An Exercise in Minimalism

Soups are an exercise in minimalism. It is what you leave out that is important. I have long argued that a good thing to omit is stock – unless, of course, it is the key component: vegetable soups and purées have a purer, cleaner flavour when there is no stock involved. Old-fashioned cream soups made from simple vegetables – celery, carrot, cauliflower, for example – have a delicacy and definition that many modern combinations lack. Many of the best soups are so simple not just by virtue of a sense of aesthetic purity, but also as a result of poverty.