Basic Cream Soup & Variations
Submitted by gpyw7praire
One master cream soup recipe with a butter-flour roux and half-and-half, plus six variations: cauliflower, broccoli, cucumber, lima bean, spinach, and asparagus. Serve hot or cold.
YIELD
10 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
30 minREADY
50 minThis is the cream soup recipe your grandmother probably had memorized. One formula, six different soups, each with its own garnish and personality.
The base is classic French technique: vegetables cook in chicken stock until tender, get pureed smooth, then stirred into a buttery roux enriched with half-and-half.
Reserve a few choice vegetable pieces before blending for a garnish that adds color and texture to each bowl.
From here, pick your vegetable and follow the variation. Cauliflower with paprika. Broccoli with nutmeg. Cucumber with a dollop of sour cream. Lima bean with crumbled bacon. Spinach with sieved egg yolk. Asparagus with pumpernickel croutons.
Every one of them works beautifully hot or chilled.
Chef Tips
- The roux is your thickener. Cook the butter and flour together for a full 3 minutes, stirring constantly, before adding the cream. This cooks out the raw flour taste.
- Puree until completely smooth for an elegant restaurant-style finish. A fine-mesh strainer takes it one step further if you’re feeling fancy.
- Most of these variations taste just as good cold. Chill overnight and the flavors deepen and meld.
- For the cucumber version, reserve raw diced cucumber for garnish instead of cooked. The crunch and freshness against the creamy soup is the whole point.
Ingredients
Directions
Peel the vegetable, if necessary, and chop coarsely.
Place in a saucepan with 3 cups of the stock.
Cook over medium heat until the vegetable is tender.
Set aside ½ cup choice pieces of cooked vegetables to use as a garnish.
Purée the remaining cooked vegetable together with the vegetable water in an electric blender, or press through a strainer.
Melt the butter in a soup kettle, blend in the flour, and stir in the cream.
Simmer over a low flame, stirring constantly for 3 minutes.
Stir in the puréed vegetable and the remaining 2 cups of chicken stock, and simmer for 3 minutes more.
Adjust the seasonings and serve in individual bowls garnished with the reserved cooked vegetable.
Serve hot or cold.
Cream of Cauliflower Soup: Prepare soup as directed in basic cream soup.
Garnish with reserved cauliflower and a sprinkle of paprika.
Serve hot or cold.
Cream Of Broccoli Soup: Peel the stems and break broccoli into flowerets.
Slice the stems. Proceed as directed in basic cream soup recipe.
Serve with nutmeg sprinkled on top.
Cream Of Cucumber Soup: Reserve ½ cup diced raw cucumber to use as a garnish.
Cook remaining cucumber for 8 minutes.
Proceed as directed in basic cream soup recipe.
Serve hot or cold with a dollop of sour cream in the center of each bowl.
Cream Of Lima Bean Soup: Prepare soup as directed in basic cream soup recipe but do not reserve any lima beans.
Serve hot, garnished with crumbled bacon.
Cream Of Spinach Soup: Prepare soup as directed in basic cream soup recipe, but do not reserve any spinach.
Serve hot or cold, garnished with hard-cooked egg yolks forced through a fine sieve.
Cream Of Asparagus Soup: Prepare soup as directed in basic cream soup recipe.
Garnish with reserved asparagus tips and Pumpernickel croutons.
Serve hot or cold.
Comments
