I'm gonna come right out and say it: soup is a hack. A solution, a strategy and a simplifier of life. The thing to do when you don't know what to do.
This is because the essence of soup — from broth to bisque and every variety on the spectrum of slurpability — is exponential. Soup not only has the ability to feed many mouths in one fell swoop, but it's also the mother of meal prep superstars because it's the kind of thing you can make on a Sunday and eat all week.
Soup is also a great consolidator of nutrients, with all the layers of vegetables, alliums, herbs and spices that make it sing. It’s a beautiful blank canvas on which to play with said layers to truly make the spirit of the dish your own. In short, soup is the one-man-show of cooking and eating. It packs punch, saves time, fills bellies...and happens to be a great way to consume lots of fluids during the time of the year when all the germs want to party.
A pro tip to maximize this life-enhancing hack: make giant pots of soup to then freeze and store, in pre-portioned containers, jars or trays (I use Souper Cubes), and you'll have ready-to-rock meals for days. I did this just before I gave birth to our last baby, allowing me to happily, effortlessly and nutritionally sip my way through postpartum, which happened to take place in the heart of winter.
With all of this said, here are 10 soup-er ideas to help you kick off ladle season:
- First thing's first — seafood stock, the base of so many great soups (and other dishes like risotto!), which is really easy to make and store using your spot prawn shells.
- Nothing says "Fall's here!" like a butternut squash recipe, so here's our seafood version, a Pacific Cod Chowder with Sage and Butternut Squash, an aromatic dish that's equal parts light and rich.
- And if you're still suffering from summer withdrawl, try this Miso Coconut Corn Chowder. Between the corn and the coconut, were it not for the chowder part, you might still feel like you're on the back deck of someone's beach house.
- In the spirit of going on vacation, here's one that serves a pageant of big flavors and takes you on a serious culinary trip — Vietnamese Sour Soup with Spot Prawns and Fish.
- And if you were one of the ones that didn't get to go to Italy this past summer, our Tuscan Fish Chowder with Pacific Halibut is your passport there. Our recipe calls for halibut quick-cuts, but you can just as simply cut up your halibut fillets to make this chowder happen.
- Or this recipe for Caldo de Pescado Con Gambas, a Mexican broth that is sure to help cure everything from wanderlust to seasonal sniffles.
- If it's noodles you need, have at it with these 4 Quick and Flavorful Seafood Ramen Ideas.
- No bisque, no reward is how we think when it comes to this delicious recipe for Seafood Bisque, a creamy, velvety shellfish-centric soup that eats like a full meal.
- If you're looking for moments of unexpected texture in your soup, this Fisherman Stew with Crispy Sablefish is a perfect delight.
- And last, but certainly not least, is my go-to: Caribbean Fish Stew, the favorite of my husband Arron (WAC founder + CEO), and that which I make to celebrate the happy moments or to uplift during the more challenging ones. It's a soup that's also a homage to the fusion of his and my world — Latin flavors like yuca, plantains, coconut milk and cilantro mingle with that of wild Alaskan fish (such as Pacific halibut, Pacific cod or lingcod), resulting in a ladle-able amalgam of all that is our great love.
If you’re looking for a more in-depth study on how to craft the perfect soup, join WAC's live event on Wednesday, October 11th at 3pm ET / noon PT. The WAC recipe team will show you how to make a quick and delicious stew featuring wild-caught seafood that you can enjoy through the rest of the year. Here's to heralding the cooler months with bowlfuls of coziness, interesting flavors and exponentially viable meals!
Live wild!
Monica
Pictured above: A crispy-skinned fillet of sablefish atop a stewy melange of veggies. To turn this recipe into a seasonal hack, make a big pot of the veggie stew base to stash in the fridge or freezer, but wait to cook the fish until you’re just ready to serve the stew.
