In appearance, nothing could be simpler than preparing a homemade soup.
However, we frequently make the same mistakes that affect its tasting.
Clémence Catz, author of numerous cookbooks and creator of the blog “Le Labo du Bio”, is a true expert in their preparation.
In 2016, the recipe creator published the book
Soups that make us feel good
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published by La Plage.
In order to savor this healthy, regressive and comforting dish as it should, she lists the errors of preparation to be avoided immediately.
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Peel all the vegetables
It's a common reflex, yet peeling all the vegetables in a soup is a waste of time and nutrients.
“Obviously it all depends on the vegetable in question, of course you have to peel the onion or some squash.
But I advise against doing it systematically, because the skins contain a lot of vitamins”, informs the specialist.
To do this, we use a vegetable brush: "It's not expensive, and we use it for a multitude of vegetables: potatoes, beets, carrots, parsnips... Generally all the root vegetables.
You just have to brush them well before plunging them into your casserole or saucepan”.
The equipment to recommend for a good soup
“For a good soup, we need a wooden spoon, a good blender, a saucepan with a not too thin bottom or a casserole dish.
The more powerful the blender, the smoother the soup will be.
Cook all the vegetables the same way
In the majority of soup recipes, the vegetables are browned with a fat before the addition of a liquid substance.
However, other techniques are recommended depending on the vegetable used.
“One option is to brown the vegetables with a shallot and a little butter or oil so as to enhance all their flavors, explains Clémence Catz, but you can also steam certain vegetables.
It is enough to make a broth separately, then to mix the whole”.
Cooking known to preserve the nutrients and vitamins of the products.
“We use this technique for foods that are more fragile and rich in nutrients, such as nettle or spinach.
Just cook them slowly with a utensil with gentle steam.
Cook all the vegetables at the same time
Respecting a hierarchy when cooking a soup is essential in order to best optimize the taste qualities and nutrients of each vegetable.
“We proceed from the hardest vegetable to the softest vegetable.
So we start with potatoes, squash, beets…”.
Leafy vegetables require very little cooking: "we barely cook them, just throw them in the soup and cover, five minutes before the end of cooking".
Add spices at the wrong time
There are two ways to go about spice when making soup.
"When my spices are in the form of seeds, so mustard, cumin or even cardamom, I fry them in fat with the aromatic garnish, just before adding the vegetables".
On the other hand, if the spices are in powder form, the specialist recommends adding them at the same time as the cooking liquid: “otherwise the spices will burn at the bottom of the pan”.
On the other hand, be careful with certain spices which are particularly fragile: “if I add fresh turmeric, I grate it in the preparation at the end of cooking to preserve it”.
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Prepare the soup the night before
Is it better to prepare soup the day before or the same day?
For Clémence Catz, there is no doubt: “I find that a soup has more flavors, that it is more lively when it is prepared the same day.
Without forgetting the color which is more vivid, and the pleasure of the eyes is just as important!”.
Soups remain edible for up to three days in the refrigerator.
Clémence Catz's conservation tip
“You can freeze individual servings of soups in silicone muffin cups.
When it's time to eat, just reheat a portion with a little water in a saucepan over low heat.
Add too much liquid
While there are no rules regarding the amount of vegetables that can be used in a soup, special attention must be paid to the volume of liquid material used: "You cannot make up a soup when there is too much of water, warns Clémence Catz, we therefore wet up to the vegetables”.
An infallible trick to make sure you don't have too liquid a soup remains to keep some broth on the side: "In this way, you just have to adjust the consistency of the soup directly in the blender, when mixing".
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cooking the soup too long
In the collective unconscious, preparing a soup seems to take a long time to cook.
However, “to preserve all their nutritional qualities, it is preferable to recommend relatively short cooking times, informs the specialist, generally it takes only twenty minutes for all the vegetables to be cooked”.
Adding the dairy product at the wrong time
The hierarchy of soup preparation does not exclude the use of dairy products.
“In general, the cream or milk is added at the end of cooking, after having mixed the soup”.
A way to preserve their taste, their thickening effect, and to obtain the ideal consistency.
Something to warm hearts and stomachs all winter long.
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Soups that do us good
, by Clémence Catz, Ed La Plage, 288 pages, €29.95.
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