Mother of all nourishment...Soups...

This blog is not a culinary school, or whatever, who will teach you what soup is, how is it made of & lots of fundas related to soups. So lets make it clear that Soup is the mother of all nourishment, provided its made with time, with patience, with right ingredients & served in right temperature....
It is winter now in the Northern Hemisphere & a good soup is a real comfort, like the same comfort you get in the arms of your lover.Broadly, classified as thick, thin & regional soups, the warm soups are always special during winter, whilst during summers one would definitely prefer light soups & cold soups--examples can be Gazpacho, Minestrone, Broths & a lot of variations. The calling for winter is more hearty, thick soups, can be Cream soups, Puree soups, Bisques and the likes!!

I vaguely remember, my childhood experience of having soup at home & in the restaurants. At home, it was a meal for me during fever, generally consisted of potatoes, beans, eggs & peppered water. Since, we used to frequent to Chinese restaurants, the soups would generally be & not limited to Sweet Corn soup with Chicken & I always used to make it palatable, by adding a generous portion of Tomato Ketchup--yes, that was my condiment for everything...perhaps, I despised it when it came to desserts.

Post-joining the hotel management thing, I learnt to make soups, when I tasted the Consomme--a basic, difficult & easy thin soup!!!! Apart from seafood bisque, creme de tomate, puree de lentils, Zuppa Minestrone & a hell lot of soups. During our culinary classes, in the college, a three course menu, would mostly feature a soup. By now, I may perfect the consistency of a cream soup, or a puree soup, but then, it was difficult for me to get the right consistency.Sometimes too thick...& sometimes too thin & all sorts of game.

I am not a fan of a soup, bigtime!!! But yes, in a chilly winter I get some comfort, if I am served with a hearty Cream of Chicken Soup or the coffee influenced "Cappuccino of Mushroom Soup", or whatever. The soup I hate the most can be broths--I may have a longtime affair with Italian[I wonder, till when it will last], but I dont like Minestrone--its both red [comes from tomato] & green[comes from the addition of pesto] version.By the way, every region has got their own minestrone. Seafoods are my alltime favorite--if served a soup with generous portion of seafood & cooked rightly, I wont definitely say no...

Making a good soup at home is not a big deal...really no big deal. All you need are the ingredients in the pure form, and a good mood, about which I will talk later.
I am sharing one of my favorite recipes of soups, it is "Cappuccino of Mushrooms & Mung beans"--because it is nourishing, healthy & perfect for a chilly evening....
All you need to make around 4 portions
Mushroom-100 gm[mix wild mushrooms, to get an earthy flavour]
Oil-20 ml
Mung beans[husk removed]-50 gm
Onion-50 gm
Garlic-2 cloves
Bay leaves- 1 no
Leek-1/2 of a stick
Celery-1/2 stick
Black peppercorns-a few
Carrot-1/2, peeled
Seasoning- as required
Cream-50 ml
Vegetable Stock/Chicken Stock/Hot water- 200 ml
Frozen butter- 25 gm
How to make the soup..
1.Wash the lentils & soak them for 1/2 hour to 1 hr. Quarter the mushrooms & saute them in oil with half of the leek, celery, onion & garlic--all finely chopped, till there is a nice, earthy aroma. Season & keep aside.
2. Meanwhile, boil the lentils with the left over of onion, leek, celery, garlic & also pop-in the carrot, rougly chopped-in stock/water--whatever using.
3. Make a sachet of bayleaf, with blackpepper corns & drop in the boiling lentils & remove after the lentil is boiled & discard.
4. Add in the mushrooms & cook till it becomes soft & make a fine puree afterwards. Adjust with additional stock/water if required & check the seasoning also.
5. Finish with cream & frozen butter & use a hand blender for making the foam--reserve the foam separately.
6.Once ready to serve, pour the soups in soup cups/bowls/espresso cups & garnish with the foam & serve with breadsticks...

Addl. Notes:
You can use butter beans, goes pretty well..or red lentils.

Now you may ask why I said, you need to have a good mood. Well, Beethoven got the answer, "Only the pure in heart can make a good soup. .. :)"
Bon Apetit!!!