Soup

A little taste of the Southwest to get you in the mood for a rowdy game of Texas Hold'em!

Thai red curry paste and unsweetened coconut milk are sold in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets and at Asian markets. Be sure what you're buying is coconut milk, not sweetened cream of coconut, which is used for cocktails.

New Englanders find the very idea of tomatoes in clam chowder to be abhorrent; of course, by referring to the aberration as "Manhattan clam chowder" they're overlooking the fact that their own Rhode Islanders also add tomatoes to clam chowder. And let's not forget about the hundreds of ethnic cuisines around the world that combine tomatoes with shellfish in soups and stews. Unlike the New England purists, we just don't find an intrinsic problem with clams and tomatoes. We do find, however, that most Manhattan clam chowder served in restaurants is positively awful: thin, unclammy, often tasting like vegetable soup out of a can with a few canned clams thrown in. Try the following recipe, and you'll see how good this soup can be.

This Vietnamese dish from Chez Pham is called bun vit mang, a duck and bamboo shoot noodle soup.

This soup is good and velvety on its own, but the chile butter adds a luxurious crowning touch.

Anyone who's ever had a garden or raided a cornfield knows that when corn is young you can eat it cob and all, and that the cob has as much flavor as the kernels. That flavor remains even when the cob has become inedibly tough, and you can take advantage of it by using it as the base of a corn chowder—a corn stock, if you will. Into that stock can go some starch for bulk, a variety of seasonings from colonial to contemporary, and, finally, the corn kernels. The entire process takes about a half hour, and the result is a thick, satisfying chowder that is best made in late summer.

The technique used to make this soup can be repeated for other soups, the seasonings—be they sweet or spicy—varied to suit your tastes. Although the soup is good without it, the cheese adds a flavor note that punctuates the natural sweetness of the squash.

I fell for this soup on a trip to the Yucatan Peninsula, where it is a mainstay. It’s light and refreshing—a tasty first course that whets the appetite without ruining it for the main event. It’s a smart way to go if you’re serving heavier fare, such as Cheese Enchiladas with Chile Gravy (page 152) or Fiesta Chiles Rellenos (page 145) for a main course.

Any fat from the consommé can be used to make the matzo balls. If you need to purchase chicken fat, it's available in the freezer section of some supermarkets. Look for fresh lemongrass in supermarkets and Asian markets.

In this pretty soup, sweet fresh peas are enhanced with a bit of mint.

I love coming home with friends from a steamy day at the beach knowing that I've got a batch of cold tomato soup ready. I dish it up, swirl in a tablespoon of vibrant green arugula pesto, and pass it around. We sit on the porch and savor the flavor of sun-sweetened summer tomatoes enhanced with a touch of cream and a nip of vodka. The rest of dinner will come later, but for now, we're assuaging our hunger, chatting, laughing, and reliving the events of the day. This is a great make-ahead soup. In fact, it becomes more flavorful with age. Although I like it cold, it's equally good heated. If storm clouds gather and the temperature plunges, take the soup from refrigerator to stove, heat it up, and serve it in mugs.

Turkey soup may be the end of the line for turkey leftovers, but it doesn't have to be boring and predictable. The hearty essence of the roasted holiday bird is concentrated into a deeply satisfying broth, thick with noodles and laced with garlic, rosemary, and tomatoes. This is a guaranteed crowd pleaser whether it's just the family or a last minute gathering of friends. And thanks to the ready availability of turkey wings, executive food editor Kemp M. Minifie bets you won't want to wait until next Thanksgiving to make it again.

Soup is a great way to use up leftover greens, especially the leafy tops of beets or turnips, which too often get tossed in the compost pile. In this suave, satisfying soup, braising beet tops and collard greens (left over, respectively, from Smoked–Sable Tartare with Beets and Watercress and Wild–Mushroom Bundles ) with fennel and onion mellows the greens' hearty flavor and brings out a surprising smoothness (heightened by the cream stirred in at the end). Adding the spinach just before blending helps keep the color bright.

It's only natural to use leftover chicken broth (from Blade Steaks with Rosemary White–Bean Purée ) to make chicken soup. But what a soup! Steeping ginger and scallion greens in the stock and then poaching the chicken in it is a quick way to achieve a depth of flavor. The final soup is enriched with silky ribbons of just–cooked eggs, shreds of tender chicken, and fresh rings of scallion. Best of all, this satisfying soup is easy enough to pull together after work.

Grandma also serves the rich, spicy soup with cucumber salad and scallion pancakes.

Pureeing the caramelized onions gives this soup a thick, creamy texture.

Porcini and crimini mushrooms give this hearty soup its deep, almost meaty flavor. Cottage cheese holds the cheesy, parsley-flecked dumplings together.

A Japanese-style noodle soup that's full of healthful things: mushrooms, yams, carrots—and even salty, savory, vitamin-and mineral-rich seaweed. For details on the ingredients used in this dish, see "Ingredient Tips" at the end of the recipe.