Soup Season | Five Recipes We'll Be Making This Fall and Winter

| image courtesy of half-baked harvest |

The temperatures are slowly beginning to drop in the Bay Area and we thought it was the perfect week to share a handful of our favorite soup recipes.

Keep scrolling for the recipes we'll be finding warmth and comfort in this season.

| image courtesy of epicurious |

Winter Squash Soup with Gruyère Croutons

squash soup

Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and minced garlic and sauté until translucent. Add broth, squash and herbs and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash is very tender.

Puree soup with an immersion blender. Add cream and sugar and bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

gruyère croutons

Butter one side of each piece of your sliced bread and broil until golden. Turn over and sprinkle cheese, then thyme and sage over opposite side. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil for an additional minute or until the cheese melts.

| image courtesy of alexandra cooks |

Marcella Hazan's Stewy White Beans

soaking and cooking the beans

• 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 quarts water
• 1 lb. dried white beans, we like cannellini for this recipe
• 1 onion
• 3-4 sprigs of thyme
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• 1 bay leaf

stewy beans

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small bundle sage, optional
• 3 cups cooked white beans, drained
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup water, chicken stock or vegetable stock, plus more as needed
• bread for serving
• grated Parmigiano Reggiano for serving

To soak and cook the beans, add beans and 3 tablespoons of salt in 4 quarts of water - soak for 8 to 24 hours. Drain, rinse and add to a pot with the onion, thyme, garlic, bay leaf and remaining teaspoon of salt. Cover with water by three inches and bring to a boil. Once you've reached a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the beans are cooked. Let beans cool in their cooking liquid. Discard thyme sprigs, bay leaf, and onion.

Sauté garlic and sage in olive oil until garlic is a very pale yellow. Add beans and cover the pot. After 5 to 6 minutes, uncover the pot and add water (or stock), cooking for another 6 to 8 minutes. As the beans simmer, some will break down resulting in a creamy broth. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve with toasted baguette.

Pastina Soup

Chicken and Rice Soup with Garlicky Chile Oil

Sauté onion in a large pot until translucent. Add water, rice, chicken and salt to a large pot and bring to a boil. Once you've reached a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered until chicken is cooked through.

Transfer chicken to a plate and shred meat with two forks. Continue to simmer soup while you’re prepping the rest of your ingredients.

Prepare kale by thinly slicing leaves. Add kale and shredded chicken to pot. Continue to simmer until kale is bright green and chicken is warmed through.

Remove from heat, add a squeeze of lemon juice and season with salt to taste.

Serve by topping with garlic-chile oil, fresh dill and a fresh black pepper to taste.

Mushroom and Port Soup

• 1 pint button mushrooms
• 1 pint cremini mushrooms
• 3 large portobello mushrooms
• 1 cup port
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 quart vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh thyme
• 3 large sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1/2 bulb fresh garlic
• 2 cups shallots

In a soup pot, fry together mushroom stems, 1/2 the thyme, all the garlic and the shallots.

Add port, wine, rosemary, pepper, stock, mushrooms and the rest of the thyme.

Reduce to half, then blend in blender.  

Serve with a touch of your best olive oil, a few sautéed mushrooms and a pinch of fresh thyme.

We love preparing our soups in a heavy dutch oven that can be taken directly to the table for serving family style. Our favorite is the Le Creuset Dutch Oven; it comes in a variety of beautiful colors and looks so lovely on the stove even when it's not in use.

Take a peek at a more favorite recipes from the Elsie Green kitchen >