Trash Soup
You can make soup with just about anything! One of the things I like to do is use up the leftovers from the week and make a nice hearty soup!
Some basics:
First saute your aromatic veg until tender or translucent (onions, celery, carrots) if adding garlic do this towards the end of this process as it burns easily if not careful.
Keep a good stock or broth on hand. I like to buy the natural ones when they are on sale, because let’s face it though I may have the best intentions of making my own it rarely happens and there are some great stocks out there. Watch the salt!
If you are adding fresh meat cook before adding unless making meatballs or something that will cook in the broth.
Once you establish your base i.e. onions, celery, roux etc. start building your soup. Decide what type of broth you’d like and really just throw things in and add your favorite seasonings. I know, that sounds over simplified, but not really. Here is my Trash Soup from this week.
Leftovers:
Grilled chicken, diced
Curried carrots, diced
Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash Risotto
Trader Joe’s frozen Quinoa
Roasted garlic, I squeezed the garlic out like a paste
A few little pieces of sauteed banana pepper
1/2 box Chicken Stock
Additions:
Onion
1 potato
2 Tsp Curry
1/2 can coconut milk
Salt and Pepper
1 box Chicken Stock
I sauteed the onions and then added the broth. Diced the potato and added to the broth cooking until tender. Then I added the risotto and pureed until smooth. Then I added the rest of the ingredients brought to a simmer and let simmer about and hour to let the flavors marry well, but in a hurry you could heat through. I served it with grated cheese, crackers, and Sriracha sauce on the side and a nice pumpkin beer.
With leftover rice, pasta etc. you have the option to add in as is, but they can break down too much second time around. If you puree it you can have a creamy soup without all of the fat of cream-a trick from Julia Child. If you are going to use the rice or pasta as they are add these last and just heat through so that they will not become mushy.
Just think about what you have in the fridge and go from there. You can throw in a can of beans or fire roasted tomatoes, corn etc. Before you start take a look at your leftovers and then look through your cabinets and freezer, you may have the perfect thing on hand!
For us this week everything went together very well. Sometimes it isn’t as easy to decide how I want it to look and I just head to the internet and plug in a few ingredients to get some ideas. Sometimes you just need a little inspiration.
I’d love to hear how your Trash Soup turned out and any other leftover ideas you’d like to share!
Enjoy!