I'm looking for a soup recipe that can be cooked in a slow cooker or slowly simmered on the stove. I want to invite friends for soup, bread, salad, and dessert. My friends cannot eat chicken, chicken broth, onions and garlic. I can't seem to locate a soup recipe. Hoping someone here can help. Thanks so much.
Wanted ISO Soup Recipe
- Thread starter Sojourner
- Start date
Freeholder
This too shall pass.
I'm not going to give you a recipe, I'm going to give you some guidelines. Because soup can be made with anything (do you remember the Stone Soup story from when you were a child?).
Soup starts with liquid. Add meat, vegetables, and seasonings. Cook until done.
Now, specifics.
Liquid can be just about anything, but start with water. Broth can be added at the beginning (beef broth or vegetable broth if you can't use chicken broth). Milk, cream, or (in a few instances) wine should be added near the end of the cooking process. Milk or cream would normally be added after the food has been removed from the heat; wine should cook for a little bit to cook off the alcohol.
Meat: red meat is normally cut into small pieces and browned before adding to the soup. Fish or other seafood, or ham, would be added without browning. Most fish and seafood doesn't need to cook very long (clam necks being an exception, as they are tough and need long simmering). Red meat or ham should be simmered -- your slow cooker will do a good job with this.
Vegetables can include anything you like or have on hand. Potatoes are frequently used, but other starchy foods added to soups include legumes, rice, noodles, and sweet potatoes. Cut the veggies into bite-sized pieces before adding to the soup. First add the ones that take the longest to cook, such as carrots. Then add the ones that cook more rapidly, such as, for example, beets or broccoli or kale. If you use rice or noodles, don't simmer them all day or they'll fall apart; instead, add them about half an hour before serving time.
You need something for what the gourmet cooks call 'umami' -- good flavor. Meat, including bacon; mushrooms; meat broth; milk/cream/sour cream/yogurt (the last two may be added as a spoonful on top of the bowl just before it's served); cheese....these are all used for that good flavor.
Seasonings: Most shouldn't be added right at the beginning if you are going to cook the soup all day in the slow-cooker. There are a lot of things you can use instead of onions or garlic, but you'll have to choose what you like or have on hand. Celery is often used. Bay leaves (remember to remove them before serving). Sage, thyme, oregano, tarragon, rosemary, parsley, basil, salt and pepper, bell peppers and hot peppers....there are more -- lots more!
Now, suggestions. Look for a borscht recipe (Russian peasant winter soup) if you like beets and cabbage and potatoes with a little meat. Look for a chowder recipe if you like seafood/fish. Look for chili recipes if you like Mexican style (with or without beans -- you can leave out onions and garlic). There's bean soup; beef and vegetable soup; sweet potato soup....You can use recipes that call for your forbidden ingredients, just substitute. Use beef broth and red meat (or fish) instead of the chicken. Use one of the seasonings I mentioned above instead of onions or garlic. In our house, soup is generally a 'clean out the frig' day and the ingredients vary depending on what we have on hand. You probably don't need more than a quart of liquid to get started with, a pound of meat chopped small, and three or four pounds of vegetables, along with maybe one pound of rice or noodles if you use those, or a potato per person. Test your seasonings before serving and add your salt then.
Test ahead of time, if you are really worried about it, but soup generally comes out just fine.
Kathleen
Soup starts with liquid. Add meat, vegetables, and seasonings. Cook until done.
Now, specifics.
Liquid can be just about anything, but start with water. Broth can be added at the beginning (beef broth or vegetable broth if you can't use chicken broth). Milk, cream, or (in a few instances) wine should be added near the end of the cooking process. Milk or cream would normally be added after the food has been removed from the heat; wine should cook for a little bit to cook off the alcohol.
Meat: red meat is normally cut into small pieces and browned before adding to the soup. Fish or other seafood, or ham, would be added without browning. Most fish and seafood doesn't need to cook very long (clam necks being an exception, as they are tough and need long simmering). Red meat or ham should be simmered -- your slow cooker will do a good job with this.
Vegetables can include anything you like or have on hand. Potatoes are frequently used, but other starchy foods added to soups include legumes, rice, noodles, and sweet potatoes. Cut the veggies into bite-sized pieces before adding to the soup. First add the ones that take the longest to cook, such as carrots. Then add the ones that cook more rapidly, such as, for example, beets or broccoli or kale. If you use rice or noodles, don't simmer them all day or they'll fall apart; instead, add them about half an hour before serving time.
You need something for what the gourmet cooks call 'umami' -- good flavor. Meat, including bacon; mushrooms; meat broth; milk/cream/sour cream/yogurt (the last two may be added as a spoonful on top of the bowl just before it's served); cheese....these are all used for that good flavor.
Seasonings: Most shouldn't be added right at the beginning if you are going to cook the soup all day in the slow-cooker. There are a lot of things you can use instead of onions or garlic, but you'll have to choose what you like or have on hand. Celery is often used. Bay leaves (remember to remove them before serving). Sage, thyme, oregano, tarragon, rosemary, parsley, basil, salt and pepper, bell peppers and hot peppers....there are more -- lots more!
