Soup made great, even amazing with right toppings
As we soup lovers know, the right toppings can turn a good soup into a great soup, sometimes even an amazing soup.
The addition of crunchy, creamy, salty, sour and/or spicy can make all the difference. After all, what would tomato soup be without a handful of smashed up saltines? A co-worker even pours a small bag of potato chips over his lunchtime bowl of canned soup and to that I say, “Atta, boy!” Crunch improves everything.
That's why I was so attracted to Rachael Ray's Black Bean and Kale Tortilla Soup. Sure, the spicy combination of cumin, coriander and jalapeño caught my attention right away. And the fact the soup is chock full of healthy ingredients like kale, tomatoes and black beans put it on my radar screen.
But I have to say the toppings are what hooked me. It's a veritable all-star list of garnishes: homemade baked tortilla chips, avocado, cilantro, cheese, scallions, lime juice and, get this, sliced radishes. Whoa, she's got it all here — the crunchy, the creamy, the salty, the sour and the spicy.
Most interesting, however, is the fact she doesn't top the soup with the add-ons. Oh, no that would be too boring. She puts them at the bottom of the bowl and pours the soup over them.
Of course, this is common with tortilla soup or even French Onion soup. You place the tortillas or bread in the bowl and pour the hot soup over them, incorporating them and lightly cooking them in the process.
In this case, she put everything in the bowl except the cotija cheese and ladles the soup on top, finishing it off with a sprinkling of the cheese.
When you dip your spoon in the bowl, it is a delightful surprise seeing what you capture.
The basic part of the soup recipe is fast and easy. You can cut down on the spice, if you like by skipping the jalapeño and using plain diced tomatoes. Honestly, most of the work with this entire recipe involves chopping and preparing the toppings.
But all of this crunchy, creamy goodness is well worth the extra time. The toppings at the bottom transform this recipe from good to great.
• M. Eileen Brown is the Daily Herald's director of strategic marketing and innovation and an incurable soup-a-holic. She specializes in vegetarian soups and blogs at soupalooza.com.