Soup - tips for choosing leftovers

Some people don't like "leftovers" but I think such people are missing some of the best tastes in the world. Many flavors do best when heated, cooled, and reheated, and many soupls, especially, require cooking in multiple stages. if the potatoes have to be pre-cooked regardless: what different if they were the extra you didn't need or if they are cooked solely for the potato soup being made today? Chili is always better the next day. And mixing leftovers has been the source of inspiration for numerous recipes, evein if the recipes don't tell you so. Pizza, so far as I've been able to figure out, was originally the Italian mother's idea of a cassarole for leftovers. (It was in America that it became a made to order extravaganza for special dinners out). I vitually never bother with soup except to capture leftovers, either fresh from the fridge, or ones gathered in the freezer for the purpose (a common way to turn seasonal late summer vegetables into warm "soppes" for winter warming). (Soppes being medieval for soup served with dipping bread).

Basic recipe for leftovers soup: put appropriate meats, vegis, and fuits in a pot. Add water if needed, enough to barely cover. Add salt, pepper, and/or herbs and spices to taste. Heat to boiling. Simmer 10 to 20 minutss.

The trick is choosing the ingredients that compliment each other and not the ones that fight each other, and adding the right flavors to help it work, either to the soup, or by what is served with.

Most cooked vegetables will work. Some impact the consistency of the broth more than others: onions and celery will thin the broth. Tomatoes will thicken the broth if allowed to cook long enough. Potatoes will thicken the broth and make it more opaque. Potatoes and other starchy vegetables will tend to absorb some of the seasoning, especially salt, so add them last or heat them separately if you wish to retain the flavors of the original dishes. Adding them earlier will result in a somewhat sweeter broth.

It's okay to mix meats: what matters more is the spices with which they were seasoned. Strongly spiced foods work in soup: but only use one such dish. Two are more likely to clash than complement.

Rice works, but avoid pastas except as a thickener as it will tend to turn to mush in broth. It can be heated separately and soup served over the top, however.

A little fruit can be added to savory soups to reduce saltiness or quiet strong Indian and other spices. Fruit can also be used to make some wonderful sweet fruit soups: these can have vegetables but typically don't have meat and may be served hot or cold. Add wine or juice instead of leftover broth.

To adjust an overly sweet soup, try adding dill and sage, a curry blend, green peppers, salt and pepper, or chili spices.

To zest up a bland soup, add a little vinegar, onion or garlic, poultry seasoning, or Italian seasoning, or chili spices and pepper.

To sweeten a salty or tangy soup, add wine, vinegar, onion, rosemary, and/or applesauce