Become a soup chef!

Making a soup quickly and healthily is easier than you think. With these steps you can easily make a large pan full of fresh soup.

Determine the type of soup

Soups can be divided into two categories:clear and thick. First decide what kind you want to make. Only then choose the ingredients and seasonings.

• Clear soup :consists of a clear broth, vegetables and/or meat.
• Bound soup :can be divided into puree soup (a purée of certain ingredients), cream soup (finished with cream) and velouté soups (sieved and then bound with a mixture of egg yolk, cream and butter).

A thick soup is often more filling than a clear soup. It generally contains more calories and saturated fats due to the thickening agent and cream in the soup. Whichever variant you choose, the basis is the same for every soup. You make this by frying a chopped onion and a little garlic in some oil.

Read also :’10 ways to eat more vegetables’

Add vegetables

Vegetables provide extra vitamins and carbohydrates. Leek, zucchini, broccoli, pumpkin, mushrooms and carrots are popular vegetables for soup. Did you know that a forgotten vegetable such as black radish is also very suitable? Black radish is also known as 'the black radish' and is packed with vitamins B and C.

Try these combinations:

• Cauliflower soup with potato, raw ham and crème frache.
• Chicory soup with zucchini and cheese.
• Brown bean soup with an onion, carrot and leek for a delicious, filling soup. You can also replace the beans with lentils.

Go for a power booster

To make your soup an even healthier meal, you can add a booster. Do you want a thicker soup? Then you can, for example, process an avocado in it. A spoonful of chia seeds or quinoa gives your soup more bite and ensures that you are full faster. Also a bunch of sprouts can do a lot for your soup. It looks nice as a garnish and is very healthy.

Give your soup taste

Time to season your soup! A little salt and pepper never hurts, but opt ​​for a more pronounced taste.

• Mint goes very well with spinach soup, as does a red chili pepper.
• Do you make cauliflower soup? Then add a few saffron threads. Saffron gives a rich and warm taste.
• Substitute parsley and basil for a few sprigs of thyme. It tastes slightly different.
• Turmeric goes well with red lentil soup or onion soup.
• Ginger tastes very good with a carrot soup.
• Fennel seed can be perfectly combined with tomato in a fish soup.

Choose a good topping

Not only the taste has to be good:the eye wants something too. Therefore also pay attention to the garnish.

• For example, finely chop a handful of roasted nuts and sprinkle them over the soup.
• Garnish with a few mint or basil leaves.
• Sprinkle over some herbs.
• Add one last spoonful of cream.

  Source:Santé March 2016 Text:Mara Ruijter