10 Old-Fashioned Winter Soups That Cost Almost Nothing

10 Old-Fashioned Winter Soups

General Equipment and Preparation

• Use a pot and spoon for the soups, and a knife and cutting board for chopping.
• A strainer and refrigerator are needed for the chicken stock. Keep a gallon-size freezer bag in the freezer for “bag soup.”
• No oven preheating is required. Most soups simmer on the stovetop.

10. Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 5–6 potatoes, skins left on if clean
• 1 onion
• Water to barely cover
• A good pinch of salt
• A splash of milk
• A pad of butter
• Pepper
• Optional: bacon or cheese

Method

1. Cut up the potatoes and onion. Cover them just barely with water and add salt.
2. Boil until a fork goes through the potatoes easily.
3. Mash about half the potatoes against the side of the pot to thicken the soup with their own starch.
4. Finish with milk, butter, and pepper.

Tip: Don’t add flour or cream to thicken it; the potatoes do the job.

9. Cabbage Soup

Ingredients

• ½ head of cabbage, chopped
• 1 onion
• 1 carrot, if available
• A spoonful of fat
• Water to cover
• Salt
• Optional: 1 can of tomatoes

Method

1. Cook the onion in fat for a few minutes, then add the cabbage.
2. Add water to cover and salt. Add tomatoes if you have them.
3. Simmer gently for about 40 minutes.

Tip: Don’t boil cabbage hard. Slow cooking makes it sweet rather than gray and strong-smelling.

8. Tomato Soup

Ingredients

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• Butter
• 1 large can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 1 can’s worth of water
• A pinch of sugar
• Salt
• Optional: a splash of milk

Method

1. Cook the onion in butter until soft.
2. Add the tomatoes, water, sugar, and salt. Simmer for 20 minutes.
3. For a creamy version, take the pot off the heat before stirring in milk to help prevent curdling.

Serving suggestion: Serve with grilled cheese.

7. Onion Soup

Ingredients

• 4–5 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
• A generous spoonful of butter
• Water, or broth if available
• Salt
• Stale bread, one piece per bowl
• Optional: cheese

Method

1. Cook the onions in butter over low heat for about 45 minutes, stirring now and then, until they turn golden to brown and become very soft and sweet.
2. Add water (or broth) and salt. Simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Put stale bread in each bowl and ladle the soup over it. Add cheese on top if you have some.

Tip: Don’t rush the onions with high heat; slow browning builds the flavor.

6. Lentil Soup

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 celery stalk, if available
• A little oil
• 1½ cups lentils, rinsed
• 6 cups water
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt
• 1–2 teaspoons vinegar (white or cider)
• Optional: a sausage link, cut up

Method

1. Cook the onion, carrot, and celery in a little oil.
2. Add the lentils, water, bay leaf, and salt. Simmer until the lentils are soft, about 30 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat and stir in the vinegar.

Tip: The vinegar brightens the flavor; the presenter says it shouldn’t taste distinctly vinegary. Lentils don’t need soaking.

5. Barley Soup

Ingredients

• ½ cup pearl barley
• Onion and carrot
• A handful of mushrooms, if inexpensive
• A little fat
• Water or broth
• Salt
• 1 bay leaf
• Optional: leftover beef or a bone

Method

1. Cook the vegetables in a little fat.
2. Add the barley, water or broth, salt, bay leaf, and optional beef or bone.
3. Simmer for about 1 hour, until the barley is soft but chewy.

Tip: Barley continues absorbing liquid as it sits. Leftovers may become very thick; add water when reheating rather than assuming the soup has gone wrong.

4. Split Pea Soup

Ingredients

• 1 bag split peas, rinsed
• 1 ham bone or a smoked ham hock
• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• About 8 cups water
• Salt, added at the end

Method

1. Put the peas, ham bone or hock, onion, carrot, and water in a pot.
2. Simmer with the lid partly on for about 1½ hours, until the peas have turned to mush.
3. Stir every 20 minutes, scraping the bottom.
4. Remove the bone, pick off any meat, and return the meat to the soup. Salt at the end, accounting for the saltiness of the ham.

Tip: Split peas can sink and scorch. Stir regularly; the presenter warns that a scorched pot can’t be salvaged. No soaking is needed. A smoked ham hock can stand in for a ham bone.

3. Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 1 lb dried beans, such as pintos, navy beans, or Great Northerns
• 1 ham hock or ham bone
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• Water to cover by 2 inches
• Salt, added at the end
• Optional: a small pinch of baking soda if the water is hard

Method

1. Rinse the beans. Soak overnight if convenient; otherwise, cook them longer.
2. Add the beans, ham, onion, garlic, and water to a pot. Simmer slowly for 2–3 hours, until the beans are soft.
3. Mash some beans against the side of the pot to thicken the soup. Salt at the end.

Tip: Old dried beans or hard water can keep beans firm. The presenter suggests buying beans from a shop with good stock turnover and adding no more than about ¼ teaspoon of baking soda to a pot if the water is hard.

2. Chicken Soup from the Carcass

For the stock

• Leftover chicken bones, skin, back, and meat scraps
• 1 onion, halved, with its skin on
• A carrot end
• A celery top
• Water to cover

Method

1. Put the chicken remnants and vegetables in a pot and cover with water.
2. Bring to a bare simmer. Set the lid on crooked and simmer for 3 hours; don’t boil hard.
3. Strain the stock. Refrigerate it overnight. The presenter says it should wobble like loose jelly when chilled.
4. To make soup, add rice or noodles, a carrot, any reserved chicken, and salt.

Tip: A hard boil can make the stock cloudy and greasy. The recipe is a way to use a leftover roast or rotisserie chicken carcass rather than buying broth.

1. “Bag Soup” / Friday Soup

Ingredients

• Vegetable scraps and leftovers saved in a gallon freezer bag—for example, onion skins and ends, carrot tops, celery leaves, broccoli stems, leftover corn or rice, and bones
• Water and salt
• Whatever needs using from the fridge, such as a potato, cabbage, lentils, or barley

Method

1. Collect scraps in a freezer bag as you cook, until it is full—usually after a week or two.
2. Put the contents in a pot with water and salt. Simmer for 1 hour.
3. Strain if the mixture is mostly skins and bones; otherwise, leave it unstrained.
4. Add suitable fridge leftovers and cook them in the soup.

Tip: The ingredients vary each time. The idea is to use food already on hand rather than discard it.

Presenter and Referenced Source

Presented by Brenda Cooks. Brenda mentions her cookbook, Brenda Cooks, and the website brendacooks.com, where she says the recipes are costed out. No other sources are named.