Now, suggestions. Look for a borscht recipe (Russian peasant winter soup) if you like beets and cabbage and potatoes with a little meat. Look for a chowder recipe if you like seafood/fish. Look for chili recipes if you like Mexican style (with or without beans -- you can leave out onions and garlic). There's bean soup; beef and vegetable soup; sweet potato soup....You can use recipes that call for your forbidden ingredients, just substitute. Use beef broth and red meat (or fish) instead of the chicken. Use one of the seasonings I mentioned above instead of onions or garlic. In our house, soup is generally a 'clean out the frig' day and the ingredients vary depending on what we have on hand. You probably don't need more than a quart of liquid to get started with, a pound of meat chopped small, and three or four pounds of vegetables, along with maybe one pound of rice or noodles if you use those, or a potato per person. Test your seasonings before serving and add your salt then.
Test ahead of time, if you are really worried about it, but soup generally comes out just fine.
Kathleen
Many thanks, Kathleen, for your comprehensive reply. If it were up to me I'd serve a chicken soup with lots of onions and garlic (plus more). Ha! That's my go-to home-cooked soup. Before posting I'd looked at dozens of recipes and they all jumbled together in my mind. For example, I just can't make chili without onions. Your explanation of what-goes-with-what sort of clarified things, and maybe I can approach this menu with a clearer vision.
Melodi
Disaster Cat
I find making good soup tricky without meat or bone broth, but I find organic vegetable stock cubes go a long way to making the vegetarian soup I'm making for my housemate (and me, cause I ain't making two soups) making them edible.
If I were not allergic to mushrooms this would be easier, but the high concentrations of vegetables in the stock cubes work almost as well.
Another secret for when you are cooking for people who can have garlic and onions is to slow cook and caramelize the onions when there's time to do so. That is the secret of a lot of peasant cooking, especially in India.
If I were not allergic to mushrooms this would be easier, but the high concentrations of vegetables in the stock cubes work almost as well.
Another secret for when you are cooking for people who can have garlic and onions is to slow cook and caramelize the onions when there's time to do so. That is the secret of a lot of peasant cooking, especially in India.
Border Collie Dad
Flat Earther
Potato soup?
psychgirl
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Mmmm! Yummy!
And you can add ham, bacon, cheese to that too, but leaving out the onions is a bummer. If you have to leave onions out, I’m sure it could still taste great though,
Freeholder
This too shall pass.
I was thinking potato soup, too, but our recipe does call for onions. Maybe I'll have to try making it without onions one of these days just to see how it comes out.
My grandfather used to grumble about onions, and tell Grandma that he hated onions, and he wished she wouldn't use them. So one day she made stew (or something similar) and didn't put any onions in it. He grumbled that it didn't taste right (she hadn't told him about leaving the onions out), and she explained that that was because it didn't have any onions in it, LOL! So I guess he didn't grumble about onions anymore.
But it can be a matter of allergies -- I know a guy who is deathly allergic to onions, and has been put in the hospital by pot-luck dishes that he'd been told didn't have onions in it. My grandmother was severely allergic to zucchini (as is one of my brothers), and she almost ended up in the hospital from a pot-luck dish that she'd been told didn't have zucchini in it (made by another lady who didn't believe Grandma when she had told them that she was allergic to zucchini!). Or it could be a matter of a special diet -- low-FODMAP, if I recall correctly, eliminates onions and garlic.
Kathleen
Melodi
Disaster Cat
Hing is used in some Asian Indian cooking instead of onions but I don't know if it is a related plant or not - that would have to be checked if this was an allergy issue - also I agree on the stock cubes, a lot of them have the mushroom powder in them too - both the Organic and the Regular Kind.
One soup that might work without onions or garlic is split pea, especially if you can use ham, I've made it with just water (it is better with broth) but long-simmering with ham and a bit of mint just might work. Especially if the ham has a lot of flavors, like leftover holiday ham cooked with cloves.
One soup that might work without onions or garlic is split pea, especially if you can use ham, I've made it with just water (it is better with broth) but long-simmering with ham and a bit of mint just might work. Especially if the ham has a lot of flavors, like leftover holiday ham cooked with cloves.
Macgyver
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Just change out the stock for veggie.
Creamy Corn Chowder
This rich corn chowder recipe gets bold flavor from bacon. It's loaded with veggies, making it a hearty option for a quick weeknight supper.
In a 4-quart soup pot, cook bacon over medium-high heat, stirring, until brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp. fat.
Add onion, celery and bell pepper and cook, stirring, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add potatoes, corn, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir until thickened and fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Slowly pour in broth, stirring constantly until smooth. Add bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until potatoes are tender, 25 minutes.
Remove bay leaf and stir in half-and-half. Cook until warmed through.
Creamy Corn Chowder
This rich corn chowder recipe gets bold flavor from bacon. It's loaded with veggies, making it a hearty option for a quick weeknight supper.
- Yield: 8 Servings
- 6 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 3 medium red potatoes, diced
- 1 (1 lb.) bag frozen corn kernels, thawed
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Salt and pepper
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup half-and-half
In a 4-quart soup pot, cook bacon over medium-high heat, stirring, until brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp. fat.
Add onion, celery and bell pepper and cook, stirring, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add potatoes, corn, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir until thickened and fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Slowly pour in broth, stirring constantly until smooth. Add bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until potatoes are tender, 25 minutes.
Remove bay leaf and stir in half-and-half. Cook until warmed through.
I think you wouldn't notice the lack of onions & garlic as much with spicy ethnic blends like curry or garam masala. You'd have to add the spices separately or make your own blends to be sure of ingredients, or at least check the label and don't use if ingredients are general like "flavoring". Soy/tamari, tomato paste, olive oil especially if infused, and wine or even Guiness all add depth of flavor.