Seasonal Soups that (Momma Said) Can Cure Anything
While holidays typically mean extravagant meals and festive ambiance, on other days a simple, healthy, comforting bowl of soup may be just what is needed. The soup might be a special one that was served up and spoon-fed by a parent or grandparent and brings back childhood memories. Or maybe it’s a delicious soup that was brought by a friend to mollify the symptoms of the flu or a cold, or to cheer a friend when they were feeling down.
There is no doubt that soup can be a soothing treat, and most people have a favorite go-to soup (and maybe even a favorite bowl and spoon). This season, ladle up some of these international classics and see if they don’t bring some much-needed soothing and a sense of well-being.
Immune-Boosting Qualities of Soup
Almost every culture swears by a variety of soups to nurse the sick back to health. Most people would likely agree that soup can help relieve cold symptoms by inhaling the steam to relieve congestion. Soup broth also provides fluid, which thins mucus and helps prevent dehydration.
There is plenty of research on the health advantages of a multitude of available soup ingredients. It is well known that certain vegetables boost immunity, like leafy greens and brightly colored vegetables that offer loads of vitamin C, beta carotene, and antioxidants. Spices such as garlic, ginger, and turmeric have been considered for ages to have immune-boosting properties that fight infection.
The high levels of omega-3 fatty acids in some fish (e.g., mackerel, salmon, tuna) may reduce infection and sickness by enhancing the activity of certain types of white bloods cells of the immune system. Olive oil fights inflammation. The list goes on, but it’s time to put the pot on the stove and get cooking!
Chicken Noodle
Chicken soup has been a popular home remedy for the common cold since at least the 12th century. Poultry is high in vitamin B-6, which can reduce inflammation and is needed in the creation of new red blood cells, and it’s loaded with zinc, which increases production of white blood cells. The following recipe has a German twist with Würze seasoning and spaetzle dumplings. It is recorded in the tradition of many family recipes—without exact quantities and measurements—because it was handed down from generation to generation and taught in the kitchen. This recipe can be completed easily without exact measurements.
Chicken soup has been a popular home remedy for the common cold since at least the 12th century.
Mom’s Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Recipe by Tami Hetzel, reprinted with permission
Ingredients for Soup:
1 large package frozen chicken breasts
Chicken soup base (bouillon cubes or paste)
Chopped celery
Chopped onion
Sliced carrots
Chopped fresh parsley
1 can corn, drained
3 bay leaves
“Crazy Salt” (saltless seasoning)
A few splashes of Würze Seasoning
Salt to taste (1 ½ – 2 tsp)
Pepper to taste (1/4 – ½ tsp)
Garlic powder to taste (1/2 – 1 tsp)
Ribbon noodles
Dumplings (recipe below)
Directions:
Place chicken breasts in a large pot; cover with water and add 2 tsp salt. Bring water to a boil, then lower heat and cover. Cook for 30 minutes to 1 hour. When chicken is done, remove from liquid and place in colander to drain—but keep the water. This is the base for the soup.
Run a spatula along the edges of pot to loosen any chicken debris. With a small sieve, collect and discard any floating particles in chicken water.
Put water back on burner and heat at medium. Add more water for more soup. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of chicken soup base.
Add chopped celery, onions, carrots, parsley, bay leaves, and drained corn. Season broth with salt, pepper, garlic powder, crazy salt, and Würze to taste. Let simmer.
When chicken has cooled, peel off skin, pull chicken off bone, and shred with fingers. Add shredded chicken to broth; taste and add spices or more chicken base as needed. Let simmer.
About 20 minutes before serving, turn heat to medium high; once soup is hot, toss in a couple handfuls of ribbon noodles, cover, and lower heat to medium low. Let noodles cook while preparing dumplings.
Ingredients for Dumplings:
2–3 cups flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground nutmeg
4 eggs
Directions:
Start with 2 cups flour and mix all ingredients together well. Dough should be elastic and stick to spoon. Stir hard and fast until bubbles pop. Add small amounts of flour as needed to get dough to elastic consistency. Drop by spoonfuls into boiling soup and cover. Turn heat to medium. Soup is done when dumplings puff up and float to top.
Miso
This traditional Japanese soup is made with a dashi stock (typically using dried seaweed, dried fish, and dried mushrooms) and miso (fermented soybean paste). Some drink it as a healthful broth for the abundant vitamins and minerals, and others use it to improve digestion as it is high in probiotics. For flavor and health, miso soup is a staple in Japanese cuisine and is served almost daily for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It may be enjoyed as a plain broth or with other ingredients.
Made-from-scratch miso recipes can be found at Just One Cookbook, or one can simply experiment with the broth and add other ingredients such as mushrooms, seafood, root vegetables, tofu, seaweed, leafy greens, or noodles to make a nourishing meal.
