Ronnie's Notes
Garnishes for Soup
When winter weather is brisk or snowy most of us welcome a bowl of hot soup. But while soup itself satisfies, adding an imaginative garnish transforms the dish into a special treat, worthy of high praise. A drizzle of herb-infused olive oil, some slivers of soft fried egg, a piece of crunchy fried wonton. Any of these changes soup from plain-old to impressive.
Garnishes frequently complement the soup, so that all the ingredients work harmoniously together. That’s what soft, broth-soaked baguette and oozy melted cheese do for French Onion Soup.
But it’s also fun to use items that offer a distinctive contrast of flavor, texture, color or temperature. Improve a soup based on sweeter vegetables such as pumpkin, squash and parsnip by capping it with pungent, savory or salty items: crisped pancetta or bacon, crumbled sharp cheeses (feta, Roquefort, Parmesan), chopped smoked almonds, curried cashews, taco-flavored corn chips, herb-infused homemade croutons. Smooth seafood or vegetables bisques are more interesting when you scatter them with a few crunchy decorations such as toasted garlic-pita crisps, taro chips or fried tortilla strips. Picture a dollop of stark white dairy sour cream atop crimson red beet borscht to understand the appeal of color contrasts, and to get a taste of how delicious a temperature difference can be, consider steamy roasted red pepper soup capped with cool, chipotle-dusted unsweetened whipped cream.
Garnishes don’t have to be elaborate. Fresh croutons, for example, are easy to cook and the benefit of the homemade kind is that you can use multigrain bread or rye and flavor them any way you like; make them soft or toast them to crunchiness; cut them into the usual cubes or make them into strips or triangles as you wish. For other crunchy possibilities consider store-bought or easy-to-make options such as Parmesan frico rounds, fried wonton wrappers, fried sage leaves, chow mein noodles, bagel chips and garlic toasts are other good choices.
Fresh herbs look pretty and add fragrance and eye appeal to soup. They also take less than a minute to mince. Because of their gentle oniony flavor, chopped chives will work for most recipes but you can add any herb that couples with the main ingredients: basil on tomato soup, dill for chicken or seafood soup, mint or marjoram on pea soup, rosemary with white bean soup, cilantro for black bean soup, and so on. To keep the color vibrant, always wait until the last minute to chop the herbs.
Herb-infused oils also do nicely as a garnish, adding both flavor and color. To make these, combine extra-virgin olive oil and fresh herbs in a blender or food processor, whirl until smooth and store the mixture in a squirt bottle (keep refrigerated). When you need the mixture for soup, squeeze out a few squiggles or droplets on top of the soup. You can do the same with spices, creating a red-orange-sunset colored garnishing oil with smoked or regular paprika or chili powder.
Raw vegetables fill in nicely as garnish: a few edamame, chopped scallions, bean or alfalfa sprouts or thin slices of jicama, radish or carrot. Or use cooked legumes or vegetables: a few black beans, strips of roasted red pepper, chopped sun dried tomatoes, cut up tofu, chopped olives or roasted garlic. In a pinch you could also use jarred salsa. Simply place them, gently, on top of the soup just before serving.
Other handy garnishing ingredients include nuts, seeds, chopped hard-cooked eggs and grated cheese. Citrus peels partner nicely with certain vegetable soups – orange peel with squash soup, for example, and slices of jalapeno or other types of chili peppers would be suitable with soups that can take bold flavorings.
A garnish can be simple – a blob of yogurt over pea soup. But you can also elaborate with just a little more effort: top pumpkin soup with a dollop of whipped cream and add a sliver of orange peel or a morsel of crystallized ginger in the center. Or serve each portion of black bean soup with a tortilla chip, a tiny mound of goat cheese and a sprinkle of chopped fresh cilantro in the center.
Instructions
Place the olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
When the butter has melted and looks foamy, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for or until softened.
Add the parsnips, potatoes, stock and salt and pepper to taste.
Bring to a boil over high heat.
Turn heat to low-medium and simmer for or until the vegetables are tender.
Puree the soup in a blender or food processor (or with a hand blender).
Return the soup to the pan, stir in the cream and heat through.
Serve soup topped with the croutons.
Makes 6 servings