Cream Soup
Automatically translated from Romanian. See the Romanian original
A healthy and light cream soup, made by sautéing diced vegetables, boiling them briefly, and blending until smooth, served with whole wheat croutons.
Ingredients
Method
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Dice all the vegetables.
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Sauté the vegetables one by one in olive oil: start with the garlic and onion, then the potato, then the rest of the vegetables, for 3-4 minutes over high heat.
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Let the soup simmer for about 30 minutes, until the vegetables break down easily.
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Separate the vegetables from the liquid and blend the solids until they break down well.
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Gradually add the liquid, while blending, until you reach the desired consistency.
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Add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil at the end for a creamier soup.
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For the croutons: in a pan over medium heat, add the whole wheat bread cubes with salt, a little oil, and oregano, and let them cook until well toasted.
The story behind this recipe
For me, cream soup is a healthy choice for lunch or dinner. It's light, tasty, easy to digest, and can be made from any vegetable.
To begin, we need to know the proportions of the vegetables for the cream soup. Thus, if you want to make celery cream soup, for example, then the celery should represent 60% of the total vegetables. The remaining 40% consists of potatoes, onions, garlic, etc.
The potato is very important for a cream soup. You don't need to add many. One potato is enough for 5-6 servings. It will help achieve a creamy soup thanks to the starch it contains. We can also thicken the cream soup with rice, breadcrumbs, or semolina if you don't have a potato on hand.
When I want to make cream soup, I always start by dicing all the vegetables, then I sauté them in olive oil one by one. I start with the garlic and onion, followed by the potato, and then the rest of the vegetables. The sautéing takes about 3-4 minutes over high heat. I always chop the vegetables as finely as possible because I don't want them boiling for 2 hours. Generally, I let them simmer for 30 minutes. It's enough for everything to break down with ease.
Once the vegetables are boiled, it's time to blend them using a stick blender or a food processor. I start by blending the solids (I take the vegetables out of the liquid), until they break down well, then I gradually add the liquid, and keep adding until I reach the desired consistency. I always add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil at the end. It helps to obtain a creamier soup.
Be careful, with beans, chickpeas, or lentils, for example, you must take into account that the soup will thicken as it sits due to the high starch content.
Unlike traditional ciorbă / soup, cream soup is better if served the day after it was cooked. The taste is effectively stronger, and it is creamier.
I don't use cream, and I rarely add butter, even though these help with the consistency. I try to keep the soup as light and healthy as possible.
Most of the time, I like to make fresh croutons from whole wheat bread. In a pan, over medium heat, I add bread cubes with salt, a little oil, and oregano. I leave them until they are well toasted.
Among the soups I am proud of are [supa de varză roșie](https://anamariagateste.blogspot.com/2019/11/supa-crema-de-varza-rosie.html?m=1), [supa crema de salată verde](https://anamariagateste.blogspot.com/2019/07/supa-crema-de-salata-verde.html?m=1), and [supa de hribi cu drojdie inactiva](https://anamariagateste.blogspot.com/2019/04/supa-crema-de-hribi-cu-drojdie-inactiva.html?m=1).
Enjoy!
