Soup

Soup’s on! This colorful and creamy soup is a delicious way to eat your veggies.

For a taste of Italy in minutes, prepare this simple vegetarian soup. Serve with a hearty whole-grain bread.

You can make this robust soup in less time than it takes to have a pizza delivered. The soup is a lot more nutritious—and costs less, too.

Use leftover turkey from the holidays for this festive soup, or for a grilled turkey version, use leftover turkey from the Grilled Turkey Cutlets with Pineapple—without the pineapple (page 162).

Serve this chilled fruit soup as a light summer appetizer or with your favorite sandwich or salad.

Simple to prepare, this chowder has a rich flavor and an interesting texture that make it enormously satisfying. For a delectable light dinner, serve it with a crisp salad and follow with fruit for dessert.

This light, garden-fresh soup is double-quick to fix. Just bring it to a boil, remove it from the heat, and let it stand for a few minutes!

Probably one of the easiest soups you will ever make, this smooth, creamy delight is perfect whether you’re entertaining or curling up in front of the fire.

Using presliced fresh mushrooms and frozen chopped onions will hurry things along in this recipe.

Fresh herbs add a lively taste to this refreshing, light soup.

At first glance, it might seem strange to see the words ravioli and soup together. But I figure if Jewish folks cut through matzo balls and Chinese folks break apart wontons, we Italians should be able to join in by throwing ravioli in our soup. Though I’d like to pretend I’m a trendsetter, I’ve really just created a twist on tortellini soup for the sake of saving fat and calories. In my grocery stores I can find lower-fat ravioli, but I can’t find lower-fat tortellini. If you do find the tortellini, feel free to return to the more traditional and make this soup with tortellini. But I’m pretty happy with it as is, and I think you will be too. Note that if you can find it, Rosetto also makes a whole-wheat ravioli that’s delicious and just as low in fat and calories but packs 6 grams of fiber per serving (I buy it at Whole Foods). The bag is slightly smaller (22 ounces instead of 25), so you’d need a bag plus a few more ravioli to make the recipe as written, but it’s worth buying.

Gina: Few dishes are as soothing or as comforting as this creamy stew of poached chicken and tender egg noodles. As kids, when any of us were feeling low, we could always count on my mom (these days she’s known as Grandma Jean) to have a pot of this soup on the stove. It seemed to me that anytime I had a bowl of it I was instantly cured. I’m not sure if it was the combination of ingredients, or the love my mother put in every pot, but I know that now, when I make it for my family, they feel the same way. Grandma Jean would simmer a whole chicken for hours (Grandma Jean took her time with everything). We, however, who always seem to be pressed for time, have thankfully found a way to create similar flavors with a shortcut (don’t tell Grandma!). We poach sliced chicken breasts to juicy perfection in the stock, and then add green peas and lemon juice for a final layer of fresh flavors and color. This one comes with our Neely guarantee: One bowl of this stew and you are on your way to recovery. Thanks, Mom!

Pat: Creamy, smoky white beans, simmered with some kind of pork fat, are a Southern staple, especially when served with a wedge of warm cornbread. This white-bean soup is finished with kale, a nourishing green that’s packed with vitamins A and C (the leaves are so pretty that Gina uses the green and purple varieties to decorate her party trays). Smoked sausage makes a great addition to this soup, and what we do then is leave out the bacon and add 1/2 pound of sliced smoked sausage instead. (You’ve heard the expression “an eye for an eye” in Memphis we say “a pig for a pig.”)

Pat: Bisques are the most luxurious soups around. With a base of cream and seafood and brandy, they have a way of filling you and sating your appetite. This recipe is an easy, satisfying version of a dish that usually takes much longer to prepare. A quickie homemade shrimp stock provides an essential depth of flavor. And though the small amount of rice might seem unusual, it helps thicken the soup.

Pat: When Gina and I are on a fitness kick and determined to lose a few pounds, I love having healthy, vibrant vegetable soups on hand. The soups help us fight the flab without sacrificing taste. And they fill us up, too! We often serve soup as a nourishing lunch or first course, and this carrot soup is one of my favorites. It has a velvety texture and an orange color that pops, and it includes a secret ingredient (sweet potato) and warm spices like cumin, coriander, and cayenne to give it depth and an irresistible aroma. Puréeing this soup in a blender instead of a food processor makes it especially silky. It’s great hot, but it’s also good chilled, topped with a swirl of plain yogurt or sour cream, during our sultry Memphis summers.

Pat: This is our kind of tomato soup—it has plenty of attitude! A double dose of heat (crushed red-pepper flakes and chipotle-pepper purée) gives it a smoky undertone; a garnish of avocado relish balances the flavors and provides an appealing texture. This soup is delicious with hot cornbread or grilled ham-and-cheese sandwiches.