Soup

This spicy soup from Shawn McClain, chef at Green Zebra in Chicago, is rich in immunity-enhancing vitamin A.

An intriguing, rich, and spicy soup with West African roots.

Golden beets have orangey skin and a more delicate sweetness than red beets.

Lightly poached eggs add luxurious body and sophistication to this weeknight soup.

Floating on the surface of this pale, silky soup, which tastes of the essence of parsley, is a trompe l'oeil surprise: What looks like shaved truffles is actually thinly sliced chestnuts, adding a nutty sweetness.

Use any seasonal squash you like in this comforting and creamy soup.

This recipe was created by chef Traci Des Jardins of San Francisco's Jardinière. It's part of a special menu she created for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program.

Although this soup is full of earthy flavor, it's also relatively light, which makes it a perfect first course for the big holiday meal. As a bonus, it can be prepared several days ahead and quickly reheated at the last minute.

An immersion blender makes the prep time even shorter.

For extra flavor, add leftover (plain) gravy or stuffing to the soup. If using stuffing, stir in one to two cups half an hour before the end of the cooking time. If using gravy, add it just before the soup's done.

Red lentils, faster-cooking than other varieties of the legume, are the foundation of this earthy, rustic soup. Light but satisfying, it's a wonderful (and easy) start to an autumn meal.

This hearty soup gets rich flavor from linguiça, a delicious pork sausage from Portugal seasoned with garlic, paprika, and other spices. Spanish chorizo sausage is a great substitute.

Crispy pancetta sprinkled on top adds a salty, savory flavor to this sweet soup.

The beans and the chiles need to soak overnight, so start this the day before.

Dried cracked corn, after being soaked and cooked, is mixed with milk and brown sugar to make a soupy sweet for indigenous peoples in the highlands of Colombia. Here it adds the thickening base that potatoes would in a traditional chowder. Chipotle and bacon mingle to form a low, smoky whisper of heat.

The buttermilk in this soup gives it a light, tangy richness that harmonizes with the sweetness of the peas and the gentle bite of the curry. Though it looks lovely in a bowl, serve this soup in drinking glasses, to be sipped rather than spooned, for a nice change of pace.

Full of sweet corn, smoky bacon, and delightfully briny clams, this light summer chowder is like having a whole New England clambake in a bowl.

This recipe was created by chef Geraldine Ferraro of the Four Swallows Restaurant on Bainbridge Island in Washington. It's part of a special menu she created for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program.

Why you'll make it: Because it's the tastiest way we know to use up all those ripe tomatoes you've got at the ready. The flavors of cold soup become muted once the soup is thoroughly chilled. Before serving the gazpacho, check the salt and vinegar and then adjust them, if need be.