Spring is here and the best spring soups need a good soup stock

Chives from the garden

Making a good soup is about fresh ingredients and layering flavors. Achieving great flavors in a plant-based, oil-free kitchen, presents more of a challenge because we traditionally depend so heavily on animal foods, and sauteing vegetables in oil for flavor. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make a good soup without those unhealthy ingredients

In the early days of spring I start thinking about the freshest ingredients from a spring garden, and while it’s still cool outside,  my mind turns to soup. Young baby carrots, new potatoes, asparagus,and the freshest young greens, all make me think of some of my favorite soup recipes.

And as I think about my favorite spring soup, I know  I need to start with a good soup stock. Sure, it is easy enough to buy plant based soup stocks in the store, but have you ever tasted them? They all taste the same, and whatever that flavor is isn’t something I want in my soup. And many of the store bought soup stocks have oil, sugar, and too much salt added to them. So I make my own. And before you shout out about how little time you have for that, let me put you at ease. You do have time to make them, and even better, you can make them without adding a dime to your food budget. How, you ask? By using the scraps from the dishes you prepare throughout the week. Simply save them in a container in the refrigerator and once a week throw them into a pot, add water to cover, and simmer them for about 45 minutes. Voila! Soup stock!

But before you get started, let me make a few suggestions because not all scraps from your cooking adventures make good soup stock.

Here are my tips for getting the most out of the ingredients you already have in your kitchen.

1. Don’t throw away the bean cooking broth. That broth is full of flavor and adds much to any dish you use it in. My favorite beans to use for their broth include white beans, garbanzo beans, and most lentils. Black beans are fine if you plan to make a black bean soup, but otherwise, they can throw the color off in whatever dish you are making, and they have a strong flavor that can overpower the dish you are making.
2. Chop the vegetable scraps into small pieces so that more of their surface comes in contact with the water. You’ll extract more flavor from the vegetables if you do.
3. Start your stock with cold water. Different ingredients release their flavor at different temperatures and the goal is to maximize the flavor you get from your vegetable scraps.
4. Don’t cook your stock for more than 40-45 minutes. In this time, you will have extracted as much flavor as you can from the vegetable scraps, and any longer cooking time is just a waste. If you want a richer stock, remove the vegetable scraps and cook the stock down to reduce then liquid, thereby concentrating the flavor of the stock
5. Some vegetables can make your soup stock bitter and should be avoided. Some, like potatoes, break down into starch, making your stock cloudy. Here is my list of ingredients to avoid:
   1. Cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, Brussel sprouts
   2. Leafy green parts of celery and carrots
   3. Artichoke hearts
   4. Beets
   5. Squash and sweet potatoes
   6. Green beans
   7. Potatoes
   8. Other possible additions to your stock:
      1. Soy sauce
      2. Miso
      3. Small quantities of apple cider vinegar
      4. Wine. Be careful if you have a delicately flavored stock because wine can over power it.
      5. Nutritional yeast
      6. Fresh herbs. I get excited about my garden this time of year because the herbs come to life. Just remember that some herbs are really strong and can easily overpower your stock. Think about using the same herbs in  the stock that you will use in the soup.

I used to teach a St. Patrick’s Day cooking class every year. I grew up loving many classic Irish dishes because my mom was one of those cooks who like all kinds of cuisine. Celebrating this holiday is in part a celebration of Mom. Here are a few new recipes I’ll add to my St. Patrick’s Day collection.

Cabbage Rolls

Boxty

Gur Cake