“Eat your soup to grow”! Who has never heard such an injunction, often accompanied by the ultimate measure of being deprived of dessert? However, in recent years, soup seems to be back in fashion: it is increasingly being offered in restaurants, and even at the children’s table! In addition to its nutritional properties, it has many benefits for the body. Low in calories, it is a source of vitamins and minerals for the body and contributes to its hydration. For people whose health is fragile, it reduces cardiovascular risks and cancers as much as it satisfies those whose appetite is gargantuan.
A dish to eat preferably in the evening, because it promotes digestion. But how ? Our columnist Abdel Alaoui shares his advice and tips for discovering or rediscovering soup, with family or friends.
How to make children eat soup?
In recent years, children have become reconciled with the generous and playful soup. She no longer scares them and some even have their favorite spinach soup recipe with squares of cheese. It’s alright It works. This is precisely to make the soup pass more easily. You throw in a small square of cottage cheese, you mix it all up and that makes it more accessible, easier and more fun
There is also carrot soup with honey, sautéed with honey, or onions, garlic. We add a little water, mix it all up and let the children taste it. Kids love carrots. And there is, of course, the alphabetical pasta soup.
When soup allows you to escape
Each country has its soup. In France, we obviously know the onion soup, the fish soup with a good rouille and stale bread. And it’s so good, it’s warming. Then after, there is the Italian minestrone. You know ? It’s very good, with small pasta, with tomatoes and diced seasonal vegetables. There is also borscht, a Russian soup made from potato, beetroot and meat. In Japan, there is miso soup made from soybeans, seaweed and dried fish.
Then there is the chorba. So this is North African soup with tomatoes, chickpeas, lamb, cumin, ras-el-hanout. It’s not the same calories. We also have fun with vegetables, with lots of leeks, lots of water and chopped vegetables in the chorba. It’s so good. In Morocco, there is also harira (which looks like chorba, with chickpeas, crushed wheat, possibly meat).
Finally, you can also try the Vietnamese soup made from rice noodles and bean sprouts, called pho.
How to make a soup with seasonal vegetables?
I’m going to make you want to make homemade soup for your children again. So, a pumpkin soup: it’s the season. It’s too easy to add pumpkins and water and mix. So no, I’m going to do something else. Obviously a slightly easier and simpler recipe.
There are those who leave the skin on, others who remove it, it gives a little taste of bitterness and texture. So you need
– Pumpkins, about 1 kilo
– 1 onion
– 3 carrots to bring a little sweet taste
– 2 cloves garlic
– A potato for consistency
– A little cream, a little salted butter and a little olive oil
– Salt and pepper
We cut all that, we sweat, we wet with a little water, once cooked, we add the cream and the butter and we mix and we add some small broken chestnuts a little sweet. And all you have to do is taste it!