Soup - In the Beginning: Broth

A friend mentioned one of her children, who was coming for the holidays, told her he was trying to eat healthy and wanted to keep doing so over the holidays. I cautiously asked what he meant by healthy. Salads, she said, lots of salads.

Now, I agree salads can be healthy, in fact I love a good salad, but this time of year there is an alternative that is just as healthy or even more so and that is soup. Unlike a salad it is also warming which is much desired after being out in the cold for awhile.

While canned soups have their place, and I certainly use them regularly, they are not anything like as good as homemade soups.

Soups come in all varieties from clear consommé to thick stew that is practically a casserole.

If you are coming in from the slopes consider grabbing a cup of homemade consommé instead of coffee, tea or cocoa. Consommé is a clear broth created by straining broth and adding sherry. For a meal adding some parsley garnish or chives will add color to the soup.

Broth is made by first browning beef, pork, chicken, mutton or any other meat with bone in. Lightly sauté onion, carrots celery and a clove or two of garlic; then add a gallon of water. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. You can add herbs you like at this point. They should be tied in cheese cloth and can be removed easily when the broth is done. Bay leaf, sweet basil, parsley, rosemary or thyme are all good herbs to use. Salt and pepper to taste are also added at this point.

If you are a vegetarian you can make an excellent broth by lightly browning your garlic, onions, celery, and carrots, as well as potatoes, parsnips, sweet potatoes, turnips, and other vegetables in olive oil. You can even add some leafy greens such as chard, kale or turnip greens to increase the nutritional value of your broth. Once they are a nice light brown add your water and proceed as follows.

If you wish you can do this using only one type of meat, poultry or fish to make a particular type of base for your soups. I say poultry rather than chicken because turkey, duck and other fowl can be used as well as chicken. The fish you use will depend on how strong a flavor you want or what you intend the final soup to be. I don't recommend mackerel as a base for clam chowder. Haddock, halibut or cod are much better choices.

Let the mixture simmer for several hours and occasionally add more water. Any froth that forms should be skimmed off. Once it is a rich broth you can strain it through cheese cloth and you have an excellent broth as a base for many soups including the afore mentioned consommé. The vegetables and herbs have left behind valuable vitamins. The bones yield up minerals as they cook, so this simple clear broth has a power house of nutrients.

You may have noticed broth seems to require a lot of fat. The fat is only a small part of two gallons of broth. This will be a tablespoon or less of fat in a one cup serving.

When your broth is done the meat will be falling off the bones. You can add it to a hearty meat or vegetable soup later. The bones will be soft and can be tossed in your compost pile. You do have a compost pile cooking for your spring garden do you not?

The resultant broth can be stored in containers in your refrigerator or freezer for future use. If you want a cup of broth or consommé you can heat some of the broth and serve it with croutons sprinkled over the top. Steam some vegetables and add them to the consommé or add tofu that has been lightly sautéed to give the soup more substance.

An extra spoon of sherry and your consommé will be just right for sitting in front of a fire and getting your hands and feet warm before going back out in the snow for more winter fun.

Oh yes, if you don't want to go to all this bother there are many excellent ready made broths available at your local grocery. They make excellent soup basses. It is just not as satisfying as making your own.