We love soup at Scordo.com and we're not very picky when it comes to the variety. However, we do have a couple of pet peeves about soup preparation:
- Soup must be homemade (we're vehemently opposed to canned soup).
- Homemade soup must start with water and not pre-packaged chicken, beef, or vegetable stock (there are some exceptions), but we generally like to taste the main ingredients in soups which isn't stock or broth.
- If you're going to have soup for dinner you need to include a "secondi;" that is, a second dish or entree that can help fill you up and provide a complete meal. This can include a piece of grilled chicken or fish, for example. There are exceptions, for example, when making lentil soup with pork or chicken sausage.
Given the above prerequisites, the undisputed "king of soups" is Lentil (at least here at Scordo.com). Lentils are tasty, packed full of protein, and fairly straightforward to prepare.
Here's our classic lentil soup recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 large onions
- 2 medium sized carrots
- 2 medium sized celery stalks
- 1 clove of garlic
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- 1 cup of dry lentils
- 2 cups of passato or pureed canned tomatoes
- 4 cups of fresh, filtered, water
Process
Finely dice the onion, celery stalks, carrots, and garlic. Sauté the above mixture (add salt and pepper to taste) for 8-10 minutes (depending on strength of flame) with 2 teaspoons of olive oil.
Next, add one cup of dry lentils and about two cups of pureed canned tomatoes (not tomato sauce). You could substitute the canned tomatoes with a tomato paste/water mixture, but the flavor component will be different. Thereafter, add 4 cups of fresh water (filtered or purified water is best; remember water is the main ingredient in soup so opt for the best quality). Cook the ingredients for an hour (low flame) and serve! Add freshly grated Parmeggiono Reggiano.
Next, add one cup of dry lentils and about two cups of pureed canned tomatoes (not tomato sauce). You could substitute the canned tomatoes with a tomato paste/water mixture, but the flavor component will be different. Thereafter, add 4 cups of fresh water (filtered or purified water is best; remember water is the main ingredient in soup so opt for the best quality). Cook the ingredients for an hour (low flame) and serve! Add freshly grated Parmeggiono Reggiano.
That's it, there's no magic to preparing soup. Other soup recipes vary, but the basic steps outlined above are consistent across hundreds of soup
Italian
