This isn't a veg site, but I liked her tips.
7 tips for full flavoured soup without using stock
1.use aromatic vegetables
One of the secrets to great stock is being generous with the aromatic vegetables – onion, carrots & celery. So rather than add stock, I like to add at least one of these directly to the soup. Big flavour and no waste. Win win!
2. season with soy sauce. I read recently that soy sauce was developed by buddist monks to make vegetarian food taste more palatable and meat like. I’m not so sure of the truth behind the story of soy, but I do know it is rich in lovely umami-type savoury flavours. And even a tablespoon can turn a simple soup into something totally moreish.
3. use a full flavoured accompaniment.Things like pesto or harissa give a real flavour hit to soup, not to mention adding some textural variation.
4. don’t overdo the water. When you’re making soup without stock, it’s really important that you don’t dilute the soup too much so be sparing with your water at first. You can always thin out a too-thick soup, but rescuing a watery, weakly flavoured number can take hours of simmering.
5. season seriously. Seasoing properly is critical for optimum flavour in all cooking but especially so in soup. Stocks tend to be quite salty naturally, so soup made on a stock base tends not to need as much salt & pepper. When switching to stock-free soup, it can be easy to underseason so be ultra careful to taste and add more salt if the flavours aren’t singing
.6. use a little acid. Think of this as part 2 of seasoning. A little lemon juice or a splash of vinegar can be all a dull soup needs to turn into a vibrant star.
7. spice it up. Some warming chili can do wonders to compliment the warming nature of soup. And a little cumin or coriander or even curry powder can give an old soup a new lease of life.
http://thestonesoup.com/blog/2011/0...without-using-stock-5-ingredients-10-minutes/
7 tips for full flavoured soup without using stock
1.use aromatic vegetables
One of the secrets to great stock is being generous with the aromatic vegetables – onion, carrots & celery. So rather than add stock, I like to add at least one of these directly to the soup. Big flavour and no waste. Win win!
2. season with soy sauce. I read recently that soy sauce was developed by buddist monks to make vegetarian food taste more palatable and meat like. I’m not so sure of the truth behind the story of soy, but I do know it is rich in lovely umami-type savoury flavours. And even a tablespoon can turn a simple soup into something totally moreish.
3. use a full flavoured accompaniment.Things like pesto or harissa give a real flavour hit to soup, not to mention adding some textural variation.
4. don’t overdo the water. When you’re making soup without stock, it’s really important that you don’t dilute the soup too much so be sparing with your water at first. You can always thin out a too-thick soup, but rescuing a watery, weakly flavoured number can take hours of simmering.
5. season seriously. Seasoing properly is critical for optimum flavour in all cooking but especially so in soup. Stocks tend to be quite salty naturally, so soup made on a stock base tends not to need as much salt & pepper. When switching to stock-free soup, it can be easy to underseason so be ultra careful to taste and add more salt if the flavours aren’t singing
.6. use a little acid. Think of this as part 2 of seasoning. A little lemon juice or a splash of vinegar can be all a dull soup needs to turn into a vibrant star.
7. spice it up. Some warming chili can do wonders to compliment the warming nature of soup. And a little cumin or coriander or even curry powder can give an old soup a new lease of life.
http://thestonesoup.com/blog/2011/0...without-using-stock-5-ingredients-10-minutes/
