Soup's On . . . In The Crockpot

About author / Pamela Chester

Mom of two; graduate French Culinary Institute; kids cooking program instructor; Master's degree in food studies. Creates kid friendly foods and loves her slow cooker.

Lately, the waning cold weather and snow makes me want to dip into a nice comforting bowl of hot soup. There is a late breaking snowstorm in the northeast this week that has sent most people scurrying back indoors. What better way to brace yourself for this last blast of March cold than with a steaming crockpot of your favorite soup?

Soup recipes have always been fascinating to me, not only because they provide liquid nourishment but also for their infinite variety. There are more kinds than there are days of the year and this is a menu item that spans all cultures across the globe. Almost every culture has a well known variety of soup, from Japanese miso soup, to Spanish Gazpacho, to Indian Mulligatawny, to Avgolemeno--a Greek soup made with lemon and egg. In the United States, we have several regional varieties of soup that are signature dishes in their area, such as Maryland she crab soup and San Francisco Cioppino.

The word soup came from the term “sop”, a word that used to mean a soup or stew that was soaked up by pieces of bread. This is precisely how some soups are meant to be eaten, with a nice piece of crusty bread on the side. Another interesting fact is that the word restaurant came from a 16th century French description--restaurer--of a concentrated broth that was sold by Parisian street vendors to keep exhaustion at bay. This eventually evolved into the modern term restaurant when shopkeepers opened and sold this soup.

Soup can be a nice homemade supplementary cure to all kinds of illnesses, especially the common cold (and with all this changing weather, we all become susceptible to picking up a cold or two). When you don’t feel like eating anything else, a bowl of good old fashioned chicken noodle soup always seems to do the trick. Homemade chicken soup seems to have a better cold curing effect than the canned variety. In fact, whenever I feel a cold coming on, I just grab some chicken, carrots, celery, onions and garlic (the garlic is very important) and make a simple soup that seems always to prevent me from feeling worse.

The key to a great soup is starting with great quality ingredients. Homemade stock is always a great flavor basis for any soup. However, if you are time pressed the canned or boxed low sodium stock is a great option. While making soup is a good way to clear out your pantry and refrigerator, I would suggest checking to make sure all items are fresh.

A hearty soup can be made into a main dish with the addition of some crusty bread and salad. You can make a fun event out of a dinner of soup by serving add-ins on the side, such as bacon, grated cheese, and croutons.

Let’s hope for a warming trend soon. I’m excited to cook with all the fresh delicate spring vegetables once again! In the meantime, I will be enjoying these last few cold days with a nice bowl of warm soup.

Serves/Makes: 4

• 6 ounces lean slab bacon or regular bacon, sliced 1/4 inch thick and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (8 ounce size) Yukon Gold potato, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 3 cups chicken or beef stock or low-sodium broth
• 6 ounces smoked ham, shredded
• 1 cup dried cannellini beans
• OR
• 1 can (15 ounce size) cannellini beans
• 1/2 small head escarole, cut into 1/2-inch ribbons
• freshly ground black pepper