Soup weather is here
Grab a spoon and your favorite bowl
Living in San Diego, you get used to the weather and its identity crisis. If you’re coastal, it’s cold in the summer and hot in the winter. Not that I mind. That only means we get to enjoy soup almost any day of the year.
But the time change always marks the unofficial start of fall for me. The days are warm and sunny, and the nights are cool and crisp, making it the perfect time to declare that soup weather is officially here. After all, who doesn’t love soup while wearing shorts?!
So whether you’ve got friends over for football or Halloween, or you just need a quick weeknight dinner, I’ve got you covered.
SLOW COOKER CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
This is a family favorite and often makes an appearance when I host book club or bunco. There’s nothing as satisfying as starting a meal in the morning, alert from my second cup of coffee, and having a perfectly turned out soup hours later. Bonus: the kitchen is (usually) clean since I’ve had all day to get it done. I always transfer the soup from the slow cooker to a large Dutch oven right before adding the frozen corn; this allows me to let the soup simmer longer and I can control the temperature better.
SIDE NOTE: Swap leftover turkey for the chicken, and you’ve got a fresh use of those Thanksgiving leftovers.
SAUSAGE & SPINACH SOUP
This is another family favorite (I’m noticing a trend here) and I traditionally make this for Halloween get togethers. The foundation of this recipe is originally from an pressure cooker cookbook, but at the time (ten years ago, according to The California Table blog archives), I was intimidated by pressure cookers aka Instant Pots, so I adapted it for the stovetop. If you live near a Trader Joe’s, shop for ingredients there. They have the best Italian hot sausage, and I love their pre-diced onions (one package does the trick). Serve with a hearty red wine. And don’t expect to have any leftovers!
SPLIT PEA SOUP
This is one of the earlier recipes on The California Table. It’s from a California Pizza Kitchen cookbook and remains one of my favorite vegetarian soups. The barley makes it slightly chunky, and the green onion garnish packs a mighty little punch. If I’m being totally honest, this is not a family fave and let’s face it, the color of split pea soup won’t win any Pantone Color of the Year award. But if sweater were a soup, this would be it. Cozy and comforting, like a hug in a bowl.
This is a riff on Cioppino, a fish stew that originated in my home town of San Francisco (actually, I’m from the East Bay, but close enough). This is a weeknight dish thanks to frozen seafood, and, here again, if you live near Trader Joe’s, you’re in luck. Their frozen seafood is fabulous and you can find everything else you need in their aisles (except parsley. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I can never find parsley at TJ’s. Anyone else?). This soup is a little on the lighter side, so if you’ve got hearty eaters, grab some sourdough bread and maybe a salad so everyone leaves the dinner table happy and full.
What’s your favorite soup? I’d love to know!
I'm definitely going to try the tortilla soup. I know I've made a version of it at some point over the years. We're Mexican inspired food fans here 🙌🏻 plus really I just love an excuse to use obnoxious amounts of cheese and sour cream, and top with jalapenos and hot sauce!
They all sound delish. I used to live Aliso Viejo, but live in Washington state now, so soup is really important to me now!