Overview: They say music unites everybody in the room. Wrong! A cup of hot soup does! From Mexico to Germany and Ecuador, we’ve rounded up some awesome soup recipes for you to try this winter!
On a frigid winter day when the firebox isn’t enough to heat up the room, there’s nothing better than someone offering you a bowl of piping hot soup. Don’t argue, you know this is true! Whether it’s a creamy mixture, a flavorful broth or vegetable stew, soup comforts you feel like a newborn enjoying their favorite meal.
In the United States, we play it safe when ordering soup. We’ll stick to what’s convenient – a chicken noodle, a tomato soup, or a clam chowder. But there are so many delicious soups that we’ve never had the opportunity to bring our creative genius. Here are 4 amazing recipes from around the world to get you through the winter.
Pozole — Mexico
Ingredients:
For Soup:
◻ 2 quarts of water
◻ 1 pound pork spare ribs
◻ 2 pounds pork shoulder, cubed
◻ 1 white onion, cut in quartz
◻ 3 cans white hominy (15 ounces each)
◻ 8 large garlic cloves
For Red Sauce:
◻ 5 guajillo peppers – cleaned, seeded, and de-veined
◻ 5 ancho peppers – cleaned, seeded, and de-veined
◻ 6 garlic cloves
◻ 1 medium onion – coarsely chopped
◻ 2 tbsp vegetable oil
◻ Salt to taste
◻ 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano
For the garnish:
◻ 1 lettuce, finely chopped
◻ 1 1/2 cup onions, finely chopped
◻ 1 1/2 cup radishes, sliced
◻ Mexican oregano
◻ Limes, cut in wedge
◻ Ground chile piquin to taste
Directions:
Take a large stockpot, add water to it, and let the water boil. Once the water is boiled, add pork meat, ribs, onions, and garlic into the boiling water carefully. Lower the heat and let simmer, with partially covered for about 2 hours. If the meat is tender and starts falling off the bone, tada, the meat is done. Season with salt.
While cooking, skim off the top layer of foam and fat from the pot with the help of a ladle. Add warm water to maintain the level of broth in the pot.
Remove pork from the broth, trim excess fat, and remove soft meat from the bones. Discard onions, bones, and garlic from the broth. Shred meat and put it aside.
It’s time to make the sauce: To begin with, soak guajillo peppers and ancho in water and let it sit there for 20-30 minutes until soft.
Use a food processor to blend peppers, onion, garlic cloves, and oregano by adding some of the water in which they’re soaking. Make a puree mixture until smooth.
For the next step, take a skillet over medium heat and add vegetable oil. Add the puree, salt to taste – stir constantly as it splatter. Low the heat to low and simmer for about 25 minutes.
To assemble, take a strainer and add broth to the sauce. Bring to a boil, add meat, and gently simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in white hominy and sprinkle salt and pepper.
Boom, the Pozole is ready in the authentic Mexican way! Serve Pozole in large Mexican soup bowls, and place garnishes over the top.
Kartoffelsuppe — Germany
Ingredients:
◻ 2 tbsp olive oil
◻ 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
◻ 1 small onion, finely chopped
◻ 1 medium carrot, diced
◻ 1/2 kg potatoes, diced
◻ 1 stalk celery, diced
◻ 1 bay leaf
◻ 3/4 cup double cream
◻ 3 cups stock
◻ 1 tbsp chilled butter
◻ 1 lemon zest
◻ 1/4 cup spring onions
◻ Salt and pepper, to season
Directions:
Take a medium-sized skillet to heat up olive oil. Add garlic and onions and fry them in the oil until the garlic is fragrant and the onion is softened. Add carrot and celery, mix, and cook for a few minutes before adding potatoes, bay leaves, and stock. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil.
Once the vegetables are softened, remove the bay leaf and scoop about 1/3 of the vegetables and set aside. Add double cream, butter, and mix until butter dissolves into the mixture.
Let the soup cool down a little and blend to make a mixture. Season with salt, pepper, lemon zest, and mix to combine everything. Add in spring onions, mix, taste, and adjust the seasoning. Add back the 1/3 vegetable that was set aside.
Serve with spring onions and enjoy!
Avgolemono Soup — Greece
Ingredients:
◻ 1 cup finely chopped carrots
◻ 1 cup celery
◻ 1 cup finely chopped green onions
◻ 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
◻ 8 cups low-sodium broth
◻ 2 bay leaves
◻ 1 cup rice
◻ 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
◻ Salt and pepper
◻ 2 cooked boneless chicken breast, shredded
◻ 2 large eggs
◻ 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Directions:
In a heavy pot, heat 1 tbsp olive oil on medium heat. Add carrots, celery, and green onions – toss together to saute briefly then stir in the garlic.
Add chicken broth and bay leaves before raising the heat to high. Once the liquid comes to a boil, add the rice, salt, and pepper. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer for another 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked. Now stir in the cooked chicken.
To prepare the egg-lemon sauce, whisk lemon and eggs together in a bowl. Add 2 ladles of broth. Once the mixture is fully combined, add the sauce to the chicken soup and stir. Remove from the heat.
Garnish the soup with fresh parsley, set your favorite bread aside, and enjoy!
Beche de Pescado – Ecuadorian Fish Soup
Ingredients:
Fish and peanut broth:
◻ 1/2 lbs fish head and bones — or use a small fish
◻ 8 cups water
◻ 1 cup milk
◻ 1 cup peanuts
◻ 2 tbsp sunflower oil
◻ 1 cup chopped red onion
◻ 1 tsp ground cumin
◻ 4 crushed garlic cloves
◻ Salt to taste
Fish soup:
◻ 2lbs white fish fillets
◻ 2 tbsp butter
◻ 1 whole onion, chopped
◻ 6 garlic cloves
◻ 1 bell pepper, diced
◻ 1 tbsp dried oregano
◻ 1 tsp achiote or annatto powder
◻ 2 ripe plantains
◻ 2 tbsp peanut butter, unsweetened
◻ 2 corn ears
◻ 1 1/2 lb yuca or cassava
◻ 2-3 finely chopped cilantro
Directions:
Bring 8 cups of water to a boil, add fish with a pinch of salt, and let it boil for 30 minutes. Strain the broth.
In a pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil over medium heat and prepare a quick refrito – add onions, garlic, cumin, and salt. Let everything cook well for about 5 minutes.
In a food processor, add peanuts, milk, refrito, and broth mixture with 2-4 cups of cold water. Set aside.
For fish soup, add 2 tbsp of oil over medium heat, add chopped onions, pepper, garlic, achiote powder, salt, cumin, and oregano. Cook over low heat until onions are translucent. Add fish peanut broth and bring to a gentle boil.
For the next step, add corn, the yuca, and 2 tbsp peanut butter. Simmer for about 30-40 minutes until the yuca is tender. Add plantain slices, fish chunks, and cook on low heat for about 8-10 minutes or until the fish is cooked. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with fresh parsley!
Related Reading: 5 traditional Ecuadorian foods and 3 drinks to try
In Summary:
When winter comes, can soups be far behind? We don’t believe so! A warm bowl of soup makes everything better at the end of the day. Besides, we wanted to add variety to our soups with recipes from around the world. If you think that a few ingredients aren’t available in the market, consider reaching out to Redlands Ranch Market, and get your groceries delivered at your doorstep!