How to Make CREAMY Vegetable Soups WITHOUT A RECIPE When I was a totally green cook with my first serious restaurant job, working under Chef Jason Bond at what’s now a landmark Boston restaurant, No 9 Park, there were many moments when I learned a new technique or perfected an old one and said to myself, “Holy crap, I just made this?” But the very first was when Chef Bond taught me how to make a creamy chanterelle soup (read: Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup on tasty, tasty crack), sweating aromatics, sautéing mushrooms, adding a good stock, and pureeing it all while emulsifying the mixture with fresh butter Like any great vegetable soup, the end result was something that tasted like a liquefied, purified, intensified version of itself—this soup tasted more like chanterelles than actual chanterelles The magic lies in the way that aromatic ingredients can bring out other flavors, as well as the way in which liquids coat your mouth, giving more direct contact to your taste buds and olfactory sensors, and making for easier release of volatile compounds These days, there aren’t too many vegetables in the world that I haven’t made into a smooth, creamy soup, and there are even fewer that I’ve not loved,† but my experience has taught me something: that first process of making a chanterelle soup wasn’t really just a recipe for chanterelle soup It was a blueprint for making any creamy vegetable soup You just need to break it down into its individual steps and figure out how to universalize them Let’s say, for instance, that I’ve never made a smooth carrot soup flavored with ginger and harissa, but I really like the idea Here’s how I’d go about it Step 1: Prepare Your Main Ingredient The simplest soups can be made by merely adding your main ingredients raw and simmering them in liquid later on When preparing this type of soup, all you’ve got to do is get your main ingredient ready by peeling it (if necessary) and cutting it into moderately small pieces The smaller you cut, the quicker your soup will cook down the line There are times when you may want to boost the flavor of a main ingredient by, say, roasting or browning it This is an especially effective technique for sweet, dense vegetables like sweet potatoes and squashes, or brassicas like broccoli or cauliflower, all of which intensify in sweetness with some browning To roast them, cut them into large chunks, toss them with some olive oil, salt, and pepper, set them in a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper, and roast in a 375°F oven until tender, with their edges tinged brown This works in two ways First, the process of caramelization breaks down large sugars into smaller, ... peeling it (if necessary) and cutting it into moderately small pieces The smaller you cut, the quicker your soup will cook down the line There are times when you may want to boost the flavor of... or cauliflower, all of which intensify in sweetness with some browning To roast them, cut them into large chunks, toss them with some olive oil, salt, and pepper, set them in a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment... and figure out how to universalize them Let’s say, for instance, that I’ve never made a smooth carrot soup flavored with ginger and harissa, but I really like the idea Here’s how I’d go about it