The Secret to Flavorful Homemade Soups

I have been making homemade soups for more years than I care to count. Although my soups always came out good, and everyone enjoyed them, I always felt like something was missing. No matter how much I seasoned the soup, it always seemed flat. What was missing is what I call the secret to flavorful homemade soups.

The way I always made any kind of soup before I found the secret, was to start with with water, or some kind of stock. Then I would add the meat and vegetables and let it simmer away. Of course I would also add whatever seasoning was appropriate depending on what type of soup it was going to be. Well, quite by accident after giving up meat and chicken in my diet, I found the secret. One day I was making a chunky pasta sauce for dinner. I would take the vegetables and saute them in a pan with olive oil until about half way done, then I would add the tomato sauce and seasonings, and let it simmer. I know what does this have to do with flavorful soups? Well, I will explain.

I thought to myself, well if the ingredients that I saute in olive oil for the pasta sauce taste so good, what would happen if I did that to the veggies in a soup? Well, I tried it, and alas a flavorful homemade soup was born. I now take all the vegetables such as onions, carrots, spinach, cabbage, or whatever vegetables I have decided to put in the soups, and saute them in olive oil until they are about half done. I do this in the pot I am using for the soup. I then add a vegetable stock, or water and canned tomatoes, depending on the type of soup I'm making. Then I proceed to add any spices that I like to the soup mixture. I then let the soup simmer until all the vegetables are tender. If you eat meat or chicken, you can as well saute them in the olive oil with the vegetables as well.

There you have the secret to a flavorful homemade soup. I can't tell you how much more flavor your soup will have if you saute your ingredients in olive oil first. Not only does it bring out all the flavor of the vegetables and meat, the olive oil itself gives it a wonderful flavor as well. So, put on the pot and start sauteing up a yummy and flavorful homemade soup today!