Winter Soups
The perfect comfort food during those cold winter months!

Well, it’s that time of year again. The snow is dusting our driveways, our kids or grandkids are begging to go out and play in the newly fallen snow…and the inevitable cold season is definitely upon us. There is nothing that warms us more during these months than a delicious, steamy bowl of homemade soup or chowder. Soups are quite easy to transform into gluten-less dishes — the exception being noodles soups, but you will soon see how to bring those back to your table as well.

Essential Equipment

Of course you will need several tools, appliances and pots to make your soups and chowders. Luckily some tools can double as various things, so you may be surprised to find that you already have most of the equipment on hand. Should you find that you are missing something please visit the Glutenfreeda shopping mall. You will find all the items available through our affiliate Cooking.com.

Food Processor — Blender — Hand-Held Immersion Blender — Food Mill

These are used primarily for puréeing soups. We tend to use the food processor the most because it seems to work best for thick soups. However, you may use a blender, hand-held immersion blender or a food mill. They will all ultimately result in the same thing — some with a little more effort than others. With all of this equipment, you will most likely have to work your soup through in batches and then whisk together the purée upon completion.

Colander- Strainer Basket

You will find this necessary to remove solids from stocks or draining vegetables, beans or other larger ingredients that you are trying to separate from your base.

Stockpots

Select a well-made, heavy, tall, large-capacity pot with a close-fitting lid. Anodized aluminum (ex: Calphalon), or enameled steel cleans up nicely and does not react with the acidity of wines, tomatoes or citrus.

Pasta Machine

A hand crank machine will work great for making fresh pastas for your noodle soups.

Miscellaneous Items:

Ladles

Cutting Board

Wire Whisks

Measuring spoons & cups

Knives

Vegetable Peeler

Fine Strainer

Cheesecloth

Skimmer

Making Stocks:

Most of your soups will call for a stock as a base or to add moistness or flavor. Homemade stock will provide the best taste and thereby the best end-result, however, you can substitute canned stocks if you are short on time. Note: We know that Swansons Chicken broth is gluten-free, however we are not aware of a canned product for beef and vegetable broths that is gluten-free. The easiest and safest way to assure yourself of good quality gluten-free stock, is to prepare it and then freeze it in pre-measured containers. That way you will always have it on-hand. Click on the following links to retrieve some wonderful recipes for delicious basic stocks:

Chicken, Beef, Vegetable, Fish

Puréed Soups

Puréed soups are wonderful because they are smooth in texture and robust in body. There are many ingredients that are hearty enough to provide enough texture to be puréed, such as root vegetables (particularly carrots or potatoes), tomatoes, cooked grains or sweet corn. A food processor will provide the quickest method of puréeing, however you will probably need to run the purée through a fine strainer to remove any seeds, skins or larger fibers. A great example of a wonderful puréed soup is this months Potato & Leek Soup. This is not difficult to make, but absolutely delicious. We tend to refer to it as "feel good food!" in our house.

Noodle Soups

Most people are big fans of old fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup. Unfortunately for those people with gluten-intolerance you either have to substitute corn or rice noodles or go without the "noodle". The corn and rice will definitely work (especially when crunched for time), however, we feel we have come up with an alternative that will bring back those memories of the traditional chicken gluten-noodle soup! Use our recipe for pasta dough and run your fresh pasta through the fettuccini attachment. Just prior to serving your soup, add the pasta. It should only take a few minutes to cook the pasta since it is fresh. I guarantee that you will not be able to taste the difference between the gluten-noodle and these noodles. You will no longer have the odd taste and texture of the corn or rice noodles.

Substitutions

If your soup requires you to sauté vegetables in oil or butter, you may substitute half of the oils/fats with 1/4 cup chicken stock or water. Most soup recipes that call for cream, may be modified by substituting (if you are not boiling your soup) low-fat milk, yogurt, sour cream, or a combination of half cream and one of the aforementioned substitutions. Keep in mind though that if you divide the amount of cream that will be used in the soup by the number of servings, you may find that a very small quantity of cream will be consumed at one sitting.

Garnishing Soups

Garnishing a soup is an easy way to boost flavor while turning your food into a beautiful work of art. Here are some various ways to garnish you soups:

Puréed Roasted Red Pepper

Roast a red pepper, seed and peel. Purée in a food processor. Spoon onto a creamy soup, swirling into a decorative pattern.

Gluten-free Croutons

See our recipe for gluten-free croutons. Place toasted croutons on top your favorite soup and add a touch of fresh Italian parsley.

Fresh Herbs

Just before serving, cut some fresh herbs and scatter over top of soup.

Sour Cream

Spoon some lightly whisked sour cream on top of your favorite creamy soup. It will add a nice rich flavor.

Storing Soups

Often you will find that soup that has been stored in the refrigerator for a day or so, will tend to improve the flavor. Keep soup tightly covered, and make sure that the soup completely fills the container — avoiding the air from contacting the soup. Also, leave the fat on top of the soup, as it will provide a natural sealant. Once the fat chills it can be easily removed before re-heating. The one exception to storing soup are soups made with seafood — these are best eaten immediately after being cooked

If you are planning on freezing soups, make sure that you remove all the air from your container prior to freezing. Puréed soups will keep for up to 3 months. Most other soups are best if they are eaten with 1 month of freezing.

So whether you are coming inside from playing in the snow, nursing a seasonal cold or simply looking for a little "feel good food", try one of one of Glutenfreeda’s soups this month. You won’t regret it!

Research was gathered from the following sources:

"The All New All Purpose Joy of Cooking", Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker and Ethan Becker, Copyright 1997.

"Soups", William-Sonoma Kitchen Library, Copyright 1993.

You may purchase the Joy of Cooking and/or Soups on Amazon.com . It is a wonderful cookbook, with an abundance of information. It even has a few gluten-free recipes!