But, these people who don’t like the entire category of soup must come forward and explain themselves.
Disliking two foods that can be as different as beef stew and carrot ginger soup is wild to me.
Like, first, what do you eat when it’s negative eight degrees for nine days straight and your furnace refuses to creep past 64 degrees? What do you eat when your fingertips lose feeling on a routine trash takeout?
What do you eat when you fall asleep in a beanie and scarf for the fifth night in a row? What do you eat when the only comfort you can find is buried under a heated blanket, gripping a mug of tea?
I can think of no better food in the winter. It’s endlessly adaptable, meaning you can tailor your soup experience to exactly what you feel like eating. Brothy or creamy. Smooth or chunky. Meaty or veg-heavy. Spiced or simple. Spicy or mild.
And while I’m on my soup-made-soap-box, I’ll say, no other food type is so willing to accept your end-of-life fridge castoffs and repurpose them into something I would argue is worth saving. I owe soup a great deal of gratitude for saving dried out kale and limp carrots. For giving grilled chicken a second life. For embracing my withered celery without judgement.
Thank you, soup. Without you, many bendy stalks of broccoli would have been callously discarded.
Many times our soup is just that. A fridge cleanout. And look, I understand if that sounds gross. But you have to understand that some of the greatest food in the world is built upon not wasting. Think minestrone or Frittata. Panzanella or Ribollita. These are all fridge cleanout foods. The Italians are just much better at branding.
I suppose there’s nothing I can say to change the soup-haters’ minds except for, keep trying. If you can, keep trying. Because I’m willing to bet there’s soup out there for you. One that will warm your soup-hating soul.
”But First, Food” columnist Whitney Kling is a recipe developer who lives in southwest Ohio with her four kids and a cat. She is also the owner of Fête in The Silos in downtown Dayton.
Infinitely Adaptable Fridge Cleanout Soup
Feel free to swap out nearly anything for whatever you have looking sad in your crisper drawer. Just build the flavors as the template suggests and I would be willing to bet you’ll end up with something delicious. My favorite way to enjoy this soup is with a drizzle of olive oil and a bit of parmigiano reggiano.
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
5 garlic cloves, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 bunch kale, ribs removed, chopped
2 zucchini, quartered long ways and then sliced in 1/8 in.
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 28-oz. can whole tomatoes, broken up
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cans white beans, drained
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
In a stock pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, celery, and carrot, and saute until soft, about 15 minutes. To the pot, add the kale, bay leaves, salt, and red pepper flakes and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, broth, and beans and simmer for 40 minutes. Add the red wine vinegar 5 minutes before removing from heat.
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