I Love Soup Book Review

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You might have seen me cooking some pretty delicious soups on Instagram and Facebook lately. 

The weather's getting cooler, there a few more blustery days where the rust-coloured, crisp leaves get whipped up and I'm already in my cosy socks and fluffy jumpers. 

So on days like these, I need soup. 

I was sent a copy of the book I Love Soup by Beverly LeBlanc to have a look at. It promised to be packed with 'international flavours' and would be full of recipes that would inspire me to cook soup even when the weather wasn't chilly. 

I Love Soup, by Beverly LeBlanc

Hmm. 

So I was excited to get out my pans and give some of them a go. 

I've got to say, the book is beautiful. There aren't photographs of every recipe, but the ones that are there are clean, clear and well shot. I know we all probably cook the recipes that have photographs with them the most - they're the ones that we're drawn to as we flick through and they seem to inspire us the quickest. But do give the unphotographed recipes a try here, too. I made the Chicken, Fennel and Saffron Soup - it was so quick to put together, and it made a change from the blended veggie soups I've been used to. The saffron gives colour and a sweet lightness and the fennel worked so well with the soft chicken thighs. I made another batch and kept it in the fridge to  reheat for a quick breakfast. It's going on my weekly shop, for sure. 

Chicken, Fennel and Saffron Soup

The Broccoli and Parsley soup was equally good. My children loved it, too. And the parsley gave an extra boost of vitamins and nutrients as well as a richer green colour. Another one I'm going to keep making. 

Broccoli and Parsley Soup

I also whipped up the Chicken Noodle soup for the family this Sunday - I used gluten free spaghetti, curled into little spirals in the bowl before I sloshed in the soup. It was very filling, for noodle soup - so it's a good option for an evening meal if you need to feed a few people in one go with minimum effort. Yes, there are some ingredients you'll need to go out and buy specially (I usually don't have the ingredients in the cupboard to make a Red Thai curry paste on the spot, for example) but then when you think of the low effort it takes to make, it'd be a smart move to add a couple of these soups to your weekly meal plan. 

There are grain based soups, bean-based soups and vegetarian soups. There are seafood and fish soups as well as veggie soups, chicken and meaty soups. You even get a lesson on how to make great stock. 

Chicken Noodle Soup

As for international flavours - the book is spot on. There's a Gujarati Yogurt Soup, Mackerel in Chilli-Lime Broth, New England Clam Chowder and Columbian Chicken and Corn Soup. There are Thai flavours, Syrian flavours, Japanese flavours. There are also chilled soups - I'm fascinated by the idea of a chilled Hungarian Cherry Soup. Sounds gorgeous. If you want to buy one book to up your soup game this wouldn't be a bad one to bag. Honestly. 

Soup is one of those meals that can be usually made in one pot and it's perfect for those weeknights where you really don't feel like 'cooking'. Chucking everything in a pan, waiting 20 minutes for it to become tender and cooked through and blending it all up is actually not much work compared to a roast dinner, burgers or even some salads I've made before. And with over 100 recipes in this book, I think that it's a good idea to have a few different recipes up your sleeve for those mealtimes. 

I Love Soup is available in bookshops, or on Amazon - find more details here.