Adding Toppings to Your Soup

​One of my closest friends is, what I would call, a food purist. What I mean by that is that he does not like to combine flavors. For instance, he would consider a steak, served with béarnaise sauce, to be a waste of a steak.
 
I, on the other hand, love to combine flavors. If I may, I’d like to quote Remy, the lead character from the movie Ratatouille. “Each flavor was totally unique. But combine one flavor with another, and something new was created.”
 
Last week, I wrote about salt and its use to enhance flavors. This week, I’m going to talk about combining flavors, specifically, putting toppings onto your soup. Not only does this create a new, more complex, flavor profile but oftentimes it adds a texture contrast as well.
 
Now more often than not, the soups I offer already have a complex flavor and are in need of no further toppings. Take Beef Barley for example. The combination of seared beef, vegetables, beef stock and barley all simmered together, lends itself to a complex flavor profile, along with a textural complexity that requires nothing more other than a little salt, if you prefer.
 
However, due to the nature of this business, and the inability to provide the accompanying toppings of other soups, I will list some suggestions below.
 

• Chicken Salsa Queso: Top with crumbled Queso Fresco, chopped Cilantro and /or crushed Tortilla chips

 

• Broccoli Cheddar: Top with Shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese for an even more cheesy experience

 

• Butternut Squash Bisque: Top with Seasoned Croutons for an added flavor and texture (I like to add these a few at a time, so as not to soak up the soup and keep them crunchy)

 
While all of my soups are delicious without anything needing to be placed on the top, I encourage you to try out different things and please let me know what you did and how it worked out.