Souper Satisfaction

Holidays are special for grand reasons — exchanging gifts and good will, ringing in the new year — and less dramatic ones, like eating lots of party food. But too much of a good thing can mean burnout, and attending party after party can lead to a longing for simplicity and solitude.

What’s more basic, comforting and soothing than soup? If you can find a spot in your schedule for a quiet night at home, it isn’t complicated to cook a pot. A few ingredients and a little bit of effort can make for delicious, fortifying sustenance to ready you for stepping into the seasonal fray again.

"Any recipe is made better with good ingredients," says Ruby Hayasaka, nutritional services director at Castle Medical Center, where The Bistro, its cafeteria, has a reputation for serving exceptional soup. "We use fresh produce and make everything from scratch."

The 3 Ladles couldn’t agree more. That would be Jonelle Garcia, Loreen Matsushima and Teri-Lynn Parel, friends whose love of soup led them to open a soup booth at a couple farmers markets. For the trio, the operative word is fresh.

"We try to support local farmers, and on the produce side it’s fantastic," says Parel. "It worked out really well, especially with the herbs, which we get from ‘Nalo Farms and Pit Farm."

Each of the 3 Ladles makes a specialty soup, which is offered every week at Blaisdell and Mililani farmers markets, along with a featured soup from their library of recipes.

Garcia’s regular contribution is Sundried Tomato Basil Soup.

"You need to start out with good product. I use organic tomatoes from Wow Farm on the Big Island. They have good, meaty tomatoes. If I use tomatoes from somewhere else, you can see a difference in color, size and water content. Wow’s tomatoes have less water, so it lasts longer," she says.

Garcia likes to roast her tomatoes in olive oil before making her soup.

"It’s my favorite part of making the soup, to take them out of the oven and smell the aroma," she says. "Roasting helps break down the tomato, and it gains sweetness."

She rounds out the recipe with sun-dried tomatoes, onions and roasted red bell peppers.

Matsushima makes Beef Bourguignon Barley soup (dubbed "BBB") with Kuahiwi beef, which she says is leaner and makes for a less greasy soup. To that she adds carrots, Small Kine Farm mushrooms, onions and sometimes turnips for spiciness.

Parel’s specialty is Kahuku Corn Chowder. She uses ham shanks, or ham hocks from local hogs, along with the fresh corn, carrots, onions and bay leaves. She cooks the potatoes separately and adds them before serving so they don’t melt and make the chowder starchy.

Matsushima and Parel use a pressure cooker, which saves on time and makes for a rich broth.

"It usually takes two hours to get good flavor out of the meat, but in a pressure cooker it takes just 25 minutes," Parel says.

Since Castle serves strictly vegetarian fare, Hayasaka is well versed in vegetable broths. She says a good one starts with the basics of fresh onion, celery and carrots, with a ratio of 2 cups of veggies to 8 cups of water. Boil and simmer for a few minutes. From there, add the herbs and seasonings you like.

"I really believe that if a person tries to make their own broth, they will not want to buy pre-made broths," she says. "People have a tendency to use less salt when they make their own broth. They find that there’s more flavor because of the fresh ingredients."

Castle also offers dairy-based soups, often using 2 percent milk.

Parel uses the real deal, cream, for her chowder. But either way, both Hayasaka and Parel agree that a roux is the best way to thicken the broth.

Parel’s trick for incorporating the roux is to whisk the soup from the surface rather than the bottom to prevent clumps. It’s also important not to let the soup boil after adding cream; overcooking dairy will lead to curdling or lumps.

Matsushima says herbs can change the flavor of a soup.

"Teri-Lynn uses tarragon, which pairs well with the sweetness of the corn chowder. Oregano gives soup a more Italian flair. Basil is a classic pairing with tomato," she says.

Hayasaka encourages home cooks to browse the Internet for ideas.

"There are many recipes to be found," she says. "Be curious. Try different ingredients and different ways of making a soup. When you make your own soup, you can control the salt and seasonings that go into it and add what you like."