Soup night, around the world
Soup is the one course where the method matters more than the shopping. These eight run from a ten-minute wok soup to a two-hour broth, and the order below is the order of effort. Each note says what the recipe actually asks of you, because the ingredient list alone hides it.
Egg Drop Soup
1 of 8
Chicken stock, sesame oil, peas, mushrooms and a cornstarch slurry, with the egg whisked in at the end. The whole thing happens in a wok in about ten minutes.
Tom yum (hot & sour) soup with prawns
2 of 8
Stock simmered with lemongrass, galangal, coriander root and lime leaves for two minutes, then prawns, fish sauce, chillies and lime. Nine ingredients and it is on the table before the rice is done.
Moroccan Carrot Soup
3 of 8
Carrots, onion and garlic roast with cumin and coriander seed before they are blended, so the sweetness comes from the oven rather than from cream. Lemon juice at the end keeps it bright.
Leblebi Soup
4 of 8
Tunisian chickpea soup: chickpeas simmered in stock with onion, cumin, garlic and harissa for half an hour, finished with lime. Traditionally ladled over torn bread.
Hot and Sour Soup
5 of 8
The Chinese takeaway classic with tofu, pork, two kinds of mushroom and wood ear. The sour is vinegar and the hot is white pepper and hot sauce; the cornstarch thickening is what gives it body.
Creamy Tomato Soup
6 of 8
Onions, celery, carrots and potato sweated first, then passata, chopped tomatoes and stock, finished with milk. The potato is what makes it creamy without much cream.
French Onion Soup
7 of 8
Half an hour of onions with the lid on, then twenty more minutes caramelising with sugar before wine and beef stock go in. The Gruyere toast on top is not optional.
Rosol (Polish Chicken Soup)
8 of 8
Chicken legs simmered for two to two and a half hours with the broth skimmed clear, then leek, carrot, celery, cabbage, cloves and allspice. It is a Sunday recipe and it tastes like one.