Broth-Based Soups

Broths are among the simplest soups to prepare. Typically, they derive their flavor from long simmering of all the ingredients together in one pot. Alternatively, an assortment of separately cooked foods may be added. Broth-based soups are wholesome rather than delicate, so they require ingredients such as potatoes, pasta or dried beans, pulses or grains. The Italian zuppa pavese (soup with eggs) which has a whole poached egg resting on slices of bread, or the large leberknödeln (liver dumplings) of Austrian cuisine, are characteristic. Italian stracciatella is broth-based soup at its simplest, made with merely a beaten egg, a grating of nutmeg and, occasionally, some grated lemon zest. Jewish chicken soup with matzoh balls or dumplings is equally basic, as is Chinese egg drop soup which is simply broth with egg. Other Asian broth soups are enlivened by the addition of such spices as chili pepper or the more exotic lemon grass.