Soup type Base Passed or Unpassed Veloute/Roux Blond roux Vegetables Stock Passed Pros + Cons - Texture is controlled by the thickness of the roux. Stocks can be used to drive the flavour base of the soup The soup will not be gluten free unless a GF flour is used to make the roux Puree /Blended Broth Stock Fresh Vegetables Pulses Stock Cut Vegetables Can be both Unpassed Flavours can be combined easily and excess stock can be used up. Good GP driver. Chefs can be very creative and use their knife skills, preparing vegetables nicely. Same texture every time. Not encouraging our chefs to be creative or use their knife skills Broths have to be very well seasoned or can be deemed watery THERE IS ANOTHER BASE CALLED CONSOMMÉ WHICH WE DO NOT MAKE AT LOUNGES. IT IS A CRYSTAL CLEAR SOUP.
Main ingredient Tomato (Roasted) Carrot Beetroot Cauliflower Courgette Cabbage Mushrooms Leek Pak Choi Parsnip Peas Peppers Potato Spring Onion Sweet Potato Watercress Chilli Coconut Roast Garlic Ginger Beans & pulses Pasta Lentils Smoked Fish Beef Pork Bacon Ham Chicken Chorizo Seasoning & flavour partner s Balsamic Vinegar, Basil, Thyme, Garlic, Aubergine, Cannellini Beans, Pesto (Red or Green), Cream Coriander, Cumin, Turmeric, Orange Feta, Goats Cheese, Cumin, Dill Tandoori spices, Cheese, Curry, Garam Masala Lemon. Herbs. Chilli. Crème Fraiche, Peas, Mint, Tomato, Brie cheese Bacon, Chorizo & Potato to make Caldo Verde, Cream White Wine, Garlic, Butter, Tarragon Potato, Spring Onion, Cream Pork, Noodles, Basil (Great to finish oriental broth off with) Curry spices, Caramelised apples, Pumpkin, Honey, Maple syrup (use to roast in), Caraway seeds Ham, Cream Smoked Paprika, Tomato Leek, Cream, Chives Lemongrass, Ginger Butternut Squash. Spinach, Lentils, Ras el Hanout Peas Smoked Paprika, Tomato Chicken, Basil, Thai Basil, Lemongrass Tomato, Chicken, Cream Coconut, Lemongrass, Chicken. Chipotle Chilli, Sweet Chilli, BBQ Pork, Tomato Minestrone, Maccu (Sicilian speciality with beans, olive oil and a little chilli) Smoked Bacon, Thyme Parsley, Dill, Potatoes(chowder), Chilli, Onion, Tomato, Cayenne, White Beans, Red Wine, Ale, Stout Sweetcorn, Paprika, Jambalaya Cream, Leek, Onion Pea, Lentils Butter, Black Pepper, Chorizo, Thyme, Chillies, Cumin, Smoked Paprika, Maple syrup Tomato, Butternut Squash, Beans This guide shows the main soup base ingredients alongside some suggested food pairings that suit the main base ingredient. For example if you want to make a Chicken soup then the ingredients that pair well with chicken are Butter, Black Pepper, Chorizo, Thyme, Chillies. Cumin, Smoked Paprika and Maple syrup. From that list you should then choose 2 items for example Chorizo & Paprika to create. Chicken, Chorizo and Smoked Paprika Soup
DO WE ALWAYS NEED TO PUREE A SOUP? NO. You can stop cooking when the vegetables are al dente and tender. You can use your knife skills to cut nice Brunoise, Paysanne, Chiffonade, Macedoine or Julienne to make the soup more interesting. THE ABSOLOUTE DONTS! Do not thicken a soup with cornflour. Just reduce the soup to the desired consistency. Try blending some veg / potatoes in the background to add body & flavour. Don t worry if the soup is thin, it doesn t always need to be thick. If it s thin, make sure it packs a punch with the flavour i.e chilli ramen noodle soup. TARGET FOOD COST We have set a food cost of 1 per litre for veg and 1.10 for meat soup - so don t be afraid to make use of the food cost and make the best soup you can. CAN I MAKE MY OWN STOCK? YES you can. However to make a stock you should run it by your ops chef for clarity otherwise buy the powders from Elite. WRITING & DESCRIBING Think about the wording when you are writing up the description of your soup.. CHICKEN SOUP sounds ok but PULLED CHICKEN & SLOW COOKED TOMATO WITH CHORIZO sounds nicer! Brunoise A cube: Regular brunoise are vegetables cut into 3 mm squares; a fine brunoise is cut into 1.5 mm square. Paysanne Vegetables cut into thin slices of 1 to 2 mm thick.. Shape varies depending on the vegetable but the thickness should be the same. Chiffonade Slicing of leaves or herbs such as basil into very fine strips. Macedoine Another cube: Vegetables cut into cubes just like the Brunoise, but bigger. The size of a Macedoine is 5mm square. Julienne Cutting of vegetables into thin strips 3-4cm long, this is sometimes referred to as the matchstick cut.
Drop some rice into curried soups, adds a lovely texture and a nice visual. Have a good vegetarian soup i.e. veg & barley broth but offer a version with pulled chicken / pork. Try leek & potato soup finished with shredded leeks that have been blanched. What about a cool way to serve a ramen broth, finely shredding oriental style veg with noodles in a warmed bowl then serve a mini teapot next to it filled with the hot and sour stock for the customer to pour over the veg / noodles. Instead of cooking pasta in Minestrone make it minus the pasta then place a small nest in the centre just before serving. Also look at different shapes of pasta like ditalini, orzo, mini shells, orecchiette. As we develop the core menu over time, new ingredients will be available. Perhaps we may have a noodle dish on the next menu if we did then could we offer a ramen broth? What about blending the soup, then still adding diced ingredients. Why not think about sprinkling in some of the new grains to create a superfood (or souperfood) soup.