Ching Bo Leung
Ching Bo Leung is an all-purpose tonic soup made with seven dried Chinese herbs. If no Chinese supermarket is available to purchase the individual herbs, herb blends are available in premeasured seasoning packets. The soup is often made with pork or chicken but can also be made without the meat and with the addition of sugar to make it a sweetened broth. The Chinese Soup Lady offers a recipe and recommends that children be given only small servings of Chinese herbs.
Borscht
Popular in Ukraine and Eastern Europe, borscht is made with powerhouse foods such as beets, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, garlic, and onions. But anyone who is beet wary need not fear borscht because the beets all but disappear into the complex flavors of this multidimensional soup. And once borscht is appreciated for flavor, the nutritional benefits can’t be ignored.
According to the American Heart Association, ancient Romans believed that beets had medicinal properties, and modern science has proven them correct.
According to the American Heart Association, ancient Romans believed that beets had medicinal properties, and modern science has proven them correct. Research has shown that beets can improve cardiovascular health, lower blood pressure, increase blood flow, increase oxygen uptake, and may protect against dementia. Bring on the borscht!
Dal
Common in India, dal (also spelled, dhal, daal, or dahl) is a vegan and gluten-free dish that is packed with protein, fiber, and beneficial spices such as ginger and turmeric. It is typically made with lentils, but any dried, split pulses (e.g., lentils, peas, and beans) that do not need soaking before cooking can be used. The soup can also be adjusted to fit different flavor preferences from mild to very spicy, and is delicious served with naan bread, basmati rice, or sauteed spinach. Recipes like Red Lentil Dahl and Indian Red Lentil Dal are popular worldwide. Explore the idea of ramping up the spices or trying other split pulses such as chickpeas, kidney beans, or black-eyed peas in dal recipes.
Peanut
With ingredients like sweet potatoes or yams, chickpeas, and fresh spinach, African Peanut Soup delivers a good dose of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. The recipe can be varied to include corn, eggplant, okra, chicken, or tofu, and it can be served over brown rice, millet, or quinoa.
Vegetable
A centuries-old European folktale called Stone Soup is about a traveler who tells villagers he can make soup with a stone. He starts the soup with a stone and a pot of water, which inspires others to throw in a few vegetables and meat. Soon, a feast was created. The moral of the story is that there is value in sharing.
It’s a great story to tell over a dinner with friends where everyone brings an ingredient they have on hand to add into the soup pot. It’s also a great way to get kids interested in cooking. Let the kids shop for the veggies they would like to contribute to the meal and act out the story from Stone Soup while making the meal. One small potato could be the “stone” in the soup.
The moral of the story [Stone Soup] is that there is value in sharing.
Here is a recipe from the author’s kitchen for a vegetable soup that is flexible enough to incorporate what is on hand, in season, or brought by guests. It can be as spicy as one likes, low in sodium, gluten-free, vegan, and contains a lot of fiber and protein.
Vegetable Soup
Recipe by Julie Peterson
Soup Base:
1 64 oz bottle Campbell’s Spicy Hot V8 vegetable juice (low sodium if possible)
1 29 oz can crushed tomatoes
5 cloves garlic, pressed
1 Tbsp liquid aminos
1 Tbsp basil or Italian blend
1 Tbsp turmeric powder
Add additional seasoning (black pepper, salt, hot pepper sauce, paprika, etc.) to taste.
Ingredients:
1 head green cabbage, coarsely chopped
10 red potatoes, diced with peel
10 large carrots, chopped (orange, yellow, or purple)
5 stalks of celery including leaves, chopped
3 yellow onions, diced
1 16 oz can of black beans, drained
1 16 oz can of white beans (butter, great northern, or navy), drained
Possible additions: Chopped or diced spinach, turnip, rutabaga, sweet potato, zucchini, green beans, peas, corn, green chiles, etc.
Directions:
In a large kettle, begin to heat soup base on medium heat. Begin chopping washed vegetables. As each ingredient is ready, toss into kettle. When all ingredients are in kettle, stir and add water, more V8, or vegetable broth to cover vegetables. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until carrots are as soft as desired. Serve.
Soup can be thick or thin, spooned or sipped, creamy or chunky, spicy or sweet, and can include a wide range of ingredients. Soup might be an appetizer or an entire meal at any time of the day. There are holidays for soup and there are soups for holidays, with myriad international possibilities for any day of the year. One thing is for sure: soup is conventional and exceptional at the same time.
*Julie Peterson is a freelance journalist based in the Midwest region of the US who has written hundreds of articles on natural approaches to health, environmental issues, and sustainable living.