How to Do Things

Usually the best way to make noodle soup is to add cooked noodles to cooked soup just before serving. This way each element maintains its integrity and you don’t end up with an undifferentiated starchy mess. Cook the noodles as usual, but under-cook them slightly, so they don’t turn to mush in the hot soup.

You can even cook them ahead if you like, and then rinse them in cold water to stop them from getting mashed and set them aside in a bowl of water, or use leftovers. Then add to the soup in the last few minutes of cooking. If you want to make noodle soup, then just follow the instructions mentioned below.

Garlic Fideo Soup

Browned noodles are a real treat. Fideo noodles form the basis of a robust soup, typical of Spain.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fideo, capellini, or other very thin pasta
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small head garlic, peeled and minced (about 1/4 cup)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika (preferably pimentón)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, cilantro, or epazote leaves, plus 2 tablespoons for garnish
• 61/2 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock or water
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs, preferably fresh

Instructions:

• Put the noodles in a sturdy bag and whack them with a rolling-pin or the back of a knife, breaking them into 1- to 2-inch pieces.

• Put the olive oil in a large, deep pot over medium low heat. When hot, add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently until soft and beginning to color, (for about 5 to 8 minutes).

• Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the noodles, shower with the help of salt and pepper, and cook, stirring almost constantly until they darken (for a minute or two). They will probably not cook perfectly, eventually some will become darker than others, but try to avoid letting more than a few pieces blacken.

• Add the paprika and 1/4 cup herbs and stir for a minute to coat the noodles. Add the stock, taking care to loosen any noodles or garlic that might have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Cook stirring occasionally, until the pasta becomes tender (for 8 to 10 minutes).

• Taste, regulate the seasoning if necessary, and serve garnished with a sprinkle of the remaining herbs and bread crumbs.

Let’s have a look on how to make potato soup.

Noodle soup with Potato:

Here’s the simplest potato and leek soup, a recipe that strikes me as medieval. It can warm you on a cold winter day, or if you make it in advance, cool you down in the middle of summer. Use a large sliced onion if you don’t have leeks or if you want potato soup.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
• 2 packet of noodle
• 4 potatoes, any type, peeled and slice into small pieces
• 4 leeks, washed and chopped into thin rings
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups chicken, beef or vegetable stock, or water

Methods:

• Place the butter or oil in a huge, deep container over average flame. When the butter dissolves or the oil is hot, put in the vegetables. Shower with salt and pepper, and cook stirring until it becomes tenders (approximately 4 to 5 minutes).

• Add the potato, regulate the temperature, so it smoothly bubbles, and cook until the vegetables are become very soft (about 25 minutes). At this stage, place your soup in the fridge, covered, for up to 2 days; reheat before proceeding. Now add noodles in the soup and cook for a few minutes.

• Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve.

Puréed Potato and Leek Soup:

• Carefully purée the above soup in a blender or with an immersion blender, then return it to the pot you cooked it in. Stir in 1/2 to 1 cup sour cream, cream or curd, and heat it gently; do not let it boil if you use yogurt.

• Add more salt and pepper as required decorate with minced chives, and serve.

Vichyssoise:

Make the preceding variation, but do not reheat. Instead, chill methodically and serve decorated with minced chives.