There was a little girl who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good, she was very, very good and when she was bad, she was horrid.

 So goes the nursery rhyme, and so goes soup. My own experience of soup has been as such. When I was young there was a time of extreme frugality in my family’s kitchen. My recollection is of a nightly ritual dining on soup and sandwich. And not very good soup, but some heated up, watered down can of commercial condensed soup. Cheap it was, and more than just price, but of flavor and delight. 

For many, many years I swore off soup. I never ordered it out. I never cooked it. I only suffered it when offered through friendship at someone’s home. It was relatively easy to avoid. 

Luckily for me though, soup kept insinuating itself into my life. And today I am grateful for the many manifestations of soup. 

Soup is an ancient food. It can be found in the most humblest and most elegant of settings. Soup can be a minimalist food, such as miso soup, brilliantly presented with a sliver of shiitake mushroom and green onion, or show up as hearty minestrone with a long laundry list of ingredients. Familiar soup such as tomato soup can lead to more unfamiliar and esoteric soup, such as the Asian birds nest soup. 

Soup is a comfort food. It can be the beginning breath of a great meal or it can be the meal itself. I now know that soup can be sublime and no longer automatically turn away from the soup listings on the menu.

Part of the credit for my return to the soup bowl must go to Rosemary, the former co-owner of Frankies in Ellsworth. Rosemary was a magician with soup and I have many fond memories of eating her soups, especially her pumpkin soup. 

Eating and cooking soup has taught me about time. To enjoy soup takes time. I am not talking hours here, but soup requires a certain amount of focus, or attention, paid to the act of eating it. Therefore I naturally slow down. I am more aware of what I am eating, of how I am eating. 

Cooking soup requires the same focusing of attention as well. Gathering the ingredients, preparing them, cooking them together to form something that is greater than the sum its parts. And soup does not mind hanging around a few days. In fact some soups are better the next day or the even the day after that. 

I could easily take a year and make a different soup every week. That would only be 52 variations on a theme. It would be the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. 

My most recent foray into soup making came from The Irish Pub Cookbook, by Margaret Johnson, published by Chronicle Books, San Francisco. The original recipe is titled Pumpkin, Vanilla and Wild Garlic Soup I had to adapt because it was the wrong time of year for purchasing whole pumpkins. However the addition of a vanilla bean is inspired and brilliant. I suggest checking out the cookbook for some of the other delicious recipes. 

Pumpkin Soup with Vanilla Bean

1 vanilla bean

4 Tablespoons butter

4 cloves of garlic (original called for 1)

1 sweet onion finely chopped

3 cups of pumpkin pulp*

2 cups of broth*

1 cup heavy cream*

Salt and pepper to taste

Sour cream (for garnish, about 1T per person)

Split the vanilla bean down its length and scrap out the seeds, saving the seeds separately.

In a large pot place the butter, add the garlic and onion and cook until softened but not browned.

Add the pumpkin, the stock and the vanilla bean pod.

Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Slow is always better.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Remove the vanilla bean pod and discard.

Add the heavy cream, vanilla bean seeds and salt and pepper to taste.

Slowly reheat.

Serve with a tablespoon of sour cream*.

 * The original recipe called for 2 pounds of pumpkin, Hubbard or butternut squash cut into 1 inch cubes. It uses chicken broth, although I made mine with vegetable broth. The original recipe also calls for 2 cups of half and half and a garnish of crème fraiche. I salute the creators of that recipe and the cookbook. 

The fragrance of the vanilla bean is sublime. It adds a very delicate balance to this rich tasting soup creating a truly simple but elegant dish. The bright orange color of the soup with miniscule brown dots from the vanilla bean seeds, topped with the white of sour cream was a winter’s visual delight.

I purchased my vanilla bean at John Edward’s, Main Street, Ellsworth. It was supple and fresh and just inhaling its aroma was intoxicating.

I hope you enjoy trying this spoonful of Irish creativity.

Slainte Catherine

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