Thick, chunky and packed with nutrients.
The idea behind a hearty soup is that the soup fills you up without the need for side dishes or appetizers. Hearty soups are one-pot meals in which you should receive the nutrients and protein necessary to nourish both body and mind to allow you to get on with your daily tasks feeling energized and ready; if not, they make a great segue to a cozy nap on the couch. The key to hearty soups is to make sure that the majority of food groups are represented within the dish.
Vegetables
Most soup bases are focused on vegetables, whether as a chunky ingredient or pureed into the broth base. Assume that vegetables hold a mandatory presence in any hearty soup; they provide critical vitamins and nutrients and are undoubtedly one of the least fulfilled food groups in the U.S. (that is, the majority of Americans fail to consume the recommended number of vegetable servings per day). Depending on the recipe, hearty vegetables include potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, lentils, onions, celery, kale, spinach, turnips, squash and zucchini.
Hearty, vegetable-based soup include French onion soup (with soaked bread/croutons and cheese), bacon potato soup (with celery and cheddar), pea or corn soup (with ham and dairy cream), sausage and lentil soup (with carrots, celery and heavy cream) and classic vegetable soup (thick cuts of a variety of vegetables such as carrots and beets based in a chicken or beef broth along with pasta or rice).
Grains
Adding grains increases substance. Carbohydrates are necessary for increasing energy levels and blood sugar levels, thus adding grains such as rice, barley, pasta noodles (cut linguine, shell pasta, penne, for example) or fresh or dried bread is crucial for making a soup hearty. Adding rice and pasta can either be done from the raw state while the soup cooks, or cooked separately and combined just before serving. For breads and croutons, fresh bread should be placed on the bottom of the bowl and then covered with the soup just before eating.
Hearty, grain-based soups include chicken and rice soup (with carrots, celery and sour cream), steak and noodle soup (with peppers, Parmesan and onions), mushroom barley soup (with chicken) and tortilla dumpling soup (with chicken, corn or flour tortilla dumplings, sour cream and peppers).
Protein
Hearty soups should contain a form of protein to be considered nutritionally well rounded. Most soups already contain at least partial animal fat due to the presence of beef, fish or chicken stock, but an additional substance protein is recommended. Grilled chicken, ground beef, pork, steak cubes, fish and sausage are all possible soup proteins. But there are vegetarian protein options, which include adding a of beans (black, kidney, white, pinto and garbanzo beans), dairy sources including cream, cheese and sour cream and even nuts such as peanuts and cashews (usually in Eastern recipes).
Hearty, protein-based soups include American stew soup (beef based in beef broth with potatoes and assorted vegetables), white bean and sausage soup (based in chicken stock with kale and fennel leaves), Thai coconut peanut soup (smooth peanut and coconut based curry broth with chicken, bean sprouts and rice noodles), fish stew (fish stock base with shrimp, cod and/or white fish accompanied by carrots, peppers and cilantro) and wild rice with chicken and mushroom soup (in a chicken broth and cream base).
Tags: soup with, with chicken, sour cream, based chicken, beef broth, broth with
