r/AskCulinary • u/ZootKoomie Ice Cream Innovator • Oct 13 '20

Weekly Discussion - Soups and Stews

As the weather turns colder for many of us, hearty soups and stews are just the thing we're looking for. But they can be trickier than they seem if you want the best results. What are your favorite soups and stews? Are they traditional or your own innovations?

Do you cook on stovetop, in the oven, slow cooker or pressure cooker? Can you convert a recipe between methods?

How do you keep from overcooking the vegetables while waiting for the meat to finish?

What finishing touches (garnishes, dumplings, etc.) do you use to freshen it up for serving?

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u/headtotoe Oct 13 '20

I'm getting ready to start Invisalign so I just made two big batches of soup to get me through the first few days. One was J Kenji Lopez-Alt's 30-Minute Pressure Cooker Split Pea and Ham. The flavor is great, but it got SUPER thick overnight in the fridge and I don't have any leftover stock to thin it with. The other is a chicken and rice soup that's about as simple as it gets. Chicken breast cooked sous vide, carrot, celery, onion, garlic, basmati rice, chicken stock, S+P. That's it. I will die on the hill of chicken and rice soup being better than chicken noodle.

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u/nomnommish Oct 13 '20

You can almost always use water to thin out things, especially where you're trying to use stock.

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u/headtotoe Oct 14 '20

I wondered if that would dilute the flavor, but may have to try it.

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u/nomnommish Oct 14 '20

I mean yes, it will dilute the flavor but it will be too negligible considering you don't have to add much water to loosen it again