Soups

Soup is the least rule-bound of all categories of food. Soup can be cooked quickly or left on a back burner; its ingredients can taste fresh and distinct, or they can be allowed to marry and become mellow; it may be rich or lean. You can start with great stock, or you can start with water. And so on.

As varied as the well over one hundred soup recipes in this chapter are, they all follow just a few simple patterns. Of course there are differences, but you’ll find that the techniques change little; what you’re doing is changing ingredients and seasonings.