Soup

Test kitchen director Ruth Cousineau, who developed these recipes, says, "For a big dinner, you must include soup. Just don’t make it heavy." Here, she's created a chicken broth infused with the aroma of ginger and cardamom. Petite savory flans, studded with tender chives, lend a light creaminess to each mouthful.

This homey soup—a piquant start to a satisfying Mexican-style dinner of tacos or enchiladas, or a main dish when paired with a grilled cheese sandwich and a salad—gets its fire from a chopped jalapeño.

Chicken soup is an automatic crowd-pleaser, but this Mexican-inspired tortilla soup does the classic one better. Homemade broth is key here, providing a base for brown rice, black beans, and chunks of sweet potato. Cooling pieces of avocado play off of a warm, earthy undercurrent of chipotle chiles.

For this interactive dinner, use a camping or induction burner at the table, or just get cozy around a warm stove. As the broth cooks the chicken and vegetables, it becomes a flavorful homemade soup.

The pork needs time to cook and chill, so be sure to begin this recipe at least one day ahead. Put out a platter of cornbread (homemade or purchased) along with the posole.

Try to buy ripe tomatoes or let them ripen in a paper bag with an apple for two days.

When corn season is over, this soup is one of the dishes I miss most. I think you'll like cooking the kernel-less cobs with the milk—it's a great way to get every last bit of flavor from the corn.

A no-cook soup that's as effortless as it is elegant embodies everything we look for in a summer dish. The sweet honey and sharp vinegar are natural extensions of summertime tomatoes' flavor.

Sprinkle with crystallized ginger or sliced scallions.

Trim the tops and tails of the beets to 1 inch.

Chinese Rice Porridge with Turkey and Ginger

What a soup. Carrots and fennel caramelize when roasted at high heat, then release their sweet essence when blended. A drizzle of fennel-seed oil echoes and intensifies the fennel flavor.

Yellow tomatoes bring a touch of sunshine to this delicious chilled soup, which can be made as spicy or as mellow as you like.

Simmering the cobs lends depth to a cool essence-of-corn soup, enhanced with a swirl of sour cream and a sprinkling of chives.

Be well this fall: Have one bowl and you'll spoon up nearly three quarters of your daily requirement for vitamin C.

This colorful one-pot main dish meshes savory mussels with Asian aromatics for a contemporary take on moules marinière. Bottled fresh carrot juice is a flavorful (and not-to-be-sniffed-at) shortcut.

Evocative of cassoulet but so much easier, this bean soup manages to be both rugged and elegant. No part of the confit duck legs goes to waste: The bones add savor to the beans, the meat goes into the soup, and the crisped skin makes a delectable garnish. Flambéing the Armagnac before adding it to the pot takes the edge off the alcohol while leaving behind the deep flavor of the barrel.

While eating at one of the coveted counter seats at Les Cocottes, Christian Constant's chic restaurant, food editor Paul Grimes was deeply inspired by the pumpkin soup, which surprised him with savory little chunks of foie gras waiting at the bottom of the bowl. Here, Grimes explores squash's more savory side by cooking it with a touch of tomato and providing that little bit of sweet surprise in the form of chopped chestnut. With just a dollop of whipped cream, it is rich only in looks and spirit—a spoonful will reveal how unbelievably light it is.

In this redesigned French bistro classic, softened red onions join salty Manchego, and star anise gives the peppery broth a subtle undercurrent of sweetness.