With vegetarian soups, there are really no hard-and-fast or clear cut rules on how you should do it. You just have to follow the preliminary basics and then let your imagination rule. This means that you may just have to saut? the usual garlic, onions and your choice of vegetables, add the soup stock or vegetable broth and then add whatever you like including spices. If you are preparing a cold and raw recipe, then you can experiment by swapping some ingredients like watermelon for tomatoes or vice versa.
The only thing you might want to keep in mind is your own taste buds as well as those of whom you are preparing the meal for. It would be better though to reserve experimentation on your free days and simply use tested soup recipes on regular days when you have little time.
Be Generous with Spices
At times, a small portion of green onions, celery or carrots sauted in onions will make a big difference in taste. Other soup recipes however may need a little more than the usual herbs and spices. Try a few mixes like oregano and rosemary; pepper and lemon or pepper and lemon grass. You can also use other spices like cayenne and cumin. One tip with vegetarian soup recipe seasoning is to use an appropriate amount or mix of spices so you can cut back on salt.
Thicken the Soup
Part of the secret to savory vegetarian soup recipe includes making the texture just right. Texture may of course be improved by thickening the soup. One secret of oriental cooks is that they use flour or cornstarch to thicken a recipe instead of using milk. Some would suggest adding a precise number of parts of flour or cornstarch to water but sometimes you just have to make an estimate.
To put more texture or thickness to your soup, simply add a small amount of cornstarch. Simply mix a small amount of cornstarch with some warm water and then slowly pour the mixture while stirring in soup that is just about ready to be taken out of the fire.
Convert
Non-vegetarians usually add meat to make the soup tastier. However, vegetarians can substitute the meat with other ingredients. Aside from spices, pepper and green onions, you can also add a bit of soy sauce to give your soup some flavor. Beans can also add to the flavor of your vegetarian soup recipe and even supply much needed protein which others normally get from meat. Aside from beans, peas, lentils and squash are also tasty additions to it.
Freezing Soup
The great thing about soups is that you can prepare it ahead of time and freeze it for the next day. Just make sure that before you freeze soup, you allow it to cool completely first. Have it chilled so that you can remove excess oil before transferring it to small containers for freezing. Makes sure there is some extra space in your container after the soup has been transferred to allow the liquid to expand.
