high Unless you enjoy wearing hot soup • An immersion blender can give you a decently smooth result, depending on the power of your blender It’s by far the most convenient way to make soup, and it’s a good choice if you’re fine with a rustic, kind of chunky texture • A food processor should be your last choice Because of its wide base and relatively low spinning rate, a food processor does more chopping than pureeing Whatever the pureeing method, I like to emulsify my soup with some fat during this stage—either butter or olive oil This adds a rich texture to the soup Some recipes (including many of mine) will tell you to slowly drizzle in fat or add butter a knob at a time while the blender is running, which is a surefire way to get your fat to emulsify properly, but here’s a secret: so long as you don’t have the world’s worst blender (and somebody out there does!), there’s no real need to drizzle in the fat slowly The vortex action of a blender is plenty powerful enough to emulsify the fat even if you just dump it all in at once If the ultimate in smoothness is your goal, finish off your pureed soup by using the bottom of a ladle to press it through a chinois or an ultra-fine-mesh strainer The end results should be smoother than John Travolta strutting with a double-decker pizza slice Step 7: Finish with Acid and Season Seasoning is the final step just before plating and serving in any recipe You can season as you go, but you never know if your soup has the right level of salt until you taste it in its final form Now is the time to do that Equally important to bring out the best flavor in a recipe is acid Because acidic ingredients quickly dull in flavor when cooked, it’s best to add fresh acid right at the end, just before serving For most vegetable-based dishes, lemon juice or lime juice is a great option, as their aroma complements vegetal flavors Other good options would be a dash of cider vinegar, wine vinegar, or my favorite, sherry vinegar The latter goes particularly well with soups made with plenty of extra-virgin olive oil Step 8: Garnish and Serve Your soup is essentially done at this stage, but a little garnish never hurt anybody Here are some options: • Flavorful oils, like walnut, pistachio, squash seed, or argan • Chopped fresh herbs or tender alliums, like parsley, tarragon, chives, or sliced scallions • Sautéed vegetables, like mushrooms, leeks, or garlic • Nuts, like almonds, hazelnuts, or pine nuts, toasted in olive oil or butter • Simple gremolata-style mixtures, like a blend of parsley, lemon zest, and grated garlic • Thinly sliced chilies • A drizzle of browned butter • Dairy products, like sour cream, crème frche, or heavy cream; plain or flavored with spices or pastes Using a hint ... You can season as you go, but you never know if your soup has the right level of salt until you taste it in its final form Now is the time to do that Equally important to bring out the best flavor in a recipe is acid... when cooked, it’s best to add fresh acid right at the end, just before serving For most vegetable-based dishes, lemon juice or lime juice is a great option, as their aroma complements vegetal flavors Other good options would... Other good options would be a dash of cider vinegar, wine vinegar, or my favorite, sherry vinegar The latter goes particularly well with soups made with plenty of extra-virgin olive oil Step 8: Garnish and Serve