal. Below, a bunch of new and forever favorites, perfect for this time of year. I hope you find a few worth cozying up with.
Cheers,
Deb
Smitten Kitchen Keepers will be out in just 28 days and I cannot wait to share it with you.
* Book tour: Let’s hang out! All of the details and links to tickets, where necessary, for the late 2022 and early 2023 book tours are on the Events page. Don’t fret if I am not coming to your town as we are adding more cities and dates as we can. I’ll keep everything updated on the Events page.
* Order a signed cookbook: You can order signed and personalized copies of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, or my previous cookbooks, through The Strand Bookstore. Orders are due 11/2.
* A preorder thank you! Have you preordered Smitten Kitchen Keepers? Would you like to? As a thank you, I’m hosting a live virtual cooking class on November 9 at 7pm ET in which I get us all ready for (US) Thanksgiving with three recipes from the book I think are perfect for holiday tables. Save your receipt for the preordered book and enter the details on this form. The deadline to enter is 11/6.
New: A peak fall apple and cheddar crisp salad in which I share three tricks to make the kind of fancy, cool, crunchy, dynamic, and gorgeous salads I can never resist on a restaurant menu at home with little fuss for so much less. I'm obsessed.
This hearty and robust lentil, sausage, and swiss chard soup from the late, wonderful Gina DePalma via Adam Roberts (The Amateur Gourmet) is a forever favorite -- cozy and filling but never boring, due to the perfect finish of sizzling garlic oil. It's like a big pot of self-care.
An unboring carrot soup with a lemony tahini swirl, smoky spices, crispy chickpeas as croutons that's vegan and magical, mostly because it was inspired by one of my favorite snacks, carrots dipped in hummus.
This simple chicken tortilla soup is a weeknight favorite and a cinch to pull off even after a long day, while not skimping at all on flavor or texture. I hope it makes its way into your repertoires, too.
I've been making this soup since before Smitten Kitchen even existed (the dark ages, of course) and it remains a forever favorite. Don't be put off by the beige; it has so much more flavor and heartiness than the humble-looking bowl suggests.
A simple soup palette with a variety of crispy, salty, and creamy finishes that make soup nights more fun. Yes, I just said fun. About soup. This one is.
An easy, rustic chicken soup with nods to warmer days. This recipe has built-in flexibility so you can use what you have on hand, but a few of my favorite things (leeks, lemon, herbs, some heat, and even the most barebones of stocks) make it truly excel. I hope it hits the spot.
I consider this one of the most core recipes in my arsenal because it aligns with so much that I think is important in cooking -- inexpensive, easy to shop for, no cheffy tricks needed to make an impossibly good bowl of soup. Julia Child taught me how to make it; real life took it from there.
I consider this one of the most core recipes in my arsenal because it aligns with so much that I think is important in cooking -- inexpensive, easy to shop for, no cheffy tricks needed to make an impossibly good bowl of soup. Julia Child taught me how to make it; real life took it from there.
Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most. For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer. Recent additions: The glass pot you might have seen in some recipe demos, and my go-to nonstick crepe pan. Let me know if there’s anything I’ve left off that you need!
See you next week!
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